Second chance hamsters

Well, the shop assistant told me that they came in with a delivery of rats and guinea pigs from their breeder.

Like the previous pair, they were abandoned by the breeder and given to the charity, whatever that means.
One of the rats had a bent toe, a guinea pig had a hole in the ear and one had a toe missing. Not animals they were able to sell.

I was aghast that they would buy from a breeder like that and she told me that they had changed their supplierbecause of that.
I did not ask what happens to animals with deformities because i wasn't brave enough.

I really hope that someone like the RSPCA will get informed and investigate incidents like that. I can imagine that this would have been reported to them by the shop.

She said they had quite a few animals in the adoption tanks recently.

I was surprised that she even volunteered this information but she seemed a bit upset herself.

I know someone who works in a pet shop (they've stopped selling animals a while ago) and i said to her the other day that i don't envy her her job.
She replied that she's trying her hardest to talk people out of buying hamsters for young children. At least there's some job satisfaction there.
 
elusive said:
He must be so happy with his wonderful new world!
He does have gorgeous thick fur, love his name too, it really seems to suit him.
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His wonderful new world is currently a bedsit! At least he's on the right track to a better life now.
 
So am I right in thinking these dwarfs were in the adoption area? I think the staff member did sound upset too. I bet the staff get very upset about such things.

Guinea pigs often get holes in their ears from being bitten by another guinea pig. Their ears are thin and fragile. Sad to think the guinea pig would not sell as the hole would not affect their quality of life.
 
Yes, they were both in the same adoption tank because they were brothers that had been kept together, apparently.
They are adults.

The background and ages of hamsters in the adoption tanks are usually vague.

I've even come across of being told different things by different shop assistants about the same hamster.

I used to get upset when i thought that a hamster had died before their time but the age of a rescue hamster could be anything. It always makes me happy when they grow like Bernard.
 
I agree, we never really do know the age of our hamsters. I expect the staff are often lied to and told different stories from the truth.

Bernard has flourished and is so happy and healthy. :)
 
elusive said:
It may just be a bedsit but it must be such a huge difference for him.
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And his brother as well who is in the adoption tank, sadly. At least he's safe.

Just saw Eddie heading back into his house. Probably the first comfortable bed he had in his life.
 
RainbowBrite said:
I agree, we never really do know the age of our hamsters. I expect the staff are often lied to and told different stories from the truth.

Bernard has flourished and is so happy and healthy. :)
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Yes, the staff can only go by what they are told or what's on the Ipad, if there's any info.
 
Beryl said:
Yes, the staff can only go by what they are told or what's on the Ipad, if there's any info.
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The staff member who was looking after Orko really cared about him and rang my partner after a few weeks to ask how he was doing. I thought that was nice.
 
Beryl said:
It's policy. They either phone or email.
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I had no idea! Do you need to show a picture of your set up before you can adopt? We had to and the person insisted on us having an area with wood chips for some reason.
 
I did the first couple of times i adopted but i don't know if they have a criteria. I've adopted quite a few dwarfs from the shop i was in today and dealt with the same shop assistant who is always very keen to hand over a hamster to me. She seems really happy when one goes home with me.
 
Well done rescuing another little Ham. Lovely that he can enjoy some fun time to himself until he finds his forever home.
 
Eddie was up this morning and came to the door but didn't want to come out yet.
He likes to chew so has plenty to chew on, whimzee, stick, cardboard and wood chew.

He didn't use the Bisto tube and the cage is too small for unused space so i got the stanley knife out and cut a square out of the tube. Now he sits inside the tube while munching on millet.

OH came home and as per usual, his first question was 'are we keeping him?' Me 'no, i'm not sure yet what to do with him, either find a place in a rescue or rehome him myself'. First of all, i need to observe him for a couple of weeks to get to know him a bit and make sure that he's healthy and fit for adoption.

 
I just had Eddie out on my hand briefly. I was shocked at how thin and light he feels! He's all fur and bones. He was nervous and pooped a lot so i'm going to weigh him another day, didn't have scales handy anyway. At least i know now that his poops look perfectly normal.
Mind you, Lilly makes any dwarf look skinny.
 
He does look big with all that fur, maybe he has a winter coat on! I expect he’ll chunk up soon enough, I guess either he wasn’t being fed properly or he was the less dominant ham & the other stopped him from getting enough.
 
I have a video that shows them squabbling but not sure if i'm allowed to show it on here. Going by that video, Eddie was the dominant ham but it may have come across that way on this ocassion.

I'd love to get his brother as well, if he's still there. The rescue had adoptions scheduled so we'll discuss tonight or tomorrow spaces availabilities and who'd go where.

I'm planning on keeping Eddie here for the time being as too much moving around wouldn't be of any help to him. I have a Hamster Heaven in the greenhouse but he's ok for now in the small cage and i need to be able to observe him.
He had a very long drink this morning but he hasn't surfaced for water since.
My dwarf hybrid Percy who came from an adoption tank of the same petshop was diabetic (shop wasn't aware) so i'm always keeping this in mind.
 
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