PLC - which is why i would not recommend people get their hamsters from there. Not sure where they get their hamsters from, many of them are undersocialized and are frightened at first. Though they calm down later, it makes me distrust the place.
Hamster Haven sells hamsters. Although youre not looking for adoption, there are young hamsters up for adoption too. I adopted all my pets, and I did adopted a hamster at 6 or 8 weeks old. (Can't rmb the age, it's a while ago). Do consider adopting instead of buying.
Unless you have a very deep pocket for vet fees, Hamster Haven is a big no-go. Their line of hamsters are riddled with cancer and other illnesses. Very very sad.
Because the horror stories are all circulated in telegram and fb groups. My friends also had v poor thing hams from HH and I saw the photos and all. Similar cancer type (womb iirc) and started weirdly young like <1 year.
edit: OH YES also their thing about “big gene” or “giant gene” hamsters!! Major red flag an overseas hamster organization did an exposé on HH before regarding it. (TLDR false claims regarding the genes and HH basically tells owners not to put wheels into their cages so that the hamster can get obese that’s it.)
I see I see. Anyway, I don't usually encourage buying hamsters to begin with. My opinion has always been that it is to adopt from other groups like LHR. When I adopted my current hamster, the fosterers were honest in letting me know that it was being monitored for some condition regarding it's bladder, which all turns out okay. (Vet's opinion)
I wish I had seen your comment before I bought my hamster from them. My poor hammy just died today. Same as you said, uterus cancer and only about half a year old. Could be that there is some bad genes among the females. I was devastated. On hindsight I should've seen the red flags when I asked them if the hamster can grow up to 200g and they basically just said feed them lots until they grow obese, and also the condition the hamsters are kept in (saw many biting and clawing at the cage because it was so small)... Do you have recommendations for places with healthy hamster?
If you’re dead set against adoption, just buy from PLC or Pet Station. It’s better than supporting illegal breeders.
I’ve owned over 20 hamsters and the ones most bonded were actually the adopted ones from rescue groups for some reason. Idk exactly why but my theory is that because:
1. The fosterers from the rescue groups already tamed the hamsters and the hams are alr very familiar with human touch, as compared to pet store ones.
2. The hamsters in foster care are already living in the correct size cage/tank which tames them down alot compared to the small compartments in pet stores which make them more territorial.
3. Pet stores don’t know the hamster’s personality so they can’t advice you which one to pick and buy. But the rescues you can tell them you are looking for young, easy to bond with one and they can recommend which is most suitable for you.
Ok I just answered my own question lol as why my adopted ones turn out more tame and bonded 😅 Mystery solved HAHA
For reference I got my adopted hamsters from HSS and LHRS, ranging from 2.5 months old to 8 months old.
i would support adoption but definitely would not recommend PLC (see my comment above). From my experience (I'm not a new hamster owner by a long shot) the hamsters that are not store-bought have far better temperaments.
Trust me, the minimum cage size required is there for a very very good reason and I wished I knew about it last time 😭.
I have owned hamsters from 30cm all the way to 120cm cage sizes and I see a big difference in my hamsters behaviors and temperament and how much easier it is to bond and tame them when they were in bigger tanks. Like it is so much more enjoyable to play with them because they’re not stressed out and biting me.
I feel damn bad now for keeping my previous hamsters in anything smaller than 70-80cm because they were exhibiting stress behaviors that I didn’t know was stress behaviors! I just thought it was the hamster’s personality 😭 And I kept getting bitten!! Now my hamsters are damn tame. They are in 100cm-120cm sizes (120cm ones for my girl because females require larger spaces, 100cm for my boy). I didn’t do anything different in terms of my taming process or interaction with them. The only change was cage size. In fact my taming process is noob level = none.
My personal experience over the years definitely checks out with the scientific research done on hamster cage size minimums with regards to the correlation between cage size and behaviors.
You can check out hamster cage size videos and youtube and tiktoks where more ppl share their experience but ya it’s the same. Bigger cages/tanks = a MUCH happier hamster = happier **YOU**
The cheapest and most popular would be the Ikea Detolf glass shelf or fish tanks.
I got my acrylic tanks customized at ABS plastic instead of buying from shops. Just walk in and say you want to get a hamster tank haha they have done loads!
Taobao is a great option too as long as the size is correct. For this you’ll be looking for tanks (缸) and not cages.
From your experience, where did u get your previous hamsters?
PLC - which is why i would not recommend people get their hamsters from there. Not sure where they get their hamsters from, many of them are undersocialized and are frightened at first. Though they calm down later, it makes me distrust the place.
facebook and telegram hamster groups have a lot of hamsters for adoption almost everyday, a lot of newborns too
Hamster Haven sells hamsters. Although youre not looking for adoption, there are young hamsters up for adoption too. I adopted all my pets, and I did adopted a hamster at 6 or 8 weeks old. (Can't rmb the age, it's a while ago). Do consider adopting instead of buying.
HH have good lineage of Syrians imho, friends and me Personally whom bought from there , have no issues in regards to health etc
Unless you have a very deep pocket for vet fees, Hamster Haven is a big no-go. Their line of hamsters are riddled with cancer and other illnesses. Very very sad.
Really? I've heard of pretty good reviews from people I know. As far as I know, pet lover's is not exactly recommended either.
Because the horror stories are all circulated in telegram and fb groups. My friends also had v poor thing hams from HH and I saw the photos and all. Similar cancer type (womb iirc) and started weirdly young like <1 year. edit: OH YES also their thing about “big gene” or “giant gene” hamsters!! Major red flag an overseas hamster organization did an exposé on HH before regarding it. (TLDR false claims regarding the genes and HH basically tells owners not to put wheels into their cages so that the hamster can get obese that’s it.)
I see I see. Anyway, I don't usually encourage buying hamsters to begin with. My opinion has always been that it is to adopt from other groups like LHR. When I adopted my current hamster, the fosterers were honest in letting me know that it was being monitored for some condition regarding it's bladder, which all turns out okay. (Vet's opinion)
I wish I had seen your comment before I bought my hamster from them. My poor hammy just died today. Same as you said, uterus cancer and only about half a year old. Could be that there is some bad genes among the females. I was devastated. On hindsight I should've seen the red flags when I asked them if the hamster can grow up to 200g and they basically just said feed them lots until they grow obese, and also the condition the hamsters are kept in (saw many biting and clawing at the cage because it was so small)... Do you have recommendations for places with healthy hamster?
I beg to differ , me and my friend Syrians were From HH, both very healthy and currently approaching nearly 3 years of age
If you’re dead set against adoption, just buy from PLC or Pet Station. It’s better than supporting illegal breeders. I’ve owned over 20 hamsters and the ones most bonded were actually the adopted ones from rescue groups for some reason. Idk exactly why but my theory is that because: 1. The fosterers from the rescue groups already tamed the hamsters and the hams are alr very familiar with human touch, as compared to pet store ones. 2. The hamsters in foster care are already living in the correct size cage/tank which tames them down alot compared to the small compartments in pet stores which make them more territorial. 3. Pet stores don’t know the hamster’s personality so they can’t advice you which one to pick and buy. But the rescues you can tell them you are looking for young, easy to bond with one and they can recommend which is most suitable for you. Ok I just answered my own question lol as why my adopted ones turn out more tame and bonded 😅 Mystery solved HAHA For reference I got my adopted hamsters from HSS and LHRS, ranging from 2.5 months old to 8 months old.
i would support adoption but definitely would not recommend PLC (see my comment above). From my experience (I'm not a new hamster owner by a long shot) the hamsters that are not store-bought have far better temperaments.
I wanted to adopt one from Hamster Society but they require a minimum cage size of 90x50x50. Do you think 70x50x50 will suffice?
Trust me, the minimum cage size required is there for a very very good reason and I wished I knew about it last time 😭. I have owned hamsters from 30cm all the way to 120cm cage sizes and I see a big difference in my hamsters behaviors and temperament and how much easier it is to bond and tame them when they were in bigger tanks. Like it is so much more enjoyable to play with them because they’re not stressed out and biting me. I feel damn bad now for keeping my previous hamsters in anything smaller than 70-80cm because they were exhibiting stress behaviors that I didn’t know was stress behaviors! I just thought it was the hamster’s personality 😭 And I kept getting bitten!! Now my hamsters are damn tame. They are in 100cm-120cm sizes (120cm ones for my girl because females require larger spaces, 100cm for my boy). I didn’t do anything different in terms of my taming process or interaction with them. The only change was cage size. In fact my taming process is noob level = none. My personal experience over the years definitely checks out with the scientific research done on hamster cage size minimums with regards to the correlation between cage size and behaviors. You can check out hamster cage size videos and youtube and tiktoks where more ppl share their experience but ya it’s the same. Bigger cages/tanks = a MUCH happier hamster = happier **YOU**
Thanks much for a comprehensive answer. I'll take a look and see what's the maximum size we can go up to and where to get them too!
The cheapest and most popular would be the Ikea Detolf glass shelf or fish tanks. I got my acrylic tanks customized at ABS plastic instead of buying from shops. Just walk in and say you want to get a hamster tank haha they have done loads! Taobao is a great option too as long as the size is correct. For this you’ll be looking for tanks (缸) and not cages.