What to do with a hamster over the holidays

[TheHamsterCher]

After the death of Cher, my partner and I are looking at getting a new addition. The only thing stopping us is that we both travel home for the holidays for around 2 weeks. To get home we each have to take a two hour flight or so. We don't have anyone that we know that would be available to come to our apartment during this time. There are a couple pet sitting/ boarding places that I know of but none of which specialize in rodents. The larger problem would be transportation as it gets very cold here during the winter and we do not have a car. We would have to take public transportation which would probably be quite traumatizing for the animal and another concern would be keeping them warm. Taking the hamster back to my parents house with me could be a challenge because I assume the flight would be traumatic and they have 2 cats and a dog (a terrier that hunts rodents). All signs are suggesting that we should wait until after the holidays to get a new pet. It's rather sad because that means another 3 months , but we can't justifiably get one now, in this situation.
To those who didn't have friends or relatives take care of their hamsters, how did you find a reliable pet sitter? All of the ones I can find in my area charge around 30 dollars a day and have no knowledge of hamsters.

[SinNyx]

Is there any chance you can ask a local rescue? I have someone I met through a rescue who is happy to help look after my pets in an emergency, and they have small animal experience.

It's a long shot, but it's worth an ask as a lot of people involved in rescues are surely happy to help and they will be an animal lover to put your mind at ease Even if you said you'd give a little donation of items to the rescue for the holidays?

Depending where you are, you never know if you may even have another HC member near you. There is a pet sitters list around here somewhere with the members that are willing to take others hammies.

[TheHamsterCher]

I thought about that but I haven't find any "official" rescues in my area, despite living in a big city. Perhaps there are some that don't have websites? Oh is there really? That could be hugely helpful ^_^

I live in Chicago, Illinois.