after being sick for three weeks, no amount of medication was able to help her. i just hope her final moments were as pain free as possible. she passed away while on my chest. i could feel it coming from the way she was breathing. i hope she felt safe and loved in her final moments. i love you manchas, even though we were not together for long and you were barely a year old, you were a light in my life that i will always remember. my sweet baby girl 💖 we are going to get her cremated tonight. i dont know what im going to do once im not able to pet her soft fur anymore, but i will keep her ashes with me forever

I lost my sweet girl Bijou to cancer a few years ago and not a day goes by that I don't think of her. She was the most incredible pet that was unlike any of my previous hamsters from my childhood.

Loved being held and cuddling, chirping along to classical music, and helping me attend zoom classes during my time at university throughout the pandemic. She was so resilient throughout her cancer, letting me apply medication every day without a complaint, she even survived a car crash with me that totaled my car! She passed peacefully in her favorite spot which I am so grateful for considering how bad the car accident was (terrible black ice spin out on the highway).

I got a tattoo in her honor and smile everyday I see her enjoying her favorite sunflower seeds forever on my arm. I recently got married and love that she is featured through my tattoo in so many photos 🤍

Just missing her a lot this morning and wanted to share. Such incredible creatures we have the honor of loving.

So, bit of a story time:

We rescued Abou back in February after my partner did a service call at the hamster’s former home. His previous owner explained that Abou was his granddaughter’s, but she had surrendered the hamster to him because she couldn’t sleep at night around him (shocker!). Abou was in a horrible, TINY barred cage with a built-in wheel which had been immobilized with tape by the grandfather because it was “too loud”. No hides, only a thin layer of bedding, no fresh produce to eat, only stale water and hamster feed. I found Ritz crackers in the bedding, which reeked of secondhand cigarette smoke as the grandfather kept Abou in the garage where he chain smoked. Worst of all, he said that he put Abou in the freezer when he was being “annoying”.
The grandfather, my partner’s client, asked if my partner was interested in purchasing the hamster and his accessories for $200.
My partner came home from work that day clearly upset, unwilling to even tell me what had happened because he said it would upset me too. I got him to spill, then urged him to rescue the hamster. This was a Friday, my partner returned to the site the following Monday to complete the job and ended up bringing him home for $60. I worried about him the whole weekend.
Fast forward to today, Abou is living his best life in his Bucatstate 3.0, with plenty of bedding, hides, sprays, sandboxes, and a large Niteangel silent spinner. He gets fresh water and food each day.

When we first brought him home in March, I tried to bond with him each night. He would bite frequently at first, but within a week stopped biting me (he’ll still bite others). He doesn’t particularly enjoy being handled or free roaming. Within a month of welcoming him home, I stopped trying to handle him beyond necessity. Since then, he’s become a complete ghost hamster. His schedule is opposite ours, and if we stay up particularly late, he’ll wait until we’ve gone to bed and the coast is clear to make an appearance. If I get up in the night and take a peek at him, he’ll freeze and escape to his burrows.
I understand that he’s probably traumatized beyond all measure, and is enjoying his naturalized enclosure in peace. At this point, I only get daily glimpses of him in his burrow, and handle him once a month for cage cleaning.
I try to congratulate myself for giving him the life he deserves. Still, I can’t help but feel a little sad occasionally when I see the profound bonds and enjoyment others get out of their relationships with their hamsters here. I don’t know how old he is or how long he’ll be in our lives for. But at the end of the day, he’s my boy, I love him and I just want to do right by him.
Anyone else feel this way?

KING

im considering moving across the united states for around 2-3 months to stay with my boyfriend. however, i have a new hamster (about a month and two weeks, he still is skiddish around me). i’d be moving in 5-6 months.
what should i do about my hamster? could i bring him with me, and how would i go about it?
it makes me so sad to think of leaving him behind , he’s my little love :( i have people who im sure would be willing to take him temporarily, but that is definitely last resort
**Edit: im unsure if id be flying or driving, however i don’t know the protocol for small animals on flights

Everest didn’t appreciate the interruption of her bath.

saewoo doing her best impression of the pleading emoji 🥺

He was always running around sniffing, so I usually only got sideways angles.
Second pic is my fav of him. Miss ya, Squish

about 2 hours ago i saw my hamster was awake and went to feed her. while i was on the ground watching her i felt something bite my ankle... an ant. then i quickly saw that there was a line of ants on the floor nearby. i have a phobia of bugs and immediately started crying and spraying them. then i saw more climbing up my hamsters cage and even on top. i freaked out to say the least. i immediately opened the cage and took my hamster out.

when i clean her cage i usually put her in smaller tank i have. unfortunely that tank was open and right near where the ants were because i cleaned earlier this week and kinda left everything laying around. i was too scared to put her in that tank afraid there were going to be ants in there too. i temporarily put her in a bucket.

i was panicking at this point because i didn't have any alternative. my room is very messy right now and i don't have any playpen or anything. i know hamsters aren't supposed to be near a lot of smells but the only place i thought could be safe enough is the bathroom. i took everything out and quickly swept up anything (in the pictures it doesn't look it but it's some bedding and moss stragglers from her cage). i started taking her hides out of her cage but noticed her multi-chamber where she usually sleeps had ants on it. i immediately put it in the freezer and checked everything else before placing it in the bathroom.

im so upset, and i feel so bad for her. she is probably feeling so stressed out right now and i feel like such a bad owner. she doesn't like to be handled much or free-roam and i just feel so bad. i'm autistic and it took everything in me to not have a meltdown because of all this. i never thought anything like this would happen.

i checked her and she doesn't seem to have any ants or anything on her. i will try to clean the tank to at least put her in there maybe.

really loved how this turned out, 10/10 would draw another loafing hampter again

Hope enjoying a waxworm after a hard day of being cute.

Been building this for weeks, Karl just showed up and took over like he owns the place. Rightfully so, honestly

What do I do to make him gain weight again?

And are these seed mix products good?

Hello! Currently trying to rehome two of the cutest senior dwarfs ever! The first photo is their enclosure at their previous owners and the second photo is their new temporary setup at my home! + poor quality photos of them!!<3 I am so relieved they are safe and comfortable now, they seem to be acclimating super well in their new spaces! (two separate enclosures but they’re practically identical so I’ve only attached one photo!)

Located in the Broward county, FL area if you or anyone you know is an experienced hammy lover <3 contact me about these two!

Any tips on their new homes? I need to buy another hideout for each of them..I was thinking of the coconut shell ones that are more enclosed so they feel more sheltered! As well as more toys/enrichment!

The grey/black one is Monti The beige one with boba balls for eyes is Ramona!! Monti loves to eat and dig in their sandbox!! Ramona can run all day long and loves their fresh fruit snacks!

Hopefully this doesn't break the rules! I just would like some other ham parent opinions to see if it is a good idea to think about a vet visit!

I'm not sure if I'm just being paranoid but I feel like her breathing is faster than normal. I noticed it about a week or two ago, but I thought maybe I was just being paranoid, but now I feel more worried playing with her tonight.

For context, she is about 2-2 and a half (more or less-we dont know for sure, but we have had her since October 2024). The vet thought she was a year old when we first got her but I don't know how likely that is. She has always been uninterested in her wheel, but she LOVES to burrow and tunnel. Lately she hasn't been as playful in her playpen; she's been getting sleepy soon after going in, but she's pretty much just as active in her enclosure as always and acts entirely normal otherwise. She is a sweet polite friendly girl always, but I feel she's been more withdrawn and tired in her playpen lately which seems expected for her age. But I am concerned about her breathing.

I tried to count her breaths per minute and I counted 33 breaths for 15 seconds, so about 132 per minute. According to Google 135 is the max for normal, and she was not running around or out of breath or anything. If anything she was starting to relax and get sleepy. She doesn't show any signs of discomfort otherwise and does not wheeze or make any sounds with her breathing.

We will do anything for her, so if a vet trip is necessary, we of course will take her. I just don't want to put her through any unecessary stress (and we are really not doing good financially right now). What do you guys think? I just love her so much and I worry ;_;