Debate thread - Cage "standards" and socialising of Hamsters

[Socks' Mum]

Yes, individual hamsters vary enormously in personality and what they like. I suppose vets in zoos somehow handle really wild rodents, but possibly have to sedate them to treat them, expensive for the ordinary hamster owner and not great for the hamster. A panicking animal would have a very difficult journey to the vet as well.

 

[Maz]

Daisy I had such an image of baby hamsters with rocks and beetles there!

 

[Maz]

Yes, individual hamsters vary enormously in personality and what they like. I suppose vets in zoos somehow handle really wild rodents, but possibly have to sedate them to treat them, expensive for the ordinary hamster owner and not great for the hamster. A panicking animal would have a very difficult journey to the vet as well.

There are plenty of stories of hamsters running or falling off the vet table, which is a concern, as they could get injured (or be difficult to catch again). I think that is a time when it's really important they are tame enough to trust you and be handled. Although it helps if the vet doesn't put them down on the table.

 

[Daisy]

What I think is amazing is that a pet hamster, a rodent, can actually be tamed and socialised. Hamsters do like games and having fun and I think a bond does mean they like being around you. Some will come to your feet if they're ready to go back into a cage for example.

This reminds me of the time my past hamster Bramble escaped overnight, and I had no idea until she came and found me just as I was getting up. If she hadn't been tame, she probably wouldn't have looked for me, and I might not have realised she had escaped for a while.

 

[Maz]

You know there's a bond and love between a hamster and human when you read all the stories of hamsters hanging on when dying and needing permission to go. I don't see how that bond can develop without regular human interaction.