# Hamster rescue...



## Myia09 (Mar 28, 2011)

Uggh I am so angry it is going to be hard to type. My mom works at lowes.. and call to tell me one of her co worker "Needs to get rid of" her hamster "Because her kid doesn't like it"

Well, I said no, because I don't have a desire for another hamster. BUT then my mom goes "Oh no, you will want this one..."

I thought she meant it must be really cute or something. Until she tells me it is living in A SMALL CRITTER KEEPER:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752730

THE SMALL ONE. I am not kidding! Then, she calls me (when she is away from teh girl) to tell me the lady said "I think it's hamster food..I don't know I get it from teh dollar store." 

Yeah my mom was right. I had to have her 

My heart just EXPLODES with grief over hamsters/gerbils/ect because it is SO unlikely they get good homes, and with a short life, they often live and die in boredom or pain. 

Yeah, Rabbits/ Rats/Pigges get bad homes, but I don't think in teh multitude that hamsters do (IMO) 

And hamsters are such interactive foragers and what not. I will post photos of her later. I haven't seen her, but I really am not expecting the best of shape.


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## Kipcha (Mar 28, 2011)

Poor little hammys, they really get the raw end of the deal most of the time. Glad to know that you're getting it though, it needs out of that situation.


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## Myia09 (Mar 28, 2011)

For sure. She will be set up in a large bin cage with actual toys and foreging..I will post photos of those too.

Don't tell my rabbits, but it is hamsters I can't say no to 

This will be my first dwarf after my last dwarf died (He was five) as well which is interesting for my heart strings too.


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## Acacia-Berry (Mar 28, 2011)

Aw well you did the right thing by taking her. I cannot wait to see her! Also, don't it suck when people see that you love your pets and then assume you have all the time and patience for their dumped pets?!?! Grrrr


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## Myia09 (Mar 29, 2011)

Ugh it is worse than I though! She is very skinny. It is hard to tell how skinny a hamster is, because they will look alright with loose fur, but she is very thin.

Then she told me when I got there her CAT ATTACKED THE HAMSTER while ago and so the hamster is missing fur from its back and nose.

I thought maybe the lack of fur on her nose was because "bar rub" when a hamster has a bar cage and tries to get out. But as far as I know, she has lived in this critter keeper since ownership.

The thing is, SHE IS SO FRIENDLY! And cute! She is absolutely joyful...I can tell she is really happy and that makes my heart BURST with happiness.


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## Myia09 (Mar 29, 2011)

This is what she was kept in:






Set up of my cage:













Toys:





Missing back fur:




Missing nose fur:





Where is hiccup?


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## Boz (Mar 29, 2011)

OMG that is HORRIBLE!!!!! 
I have a soft spot for these little guys. I love gerbils and after the last year hamsters have won a spot on my "fav pet list". It's crazy how horrible people can be. I think they find these pets as "throw away" and "disposable" and never think that they may actually require CARE.

Glad you took the hamster. She looks like she is going to be SUPER happy with you! She is so super pretty too. Hopefully her fur grows back


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## Myia09 (Mar 29, 2011)

Yeah  I am glad she is with me now.

Fat Hammie still has missing fur. I adopted him and before he had a severe case of mites and some of his fur as never grown back. Bald hammies unite! lol


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## Kipcha (Mar 29, 2011)

Aww! She's so cute! And that thing is even smaller then I though, how did she even get water?

I'm sure she must be on mental overload now with all the stuff you've given her and all the room she has now!


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## Acacia-Berry (Mar 29, 2011)

Aw, look at her!! She's too cute! I cannot believe she lived in that thing!! I was mad but then I saw how happy she loooked in her new tunnel and shredded paper that my heart warmed up again! Bless her to live a ripe old age!


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## irishbunny (Mar 29, 2011)

Aww she is a dote, congrats on your new hammie! Love the setup


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## MiniLopHop (Mar 29, 2011)

I am shocked and appaled that someone would keep an animal in such a tight space. Thoes things are for transport, not living conditions!

You are so nice to take the sweet animal in. I tend to prefer gerbils, but I wouldn't have been able to resist either. At least now it will have a happy life.


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## Aulyvia (Apr 6, 2011)

oh wow!! i'm glad she found you


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## Nancy McClelland (Apr 6, 2011)

Congrats. That carrier is what we store our nail clipping items in--just can't imagine someone that dense or unfeeling.


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## Nela (Apr 8, 2011)

I keep looking at this and feel so bad for the poor thing for having been kept in that small thing. Heck, I kept a SNAIL in the bigger version of that container. :expressionless

Myia, Idon't recallseeing a bin used for a hamster before. I'm kinda curious about it. How does that work? Hamsters are good jumpers and great at escaping from what I remember... Do they ever manage to get out as you try to feed them? It doesn't bother them that the bin isn't clear? How about air circulation and noise? Temperature wise does it tend to get warm and stuffy?

Just asking cause I think it's pretty cool and was curious about the practical side of it. Maybe one day I will consider...:biggrin:


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## Myia09 (Apr 8, 2011)

Bins are AWESOME! What you don't see, is that there is a lid. I cut a huge hole in the lid (Pretty much the entire rectangle lid minus the edges) and put very small chicken wire and screwed/glued it on. 

I had my mice in a bin too, and i did notice 3 mice weren't getting enough ventilation, so I moved them, but you can also put holes and wire on the sides too (which is what i should have done, but I was lucky and had a rat cage on hand for them anyways)

But the sides are so tall, I wouldn't worry about them escaping unless you have things in th cage they can climb on. But hammies aren't good jumpers...maybe your thinking gerbils?

My syrian doesn't have a lid and doesn't get out  It just depends. 

Temp wise, as long as it is ventilated or the lid is off, it is fine! 

And no, it doesn't bother them that it is not clear...I think it even makes them feel more safe.

Plus, bins are larger than most cages and/or tanks. This bin is the equivalent to a 30 gallon long tank (which they actually don't make...) it is a good size bigger than a 20 gallon tank. 

For my syrian, it is the equivalent of a 40 gallon tank! Without the price tag, the heaviness, ect. Plus, I do think it has better ventilation than a tank

IMO it is the best option.


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## Horsey_Gal (Apr 9, 2011)

Aw, poor little guy!! Hammys are awesome! I hate it when I see certain people (Who I'm not going to mention) abuse their hamster. And they wonder why he bites! I'm done with hamsters now, my last one died earlier this year, due to old age. How tall is the bin? My hamsters could jump out of their cages (we used reptile cages) and they were over a foot tall. I was always so traumatized when I woke up and there wasn't a hamster in the cage.


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## irishbunny (Apr 10, 2011)

I think bin cages are great too. I plan to get mice in September and I am going to get a bin cage I think


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## Nela (Apr 10, 2011)

Thank you for the info Myia! :biggrin2:


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## nermal71 (Apr 10, 2011)

*Horsey_Gal wrote: *


> Aw, poor little guy!! Hammys are awesome! I hate it when I see certain people (Who I'm not going to mention) abuse their hamster. And they wonder why he bites! I'm done with hamsters now, my last one died earlier this year, due to old age. How tall is the bin? My hamsters could jump out of their cages (we used reptile cages) and they were over a foot tall. I was always so traumatized when I woke up and there wasn't a hamster in the cage.


My son had a hamster...he named him Houdini...reason being that silly little thing could escape ANY cage. And we have cats. I woke up one morning to glance up and seeing walking along the top of my bedroom curtails.....he was a cutie though.


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## Myia09 (Apr 10, 2011)

I don't have a clear photo, but look! Her fur has come back 100% in a week! Isn't that crazy! Shows you what good care you can do


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## JadeIcing (Apr 11, 2011)

If I was closer would adopt her. I want a hamster! When I do going to drive you nuts.


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## Horsey_Gal (Apr 11, 2011)

*nermal71 wrote: *


> *Horsey_Gal wrote: *
> 
> 
> > Aw, poor little guy!! Hammys are awesome! I hate it when I see certain people (Who I'm not going to mention) abuse their hamster. And they wonder why he bites! I'm done with hamsters now, my last one died earlier this year, due to old age. How tall is the bin? My hamsters could jump out of their cages (we used reptile cages) and they were over a foot tall. I was always so traumatized when I woke up and there wasn't a hamster in the cage.
> ...


Hehe, sounds like our hamsters  We finally learned to put a book on top of his cages lid so that he couldn't push himself through. It's always so funny when you find a hamster walking around on something over five feet tall, and wonder how the little bugger got up there.


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## nermal71 (Apr 11, 2011)

Houdini used to eat holes in his. My son had probably 200 dollars worth of hamster house....it had 3 buildings, a space ship, tubes, hidey spots etc. Houdini would be fine for awhile and suddenly i'd find half of a door chewed off. Now granted NONE of his chew toys were touched. So we'd block him out of that section....order a new door....and do it all over again. I got so I would order two or three of each door when I did. He was a lovebug though. Just wanted more and more space.


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## NorthernAutumn (Apr 18, 2011)

Omg.... I actually gagged when I saw that photo of the poor girl in that disgusting little box!
Thank you for taking her - what a doll! :hug:


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## MiniLopHop (Apr 18, 2011)

I wish I could use a bin for my gerbils, but the cats would eat them. I have two boys in a 20 gal aquarium with a mesh top that locks. I also have a little fenced play area that I will lock the cats out of the room and let the boys play. They seem pretty happy and healthy. Barnum is a runner, loves his wheel and digging in new boxes. Baily is all about the food. I make them search rather than putting it all in a dish or Baily would eat everything while Barnum was still sleeping. 

Glad to see your little one getting healthier and can finally be happy!


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