Hello!

[Eriathwen]

Hiya! Just thought I would introduce myself and my 2 elderly ladies here.

My name is Kirsty and I saw your forum shared over on the guinea pig forum, thought I would join over here as well.
I rescue small animals, mainly guinea pigs and specialise in special needs animals.
I hadn't planned to get hamsters but 18 months or so ago I was browsing a sales site checking for any piggies in need or possibly a friend for my recently bereaved gerbil and saw an advert for 2 very sorry looking dwarf hamster hybrids.

My girls Orsa and Pasha had been bought for a child during the first week of the first lockdown, kept together in a tiny cage they of course started fighting, Pasha still has scarring on her ears from this. Luckily their old owners separated them but into yet another tiny cage where they lived with no sand baths, tiny wheels, only 1cm of substrate (lemon scented shavings at that!) and awful food for the first 14 months of their lives until the child lost interest and they were sold.

The stench from their little beds when I got them home was so bad it gave me a headache, Pasha was greasy and thin, and they only had cotton fluff bedding to nest in, which was mouldy.

Both little ones have neurological issues from being hybrids but these have improved greatly since being housed more appropriately between reduced stress and good enrichment to distract from their fixations. Although they do still like to nip from time to time.

In spite of that, they're incredibly sweet little things and given their start in life I'm amazed they're still with us, they are currently 2 years 9 months, they are due to turn 3 at the start of January if we're lucky they did begin losing weight a few months ago, from about 51g down to 39g however with a clean bill of health from my vet and some extras added to their diet they've regained a little bit.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Hello and welcome. What a lucky day for those precious girls when you found them. They are so beautiful.

 

[Tulsi]

Goodness what a heart breaking back story. It must be lovely to see them improving and enjoying their new set ups. What cages do you have for them (I am obsessed with cages and how people set them up)!

 

[Member ID2]

Hello and a very warm welcome to this forum,

as someone who has also rescued hamsters under similar circumstances, i understand what it means to give those lovely little creatures the happy life they deserve.

Hamsters are little miracles and survivors and your two girls are amazing. They look so well and content which is, no doubt, down to your excellent care.

 

[Maz]

Oh my goodness - they are beautiful! They look in such good condition too. You’ve done an amazing thing there. I have also rarely heard of a hybrid dwarf living to almost 3 so you’re definitely doing something special there. I suspect the psychological side is a big part and you are clearly experienced in the special needs side.

Thank you for joining. I’d love to know how you tamed them as well

 

[Eriathwen]

Thankyou for such a warm welcome! It's been an absolute joy watching them busy themselves each evening running, foraging, and generally bumbling around.

I dont tend to take pictures of their cages as I don't want to promote or have new owners try to emulate them, they're a few cm below the minimum (Duna multy) but when put into larger cages their neuro issues became so bad we were concerned about them having stress induced seizures, no matter how crammed with enrichment they were, they just seemed to get worse. I've learned over the years sometimes you've got to bend the rules a bit for special needs animals which was upsetting for me as I'd wanted to build them a DIY IKEA build each after the barely 30cm cages they came with.
I have however managed to incorporate deep substrate, cork tubes, tunnels, seed sprays, sand baths, different textures, appropriate sized wheels, a good selection of hides and a massively varied diet (plus play pen time) into their lives though to hopefully balance out the smaller set up for them. (I hope that makes sense, I often feel like one of those owners making excuses as to why they won't upgrade and feel bad, as so often happens in animal communities!)

That's partly the reason I'm here to be honest! When the time comes and these 2 have to sadly leave, I'll be looking for inspiration for DIY caging, I'd already joined a few natural hamster cage groups etc on Facebook and watched loads of YouTube videos, especially Victoria Racheal and SomethingAnimal, to hopefully provide my next rescue with the absolute best home possible, but you can never have too much inspiration can you?

 

[Eriathwen]

Oh my goodness - they are beautiful! They look in such good condition too. You’ve done an amazing thing there. I have also rarely heard of a hybrid dwarf living to almost 3 so you’re definitely doing something special there. I suspect the psychological side is a big part and you are clearly experienced in the special needs side.

Thank you for joining. I’d love to know how you tamed them as well

Thankyou! That's kind of you to say, honestly they came fairly tame already, the mother of the child did seem to have handled them in the beginning although Orsa has cage aggression which fluctuates, but easily managed by removing her and putting her back with a loo roll tube
Having existed on such a low quality mix for so long food has been a real winner with them, I used dried river shrimp, meal worms, linseed and the occasional sunflower seed treat while they were out and they quickly stopped trying to chew my hands and climb aboard! although they do like to take me by suprise sometimes still.

 

[Maz]

It’s one of the reasons the Duna multy is included in the cages article. There are times when it can suit a shy or special needs dwarf hamster.

 

[Maz]

I have a Syrian who had been a child’s pet for a short time and he was given up to a rescue as”not suitable”. He was a biter at first and scared of hands. He still doesn’t like hands but doesn’t bite any more. And I can actually pick him up now although he prefers you to be on the same level when doing it. Sometimes they’ve had bad experiences in early life as well as genetic issues.

 

[Member ID2]

I've shown a couple of duna multy set ups on the cage set up thread on here and had mixed feelings about it because i didn't want people new to hamsters go out and buy one when there are other, more spacious options available.
I was also worried that someone would use a duna multy for a Syrian and its low height couldn't possibly accommodate a Syrian sized wheel.

I had a couple of dwarf hybrids, one of them ill with diabetes and neurological and behavioural issues who were far more comfortable in a smaller cage.

Should you decide to show a photo of your set up, i think people would understand the reason for using this cage because you've explained it.

Minimum sizes are only guidelines and there is flexibility either side depending on the individual hamster's need.

 

[Eriathwen]

This has to be the nicest space for hamsters I've ever joined thankyou for being so accepting. You've no idea how refreshing it is as someone who hears often that my animals should be put to sleep due to their disabilities or extra needs, as there's no way they can have a good quality of life with the exceptions they need, or just their disabilities in general. (I have 2 blind and deaf guinea pigs for example, who ironically do extremely well in above minimum style housing, but a lot of people can't figure out how a blind and deaf animal can live a good life)
Yet I see them all enjoying their lives every day, and have my vets back up that they are living good lives.

What a lovely community, again, thankyou

 

[RainbowBrite]

I am not surprised you have transformed these beautiful girls. I remember you from the guinea pig forum and you give the best life ever to your guinea pigs.

I had no idea some people thought guinea pigs who are blind or deaf could not have a good life. How silly! I had a deaf piggy and she was happier as she did not have noises to be fearful of.

 

[Maz]

That’s an awful attitude. Imagine if people said deaf and blind humans should be put to sleep! Rodents use their whiskers a lot for navigation anyway and have strong senses like smell, touch and even a bit of ultrasound. Plus it depends on the owner and care given. You know your pets. Disability is not the same as suffering. There used to be quite a few three legged hamsters around who did perfectly well with a careful set up. Thankfully you don’t hear about that as much now (amputations from accidents with unsafe toys etc).

There are always exceptional cases.

 

[Maz]

I think the other thing is that you tried your dwarf girls in larger cages and their neurological issues got worse. The duna tanks can feel reassuring to a hamster with medical needs. They make a good hospital tank after surgery too.

I can’t believe how chunky and healthy they look!

What were the fattening up tips you had from the vet? I’ve tended to use hemp seeds and nuts with older hamsters who’ve lost weight. Pecan nuts are very high calorie. They’re also high in fats but they are healthy fats

 

[Maz]

As for inspiration - yes there are some amazing diy cages now. Have a look at Rainbow’s for her Robo . I still like bar cages for interaction and attaching things to the bars personally - but there’s a limit size wise. The biggest are 100cm usually. Although Savic have a new huge hamster cage 120 x 64 cm or something! Haven’t seen it for sale anywhere yet but it’s the biggest cage with hamster bar spacing!

 

[Eriathwen]

Yes it was amazing when I first put the little deaf and blind ones into their cage, watching them take the time to walk up and down the edges mapping it out, and from then on running full pelt during their zoomies, very rarely knocking into anything! Not to be underestimated

It was a case of continuing what I was doing as it was working with regards to getting weight back onto them, so they get a little bowl of emeraid omnivore liquid food once or twice a week, safe baby foods, pasta, the occasional wax worm, half a peanut each once a week, porridge with debittered brewers yeast, a burns senior chicken dog biscuit every other week or so softened in water. They also get their veggies every other day, their bunny nature scatter fed every day and they get a scrambled quails egg between them every so often as well. Luckily even when they're feeling fussy there's usually something to tempt them.

I must admit I've never tried them with pecan nuts, I'll have to try them with them!

 

[Maz]

Maybe half a pecan nut for a dwarfie! They sound very well spoiled and looked after . The science selective pellets work well soaked as well but that's usually for hamsters with eating problems and tooth problems. They all seem to love it though - it has this slightly weird gravy smell!

 

[Tulsi]

What a feast of culinary delights your hamsters are having.

My roborovski, Rafferty was much happier in his 80cm hamster heaven than his 100cm cage. Sounds like you are being really thoughtful in every aspect of their care.

 

[Riven]

Hello, Eriathwen! How lovely that you have managed to make their lives so much better! They look in lovely condition. I'm yet to even see a ww/Campbell/hybrid hamster in the flesh as it would appear that they're not usually kept around here.

I wouldn't worry too much about the cage. It's not that much below the 'minimun' and their well being is more important. If they're showing signs of distress or worsening of symptoms in a larger cage, it's probably best they stay in a smaller one. The reason why we have the minimum is that most hamsters get stressed or just can't cope in a small space, hence why we say bigger is better. But to a few hamsters the opposite applies, especially if they're stressed or find a large cage too overwhelming. You're putting their needs before anything else so I wouldn't worry too much.

I had a female syrian who struggled in the savic plaza but lived perfectly fine in the Alaska with the option to free roam for an hour each day. She too had a bad background and dispite living in a cramped cage and treated badly by people, she opened up am was so trusting.

I think we can all agree that putting our hamsters welfare first is paramount and that not every situation is 'textbook' and there is often a large grey area which is often overlooked. I don't really like the all or nothing mentality and I think that a good owner should be able to adapt to the the needs of the individual, something which I think you are doing very well.

Every special needs animal is different, what works for one won't necessarily work for another. I think it's lovely that you are able to take the time and help those with additional needs. I do not think an animal should be put to sleep simply because it falls under the special needs bracket. Quality of life is so important and an animal can adapt to blindness, deafness and loss of limbs much better than what we can comprehend. We often look at it from the eyes of a human whom uses 2 legs to get around and rely heavily on sight and sounds. We forget that this doesn't apply to all species in the animal kingdom.

As you know with guinea pigs, and many other animals, hamsters don't dwell on the past and what they had nor what will happen to them in the future. Sure repeated past trauma is bound to affect their day to day life, but typically go through life with what the guinea pig forum call 'happy todays'. So as long as their time with you is filled with these happy today's, I wouldn't worry about what others think.

 

[Eriathwen]

Aw thankyou, I have always strived for all of the "happy todays" with these guys.

Unfortunately I have just gone upstairs to find Orsa fast asleep in her food bowl, I was concerned this morning when she hadn't eaten her piece of spinach overnight so I looked for her, she seemed ok just a bit sleepy. But its obvious she will soon make her way over the bridge and onto her next adventure. I dont know if that will be hours, days or if she will toddle along for a few more weeks, but she has definitely taken a very sudden decline. She's eaten a small amount of baby food at least and then fallen asleep in my hand.

Tomorrow will make her 2 years and 10 months, so while I'm not surprised I'm still very sad