I wanna walk my hamster and I found this...

http://www.equinecaninefeline.com/ca...all-p-416.html

I wanna walk my hamster on a lead, in the park, let it get some decent exercise. I was wondering if anyone else here has used one and if it is worth buying as I fear my hamster will just slip out and escape and make attacks with a dog in the park.

So, advice? Tips? Reviews? On said product.

No. Please tell me this is a wind up. Where do i start. Hamsters are nocturnal so unless you are going to walk it all night it's not going to work. Add to that the stress you will cause to it, exposing it to predators etc etc etc

How about just buying it a wheel?

Wheels are just as bad. Imagine getting on a treadmill then not being able to stop it. That's pretty much what a wheel does. Balls are even worse.

Have you gone loopy? There's nothing wrong with hamster wheels, the hamster can get on and off when it wants and is able to stop it when they wish.

Um. No there is no need to be rude either. I study animal behaviour and can tell u there is ALOT wrong with hamster wheels. Running endlessly on the wheels is a widely recognised stereotypic behaviour (a sign of stress Incase u didn't know) in hamsters.

Ok sure

I don't understand why you feel the need to be rude. I'm not even sure what you object to. Is it the fact that I happen to have studied his that upsets you? I do apologise for having a brain and doing something with it.

Hamsters are animals that roam miles and miles at night in the wild. They are kept in cages by us, and given little wheels to entertain them, so yes they show stereotypes such as bar biting and endless running on the wheel. Whether its the wheel that causes it or is just the outlet for the stress is a matter for debate, just have a look at some of the journals available on the subject and you'll understand. Just because hamster wheels are common place in pets hops doesn't mean they are good for the animal.


http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1977-22930-001

having been a responsible hamster owner for years i can tell you that if you buy the right sized wheel(6.5" for normal sized dwarfs 8.5" for normal sized Syrians and larger dwarfs and 12" for larger Syrians) and decent sized cage (nothing smaller than mini duna for a lone dwarf and nothing smaller than a sacvic cambridge for a syrian but ideally 80cm x 50cm) and lots of food water and toys also warmth then your hamster will be fine. i don't use balls though i prefer supervised free roaming of my bed.

also about the lead, if you can even get the thing on your hamster it would be a miracle

I don't think I'd let my hamster roam my bed. That's vile. That's why I wanna walk it on a lead. I don't want to sleep with hamster shit.

Yes but it's not about you....it's about the hamster, putting it on a lead would not be good for it. The best suggestion yet is to let him have supervised roaming time (be that on your bed or not).

Hiya. Take hammy upstairs, close all the doors and let him run the full length of the landing. Just sit at the top of the stairs so that he can't pass you. He won't wee/shit anywhere, they save that for their cages. Mine always did. Please don't put a lead on him. They should be removed from sale in my opinion.

they are very clean animals and won't shit on your bed if you give them enough time to go toilet in the cage. you can also let them roam the bath tub if its dry and the hole is plugged.

you don't seem very clued up and i suggest you join a hamster forum like hamster central or hamster hideout or get a book on hamster care Hamsterlopedia is supposed to be a good book

also on the subject of the lead, a dog would kill your hamster in one bite, and it would be unnatural for you to take it the park during the day so would have to take it at night when its dark and dangerous.

it's also likely your ham could pick up an illness from the ground

the leads are useless anyway - i had one so my hams could wander the floor in my room without disappearing or being placed in a ball.
first hamster slipped it and my second just chewed through it, never bothered with them since.

(i could let my third hamster roam wherever the heck she wanted in my room, usually only had to wait 10 minutes and she'd appear on the top of my wardrobe, having climbed up the TV cables.)

letting your ham roam on your bed is a pretty good option, put a towel over your bed if you're afraid of poops, but it's really not messy if they do do a couple of pellets anyway - just pick them up with a tissue.

Mine has a roam around my bed top. He fell off once so had a panic trying to find him! Also have a ball and he trundles around the whole of the dowbstairs in that and loves it. His speed along the kitchen floor is to be seen to be believed!

Get you're hamster a big pen, for the garden. if you have a garden.

But don't expose them to the grass. they could pick up an infection. they don't come from the wild, most pet hamsters. so, their immune systems can't handle it. they have been bred in cages.
make sure it is properly sealed.
put lots of things in it for you're hamster to explore, like branches, and stones and things like that. But Put the stuff you bring in from the wild in the freezer for a day or so to kill off any bugs.

walking a hamster in the park is not a good idea. they are not dogs. they don't understand obedience and boundaries. they'd be miserable tied up like that.
and they are not used to the outside, because the hamsters that we keep as pets have been bred for generations in captivity.

and thinking about it maybe balls, and wheels are a bad idea too. I mean the poor things. being stuck on something like that. I know they are just hamsters, but hell. what a life. in the wild at least they get to explore.

I kept mice when I was a kid. I let them roam around my room.

I feel sorry for birds especially. being caged. My sister had a budgy. and it was miserable. no wonder. it's meant to be flying.

Troll thread.

We have a flying saucer for our Syrian and she loves it... and by that I mean, as you probably know, she "plays" on it rather than just "running endlessly"...

We bought it for the rats but they just ignored it other than to build a nest under it so the hamster got it instead.