When my local Petco had their race, I entered my little Pipsqueak. I live in a small town, and that reflected on the amount of people there. There were 2 little girls, maybe 9 years old? And myself. That was it. When I had to get Pip into her ball, it was silent except for the sound of the birds in their enclosure. I had to actually wake her up, it was calm and quiet enough. She won the race, and there were no screams or loud cheering. It really just depends on where and how well you trust your hamster. Pip did absolutely FINE and she showed ZERO signs of being stressed. If anything, she was upset that I had to hold her ball until the race started! She was trying to run, not escape. She got a nice treat afterwards, and even though we won, I gave the prize to the 2nd place winner. You guys really don't have to bash something when you only have one side. I say it's OK for me in my small town with a carefree ham, but if you live somewhere that you KNOW is going to be bad, then don't.
That makes me feel a little better. I'm glad to see that it isn't always loud and stressful for the hamsters. I just feel bad for those hamsters who don't live in that small town where you do. That race sounded more fun than the ones that are full of screaming kids and all the quick movements.
