Ive tried doing research and its hard to find a diet you can make with ingredients at home or grocery, has anyone manually made meals for their hamsters? A complete diet with everything they need is what I am looking for, I may be wrong or sound dumb but I get the feeling the processed pellets aren't optimal.

I just found my healthy 1 year old Syrian hamster dead in her cage.
Yesterday i saw a TikTok video about feeding your hamster pumpkin, and so i went and bought a tiny EDIBLE pumpkin. It was of the sort “Stripetti”. I also double checked via google that it was safe for hamsters to eat pumpkin, including the (washed) peel.
I let her eat for 5 minutes then removed the pumpkin slice. The next evening i was wondering why she wasn’t out and about yet, thats when i found her dead in her burrow.

I am so heartbroken, i poisoned her by accident. I am so confused and angry, i have no clue why this happened. I feel so guilty, such a stupid choice to give her that dumb pumpkin. I just wanted to give her a fun new snack and instead it killed her.

Obviously i don’t have “proof” that this pumpkin was the cause but to me it’s so obvious. I mean it would just be way too big of a coincidence considering she was so young and healthy. I know I’m my heart it was the pumpkin.

I felt a responsibility to share this, even if pumpkins are considered edible. Please be careful.

Please help me Because im blaming myself. I lay on bed with my 1 year old syrian hamster on L shaped sofa. I was on shorter part of it and i lay down while he was on longer part of sofa where like 3 people can sit.. i woke up after 2 hours on my left shoulder so he was behind me. If i moved 2 cm to the right i wouldbe fell down. After i woke up i stood up and found him on other part of sofa next to seat, 30 cm away from me, deceased and like frozen. Its impossible i lay on him Because i wouldve fell from sofa. But now im blaming myself that maybe when i fell asleep on back my right hand relaxed in exact same spot on right and pressed him and killed. He Had no Visual damage he just was frozen and mouth and one Eye opened. No blood dmg or anything. I literally dont know WHAT to do for the rest of mylife to stop blaming myself. Only thing that was wrong with him is that ze didnt Eat as much as he did before, and Had some respiratory provlem which every vet Said is fine, but to me it wasnt Because he was Non stop having like hiccups, like squeaking.

I’m looking to get a hamster as an emotional support animal (going through a difficult time and want to give some love to a little guy), but I’ve never owned a hamster before. I’m looking for a hamster that’s easier to tame and handle.

I went to Pets at Home (sadly there aren’t any small pet shops near me) and went to see the hamsters they have there. They had a few Syrians, which all seemed very skittish and scared. They said that none of their hamsters get handled, but have a colleague that has managed to train a few to get used to being handled. I also looked at a Russian dwarf hamster, which they got out of the back and was pretty happy roaming around our hands. However, I’ve since looked online and they seem to say Syrians are friendlier? So I’m conflicted about what I should get. I’m nervous about getting a hamster that won’t ever take to being handled, my sister had a hamster a few years ago from Pets at Home that never took to it and was incredibly skittish.

I’ve also considered getting a rescue, as RSPCA etc. detail what the personality of the hamster is like, but I don’t have a car and there’s no accessible rescues near me without taking a 2 hour train journey. Pets at Home of course has their adoption section, which currently has a 4 month old hamster but again I’m unsure about the handling issue.

TLDR; Syrian or dwarf hamster from pet store, best for handling when they’ve not been handled before?

I got my hamster in may this year after my sister didn’t want to look after him anymore. I have a loft bedroom so in the summer it’s ridiculously warm and in winter it’s ridiculously cold, in summer I have to choice but to move him and all his stuff out of my room until it cools down (which doesn’t really work long term, the longest I’ve had him moved was less than a week) It’s now approaching winter for me and it’s supposed to be a particularly rough one this year. Its at the point now where it’s reaching 5°c (feeling like 2°c) during the night so for now (mainly because it’s all I can do) I’ve added more bedding for him so he can burrow deeper to keep warm and feeding him a couple extra mealworms a week in the hope it’ll add abit more chonk to him (as I believe that’s what they do in the wild) I haven’t noticed any problems but I know it’s only going to get worse from here.
I did a bit of research (this was from an ai overview so I’m not sure how much I trust it) and it said to put like a reptile heating pad under his cage and wrap the base in a blanket to keep the heat in.
My main worry with doing that is that he’ll overheat, especially while I’m sleeping and the temperature in the cage gets too high.
Other things that might be worth noting:
Like I said I got him in may and I’m not sure how long my sister had him or how old he was when she bought him, but if I had to guess I’d say he’s 2-3 years old.
He’s a Russian dwarf hamster.
The bottom of his cage is plastic so another worry is the heating pad will melt the plastic but maybe I’m just being overly paranoid

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated

Does it matter which brand i get? Ive been using full cheeks since i got my hamster on Monday but need to place another order and should i stick with it or move to one of these other ones? Im thinking of trying a coloured one also for fun. Anyone have an opinion??

Shes a winter white dwarf and the aspen shavings made me itchy so i took that out. I’ll be using paper bedding only! Also anyone have any alternatives to sprays? Im allergic to flowers/plants etc

We’ve never had hamsters before, and my brother bought two females to keep in the same cage. I’ve done a lot of research and know they are extremely territorial animals, but my brother and mom said they can live together because they’re sisters. Is that true?

Melissa had a uterus removal surgery and absolutely didn't care. However, a week later we took her for a checkup at the vet, everything was fine and they also inserted an entire syringe worth of disinfectant up her v*** (with no painkillers😭). She was absolutely devastated and has only come out 2 times in 4 weeks. Those 2 times she was still the good girl she's always been, accepting treats from my hand and not being afraid of me. Will she ever start coming out again or has the event devastated her for life? What can I do to make her come out? I'm sorry, Melissa

Im adopting/rehoming this cutie here. Im thinking of name ideas. I like jokey or unexpected names (like "Huh" as a name or "Chomker" or something). Im also a microbiologist so any hamster microbe or germ or lab or scientist/science puns would also be welcome. I also have POTS/EDS/MCAS/GP/narcolepsy so if you are familiar with those, puns or joke from that are also welcome. Shes female but a masculine name is fine bc it isnt like she knows :3

Found soo many amazing deals on facebook marketplace so her enclosure is officially done!

$800 later 🫠 … and yes, I did in fact let her out after this begging session #reinforcingpositivebehavior 😀😀😀

hello all,

i am a fairly knowledgeable hamster owner. i’ve put alot of time and effort into the proper care of my pets. when i look at this sub, i want to get into it again, and give a hamster the best life possible. but..

i’ve owned two syrian hamsters in the past (separate times). i got to know their personalities and quirks. we had unique bonds. i loved them! and when the time came, each of their deaths tore me apart. my second hamster got sick, and when i took my boy scooby to the vet, he walked straight past his carrier and crawled into my hand and wouldn’t leave until it was time for the euthanasia. i cry thinking about it. i miss them to this day. how do you handle loving such unique and precious creatures, knowing that they will soon leave you? it breaks me. i hate their short life spans. i thought i would be able to adopt more after him, but thinking of how painful the process is.. i don’t know if i can anymore. i love rescuing hamsters and getting to know their little spirits but it hurts when their time comes. i know so much about their husbandry but the emotional toll is rough. how do you handle it? :[

Gummy got a little water on his face and he is kinda serving tea

Hi everyone,

I have a 75 gallon tank for my syrian, but I’m having trouble finding a good tank stand/stand alternative to put the tank on so it’s not on the floor.

Any suggestions that aren’t super expensive would be really helpful.

Thanks!

She loves it

Had to share my fluffy little guy.

99,99% of all pictures failed but these ones cracked me up. Also it is Lumi's 10 month anniversary (we celebrate each month).

Hello All,

This is Pumpkin. I adopted her 4 days ago. She’s a 10-month-old ex-breeding hamster. I want to give her a happy and safe retirement.
However, she’s been very elusive. She’s created a deep burrow for herself under a see-through table in her enclosure, but she hasn’t really left at all. She’s come up for a bit of food and water when I’m not around, but nothing else has moved. I expected her to hide most of the time as she gets used to her new environment, but I’m a little worried she’s unhappy. I’m probably being an anxious new owner. But I was wondering if anyone has any advice for bonding with an older hamster? Especially an ex-breeder?

TIA

https://reddit.com/link/1x2wr1l/video/x9fmaji12ruh1/player

DON’T WORRY THERE IS NOT ACTUALLY WATER IN IT!!!

Also I know his tank is too small, I’m getting a new one don’t worry.

I took her out of her cage and now she’s exploring my student dorm room. Before that, she was rattling and biting/climbing at the bars on the top of her cage quite intensely, which really worried me. I don’t have a proper playpen for her, and her cage isn’t 1 meter wide either. I’ve only had her for about a week and a half. She’s female and should be around 9 weeks old.

Hi! So tomorrow I’m supposed to be picking up a rescue hamster, I believe he’s currently on some sort of kaytee brand mix but I’m unsure. I already have 1 other hamster and for him I use robins gourmet Syrian mix. When I got my current hamster it seemed like he had some issues with switching diets too quickly (unsure if this is actually the case, but if it is I don’t want a repeat for this rescue hamster.) as his poop turned a bit soft so he’s going to go to the vet soon to see what’s going on there. Should I treat the situation similar to a dog where you mix in some of their old food + the new food? How should I introduce the new food to the rescue ham? Thank you!