I explained to my son that we needed to hold off on bringing the hamster home until we had his cage set up. So that afternoon, I bought a Crittertrail one cage, cedar bedding, a blue plastic roll-around ball, food, chewsticks, and some treats-- all with the assistance of an *experienced* employee. We went home, assembled the cage, and waited until that evening for the little critters to wake up so that we could see their personalities. I really felt that we were off to a great start, and could not wait to get my little fuzzball home.
That night, we went back to petstore for our "teddy-bear" hamster. There were several little guys, all following my hand around inside the container. One stood out- a little more-- ahem... ROUND than the rest. He was so friendly- he had to be the one. The *experienced* petstore employee then went and got a "take-home" box for my hamster- in which my frightened new baby freaked out in, and pooed a whole day's worth- in the 10 minutes it took to get home. This did not give us a good start in bonding with little "Jiggy." (we named him that because of the cute way he waddled.)
Many more innocent mistakes were made after that. Although I only wanted the best for Jiggy, he suffered alot over the next year of his life- at my own uninformed hands, and because the petstore employee was not trained properly in the area of hamster-care.
Over the next two years, and several more hamsters- I learned from making many mistakes. I want to share them -AND THEIR SOLUTIONS on this site. The more people educate themsleves about this wild "pet" they have adopted, the more enjoyable the experience for both the owner and his hamster.
Of the list of 6 things I bought to prepare for Jiggy's arrival, which of those items were NOT in his best interest?
The two items above that the petstore should have been trained to warn against were: cedar bedding, and the blue roll around ball. Why? Cedar bedding is DANGEROUS for hamsters. It can cause fur loss and respiratory problems. The blue roll-around ball, while not dangerous, is very impractical. I learned, from observing my hamster's progress in different colored balls, that they CAN see shades/contrast, and will run with much more ease in a clear ball. Yet, petstores continue to carry these useless and dangerous items- and do not bother to educate themselves, although many concerned patons have attempted to bring them to a manager's attention.
I am currently searching for the best method of "campaigning" to change the way petstore employees are trained to handle and sell their hamsters. My goal is to make it mandatory that they understand what is safe and unsafe for hamsters to live in, play on or in, and eat. They also need to pull dangerous items off their shelves, such as: cedar bedding, pine bedding, fluff bedding, wire/slotted wheels, and sugary hamster treats. They also need to pull down dark-colored roll-around balls, and replace them with clear ones, so that hamsters are able to better see where they are running.
If you want more information, please contact me. Meanwhile, I ask you to read this thought-provoking story (written by Brian Kershaw) from the veiwpoint of a hamster going to his first home. Does Life Get Any Better Than This?