to be counting down the days until our hamster dies?

[SnuggMugg]

Just that really. 30 weeks pregnant and irritable. I hate our hamster. Is smells after a day. It makes a massive racket on its wheel. It has a horrid ugly cage. I feel guilty knowing it can't run around like a wild hamster should/would. It's just annoying and pointless. Hardly ever gets played with by DD. Am I a vile human being to have had a fleeting thought re how nice it is going to be when hamster is no more and refusing to get another?

*sensing

I think everyone who just read that knows I'm right.

Sorry to break it to you but no.

You’re funny, OP.

May have been suggested before but can't you get one of those hamster balls it can run around in on your floor?

I agree they’d probably be happiest in the wild, but that probably goes for most pets. Dd really wanted guinea pigs but I have nowhere to keep them, so we compromised on a hamster. I bought the biggest cage I could possibly find, which takes two people to carry it down the stairs, and make sure he comes out for a good while every night, and has a constant supply of interesting toys in his cage and different things to eat. If I’m honest, despite all that, I do still feel bad that he lives in a cage, but his life is as un-miserable as it could be for a pet hamster.

Have you got enough bedding/sawdust in and is it absorbing enough? We clean ours once per week and no smell!

Does it still get out and about? We have a tiny playpen and the kids build things out of loo roll tubes for it to run though. They also just love a trip along the sofa picking up crumbs.

There are specialist hamster rescue people or at least small animal, have you managed to find any of those?

Try a flying saucer in place of the wheel if it's noisy.

sub I think we both know you don't find me funny... apologies for @ ing you too much!

I agree blueberry but I also think they don't know any different and will thrive in an environment where they can explore and run around. I also think they're probably the worst sort of pet for a small child. They're timid, they're prey animals, they bite (and it **ing hurts!) and then they're inevitably dumped. Why anyone would think they're a good pet for kids I do not know. I don't think you'll be cruel to the hamster, OP, but as an animal rescuer who has picked up pieces left by people who buy one then want rid, for decades now, it smarts a bit when I read shit like this. The animal is the responsibility of whom owns them, and I love hamsters for many reasons but they're not simple creatures-they need the right care, stimulation and patience. I stand by my offer of helping to find a new home. I don't understand the 'smell' thing, either. I ran a rodent rescue centre for many reasons and hamsters were the least smelly rodents I ever had.

Wow I’ve stumbled into a bizarre mumsnet hamster loving world. OP you sound lovely and are getting a fair amount of bonkers undeserved grief. YANBU and I hope hammy has moved to a better place before baby arrives

SnuggMugg Don't torture yourself. Parents the world over are fed up to the back teeth of having to feed and nurture and clean up after a hamster that they had very little say in the acquisition of (Grammar?)

I can see your thread title was darkly tongue in cheek.
Don't get another hamster. And draw the line at a Guinea Pig.
They have bigger teeth.

Eh, I don't think you're a monster for not enjoying the hamster and venting by looking forward to a time when you no longer have to care for it (especially considering that you didn't even get a say in whether to get it to begin with).

They do tend to get stinky, and yes, they can be noisy, too. For most people, they're not much of a pet. (Apologies to those who love their hamsters dearly; there are of course exceptions.)

Sorry to break it to you but no

It's actually unarguable. It's fact.

Your hamster needs a bigger cage 😑Does it have a tube, so could be connected to a second cage? Alternatively, see picture for amazing Ikea Detolf hamster home...

bea I still think that's tiny. Ours is small too but our house is minuscule also. We really need to rehome.

I loved our wee girl and still miss her terribly. She would beg to go in her ball and be very pissed off when we made her take time out in her playroom! She’d be as annoying as possible until we put the ball back in her playroom and she’d run right into it.

However, we know we were incredibly lucky with her, she was curious, funny, loved being on us/held, a proper little character.

Only very occasionally she STANK, really, really, bad...vets/pet shop/hamster owning friends etc all said they’d never, ever, smelt anything SO rank.

...but I really don’t want to get another one as it’s nice not having the hassle of cleaning out, getting holiday care, making sure they’re getting enough exercise & attention etc. And it wouldn’t be her. If I could have her back I’d do it in a heartbeat.

I can understand why you feel the way you do & I’d threaten Dp with a slow, painful, hideous death should he ever bring another animal home....and I’d make him clean her out.

If its on woodshavings, then they really don't help with the smell. I use Carefresh (available from Pets at Home). Seems very pricey at first, but last way longer, is softer and looks nicer.

Also the diet really affects the smell too. A good quality hamster muesli or pellets and no treats might help.

I do still feel bad that he lives in a cage, but his life is as un-miserable as it could be for a pet hamster

That's as may be. But he didn't choose to be a pet hamster.
He'd live his life more naturally and more happily in the wild.
But I understand the pressure from children who really want a hamster or a guinea pig and it's easier to just give in and get it over with. My children thought I was a wicked cruel mother because I wouldn't let them have one. Still. They seem to have got over it.

Smuggmugg, sorry I thought you meant one of those really tiny cages. I completely agree, any cage is too small for a wild animal, some of the rabbit cages I see for sale break my heart.

Bigger cage and re home ASAP.

I

tworoundsofwaterplease

It's just clicked where your username comes from

Omg sorry op but this has given me a good laugh, I had no idea there were people quite so, er, invested in pet welfare as to believe that you must not even think impure thoughts about them. . It's. a. hamster. It does not know or care if you call it a pain in the arse. Personally I'm very fond of ours, but I'm not so deluded as to believe he feels similarly, what with the being 4 inches long and having a brain the size of a hazelnut. He'll certainly stay and be stroked, but wouldn't you if you had sunflower seeds and a little back massage on tap?

frog I did apologise for my terribly cruel and impure thoughts 🙈

Your attitude towards animals is sick. Please think about What can of example are you setting for your children.

I really wish that we had pet licenses to stop people like you from having pets.

I hope the hamster accepted the apology graciously, they have long memories. Oh no, wait, that's elephants.

It's actually unarguable. It's fact.

No, a fact is verifiable. What you said is your opinion. Amazed that needs explaining!