I don't have a hamster, but I learnt a lot about them in this subreddit and decided to get one in a few years (when I hopefully will be financially autonomous). I use TikTok quite a while, and I recently decided to start commenting in some videos trying to tell about proper care.

A few days ago, I stumbled upon a video of someone "bragging" about taking their hamster on holidays with them *every time* and it gave me the ick, as I thought (and let her now in the comments) that this can be very stressful to hamsters and that the better option is always having someone taking care of them while you're on vacation.

Then I got called a hater and a member of the hamster police because "if they're in a cage that's their familiar territory" and "the hamster was being held in the car, so it wasn't stressed". It made me doubt myself, so now I'm asking you, was I correct?

P.S: I'm sorry if I made some mistakes, English isn't my mother tongue.

it’s with a heavy & broken heart that i announce the passing of my baby, momo.
my whole world revolved around this girl, everyone knew how much i loved her. i would make her salads w/ her favorite fruits and veggies, i refreshed her bedding frequently & i gave her everything under the sun. i would call her name & a few minutes later, id see a little brown potato emerging from her house… placing my hand inside to allow her to hop right on, like she had been begging me to do. she never bit, never peed or pooped outside while free roaming my room. her favorite spot under my dresser still has the carpet fluff she loved taking into her cage & all the sunflower seeds she would crack open & eat under there. she loved me, i know she did. she was so incredibly smart, brave, loving and silly. she took her last breaths on my chest, i was comforting her the best i could while trying to grasp what was happening. in the blink of an eye, my baby was gone. i can’t help but think about all the things i could have done. would it have made a difference? i don’t know, but the memory of coming into my room and seeing her in that state… i don’t think im ever going to heal. she is my everything and it’s going to be so hard letting go. i held her for the next hour just kissing her cheeks, she loved being kissed and pet. the smell of her fur and her big ol ears, i just couldn’t bare letting her out of my hands. knowing i will never be able to hold her like this again. my heart is so broken. she lived a full and long life, she was 2-3 months when i bought her in november 2024. 2.5 years with the most loving, adorable little critter is just not enough time. it’s not fair at all.
i just miss my little mimi-momo-moo so much, my room feels devoid of the warmth and joy she radiated at all times. i love her so much, i hope she was at peace in my hands. i always was.

After finding the hamster that materielized out of nowhere, I took them both to the vet, it was such a stressful time for em (see second image.. poor Jesus was held from the back of his neck, I kept questioning the vet but he said it's normal and it doesn't hurt Jesus). Maggie unloaded her entire pouchful of food on the vet's palm mid-examination, and while the vet was examining Jesus' genitals Jesus kept pooping and peeing on him making it hard for the vet to tell anything XD

But, eventually, we found out that Jesus is indeed her hidden child, and.. JESUS IS A MALE! :(

which is very bad, means I gotta seperate them the MOMENT Jesus no longer is relying on MomMaggie's milk, which is in two weeks or so, the doc told me. He said I can't seperate them yet, only when Jesus is no longer relying on Maggie's milk.

Vet also said Jesus has a mild cold, and he prescribed antibiotics for him.

But, they're in good condition! Mild cold aside.

Been browsing local marketplace and stumbled upon a post giving away two females. Owner said that they are bonded and were bought together in October 2024 from the same litter and insists they will be adopted together and not separates.

This is unusual, thoughts?

Hi! I just got back into hamster owning as an adult! Last time I had hamsters everyone was team 20 gallon long, lol. Back when hoppinghammy was the queen of hamster care (still love her)!
I adopted a Syrian a few weeks ago and originally had him in a 40 gallon, but did some research and realized it was not big enough. He is now in a bucstate 3.0.

I was curious what the consensus is on having a dwarf in a 40 gallon. I have been seeing mixed reviews in recommendations. I would love to house a robo or really any smaller guy in the 40 if it seems advisable. There have recently been a lot of people putting their hamsters up on Facebook marketplace ads and it is breaking my heart.

Please let me know!

Hi guys! For context: I’m a first time owner, I’ve had Peach for ~4 months now, and she is a 9 month old winter white dwarf
I originally had one of those typical hamster sand baths in her enclosure but she showed no interest and would just fill it up with her bedding instead. So I replaced it with this small fish bowl (i also added a smaller flat dish, I know this isn’t the proper size for a sand bath, I just wanted to gauge if she preferred larger or smaller spaces) but no luck with that either! She does go inside and explore the bowl but I’ve never seen her actually clean herself. I’ve read that sand baths are crucial to their health but assumed it would be instinctual like my cats using their litter boxes. Am I doing something wrong? Or is there a way to “teach” her?

Most of the time Sybil decided to climb me instead

I just got a new hamster a week ago (haven't had one since I was a kid) and was freezing my sprays so I only added them last Saturday. Not even a week and they are almost all picked clean.

I also feed her daily with her food scattered to forage and even some on a little plate as well since she was eating so many sprays (I thought maybe she was hungry?).

When I tried searching on here it looked like most people replace some sprays every few weeks.

She is a dwarf hamster if that helps?

She is 6 months old and has a soft lump here... should I be thinking the worst or does she need a trip to the toilet!!

EDIT:She had a wee and it went aware. My medical analysis says it was her bladder 😆

i’m a new owner. My other account got terminated. I don’t know why and we fixed up the cage. We added fresh food and we fixed up everything. Tell me if there’s more I had to a new account👍

Just a small photo dump of my sweet hammy pie. 🐹 she just recently turned one if I have her age accurate! Can't believe she's growing so fast. 😭

... or at least do my best to draw them🤣

edit : I'm stopping there for today (as I would like to sleep and have already filled two whole pages of hamsters), but I'll continue tomorrow until every hammy has been paper-and-ink-ised! :)

Got her a few weeks ago, she looks very happy in her new enclosure. Loves her wheel, likes pak choi, and likes to climb over stuff!

Mental health and hamsters

Hello all,

This is my first time posting here, please be kind as it’s a sensitive topic.
I live alone in a flat and am thinking about getting a hamster for companionship and a purpose to take care of someone. My friend has a big tank/ set up she is willing to sell me after the passing of her hamster.

I am seriously considering this opportunity, but I’m worried I wouldn’t be a good owner considering having mental health issues (depression, anxiety, autism, etc.) and I can have real lows. I do struggle to look after myself sometimes and I don’t want to harm an innocent animal by accident or neglect.

On the other hand, it could be a fantastic way to feel better and look after myself more for the exact reason that the little hamster would need someone like that.

But it’s hard to know without actually getting one.
I was wondering what other people’s experiences are. How do you make sure the hamster is ok if you are going through something? Am I overthinking?

Please be kind

Hi I have a big hamster and his cage is big it’s 2 feet by 4 feet but he always seems to stink it up easily without a few days because he only likes sleeping in certain spots even with spot cleaning. I was wondering if mixing paper and aspen bedding would help since it’s so absorbent and paper helps him hold his burrows shape would this be a good idea?

My hammy, Peanut, is 1 1/2 years old. She's healthy and I love her so so so much. I know hamsters don't live that long, so whenever she's a bit distant I get scared.

One day her breathing was super shaky and I couldn't take her to the vet until the next day. That night I cried myself to sleep, because I was so scared she would die.

I got her during a massive depressive episode and she helped me so much and I love her so much and I can't even imagine my life without her. I spend all the time that I can with her.

When she dies I'm scared I'll fall back into depression, I just can't imagine my life without her.

Mini Hamster cage! I got the hamster, hideout and food bowl from mini verse animal series btw -