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.

@DifficultSituation19

Just wanted to say that as a vet I usually see the thin end of the wedge in terms of neglected children’s hamsters and your posts have cheered me enormously - so lovely that your hammies are living their best lives

Also at posters like @BestZebbie
@sohypnotic
@SarahMartin

Who have clearly not rtft or appreciated how much time and expertise you have but have decided to dip in to the end of a long running thread without bothering to consider the information already shared, because of course we’ll all benefit from their ‘valuable input’. Thanks so much guys - your posts have been SO valuable

Oh my 😂 does she have an Instagram account? I'd follow her 😂😂

What a lovely thread OP

I will forever associate Michael Jackson with Peanut the Hamstar.

I'm in hospital all this week and feeling shit so needed something nicest Please give Peanut a cuddle from me and tell him he made me smile!

I have a rescue hamster, apparently she was badly treated before I had her and even 9 months on, she is a very nervous timid little thing. She gets very stressed being out of the cage so I have to handle her little and often-too long and she gets very twitchy and jumpy and will retreat into the tubing of her cage and stay there. She's the most gorgeous little thing though and I really wish I could help her feel more safe and secure. She loves it when you come to see her but will not climb out of the cage, and gets really stressed if you try to scoop her out.

I wish my Lysander was placid enough to be a house hamster, she’s got a massive homemade cage/hutch instead. I’ve started using coffee chaff for the bedding and she absolutely loves it, so soft and mixed with other substrates hold tunnels very well.

@Veterinari thank you, that means a lot :)

@marellaspirit Peanut and Pudding were both very jumpy when I first got them. I’m aware this sounds bonkers (but I think the outing myself as bonkers ship has already sailed). What I’ve found helps to get them relaxed about being held is to hold them to your lips and gently breathe into their fur, i discovered this through giving them kisses . I’ve no idea why but it chills them out. I also appreciate not everyone wants to kiss hamsters so feel free to disregard

She is very cute and I understand how you feel, but your entire household is safer if she lives in her cage.

Dougal also has the Hamster Heaven! I've got rid of the little green house on the top though, as he was spending all of his time in it, being lazy and was never going into the actual cage for more than food & a quick drink! Even in the middle of the night

@QueenOfCatan sorry to hear about your rat. A hamster is an excellent idea though! Your cage should be at least 80x50cm, and any platforms should be solid rather than wire otherwise they can get bumblefoot. Miss Bitey lives in a rat cage which is 100x50 and also quite high, I put lots of hammocks in to break her fall if she does take a tumble off a platform.

@Shesalittlemadam Dougal is very cute 😍

@difficultsituation19 thank you, it's okay though, it's sad that they live short lives but we make sure that they have good ones, I'm sure you know how it can be with small furries and their lifespans! When they pass we are just happy that we got to spend the time with them.

Rats can get bumble foot too, we've had to deal with that before, with the one I posted up thread actually as he was disabled and would sleep where he weed and hated substrate so would push it away from him and sleep in a puddle then he'd get upset when we gave him regular baths.
I don't think our cage has as big a footprint as that, we've had one before with that but the bar spacing would be too big for a hamster I suspect. I'll definitely remember to double check dimensions if we went down that route though, small furries deserve the best after all

I thought I didn’t like hamsters, but now I realise I might after all! I remember my sisters childhood hamsters as being bitey and stinky. But the hammies here look positively cuddly.

The alaska cage is a decent budget option if anyone is looking for an upgrade, sells for around £30 on the zooplus website and they usually have a discount code if you google it. Meets the minimum size requirements, comes with a house and platform, really deep tray to get plenty of substrate in there, and has two doors for easy access.

Our hammy loves his. We use a mix of wood shavings, shredded paper, and shredded tissue. He has loads of tunnels in there and has built himself a nest rather than sleep in the little house. He uses the house to poop in which makes clean up easy at least. He has bridges, hammocks in case he falls off the bridges, a huge wheel, and (his favourite) a Wimzee dog chew to keep his teeth down. He's a bit cheeky and has started nipping DH when he holds him, he doesn't bite hard enough to break the skin and immediately let's go but he only does it to DH and nobody else. He doesnt struggle, doesn't appear stressed, and usually follows up on the nip by going to sleep in DH's hands or searching his sleeves for food so we're taking it as a sign of affection. DH is definitely his favourite, he runs to the door of the cage if he hears his voice.

@letthemyatwrybe ours were bitey fuckers too, I suspect a lot of it was the small cages that they were in and them being stressed and badly bred (all pet shop and often our 'males' turned out to be pregnant females!) given that even now pet shops tout such tiny cages for all rodents and other small furries still, I suspect that a lot of people with unsociable and bitey animals actually have a housing issue. And even then people will decide to go smaller even when told that it is bad for the animal with evidence. I had many arguments with people over that horrific 'cube' hamster 'cage' which was basically a bedside table that they put a couple of perspex panels onto

Sorry, the qute hamster cage

let most small caged animals will get stinky if the're most cleanedout regularly. hammies can be potty trained to use a corner, my have a dish with cat litter type stuff in it and it clumps together when wet, no nasty niffs.

The smaller the cage, the faster it stinks up too. I spot clean ours every day by scooping out his toilet corner, removing any obvious mess like half eaten fruit or veg, and putting in a handful of fresh substrate to replace what I've removed then it only needs a full clean (whole lot tipped out and cleaned) around once every 6 weeks or so

I have 2 free roam roborovski hamsters. They have a dedicated corner of one of the rooms which has no cables or danger spots.

I know this is a zombie thread but, I now have an image of Michael Jackson reincarnated as a hamster.