3 replies to this topic

[hamsterlover101041]

Hello! I am hamsterlover101041, and am still in school. I had a gerbil before, but it died in only one month, so I am doing a lot of research before I get a new hamster, if my parents let me!😛 It would be really helpful for some good tips! Thank you!

[UnicornAdventurer]

Hey, Welcome to the forum!

I hope your parents let you! & I'm saddened to hear about what happened to your Gerbil(s?).

Although, I am new to owning a hamster or really any pet besides my care for a fish when I was younger; I will say that having a pet hamster is pretty different than what I had expected. I'm not saying it is bad but rather different than what I had imagined. I didn't play my money cards right when I went shopping and ended up with more hideouts and only two toys. I also didn't buy any treats but too many chew toys. I also found that I became unsatisfied with my setups and was wondering why it looked off. It was mainly because I barely had any supplies. On the other hand, I made some better decisions like with the wheel and food. Just expect to spend a lot of money. (I also just upgraded my hams cage) Don't be scared off of this, this is normal you have to find out what your ham likes.

Another piece of advice, ***never*** get a barred cage for a hamster. Sorry if that sounds so weird or dumb, but I have just grown to not like them. Despite how easy the wire meshing process seems, it took me forever and I had all the right tools and materials but it took me a very restless amount of time. Not being able to fill up bedding after a certain amount, the sloping of the bottom bin and imo the overall look of the cage make their price not worth it. Bar biting and bar climbing two big things my ham did. Luckily I was able to upgrade her from the barred 700sq inch cage to a 1,250 sq inch, which I still am not satisfied with the set up. (Note: she is a female Syrian)

I wish you the best on your pet hamster journey and life in general <3

Edited by UnicornAdventurer, 21 April 2018 - 05:20 PM.

[Hamstagram]

Welcome! I love your profile picture by the way!

 

I hope you can convince your parents to let you have a hamster. There are also some youtube videos out there that can help prepare you to persuade your parents to let you have a hamster!

I've only have my hamster for less than a month so I don't know every single thing (which is why I joined the forum!)

I think an important thing to keep in mind is to have a good idea of what species of hamster you want so you can buy the goods based on that hamster.

I knew that deep down I wanted my first hamster to be a dwarf so I wanted to buy supplies based on that. She's happy with many of the things I bought her (not the chew toys, I found out that she's not a big chewer) and she is content with her cage. However, I do now consider having a Syrian in the sort of distant future which will mean buying more supplies and a bigger tank/cage to accommodate for that.

Definitely keep in mind about the maladies that hamsters may get like diabetes and wet tail. Health checks are very important!I would also have a hundred dollars saved up in case an emergency happened to my hamster and I need to get her to a vet.

[RoboRosie44]

Welcome!

 

You came to the right place! Lots of nice and knowledgeable people here, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting info!