335 replies to this topic

[SS710]

not just hamsters but I think no exotic animals should be pets. Dogs are fine as pets, cats I think should not be pets either. Funny thing is I like cats more than dogs. Cats cause a lot of problems, they get into the wild reproduce and kill tons of natural wildlife. They knock off the balance of nature and ive read they had badly impacted some places. That is also due to owners allowing it and people having "outdoor" cats. thats but another thing.

 

I think no person is really capable of giving "exotic" animals proper care. We may think its good or whatever but at the end of the day even our best care is nothing compared to the wild and how they should be living

(so I agree with the OP's opinion) 

 

 

For the other I don't like drawfs. I think thyer feet looks weird. They are big and look out of place. I have only held a dwarf once irl and it had huge feet. I just like syrains. due to the size. id love a hammy the size of a GP lol

[rose1618]

not just hamsters but I think no exotic animals should be pets. Dogs are fine as pets, cats I think should not be pets either. Funny thing is I like cats more than dogs. Cats cause a lot of problems, they get into the wild reproduce and kill tons of natural wildlife. They knock off the balance of nature and ive read they had badly impacted some places. That is also due to owners allowing it and people having "outdoor" cats. thats but another thing.

 

I think no person is really capable of giving "exotic" animals proper care. We may think its good or whatever but at the end of the day even our best care is nothing compared to the wild and how they should be living

(so I agree with the OP's opinion) 

 

 

For the other I don't like drawfs. I think thyer feet looks weird. They are big and look out of place. I have only held a dwarf once irl and it had huge feet. I just like syrains. due to the size. id love a hammy the size of a GP lol

Ya I 100% agree with the no exotic animals as pets thing. Pretty much read my mind

[mlel~]

I think that dwarfs are cuter than syrians

[berryy]

no- syrians are adorable. I just like bigger-small animals.

[gory]

I think that dwarfs are cuter than syrians

KJIHUYGT I WAS JUST ABOUT TO SAY THAT LOL

But ya I agree, I like dwarves because they're smaller and compared to dwarves syrians have bigger ears which makes their eyes look smaller. Oh and when dwarves hunch over to eat they look like a small lil ball! 

[TrixieTheHam]

Hmmmmm my serious one is kind of like others: I think if it’s a last resort it’s ok to get a hammy from a pet shop, I know by buying one you support rodent mills but you are still getting one little life out of a bad situation and into a loving home no matter where they were bred.

Silly one: Dwarfs have the most BOOPABLE noses ever ))

Edit: So I read through my answer again and I realised it didn’t come off how I meant it too or how I feel, I worded it to sound as if I support rodent mills/ big chain pet stores, I don’t. I never have and never will get my pets from a pet store that supports rodent mills, we have a dog that we regimes from a charity that had taken her out of an abusive puppy farm/mill and I have seen first-hand the problems it can leave an animal with (with a little TLC she is a very happy girl now btw). I just know that some find it hard to rescue a hammy or buy from an ethical breeder and if this is the case then I would encourage you to shop around for small family run pet stores or just somewhere that isn’t a big brand. Or alternatively look on Craigslist/Kijiji or Pets4Homes if you are in the UK. I didn’t want to advocate getting your hamster from a pet shop #AdoptDontShop but I just didn’t want people who did to feel bad as everyone makes mistakes!

My second opinion is not negotiable, BOOP!

Edited by TrixieTheHam, 30 November 2020 - 03:47 AM.

[partyowl~]

Robos are the CUTEST!

 

 

EDIT: Wait, this isn't unpopular lol

Edited by ~PartyOwl~, 29 November 2020 - 09:17 PM.

[♥ brie ♥]

unpopular opinion even though a few people mentioned it but i refuse to own syrians. i don’t like the idea that they’ll never be happy with the space provided and personally i don’t like that many people get them as a “beginner hamster” when i think syrians are far from a beginner hamster. i’ve also noticed syrians in particular have very very bad health profiles and i feel much more comfortable owning dwarfs

[Robin~]

You can get a syrian and put them in a cage under 1000sq in. It's completely ok provided the owner understands most syrians will not be happy in a cage that size and are willing to upgrade if need be. Sure, you can't exactly fit a lot in a cage under that size and I don't think I'd feel comfortable with doing it myself, but I think an open mind is really what matters here. Some people just like learning things the hard way through hard-earned experience and if that helps them understand the importance of larger cages more power to them. This could also be applied to dwarfs I suppose--if someone wants to put their dwarf in a 20g, go right ahead, but be prepared for that dwarf potentially becoming aggressive and dedicated solely to escape attempts.

I guess this kind of leads into my point of "minimums should not be heavily used other than to discourage the use of pet shop cages like CritterTrails, you know, the reason why a minimum was created to begin with", but that's for another day lol.

[Pippapotamus]

I guess this isn't all that popular of an opinion given the amount supporting pet shops in unpopular opinions lol: 

 

Buying a hamster from a pet store is not saving it. It is not rescuing. It is contributing to the pockets of pet mills and increasing the numbers that will be further bred. The mindset of 'purchasing is saving a life too' is only to justify bad decision making and impatience. Everyone with a mill pet (especially those who bought $3,000+ puppy mill purebred dogs-- instead of shelling that out for a legit breeder or spending under $100 for a shelter rescue-- honestly those are the worst of the mill pet owners) seem to have that mindset. If you buy it from a store it is not a rescue, regardless of the condition that it is in. You are not saving it, you are contributing to the epidemic. 

 

People can do what they wish, but they shouldn't justify their decision making with a 'saving' or 'rescuing' mindsets because it is not. It is contributing the epidemic. 

 

*this is not including stores that partner with rescues and adopt out actual rescue animals-- for example my local PetSmart cares for rescue cats in need of homes partnering with our county shelter and will facilitate adoptions through it's store. 

 

**the only time you are saving a mill pet is when the government steps in shuts them down for gross negligence/animal cruelty/hoarding situations and a rescue steps in. At that point the animal is a rescue. 

 

 

Second unpopular opinion: 

Cage cleaning is not that stressful. People talk it up as being the most stressful thing in the world, but in my experience (at least with my two russian dwarves) they hardly notice as long as I have some of their old bedding and toys incorporated. The concept of keeping all of that bedding is for the sake of you wallet more than your hamster, especially in massive enclosures (which is totally fine and legitimate-- but I don't think the idea of near full-cage cleans should be portrayed as stressful/agitating, but rather a money saving tip). 

 

 

Third unpopular opinion: 

The Silent Runners wheels suck (I own them in both sizes and hate them both because they are pains in the butt to clean and reassemble and they get squeaky and I had to buy a different bolt/nut thing to secure it because the one that comes with it tilt down (the butterfly shaped one)-- for the price the hassle is not worth it), and I don't know why people always suggest them and Wodent wheels above Carolina Storm Express wheels (at least to anyone who lives in America where the CSE is available). The Carolina Storm Express wheel is by far the best hamster wheel I've tried (I'm debating trying the Niteangel wheel-- but I own five wheels and only two hamsters so I feel like at this point I would be wasting my money unless I find it second hand, lol).

[Po~The~mini~Panda]

here are minee <3

serious: I get why everyone says to #adoptdontshop, and i obviously support that. However, I think if there aren’t any breeders/hamsters up for adoption near you, it should be okay, and even encouraged, to buy from a pet store such as pet smart. This is because, after waiting for a while, ofc, and not finding and hamsters for adoption near you, wouldn’t it be a good thing to at least give a hamster a good life?
Ik how its supporting pet smart and all but I think the animal’s life is what matters, and not really whether you’re supporting some store or not.

less serious one: HOW DO ROBOS MOVE SO FAST ROBOS CAN MOVE AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT AND NO ONE CAN TELL ME OTHERWISE

Okay, I’m gonna try to keep this respectful, and if anyone, ANYONE, thinks it’s even a bit rude, please tell me, I’ll delete it

Anyways, I think that if there are absolutely NO shelters within about 30-40 minutes of you, and nobody trying to rehome nearby either, then you shouldn’t get a hamster. The reason I think this is that, while yes, you are given that hamster a much better life, you’re just opening another which will soon be filled in by another mill hamster, so it’s kind of in vein, you’re trading multiple other hamsters well-being for the one that you buy.

I’ll also say that I do think informing the gp (general public) on hamster care is more important then shutting down rodent mills, at least for now, but I just think that it’s best never To support them anyways, in any situation*

*I mean, if you see a hamster that’s severely ill up for sale I’d say it’s definitely a good idea to save it, if you’re in a position where you can afford that and have the time, but in general you shouldn’t support rodent mills

[~V1]

Tbh, the main problem with hamster care is impulse buying -  which is driven from the fact any random kid can drag their parent into the pet store and throw a tantrum. But if hamsters weren't sold at stores, the amount of hamsters overall would decrease which isn't a bad thing IMO, and the number of neglected / badly cared for hamsters would decrease too, drastically. So by shutting down mills, you are solving about 95% of the problem we have, the fact that people on the spot spend 200$ on a cage and stuff, thinking that's all they'll ever need to pay, only to find out the hamster needs more but they aren't willing to because they already spent an outrageous amount on unsafe supplies. So, stopping mills is WAY more important IMO than educating people. 

 

Also, what's the difference between getting a healthy to getting a sick hamster? If you are already getting from a store, why not get one that'll survive? I see no difference between getting a healthy hamster from a pet-store only to be replaced by a healthy one, and getting a sick hamster that'll be replaced by a sick one... 

Edited by ~V1, 01 December 2020 - 03:05 PM.

[AnnaHeartsHamsters]

Tbh, the main problem with hamster care is impulse buying -  which is driven from the fact any random kid can drag their parent into the pet store and throw a tantrum. But if hamsters weren't sold at stores, the amount of hamsters overall would decrease, which isn't a bad thing IMO, and the number of neglected / badly cared for hamsters would decrease too, drastically. So by shutting down mills, you are solving about 95% of the problem we have, the fact that people on the spot spend 200$ on a cage and stuff, thinking that's all they'll ever need to pay, only to find out the hamster needs more but they aren't willing to because they already spent an outrageous amount on unsafe supplies. So, stopping mills is WAY more important IMO than educating people. 

Definitely!

 

The reason people get hamsters on impulse is because of how easy the pet store makes it. By shutting down mills, we take away that element of simplicity and when it isn't done as impulsively people will most likely start educating themselves more. It really is a cause and effect. It would be great to shut down mills for hamsters, not to mention all the other animals in rodent mills that could benefit from people doing some extra research before getting them. I wish people treated rodents and other little furries better 

Basically, I AGREE. 

[TrixieTheHam]

Tbh, the main problem with hamster care is impulse buying -  which is driven from the fact any random kid can drag their parent into the pet store and throw a tantrum. But if hamsters weren't sold at stores, the amount of hamsters overall would decrease which isn't a bad thing IMO, and the number of neglected / badly cared for hamsters would decrease too, drastically. So by shutting down mills, you are solving about 95% of the problem we have, the fact that people on the spot spend 200$ on a cage and stuff, thinking that's all they'll ever need to pay, only to find out the hamster needs more but they aren't willing to because they already spent an outrageous amount on unsafe supplies. So, stopping mills is WAY more important IMO than educating people. 

 

Also, what's the difference between getting a healthy to getting a sick hamster? If you are already getting from a store, why not get one that'll survive? I see no difference between getting a healthy hamster from a pet-store only to be replaced by a healthy one, and getting a sick hamster that'll be replaced by a sick one... 

 

it’s the same with supplies, if big brand pet stores didn’t advertise and promote such small cages then people wouldn’t think that’s normal, it’s sad that stores that claim to love animals sell products that can cause unhappiness, or in some cases injury/illness :(

Edited by TrixieTheHam, 02 December 2020 - 01:51 AM.

[~EquestrianHammy~]

I’m so surprised people aren’t trying to eat me for my post on here...