 Haven for Hamsters is a rescue home for Hamsters of all kinds. Many times a hamster is purchased without much thought; often at the begging of a small child. Parents remember having a hamster as a kid or having a class hamster and they fondly remember the hours of pleasure they received for their furry friend. However, they do not recall the time and money it takes to keep a hamster happy. Not only is their diet different from that of a dog or cats, they require activities to keep their minds active, they require additional fruits and vegetables for nourishment, but not too much or they get sick. The main thing they forget is that hamster are night time animals, they do 90% of their activties when you are asleep. Trust me that squeeky wheel does get to you after awhile, especially when your kid will not let the hamster stay in their room because they can't sleep. Once the hamster is out of their room it is also out of sight and therefore quickly falls out of mind and what started out as a fun pet turns into another chore.
Once the family pet turns into a chore for already stretched parents they start to think of ways to get rid of it. They may try giving it to the pet store, but most pet stores no longer take in animals like they use to. Then they try to give it away to a friend or relative and when that does not work they may even let it go outside thinking it can fend for itself. A hamster is not a neighborhood rat it is a domesticated animal that has been bred to rely on people for food and housing, it will not be able to survive in the wild. Much like your family dog or cat if you dumped it off in the woods thinking it will rely on some baser instict, those insticts are no longer there and they will succum to the elements or predators in the wild.
I adopted my first hamster, Franklin, from the Albuquerque city dog pound, he was actually turned in by a pet store when he did not sell within a certain amount of time. I was more horrified to learn that most of the time they are bought as snake food. I paid $2 to save Franklin and I have not regretted it for one minute. Last week I helped a family that was moving and could not take their Robo Hamster aka Dwarf Hamster with them. Before I brought him home I did some reseach on Robo hamsters and found out they are nothing like their cousin's. Instead of liking to climb they like to run on the ground and burrow. So I understood when the family turned him over in a huge plastic bin. I also had to overcome my initial reaction to treat him like Franklin and put him in a "normal" hamster habitat.
It was after bringing home Lance, the Robo Hamster that I realized alot of people feel guilty because they got a hamster and had high hopes of having a great family pet and things happen and they have to get rid of them. So if we can have rescue homes for dogs, cats, exotic animals and guinea pigs. Why not hamsters? |
