CandiBunnii t1_ith3i1d wrote on October 23, 2022 at 4:37 PM

Reply to comment by Sondibgood in The Friendly Little Hamster by HeadOfSpectre

I'm only now finding out as an adult that hamsters (those especially) are more "look at" pets. Give them a nice enclosure and some enrichment, but leave the little fucks alone

They are friend shaped but they are not friends

Ok_Relative_5180 t1_ith8g3u wrote on October 23, 2022 at 5:10 PM

They still need more space to run around sometimes and some sort of interactions just like any other animal.

CandiBunnii t1_ith9k0e wrote on October 23, 2022 at 5:17 PM

I'm not saying ignore them entirely, but they're not the sort of pet that likes constant cuddling and handling. There's some great examples on r/Hamsters of enclosures that simulate their natural environment and gives them tons of space to run and dig

zoloftwithdrawals t1_itqx556 wrote on October 25, 2022 at 5:26 PM

Right? I had a dwarf hamster (lived to the ripe old age of four) and he was super sweet. A little bitey when I first got him, but that’s just cuz he was scared. He settled in and never bit me or my boyfriend again! Sometimes if I was feeding him with my hand he’d like give the gentlest nibble ever, like he was trying to see if my finger was food, but once I moved it he’d realize it wasn’t and not try again. I think it was because hamsters are basically blind and my hand smelled like the food I was giving him haha. He also never tried to escape because he had plenty of room in his cage and I’d take him out every now and then, tie a string around him, and let him run around haha