The one thing that frustrated me most as a new hamster owner was not knowing who or what to trust. Just a few days after getting Flamey I had so many questions it was unreal, heading off to Google, what I found was that no one really knew or agreed on some really fundamental stuff.
Flamey came to me in a tiny wooden cage, he had wood shavings as bedding — it wasn’t even aspen, just bog standard Asda Smart Price wood shavings. There wasn’t enough for him to burrow in. He had a hide made of wicker a wheel he could barely get in and he was being fed iceberg lettuce and cucumber. Here’s the first picture I ever took of my lil fluffball. This is mere moments after I got him home. The exact condition he arrived in:
Having never owned a hamster, but knowing they needed more space and enrichment and bedding than this, I was already in a better position than most and I set about getting him a new cage complete with toys and bedding.
The Problem With Hamster Information Online
That was my first hurdle. What the hell was safe for hamsters? I read so many articles online. For every article that said aspen was the best bedding and held tunnels fine, there were articles saying aspen didn’t hold tunnels. For every article saying paper was the way to go, there were ones saying paper was too dusty. I even found some mildly convincing arguments for using just soil, and many articles saying that soil was too difficult to manage. The recommendations ran the gamut from corn cob to aspen to hemp to just straight up loo roll and back again.
The point I’m trying to make, is that every decision I’ve had to make on Flamey’s behalf hasn’t been at all easy because for every article that tells you something is safe, there’s another that tells you it isn’t.
We Need More Reliable Information About Hamsters Online
Our furry friends deserve better than this. Their owners deserve to be able to find accurate answers to their questions. And, where things aren’t clear, they deserve to be able to see all the evidence quickly and clearly to be able to make an informed decision. And that, my friends, is what I’m doing here.
I have channelled my considerable anxiety over Flamey’s health and wellbeing into endless research. Until now, this has served only to ensure that Flamey gets the best possible life. But recently, I’ve started a hamster shop. I have had an overwhelmingly positive response from my customers because I have created guides for each of my products. The guides exist to pass on information I wish I knew when I was first using that kind of product with Flamey. They share information on how to make the product last longer, how to keep it clean, how to get your hamster interested in it, different ways you can use the products. So given that I’ve had such a great response to this, I thought maybe it’s time to stop hoarding all my knowledge and research and to share it with the wider community. Hopefully it will help hamster owners to be better informed and will help give lots of hamsters happier and safer lives.
How to Find Accurate Hamster Advice
Let’s start with a way to navigate the absolute truckload of bad hamster related articles out there. Not all hamster information is bad, but we need to know how to spot the good stuff.
Over Flamey’s lifetime, I have read hundreds of articles, forum posts, Reddit threads and stinky social media comments and I’m starting to get a good grasp on what to trust and how to find the best answers. Here are things to keep in mind when searching for hamster info:
- Don’t trust anything that doesn’t cite sources. It seems obvious, but often I’ll come across posts that talk definitively about what is and isn’t good for hamsters, but there are no links to actual studies or in fact any other articles to show that they’ve sourced their information from authoritative sources. Because SEO is a thing, you might even find several articles that say the same thing, but again don’t cite sources. They just copy each other in a bid to get to that top spot in Google and it results in a false assumption that because you’ve read it in several articles it must be right. Don’t trust articles without sources.
- Check sources where they are used. Just the other day I was reading up about hamster mites, Flamey doesn’t have mites, but it was part of a larger deep dive to do with freezing bedding. I found an article that said freezing killed all mites and it had a link to a medical journal to back itself up. When I clicked through to the journal, it was only talking about dust mites and l know, those are: a) not the only mites a hamster can get or interact with b) not the mites that cause mange and other horrendous hamster issues. So even where sources are mentioned, it’s good to question them.
- When it comes to forums, take one person’s anecdotal experience with a pinch of salt. Every hamster is different and what works for one may not work for another. So unless you see a lot of anecdotal stories saying the same thing, proceed with caution. I’m not saying it’s wrong. Anecdotal stuff can be crazy helpful, just don’t think that it’s definitively correct.
- Go for consensus. As tedious as it is, don’t just read one article and then assume that’s the right answer. I once read a post at the top of a google search that advised you should wash your hamster in warm soapy water… I rest my case. (For the avoidance of doubt, please don’t wash your hamster in warm soapy water). Read several posts around the same thing and look for a consensus, it’s more likely to be accurate if lots of people are saying it.
- Hamster Central is an absolute gold mine of hamster knowledge from a community of people who love hamsters. Quite a few of the most prolific posters have had a number of hamsters and they generally have good advice to offer. Reddit on the other hand, I have found, can be very judgemental and the advice you get there is hit and miss. As always, check the credentials of the person answering — how many hamsters have they had, are they generally well responded to. Check that the answers they are giving are consistent with other answers you’ve found.
Dealing With Conflicting Hamster Advice
When it comes to making a decision based on your research, it can be really difficult if you’ve found a lot of conflicting information. Where this is the case, I go with what I feel will be the most safe. If I find a lot of conflicting information about, for instance, how to use soil with a hamster, I’ll likely just try out the idea that sounds best and go from there. But if I find conflicting information over whether something is safe for hamsters, i.e. kiln dried pine is probably OK for hamsters, but non kiln dried absolutely isn’t, then, to be honest, I’ll just totally avoid kiln dried pine and pine altogether. There are other alternatives and while it makes it harder to find wooden products for Flamey, he is absolutely worth the effort and his safety is paramount.
Using AI to Help With Conflicting Hamster Advice
Controversially, ChatGPT can be really helpful when you’re trying to come to a decision. I wouldn’t trust it to give me an accurate answer on what is and isn’t safe for hamsters, but if you’re struggling with a decision on whether something is safe, you can give it all of your information and ask it to help you with a decision. For instance you could use a prompt like:
“I’ve seen online that kiln dried pine cage furniture is safe for hamsters, but non kiln dried pine furniture is not. I’m thinking of using kiln dried pine cage furniture with my hamster but I’m worried about the safety implications. What are the main things I should consider? What are the risks of using kiln dried pine cage furniture with my hamster?”
The response I got for this question was:
“Hey Kat! It’s great that you’re considering the safety of your hamster. Kiln-dried pine is generally safer than non-kiln-dried pine because the kiln-drying process helps remove harmful substances and parasites. However, there are still a few things you should consider:
- Resin Content: Pine wood contains natural resins that can be harmful to hamsters. Kiln drying reduces resin content, but it might not eliminate it entirely. Ensure that the wood is low in resin to minimize any potential risks.
- Ventilation: Make sure the cage is well-ventilated to prevent any fumes that might be released from the wood. Good airflow will help dissipate any residual odors or gases.
- Finishing: If the kiln-dried pine furniture is treated with any finishes or chemicals, it could pose a risk. Opt for untreated or non-toxic finishes to ensure the safety of your hamster.
- Chewing Habits: Hamsters love to chew! Keep an eye on your hamster to make sure they’re not ingesting large amounts of wood. Small nibbling is normal, but excessive chewing could lead to digestive issues.
- Regular Inspections: Periodically check the furniture for any signs of wear, damage, or splinters. Replace or repair any parts that could pose a hazard.
Remember, every hamster is unique, and some may react differently to certain materials. It might be a good idea to introduce the kiln-dried pine gradually and observe your hamster’s behavior. If you notice any adverse reactions, it’s better to switch to a different material.
Hope this helps, and give your hamster some extra playtime for me! 🐹”
Seeing things laid out like this can help you to weigh up any associated risks. Reading this response, if you have a tank cage rather than a bar cage you might decide not to go with kiln dried pine due to the reduced air flow. Or if you have a particularly chewy hamster you might decide not to. Again, don’t trust it to tell you what is and isn’t safe, just use it to help you weigh up pros and cons where things aren’t black and white.
The Hamster Helper Blog Mission
This is the first post of what I hope will be many. My plan is to share everything I’ve learned while looking after Flamey and all the research I’ve done in that time. I won’t just be sharing anecdotal stuff, though there will be some of that too, but I’ve got links and studies and actual sources to back up the posts. I don’t claim to be an expert or an authority in this space. But I do claim to be a well educated, anxiety driven, autistic (and therefore very thorough, specific and literal in my approach to research) person with an abiding love of hamsters.
It’s time to end the mis-information and cut through the chaffy SEO posts that no one wants to read and give these little guys a chance at a better life and their owners the opportunity to get clear, well written and researched information that help them make the best decisions for their hamsters.
How Can You Help?
Any way you can think to help, please do! Here are some suggestions:
- If I’m wrong in a blog post or using bad sources or if you have found other information or have anecdotal advice of your own, share it in the comments, or drop me a message. Working together we’ll create even better information.
- Read and share! Read the posts, share them, if you’re on board with the mission, you like what’s happening, you find the posts helpful, help them reach a wider audience of hamster lovers. That way you’ll be making life better for hamsters everywhere.
- Subscribe to the newsletter in the footer, keep in touch with the blog, get notified when new posts are live and then share them with others.
- Buy or donate. Buying products from Hamster Helper helps to support me, Flamey and also raises donations for hamster charities. It absolutely isn’t necessary. I want to share all this stuff online for free for anyone to be able to read. But the financial support really helps to give me more time to write and publish well researched articles as they take hours and hours to write and research.
Thank you for reading my first post!