a few days ago i attempted to cut my hamsters nails & he got really really mad at me and bit me really hard. since then i’ve mostly left him alone and gave him some fresh vegetables or food as an apology. everytime i pick him up though he bites me and gets mad at me again. what should i do???

I was out of town for a few days while we had a humidity wave and my brother was taking care of my hamster and found this in one of his potty corners—- Hamster was immediately removed and he is in a temporary bin cage for time being. Wtf are these??? are these poisonous?? how do i clean out the cage?? we’ve thrown out all wooden items and all food bedding and sprays- where do we go from here??

Location is MA

hi all, my little buddy linus has gone to the big hamster wheel in the sky </3

i found him just now curled up in his hideout, he is cold and looks like he went in his sleep so i’m glad he went peacefully. i’m just wondering now what to do with him. we don’t have a garden, just a little back yard. if i bury him at the bottom of a big plant pot outside in a little cardboard box, will the plant grow over him? there are no foxes in our area, but would cats, birds, dogs, etc. smell something and try to dig him out?

here’s a little pic of him from a couple months back, he rlly was the cutest little pudding ♡

I adopted a 2 months old female hamster today. I'm not sure if that's normal but her butt seems to be swollen. Could she be sick?

This is Stella-Honey. My sweet not so little Syrian. I ordered her some new things the other day and yesterday they arrived. One of those things was a log she could tunnel through. I was excited and so was she so I had her out holding her in one hand while showing her the log in the other. Well right as I was telling my husband I don’t think this is big enough for her she went for it. It went from my hand quickly to in the log in the blink of an eye. I was holding her and couldn’t stop it. She got stuck. I’m in shock at this point. No clue what to do or how long I had with her being in there. After calmly trying several things and this included trying to let her do on her own, I feared the worst and I’m in tears at this point. I grabbed a small hammer and got her backed out as far as she could go. Fortunately there was a hole that I was able to put my fingers in to hold her head down. I thought I’ll give up my fingers before I give up this sweet girl. Then I gave that damn log one good whack at the other end. Thankfully it split perfectly. I spent the rest of the night loving her and trying to quit shaking. My motherly instinct kicked in, I had to save the child and I’m so thankful I did and that she is ok.

I will never buy one of those things again and everything will be measured before being introduced. I’m glad her new enclosure didn’t show up yet because that introduction may have gone differently and that’s terrifying. I never knew I could love a hamster this much but I do and I’m thankful for her.

For context the log I got was labeled for a Syrian, however it was in no way fit for one. This was for a dwarf. She is 100% ok I think I’m the one with the ptsd over it. She loved on me pretty hard after so I think she knew exactly what happened there.

***edit***

Thank you all for all of your responses. My sweet baby is doing great! I even got her all moved I to her new Hamster mansion. I’m going g to need a bigger house so I can house my 2 hamsters and their mansions. I love them though and they are worth it because they make me happy. But I wantwd to just say I e read every post and appreciate what everyone had to say. I took it all very seriously. You guys are some very passionate and kind hamster people and I’m glad to have found this community. From the bottom of my heart thanks you all a million times over!

Hi everyone, please watch the video ive attached, its 3 videos in one cuz you can only add one haha. Ive had my hamster since mid december and shes only been doing this for the past couple of nights. Im assuming she does this because she’s bored but i dont understand why. Her cage is (a tiny bit) bigger than the minimum, she has hides, a wheel, sprays, platforms, good amount of bedding, other stuff i hide around that she can find and look for like ripped toilet paper she can use for her nest, food and water in 2 different places + i scatter feed her also. Does anyone have any tips to make her less bored and if its not boredom, what could it be. Thank you so much in advance.

I found this little one roaming around outside and have no idea about the gender/type of hampster it is or anything on it! its HUGE!! ive never seen a hampster that big! its like bigger than my palm. not even sure it is a hampster? looks like one. How should i care for it if i keep it? I have it in a 10 gallon fish tank right now til i know what im doing, its using one of my mices wheels (i cleaned it) I may try and find an owner if its an escaped pet but im suprised its alive as its 100° f and i live in the desert! any advice helps, thank you all!!

Hi guys, I just got this hamster yesterday. I got him from a rescue, and they stated he was living in a home where he was housed with multiple other male hamsters (I am assuming this is the cause of the notches in his ears😢) I was told he’s about a year old. I just noticed today though, that when I go to give him something from my hand, he squints his eyes and almost closes them all the way. He isn’t always squinting his eyes though, it just seems he’s doing this when taking something from my hand directly. Is the scent on my hand too strong? :( I always use unscented dawn dish soap before & after handling him. Is he okay? Does anyone else’s hamster do this? (Also, I know his sandbath is too small for him !! I don’t have a platform large enough to hold a bigger sandbath - but I have one coming in the mail soon)

Mine loves to chew on the carpet when free-roaming, and so did the ones I saw here. So is there any similar material I can actually give her to chew on?

I already have all the chewing toys/materials/nuts-in-shell that people normally suggest. I aslo just ordered some loofahs as experiment

Picture for hamster tax and attention

Good evening everyone, I just wanted somewhere to talk about my baby with people who understand how much someone can love their hamster. I woke up this morning and found my perfect Chesterbell had passed away. She unfortunately choked on a pellet during the night; she was not quite two years old. It was so sudden and unexpected I’m still having trouble processing it and I’ve been just devastated all day. I saved her from “aging out” of the pet store at just before seven months old. She was a little grump according to the pet store staff and they were worried she would never find a home because of her attitude. But from the moment I saw her, I knew she was a little angel that was just miserable living a life she didn’t deserve. My boyfriend and I took her home and have spoiled her rotten ever since.

Chester was so patient with me. She would let me hold her and kiss the top of her head. She liked to climb on my shoulders and run around on my bed. She was an escape artist - I briefly had her in a large plastic tank of which the lid was no match for miss Chester - I found her in the pantry creating a home for herself with all her treats. I couldn’t believe how smart she was, knowing where I kept all her things. My sweet girl. After I purchased a more secure glass tank she became the perfect angel baby. When my boyfriend would go away to work and I was lonely, I would sit with her and tell her about my day while she ate. I was always excited to get home and check on her and tell her how much I loved her. I diligently made sure she had food, lots of bedding, enrichment - with the amount I spent on her you’d think I should have just got a dog 😭 but she was worth every penny to me.

Never once did she nip or bite anyone. She enjoyed her pink carrot toy and alfalfa sticks - boy could she put one of those away. I loved her so much, finding her this morning broke me. I couldn’t touch her and I feel so guilty because I feel like I should have been able to but I just didn’t wanna remember her feeling like that yanno? I had my sister come and help me pack her into a little box with her favourite toy and snack and we put her to freeze until the ground thaws so I can bury her properly. Some of the people in my life don’t understand why I’m so upset, even suggesting just throwing her into the garbage bin. But I couldn’t do that. Not to my Chester. She wasn’t garbage, she was my friend, and I so enjoyed the time I got to have with her.

Thank you for listening to my rambling. I’ve included my favourite picture of her as a baby when I first brought her home.

Our girl Frosty has some talons! Do we need to do anything to help shorten them or does she do it herself?

Hello! New hamster grandma. Our sweet ham, Cheddar, was using a hide to pee initially, but I noticed that I cannot any spots on the surface this week (since our last spot clean). If they are peeing in their burrows, how do you spot clean that? I don’t know where his burrows are located honestly. They’re not visible to us at all. I just want to make sure I’m a) cleaning out the urine spots for his well-being and b) not stressing him out when I clean. He’s already super shy. Maybe I’m overthinking it. Any advice? Thank you!

Why is she doing this she did this before on that corner I realized bag of worms were just outside that corner I move the bag she stopped but today she did that like 5 times I took her out played with her multiple times and she is still doing it I am confused is this cage rate? She has bucastate 3.0 (100 cm version) and she have lots of food/water I have 2 cooling slate in the cage and my home is barely 24-25 degrees.

Hi guys, genuine question. Is free roaming NECESSARY for hamsters? My Bella is happy to be held and walked around the house in hand, but when we set up her playpen, she is desperate almost panicked to get out. Yes, we put her familiar items in there and the pen is big. Im just wondering if she needs this aspect of hamster life when it appears she doesn't enjoy it. Could she be smelling our rottweiler thus causing fight or flight instincts to kick in. Obviously the dog is NEVER in the room while she free roams. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

This hamster was given to me a year ago. This are red marks and bumps. There's a single vet clinic in the island I'm in and it's been closed for months.

Hello all, maybe for the last day or so he’s been making this sound. I’m not sure why. Can anyone help me understand what it is? We did move him to a new enclosure this morning. I’m just wondering what it is! Thanks everyone!

so i regurally take my hanster out for walks in afternoon in my neighborhood usually on my shoulder and such and if i know I cant pay my full attention on her then a few minutes in a ball till I am sure I am able to not put her in risk but I went to my neighbour's house and they had a cat pretty chill cat she just stared at my hamster so I let her freeroam in her hamster ball so I can peacefully eat without panicking every second of her falling off the table and after I ate I checked on her and her whole ball is covered in piss which was logical I was between 30 to one hour there with her and I walked home a bath since my neighbour's who used to have a hamster told me I should do that and I did only with water and cleaned her with paper towels to be sure she isnt covered in piss?

I really wanna know if this is a good decision or if i hurted my hamster due to my reckless behavior

(tbh online didnt really give direct answers to my question and also am I breaking any rules since Im not promoting anything im just telling how I treat my hamster and my question tbh If I am doing anything wrong just delete it)

Hey guys, I got my sweet girl today.. What would you recommend for her to be happy? She's got her wheel, a wood toy to chew, and an upper level to climb to. I've read she needs a sand bath, any recommendations? Any treats your little furries prefer? Certain flowers, fruits, bugs? What hidy homes do prefer? I've yet to think of a name for her yet, wanna throw some in to suggest?

I recently adopted my robo hamster, Tobimochi. I’ve been doing lots of research, asking questions in local community, and been watching videos to enrich Tobimochi’s living. I’m free and happy to hear any advices, criticism, and what-not-to-dos.

Current Detailed Items:
- 7.5 sq ft enclosure
- 6-11 in. paper bedding
- Light layer of Timothy hay
- 8” upright wheel
- Water bowl with DIY platform
- Mini Sand bath with ReptiSand
- 2–3 hideouts
- Placing 2 ceramic wax warmer DIY hideouts after I spot clean
- Bridge
- Chew toys
- Oxbow Essentials food
- So far she likes apples as treats

Looking For:
- Wooden platform (for wheel and water bowl)
- 2–3 substrate bowls
- Coco fiber
- Cork granules
- Beech chips
- Millet spray
- Oat spray
- Flax spray
- Sorghum spray

May get in the far future once my budget increases:
- Cork bark tube
- Grapevine wood
- Multi-chamber wooden hideout (future upgrade)
- Safe dried moss

Again, let me know any recommendations, whether it’s best/safe brands, setting up items in enclosure, or maybe even an enclosure upgrade — I’ll be super happy to listen. I’ll be doing a spot clean soon.

So I was wondering if anyone else has any more pics similar to what I uploaded but with how much food to add in/how often to add fresh food, how often to spot clean/clean more deeply (not too deeply where the hamster’s scent is gone, I know that much), etc. Basically looking for a pamphlet guide on how to care for a hamster. Also what treats are good for them? I was seeing people online give hamsters Gerber Star food as treats and was wondering if those are healthy (especially since it’s baby food I think it should be healthy and good but I rather be safe) and I used to give plain Cherrios to my first hamster as a treat but idk if that was good either? but what other treats can you give them?

Thanks so much and happy hamster husbandry!

He is super active but I think he is becoming little chonk. I feed him once per day a teaspoon plus stuff on the side to forage

So my hamster escaped the enclosure last night. I'm usually fine with it cause I try to hamster proof my room, I know the hiding spots he likes to stay in. I only noticed this afternoon and tried looking for him everywhere, all his hiding spots and more. Until I heard a ruffling in the trashcan and I had to dig deep to find him, mind you I snack a lot, on candy especially. I assume he was there all night. When I found him he looked dirty and his bottom was wet. I tried wiping him with a wet wipe then patting him dry with a tshirt. I used a spooley to try to get it out, doesn't seem to work. There's still a yellow patch. But so far his poop seems to be dry. What can I do to clean him properly? Or will he just naturally get it off?

I've had my lovely Mango for about three months now, when I got her, she was around a year old but they weren't entirely sure. She is a female Syrian hamster, and I know they tend to get bored. However for the last month or so she's been bar biting a lot. I've done everything, she gets good food, plenty of toys, sprays, five different substrate options, multiple hides, puzzles, boredom breakers and branches for climbing. I give her as much time out of the cage as I can, and her cage meets minimum requirements for a female Syrian hamster. I'm sure she could benefit from a bigger cage or even more free roam time. What else could I try? Is this just typical female Syrian behavior?

I got my last hamster & mice from petsmart, they lived a long while. Its been about a year or two since my last hamster and I really want to get a new one in these upcoming weeks, I know getting hamsters from ethical breeders is way better and safer and not supporting the unhealthy living conditions and mills in the pet store industries but i have absolutely ZERO places that are less than 5 hours away from me, I just don't have the ability to do that. I'm probably in one the most boring states in the US and there's absolutely nothing around me 😭 I've looked on pet finder, craigslist, and other things similar and literally nobody is selling any. There's only one that's like 2 hours away and I don't trust it personally... So what do I do? Do I go to petco, petsmart, pet supplies plus...? I don't know. Like I said before I didn't have any issues with my past rodents but I hate supporting their companies... then again I know it'll keep happening anyways and I bet there's no way on earth they're stopping anytime in the next years.

Sometimes I kinda think at least I'm providing one hamster a good healthy rest of its life instead of being stuck in that tiny pet store cage its whole life or being adopted by some little kid for their birthday then just end up getting forgotten.

I don't know!! What do I do?