18 replies to this topic

[ajuniceuhamsters]

^^

Did you? 

I'm sure even if you haven''t, we all improve as time goes by!

 

 

Before I got my first fish in 2013, I didn't do any research. I was a young kid then, and my dad took the main care of them in their tiny tank.

Same goes for the rest of my fish.

It was in 2018ish when I started keeping fish ethically in a large enough tank with hides and substrate.

 

Wings was my past robo. She was the first pet that was mostly mine, and I did do a lot of research before keeping her. I kept her in large cages with enough bedding, and a good diet and enrichment. She lived a long life of 3 years before she passed in 2019.

 

Getting Odyssey was a result of covid. My dad came up to me and was like, "Your mom and I have talked about it, and if you want, you can get a rabbit." So of course, I wanted one. I did some basic research before, and knew the diet, cage sizes etc. I have to say my initial care wasn't the best. She only had about 2 hours of free roam time a day. So i continued to watch 101rabbits, Stormy rabbits, etc and that's how my care got to the extent of today!

 

My fish right now currently have terrible conditions, which some of you may know. They did have a good tank until well....stuff happened.

Edited by ajuniceuhamsters, 17 March 2021 - 10:57 PM.

[♥ChipTheHamster♥]

No, sadly, I didn't research.

A lot of pets I've owned (fish and my Syrian boy, Fuzbud) had bad care. 

Fuzbud lived in a crittertrail with no wheel, no hides for his whole life. :(

Now I've improved a lot, but I still regret not researching (the biggest mistake in my whole pet journey). 

I hope I never make that mistake again! 

[♥️ MKmagnifico ♥️]

TBH, i feel like there's never enough research. Being on HH, I learn every day! So i went with NO. 2

 

Great poll idea Ally

[lil BIG dwarf]

Before I got Jack (dog) I did research, but I definitely should have done more. I partly blame it on my parents though because we weren't planning on getting a beagle till the last minute lol

[Tiny Ball Of Fuzz]

I did research, but I was tiny... so I looked at several books with bad information at a library, then got a book on them for my birthday. that book was ok, I guess, but it said, "Hamsters need big cages.", and "Give your hamster quite a bit of bedding." I gave Lemon Drop less than an inch, just enough to cover the base of the cage. The cage was something like 220 square inches... (More information on my about me page.)

[Tater]

I wasn't really sure what to answer on my poll so I'll kinda explain here:

 

For past pets, hermit crabs. I was in 2nd(?) grade and I got one from school. I came home with it and we went and bought another from the pet store bc we at least knew they had to be social. But at that time I kinda just trusted everything my parents said- so they lived in a 10gal tank that was empty besides having lots of sand. They both eventually died :C

 

For current animals, Tater Tott was kinda a quick thing. I was camping and I had service for a few minutes when I got a text from my friend asking if I could take Tater Tott because she couldn't keep her anymore. I was like "Omgosh ofc, but I need to ask my parents" and eventually they said yes, but I didn't have too much time to research. I did a bit of research, but I trusted my friend on some things I shouldn't have. Within the first day or so I had already binged all of VR's videos and I immediately upgraded Tater Tott to a 50gal bin cage and gave her more bedding and supplies and a new wheel and such. Eventually I learned even more about hamsters (after joining HH and reading a lot) and her care is even better than before So yes I kinda researched, but it was a quick thing and I've since researched even more since getting her (I think getting animals should be never ending research tbh)

With Scuttle I already had all my knowledge and current knowledge so he was well researched before adopting.

And with Roxy I didn't have a say in her- so no I did not research, but I tried best I could after we got her, and my dad has done research as well. And soon she's gonna be living da lifeee in her new 120gal tank B))

[Ice~]

For Thunder, I did next to no reasearch- I kept him in a small pet store cage(~200 sq in ), with a small wheel and one chew, and no hides and 2 inches of bedding... I had a book on hams since i entered him in the fair but it said nothing about cage sizes, just the species/genders/etc... For my fish, nothing. I gave them a hide and a fake plant. 2 goldfish in a 5 gallon tank (at each time, i had like 10 goldfish before) and a betta in a 1 gal. For dogs, yes, we've done research. For Zoey, in the beginning I knew thunders cage was too small so i got Zoey a 315 sq in cage.... but i upgraded after awhile, and it (old cage) was a little bit enriching (4 in of bedding, 3 chews, 2 hides, a wheel and a flying saucer... but still) Sooo I went with option 2, mainly for Zoey & dogs, but for thunder it would be option 4.

Edited by IceHamster655, 17 March 2021 - 11:00 PM.

[Robosrock]

For Climber, my first hamster I did no research. I was 9. That’s the only pet I did no good research on. I was fully prepared for all the other pets that I got.

[KodaTheHammy]

I've loved animals since I was little but was never allowed to have one. My friend got a hamster and I started watching a few videos on them. I got really interested in their care and researched them for weeks before even thinking of getting one. I don't think I would have been allowed to get a hamster if my parents weren't sure I knew what I was doing.

I'm still learning, improving my care and researching even over a year of having my hamster.

 

(Despite that Koda's first cage wasn't great, it had enough space but was a split bin cage and only made up 450sq in when put together but were around 270sq in when apart. Which I know isn't suitable now, but I just told myself it was good enough.)

Edited by KodaTheHammy, 17 March 2021 - 11:38 PM.

[lilhams~uwu]

Before getting Cheesepuff, I had watched some Erinsanimals videos and had talked to my friend all about hamsters. But I didn't do a lot of research like I should have and I was always kind of 'meh' about him and didn't like having responsibility. Although when we went into the pet store, I told my dad that we should have gotten a bin cage instead but of course, we got the 'three-in-one-cage thing' with barely any floor space. It took a bit of convincing to get another cage and even then, it was still tiny for him. I was a small child at the time so I understand that but I wish I would have gotten a pet when I was actually mature enough and had researched a lot more.

[♥ brie ♥]

my first hamster was a christmas present along with a crittertrail cage when i was around 10 (so roughly 7 years ago) and of course i went by what petco told me and listened to their awful care pamphlets. the same was true for my second hamster who passed after only a week. i didn’t get any more pets for a few years until i got fork when i was 14. he started out in a crittertrail because it’s what he came in (given to me by a friend) but i did tons of research after getting him so my care improved loads. since then i would say i have good care :,)

[AnnaHeartsHamsters]

I have 2 hamsters and 3 guinea pigs all of which I did extensive research before getting.

 

My hammies live in 1300 sq. inch enclosures with 16 inches of bedding and completely natural setups. Before the upgrade though and before I got Bumble (my second hammy) Barley lived in a detolf with 10 inches of bedding and loads of enrichment still (grapevine wood, sand bath, 11 inch wheel, etc.) so I did quite a bit of research.

 

It was the same with my piggies. My 2 boars live in a 2x6 enclosure they have lived in with me since they were 1 week old. Their mom lives in a 2x3 because she is severely disabled and can't move around that much. They all get daily hay, free roaming, and I'd like to think they have quite a bit of enrichment. 

 

P.S she is a very aggressive piggie, but we will continue "dating" her with different guinea pigs until we find one she wants to be pals with and the day that happens she will have a partner, don't worry

[daisy~]

My first pets of "my own" (still paid for by my parents but not a family pet) were a pair of rabbits, for my 9th birthday. Of course at that age, it wasn't my responsibility to be doing the research but I did obsessively read the DK Children's Enclyclopaedia of Pets. We went to a rescue for the rabbits and I think they informed my parents fairly well because we had a big hutch and run (for the time). Their care wasn't great in hindsight but it wasn't bad either. I'm not sure why we went to a rescue instead of Pets at Home. I think maybe my parents wanted older rabbits that would be a shorter time commitment, which was fair enough.

 

I got my first gerbils for my 11th birthday. We did no research beyond the Pets at Home guides. I did have access to the Internet at that point but I guess it never occurred to use it for gerbil information. I had 3 males in the small Pets at Home gerbilarium, which is about 50cm long and the tank part is 8 US gallons (bearing in mind the bare minimum for gerbils is considered to be 10 gallons per gerbil). When the second of the trio died at 2 years old, the last one lived alone until he was 4.5. It was an amazing age for a gerbil but it was a shame that he was alone all that time. I didn't know anything about gerbil introductions at the time.

 

I didn't get properly informed about gerbil care until I was 18 when I decided to get gerbils again. I got 2 females and put them in a hamster cage (not even a gerbilarium) and very quickly realised that it was not right. So I researched online, bought a tank I thought was huge (it was above the minimum, they lived really happily in it their whole lives, but it's not what I would choose nowadays) and started learning proper husbandry from there.

 

I got my first hamster, a Robo, in 2019. I did research quite a bit before getting her and her care was ok at the beginning, but I wasn't fully prepared. I did research tank sizes but went with some outdated sources so her first tank was a bit small. It alsohad these glass shelves built in, and I didn't really realise just how unagile Robos were. I switched her to a bigger tank all on one level quite soon. I also made mistakes with taming. I didn't really appreciate just how timid Robos can be. I knew they were, but I think I expected that taming would just take longer than another hamster. I wish I had realised at the time that just getting her to sit on my hand for a treat was a great achievement. I have a lot of regrets from my first hamster, and that's part of the reason I long to get another Robo some day, so I can do everything better. Right now I can't get another hamster though.

Edited by daisy~, 18 March 2021 - 12:14 AM.

[willa]

I did do research, but alot of it was incorrect or from a bad source.

Which is why poor remy started out in a 360 sq inch cage with 1-2 inches of bedding :( Luckily, we've upgraded him to something much larger, though!

[Saturnalia]

With our dog? Yes, even though dogs are definitely easier to care for than other animals, such as hamsters. Their needs are more obvious than hamsters.

For our fish? Yes, my brother and my father had a very big tank. I even had a fish of my own living with the rest who was a rainbow colored one. He was very territorial and he was killed in a fight by the biggest (and most tough) fish in the tank. The catfish outlived them all, at nine years old.

For my beta fish, I must admit I didn’t do enough research. I’m sad to say that I had the both of my beta fish in one of those tiny tanks you buy at the pet store. It didn’t even have a filter. Bluemoon, my first beta fish was a beautiful color of blue, which is where he got his name, died after around 9 months of having him. He began swimming upside down then he died shortly after. I got another beta fish shortly afterwards. His name was Sunset Petal, and he was a beautiful color of pink, and aqua blue. His fins were also beautiful. His skin texture looked like flower petals which he where he got his name from. He died after around 7 months of having him. I now realize that Beta fish need a filter and a large enough tank. Yet pet stores like Petco and Petsmart are keeping them in small containers until people buy them. During this time, many kids go up to them and pick up the containers, nearly dropping them. It’s horrible.

With my first hamster, I didn’t do that much research because I was always told that hamsters are very easy pets to keep, and that they need a cage, food, bedding, a water bottle and that’s about it. I almost bought a small Crittertrail cage with a slide in the middle until the guy who worked at Petsmart stopped me and suggested a fairly bigger cage (although still not big enough). Im very thankful he did this because if he hadn’t suggested a different cage, then poor Cutie would’ve likely lived in that small cage her entire life. Cutie’s cage was around 360 square inches and had two shelves. She never bit the bars, but Coco (my Syrian) definitely did when I first got her. It was shortly after I got Coco when I joined this forum (May 2015) to make sure my care for her was the best it could be since she was my second hamster. I was also wondering why she was biting the bars. The lemon juice my dad and I put on it didn’t quite help. She bit the shelves as well. She bit everything until we got her a cage that was a little larger, still from Petsmart. It was a National Geographic cage that the guy who worked there suggested. Although it still wasn’t big enough, it was an improvement from the cage that Cutie had, the same one Coco was living in. She lived in that cage for a few weeks until I managed to order a brand new cage from Amazon, over 700 square inches. It costed around $300 with shipping, and I now realize that a DIY cage could’ve been much bigger as well as much cheaper, but I loved that cage and so did Coco.

So, in short, my pet care for the most part wasn’t great. Especially for the pets I had for myself, like by Betas and my hamsters. I don’t exactly blame myself because I was young; and it’s the pet stores promoting bad care. They should be held accountable. But, when getting a pet of any kind, that person should also do their part and research the proper care as much as possible.

I’m glad to say that my hamster care improved very much so after I got Coco, when I joined this forum.

Edited by Samhain, 18 March 2021 - 10:52 PM.