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Original poster

Do hamsters really like going in hamster balls?

26 replies

StrawberryMartini · 27/10/2007 20:28

Hamish has just had his second go in his and pooed and wee'd (sp?) and looked slightly stressed. He had a good runabout but it seemed like he was trying to run out of it poor thing!

Do they get used to them? How do you tell if they are happy in them?

OP posts:
southeastastra · 27/10/2007 20:29

ours always looked desperate to escape in it. it kept him fit though so he had to suffer to be healthy

UnionJack · 27/10/2007 20:29

I think I would poo and wee if I was forced to hare about in a giant perspex ball. Was he smiling while he was running?

UnionJack · 27/10/2007 20:30

Great name for a hamster btw

RustyBear · 27/10/2007 20:30

Well, one of mine just used to sit & chew the carpet through the ventilation holes, so I guessed he didn't like it much!

peggotty · 27/10/2007 20:32

They look like the hamster equivalent of a torture chamber to me!! Saying that I did used to put my hamsters in them when I was a child. My nephews' hamster is said to 'love' his and scrambles to get into it . Probably better to try and hamster-proof a room or area of a room and let him roam free!!

MrsLynetteScavo · 27/10/2007 20:33

Indeed, how do you tell if a hamster is happy? I'm pretty sure they don't like it when they crash into the wall. Maybe Hamish felt so relaxed & at home in his ball, that he was able to poop?

goingfor3 · 27/10/2007 20:37

I think my hamster likes it. We open the door on the side of his cage and hold the opening of the ball against it and he leaps into it.

DarthVader · 27/10/2007 20:44

I think they are more about entertaining the humans really!

Original poster
StrawberryMartini · 27/10/2007 20:46

Yes it's slightly amusing when he bumps into the wall and staggers slightly.

OP posts:
MrsLynetteScavo · 27/10/2007 20:52

StrawberyyMartini, are you the type of person who puts a hamster on top of a warm stroage heater, to watch it dance?

Original poster
StrawberryMartini · 27/10/2007 20:53
Grin
OP posts:
themildmanneredaxemurderer · 27/10/2007 20:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

dd666 · 27/10/2007 20:55

my hamster loveed his ball, died in it too was only young

lomondgore · 27/10/2007 20:55

I think our hamster likes his, he crawls into it on his own and has a good run around. You can tell when he has had enough as he just sits still.

Original poster
StrawberryMartini · 27/10/2007 20:56

Ooh thanks for that. It didn't say that in my 'How to Care for Your Hamster' book (it said they were a good idea) but he looked so pooped (literally) that I may just let him use his wheel in the cage.

OP posts:
Original poster
StrawberryMartini · 27/10/2007 20:57

That was for axemurderer.

dd666 why did he die?

OP posts:
dd666 · 27/10/2007 21:01

dont have a clue my he'd only just been put in he was left to run until he sat still one day he was stil picked up ball to pop him back in the cage and he fell over he was dead. he wasnt even a year old

themildmanneredaxemurderer · 27/10/2007 21:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

vampirebatzooki · 28/10/2007 15:04

Slight thread hijack - but has anyone tried one of these hamster 'toilets' that are available - and did it actually get used??

lomondgore · 28/10/2007 15:18

I have seen them but don't have one. Archie (our hamster ) tends to go in one corner of his cage anyway.

NAB3 · 28/10/2007 15:18

I use one to put the hamsters in somewhere safe while I clean out their cages. If they aren't recommended, can anyone rec something else I could use?

lomondgore · 28/10/2007 15:32

My local pet shop has small pet carriers a bit like the ones you get for cats only they smaller. I suppose it would do while you cleaned the cage out though I would still go for the ball as my hamster likes it.

www.pet-bliss.com/acatalog/Hamster_Carriers.html

NAB3 · 28/10/2007 15:37

My new hamster is very energetic and goes really fast on his wheel in his cage but I am wondering now whether the balls are cruel. The baby hamsters go in together and The other one on his own.

LittleB · 29/10/2007 09:45

Ours used to use a ball and seemed to like it but we'd only put him in for a few minutes at a time. You can use a jam jar as a hamster toilet, just put a bit of the dirty bedding in it and pop it in the cage and the hammie should soon get the hang of using it, never heard of a hamster toilet but jam jars work just fine!

chopsterHeadsOffEverybody · 29/10/2007 09:50

dunno about hamster toilets but mine used to jsut use the little house that was their bed. They'd yank all the bedding out and make their nest elsewhere and use the house as the toilet.

As for the balls, try it and see. If the hamster doesn't like it he won't go in it without a fight. my hamsters liked it, but the rat never did (when he was small enough to go on). He spread eagled himself across the opening and resisted! So he was allowed to run around on his own, he'd come back to the cage when he had enough. Not sure hamsters will do that though! I used an old washing up bowl for them.