Keeping Hamsters While Keeping Predator Species (Cats & Snakes)

[hydrargyra]

Hey! I'm new to this forum and while I don't currently have any hamsters, I'd really like to get one in the next few months. My biggest concern, though, is that I already have three cats and one corn snake. I've seen various resources about keeping cats and hamsters in the same house, but my main concern is my snake. While I'm not worried about him physically harming my potential ham, he lives in my bedroom, and there is no other space in my house where I'd be allowed to keep a hamster.
I've seen that a couple of people on this forum also keep snakes, and I was wondering if anyone has noticed their hamsters reacting to the scent. I'd of course be careful to wash my hands between handling the different animals, and when I was much younger I kept mice in my bedroom and never had any issues. It's hard to find trustworthy information, I think, because a lot of people have a knee-jerk reaction to snakes that they don't have to other natural predators such as dogs or cats.
Smell is my primary concern- there's no perceptible smell to a human nose from my snake (unless you count his aspen bedding), but I don't want any future furry friends to feel like they are constantly in danger. I'd imagine that providing plenty of hiding spaces and burrowing room could mitigate this, but I wanted to ask here first.
The worst case scenario is that I have to wait until I'm living in an apartment to get a hamster, which I can live with! But I'd really love to be able to get one sooner, so long as I'd be able to give it a happy and comfortable living space.

[velma]

Hi. Welcome to HC. I'm afraid I have no knowledge about snakes, let alone snakes and hamsters in the same room. Helpful, right? Aside from smell, you may just need to be more cautious about the type of housing you select in case of potential escapes so maybe a tank with a mesh lid rather than bars? But definitely try and keep the cats out of the room, especially when you're not there, as that most likely will stress out your hamster. Plus it's not fair on the cats to have to keep telling them off for following their natural instincts hopefully someone can help you out with the snake question

[Mama2six]

Hamsters are very good at escaping, so keep that in mind. I wouldn't risk any sort of cage that is not absolutely secure, but even then they can sometimes figure a way out.