42 replies to this topic

[HamstersAndLife]

THANK YOU! My parents are finally letting me upgrade the hamsters because of this!

Edited by HamstersAndLife, 07 May 2016 - 06:58 PM.

[PrincessFlufferbutt]

This is a great read but can I make a suggestion? If you removed any internet/text slang (is that what you would call it?) such as "lol" and perhaps used a better word than "freaking" it would capture the attention of a lot more parents. If my child came to me trying to convince me of something that I believed to be untrue and showed me this article in his/her defense I would be less likely to believe them because of those types of things, the more that you can make it seem like a research paper the more likely some parents would be willing to listen. I only say this because when I was a child my parents always believed that they were right and children (myself included) were always wrong, no matter what. After being on this forum and reading about some of the children who are "stuck with" certain cages and equipment, it makes me feel like their parents would be the type who assume that children are always wrong and I would love to see an article like this that would be able to convince those types of parents.
All of that aside, I did enjoy reading this and it was very informative. You did a great job

Edited by PrincessFlufferbutt, 08 September 2016 - 02:37 AM.

[SyrianCinnamon]

You are so right! I want to show this to my parents. But ever since I was hamster-obsessed, I've been better at math, biology, and science.
Math: I have a small budget, and so now I calculate the price per liter, price per pound, etc.
Science: Food mixes and the importance of nutrition! Now I just walk up to some random bag of food, "Hey it has the right amount of protein for a hamster!"
Biology: Well it's a hamster, and hamsters are animals!
I also work very hard now, because I have to earn money for Cinnamon (and I do not get any money from allowance, birthday, anything).
But my parents are very unsupportive of Cinnamon, oh well.

[Picklepies]

Beautiful post! X

Edited by Picklepies, 11 March 2017 - 02:38 AM.

[Zofia]

I wish my parents could see this lol, unfortunately my parents are SUPER stubborn and thickheaded.

[Caesars Mommy]

I love this post. That's all there is to it. LOL Thanks Grammy2Hammies for writing this!

Edited by Caesars Mommy, 20 November 2017 - 08:57 AM.

[Elirhi]

As a Mom considering buying a hamster for my daughter I joined this forum to learn more. Thanks for your post! I have been doing a lot of research and I am glad that I have... I would have probably bought the "pet store" kit.

[pipsqueak the robo]

I'll have to show this to my mum! Whenever I even say a word about my hamster she'll get her phone out or carry on doing whatever she was doing when I brought it up and blanky reply things like "That's nice.", "We'll see.", "yeah" and "ok" and then when I ask her if she's even listening she goes mad! I'm hoping she'll soon get sick of me asking for a bigger cage and just let me buy one. Right now my poor hammy is living in a Savic Rody, it's not tiny, but it's not big either.

[The Shadow Flower]

Okay, I'll admit it. I am one of this parents that figured I could run into a pet store, buy a cage, food and a hamster and it was all good. Boy was I wrong.... And I am so glad I learned how wrong I was before I bought a hamster. I would hate to think how much damage I could have caused....

So to future parents of children with hamsters, a few lessons I learned over the course of this journey.

1. Yes, that hamster needs a bigger cage. Your child isn't just whining cause they think it is cool. It is actually needed. Those small cages are like crating a dog 24/7 or solitary confinement for a prisoner. It isn't good.

2. Diy is your friend and it will save you a lot. The Enclosure I am making has cost half of what buying one would.

3. Listen to your children. Seriously, these kids here are walking encyclopedias of hamster knowledge. Learn from their passion.

4. Do this with your kids. It has been amazing watching my own children learn and grow because of this. Not only that, we have a better relationship because I am listening and working with them.

5. Yes, it needs all those toys. It's enriching like a mobile is to a baby. This is your child's baby, the more they want for it, the more they pay attention and learn about it, the better your child will be prepared for the future.

6. Yes, those food mixes are important! The bad stuff is like eating McDonald's every day. A good food mix is very important. Do you want a healthy, long lived hamster? I thought so. Not to mention you child learning about the food mixes is forcing them to use math, science, biology. It's a freaking beginning to a future vet and we all want our kids to pull in that type of cash one day, lol

7. The amount of work you can get from your child is amazing, lol I'm sorry but it is true. Grades go up in trade for bigger cages, chores get done for new toys. Sorry kids but for us parents that is one of the biggest motivators for us.



So yeah, listen and learn with them. It will better prepare them for the future, it can bring you closer together and strengthen your relationship through the roughest years for parents and kids. The dreaded teens. And just think, this is what I have learned from this amazing group on two weeks. Imagine what I will learn tomorrow.


This topic was basically to show what cage we started out with thinking we needed to what we found out we really needed. A coworker of my hubbies gave us a cage, we are using it as a demonstration of what not to use now. Any questions?



Sorry it is blurry, was in a hurry.

Edited by Hamsta Hero, 12 January 2020 - 04:24 PM.

[The Shadow Flower]

I wish my parents could see this lol, unfortunately my parents are SUPER stubborn and thickheaded.

I can relate

[Galexi]

Children and teens are smarter and more knowledgeable at times than we give them credit for!

[Tater]

Yes!! Totally needed this for my parents. They really think I just want things for the hamster when in reality the hamster needs it! I plan on showing them this next time around

[Po~The~mini~Panda]

Thank you so much for this, these are all the exact things my dad should hear. He thinks that hamsters don’t actually need these things because he had had multiple hamsters before when he was probably like 10 or maybe younger

Edited by Po~The~mini~Panda, 28 September 2020 - 12:34 PM.