To let my hamster be a house hamster?

[DifficultSituation19]

I rescued a hamster about 4 months ago who had had a pretty shit life up until then (she was about 8 months old when I got her).

She had never really been handled, but is now super tame and friendly. Her (very large) cage is on the floor of the living room, and since she’s become tamer I’ve been just opening the door of the cage and letting her free roam around the living room every evening, usually for 3-4 hours, sometimes longer. When she’s tired she gets back in her cage and puts herself back to bed.

Last night I was —three sheets to the wind— tired, and fell asleep while she was having her run around. This morning, when I went downstairs, she wasn’t in her house. No sign of her all day, but this evening she woke up and has been running around as normal, popping back into her cage every now and again for food and drinks or a quick run on her wheel.

I closed her cage door at about 10.30, and her little face broke my heart! She just sat at the door of her cage looking very sad indeed. She’s now out running around again. So I’m thinking, people have house rabbits, how about a house hamster? I’d keep her confined to the living room and she’d have the option of being in her cage if she wanted to be there (and I’d obviously put all her food in there).

Is this a bonkers idea? She has a sand bath, soil, deep substrate, and more toys and treats than you can shake a stick at in her cage, but she’d far rather not be in there. We don’t have any other pets that could munch her, and the dc are well trained at keeping the doors closed.

Aah that's so cute.
I too can't wait to see Peanut in her your Sylvanian house.

Thanks DifficultSituation19 I’ve googled and now set up an alert on Gumtree and EBay!

I had an escape artist hamster as a teenager, and another that used to get behind a fitted wardrobe and make a nest. Every night I had to remove all the shelves and books and other crap on it to retrieve her... wondering now why I didn’t just block it up!! She looked a lot like Peanut actually.

This is the best thread ever 😁 we just got a dwarf hamster last week but he hisses all the time! Any tips to make him like me?

I will do my best to get a Peanut/Sylvanian photo for you all.

@Mummyoftwo91 I only had 2 dwarves a long time ago and I found them to be a bit shit compared to Syrians. Like my mum says, they’re basically mice without tails. They move very fast and they’re tiny so it’s hard to catch the buggers . However, people do successfully tame them, the same as Syrians applies. Spend lots of time sitting by their cage and talking to them so they get used to your voice. Offer them treats from your hand. You can put something with your scent in their cage, maybe put a tissue in your bed overnight then put it in their cage. And do the bathtub taming method, get them to climb into some kind of receptacle then carry them to the bath tub and sit in there (empty!) with them. If you do that every night, they will gradually realise you’re not terrifying after all. Just let them come up to you on their terms at first and you can build up to picking them up. Taming prey animals does take a bit of time!

Peanut at the beauty parlour . Bit of a rubbish pic...she moves too fast.

Bless her, Peanut looks like she's holding her hands out so her nail polish can dry after her manicure
I've have never seen (well apart from my own pet obviously) such a photogenic animal who can strike a pose!
Peanut is even smiling!
Right time for me to go to bed before I start talking even more hamsterish!

Peanut for scale

Oh my goodness that picture is adorable!

Can anyone give me some advice on getting a hamster please? I'm not actually looking to get one yet as we don't have the room, but I've had mainly pet shop ones before or I did have one from a breeder but I think I found them on pets 4 homes, which I realise now probably isn't the best way to go about it.

What sort of sites etc would be good to check out for a hamster that's been reared well and handled?

Ah what a cute hamster!

We had a house hamster growing up (it learnt how to tip its cage up and loosen the door to get out so at night but would return the next morning, so we ended up just leaving the cage open for him), and we had no problems, it didn’t chew the wires, it would just wonder around and hide in the corners of the room if it wanted peace.

However looking at the pic of peanut in the cage, the cage dyes look much too small for him, so it might be best to get a bigger one.

This thread is making me want a hamster 😍 DH would kill me, we've already agreed to have a break from rats when ours pass on!

I'm sorry but that is the cutest hamster I've ever seen!

@DifficultSituation19 seriously this whole thread has warmed my heart!
If I was a hamster. I'd certainly want you to be my owner

@clarissa469 she is rather nice I must admit .

@coffeeturner if you join the hamsters U.K. Facebook group that’s a great place to ask about reputable breeders in your area. Genetics and health are likely to be a lot better. If you struggle to find one, there’s a lot of hamsters out there needing a good home in rescues (every pets at home store has an adoption bit, and there are other small animal rescue places all over the place). By getting a rescue you’re not supporting the rodent mills used to breed hamsters for all the big pet stores, their treatment of animals is horrific and the hamsters are often prone to health problems due to poor breeding. Peanut and Sasquatch both came from a pets at home adoption place as they were no longer wanted by their previous owners, and they’d both been waiting for a home for a long time before I took them. They’re lovely friendly hamsters 🐹.

@clarissa469 aww thanks 🥰. They’re such lovely little things and giving them a nice life makes me happy.

I. Love. Your. Hamster. 🐹

DifficultSituation19
Thank you for the information on the eco habitat. Looks like the perfect size. I hope she’s happy in it

coffeeturner
I’d also recommend the adoption section at PetsatHome. But not until you are ready to get one & also get the cage and accessories first (Zooplus is good). It’s hard to walk past and not want to take them all home. Such tiny, inadequate glass tanks

😍😍😍

I love her

I have never loved a hamster more

Oh wow what a way to start the day, with her stood out on the porch having a good nosy saying good morning to her fans. @DifficultSituation19 she def needs her own Instagram account 😂 super cutie

@clarissa469 she has one! Peanuthamstar

@DifficultSituation19 follow coming up 😂👏🏻🥰

How's lil 'nut today @DifficultSituation19?

@iklboo she’s grand thanks, happy behind the bookshelves at the moment.

The new cage for Rose/Sasquatch is up and running and I am slightly mourning the loss of my kitchen but she seems very happy so that’s the main thing.

We once took our caged hamsters to a holiday let. One grabbed the curtains through cage and chewed a massive hole. My mum is very handy and hemmed 4 inches off the bottom!