Is anybody else addicted to hamsters and hamster forums?

[Pebbles82]

I know what you mean - I've been thinking about cages again!

[Blueberry]

LOL I agree, I wish they could talk. I would chat with my one all day I feel exaclty the same, the only what I don't like in my "addiction", is constant worry if she is ok, i was thinking about this and I came to a conclusion, that is not an addiction, is a pure LOVE

[Bertiebobbins]

im not sure 'addiction' is the right term, maybe 'obsession' is more appropriate? I don't think there is anything wrong with having a passion for something and wanting to do the best by your pet. Although I've found that actually the hamster thing is quite finite, once I had their cages sorted out and decided what their diet is and learned everything about three, I'd pretty much exhausted the subject. Which I find nice because I don't worry about them anymore, I know they have the best of everything and I'm just getting on with enjoying them for the rest of their short little lives now.

I do love this forum though because it's nice to check in with other hamster owners who have the same level of investment in their pets' wellbeing, get to know them and their hamsters a little bit, pick up some of the knowledge about genetics and breeding etc.

I'm quite prone to having obsession with things so my friends/family are quite used to it now, and they usually become a bit interested in whatever I'm into because I like to explore the subject with such great detail. My dad has become quite fascinated with how intelligent these little creatures are, and my mum keeps dropping in carefully selected vegetable off cuts for them!

[Cinnamon Bear]

U see, you sound normal...lol...but for example I bought 21 bags of Carefresh on black Friday's 1/2 off sale at Pet-Co...enough to last my 4 hamsters for one year. Don't know if that's abnormal or not but I saved $300!

Before I had only 2 dwarves but that wasn't enough...I had 4 cages, so I thought okay just one more but in the back of my mind I knew I could give just one more dwarf a nice home...now I have a full house & it's nice, but it seems like there is always room for improvement whether it be spending more time with them to try to tame them, or find new chews they might like?

I treat them like 4 furry children...better though cause they nap all day

[Bertiebobbins]

Buying something you're actually going to use in bulk in a sale is sensible! I do the same when things I use regularly are on offer.

i don't think there is anything wrong with always thinking about how you could improve their environment or what tasty treat to give them, having a hobby of any sort is good for your general wellbeing. Very, very few of us get to be gainfully employed doing something they truly love, I'm certainly not - whilst I love my job, it's not enough, I get satisfaction from doing it well but I'd get just as much satisfaction from doing another similarly challenging job well. For most people our hobbies and interests are what we're much more interested in, and you shouldn't feel you're odd because your hobby is a bit niche (adults with hamsters are a bit niche aren't we lol!)

[Cinnamon Bear]

Adults with hamsters are great & it's nice to have discovered an adult hamster forum..

[Cinnamon Bear]

Update: I just won my e-bay bid for $1.00 for a used Wodent Wheel. It is in almost new condition, owner had a rat that wouldn't fit in it he said. No animal was sick or died or anything. He said the wheel doesn't squeak. It's $7.30 including shipping, not bad I think, will have to bleach it when it arrives. Hopefully the item will match the description, seller has 100%positive feedback so I'm hoping for the best.