They deserve a thread of their own, as they provide hours of entertainment and don't really have much of an effect on the wallet!

Who else has any and / or tales of their conquests (I know a few have said so in other threads)?

We have a 4 month girlie who is slightly crazy.

I had a bag of them in my freezer once.

Not any more though ..... the snakes ate them all.

I know one hamster who actually killed a snake they were supposed to be food for.

Anyone who's ever seen a hamster yawn will know they're not as harmless as they look. They'll fight to the death over territory. Personally I love them.

Anyone watch Marc Wootton Exposed a few months back? Poor Pierre

Yeah .... that can happen.

I know of a python (only a small one .... not some 20 foot monster) that was taken out by a rat that was meant to be food.

Hamsters have sharp little teeth!

My frozen ones didn't present any such problems .....

I have one! My little boy. I love him. I just bought him tons of stuff from pets @ home today. I got him a little sleeping bag, hamster popcorn and an edible food bowl. He is a spoiled little thing. He is stunning and I love him more than my OH! (well not really but don't tell him that! )

i love my stewie !!!!

had him 3 years !!!!!!!

he makes me laugh so much sometimes he climbs on the bars when he has to go in and tries to open up the top door to get out.

he has been a bit of a rude little boy though, once i had he at the end of my bed and i woke up and he'd chewed the bottom of my quilt cover ! (he was in a cage. i didnt just let me roam all night)

Blimy 3 years
We have one,Elvis. Makes me laugh as he likes to sleep with his bum out of his house,flashing his bits
He's such a character

my other 2 hamsters have all only last about a yr and a half. Im actually very surprised stewies lasted this long too

and oh my god. mine like to sleep with his privates on show !!!!! lol

So does mine. He has GIGANTIC balls and sleeps with his legs akimbo and his nuts squashed against the cage for all too see! He even pulls on his furry willy with his teeth! He is a clever boy!

I used to have a hamster, but unfortunately he died about 6 months old

He was a mad little fella, he loved his plastic ball for running in, and he also liked to wee in my hands

Still miss him

Awww...

Our little girl is a bit more of a lady and sleeps all wrapped up. She is huge though and a bit of a chunky girl. She loves hanging from one arm onto the other and snuggling in to watch the tv.

My other girl was put to sleep last month, but I was happy that she was no longer suffering!

Mine also decided he would NEVER use the door on his bedroom 'house'....he insisted on chewing the window a bit larger and only ever using that

I had one once, Mousey, purely to rescue it from being let free in the garden by a very irresponsible friend, but it wasn't allowed in my house so my gran let it live in her shed.

The ONE day I couldn't get there, I asked my gran to feed it and check it was ok. She confirmed it was, though it had actually chewed a giant hole in the wall and escaped, she was talking to a ball of bedding when she 'fed' it...

Needless to say we never saw Mousey again

I remember, when I was a kid, walking into the dining room to see our hamster looking at me from the top of the wall unit. He'd climbed up by getting behind it and pushing his back against the wall

We have a hamster called Hope (hope he doesn't escape) my daughter thought he was a girl so bought him a lovely pink cage but when I took him to the vet because "she" had a couple of huge "growths" I was told the "growths" were his testicles lol, they are huge. Hope is such a well behaved hamster if he escapes my daughter looks behind the sofa and calls him and he comes running back to her

I loves my little Pumpkin and Clover! Pumpkin's just turned 25 months. and Clover's nearly 7 months old. They make me smile so much! I always wanted hamsters when I was little but my mum never let me, so once I was settled in my own place, I got Pumpkin. Gradually getting more hammy mad, I got Clover earlier this year, from Wyeside Hamsters in Hereford.
There's lots of hamster shows round the country (like Crufts but for hamsters!) - if you google Towy Vale, they have a comprehensive list of upcoming shows, and they're all over England and Wales (sadly Scotland doen't get much of a look-in), and there's loads of Hamster forums out there for the curious and/or obsessed! (and for less crazy people than me!). Hamster Heaven gets the thumbs up from me, it's the one I always have gone back to, even if I've strayed to others temporarily - there's also loads of experienced breeders on there who really do know there stuff!
I love hammies!

It's a small world - a Ferplast Mary fan!

I'm going to a show in a couple of weeks (first one).

Hello, I'm Millie Muppet, and I'm a hamsterholic.

("hello Millie")


As a child I had loads of the little critters, but reckon now that I never appreciated them properly- or knew how to look after them well, come to think of it. Hamsters do get a very bad press, but only because they are mistakenly bracketed into the 'childrens' pets' category- IMHO they are definitely NOT for children. In my local Pets at Home, a sales assistant told me that many hamsters are returned unwanted as soon as they bite their young owners. That broke my heart.

As an adult, I've had 3 Syrians so far, and I'm absolutely obsessed with my little babies. Currently I have Flossie and Tabitha, who are both male (don't ask ) and just delightful. Getting them tamed, and winning their trust, is so very rewarding. I'd fill my house with hammies, were it not for the fact that Mr Muppet would be distinctly unamused. I spend hours doing silly voices at them, and love kissing their fluffy little tummies. When my previous hamster Millie (after whom I am 'usernamed') died last month, I was in pieces- I watched her taking her last breath in my hands.

To anyone thinking of getting a hamster- I would say resolutely, DO IT. As the OP said, they are easy on the wallet, low-maintenance, and a fantastic little cuddly face to come home to. I loves my hammies soooo much.

As an addendum, I have to say that Syrian hamsters are THE hamsters.

I have no truck with this dwarf/ Campbells/ Roborovski business.

We've got 2 Chinese hamsters called Ant and Dec
They're cute little things but who'd have thought something so small could make so much noise!

We're adopting a Syrian hamster called Harry at the weekend, from the local animal rescue group. We've just started fostering little rodents for them, but we met Harry last week and fell in love with him.
I get the feeling this fostering business is going to result in us having a house full of small furry creatures we can't bear to give up!

I love russian hamsters. They are MAD. I had one (rescue from RSPCA) who used to lie on his back and eat things you gave him from underneath.

And when he ran around in his wheel, instead of slowing down he just used to stop running and the wheel momentum would throw him out sideways into the cage.

I had hamsters for years, but I was so sad after my last one died (er, in around 2001!) that I've not had another one - they just don't live long enough

But I had to hamster-sit for a work colleague recently and his hamster was absolutely lovely - so tame and friendly!

Now I'm really tempted, but the other consideration is that I'm actually allergic to animals. I had hamsters in the past because they're relatively easy to keep to one room. But I don't know if I can justify it now.

Hamsters make brilliant pets but don't just stick them in a cage and forget about them - in other words if your child isn't going to look after it then don't get one! They only have a short life probably about 18 months or so so it's cruel to just stick them in a cage and forget about them.

They give loads of amusement, are total escape artists (they can chew anything), but they are so cute. But sometimes that blank cute look is actually cos they have poor eyesight and can't see you unless you're very close.

And contrary to popular belief they are actually omnivores so will eat anything. They love food and treats, but obviously not sugary things.

Ours has loads of things to amuse it such as ladders, even a bog roll inner tube, a little igloo (supposed to sleep in it but it actually uses it to stash its food in), a wheel.

I would hate to think about all the poor hamsters left and ignored, probably don't even have food and water and just get forgotten - don't give kids pets they get bored with them.

Yes they do bite but the more they're handled the tamer they get like any other pet. Just keep your fingers away to start with - they do have very sharp teeth and sink them well in! Some are worse temperaments than others, the one we have now has never bitten, not even by mistake. They all have different characters.

As they don't live so long just give them the best home they could possibly have for their short time - it's not difficult. They sleep most of the day but come evening they're fun.

I love hamsters we've had 3. Each time we're so sad when one dies and swear we can't bear another but every time we give in cos they're such lovely animals. Although our 2nd one was sooo grumpy! She practically screeched at us for ages but we still loved her and by the end she'd accepted us. (Even though it was "just give me the food and piss off").

Just don't waste hamsters on small children - they have no idea how to look after pets and you'll end up doing it.

I was little when I got my first hamster, my mum thought I'd lose interest, but I never did. She used to come out for hours and was so friendly (she even came to school once). Now many years later I'm still hooked and now my mum is too.

I think it's best for parents to either get a hamster that's well tamed from a breeder or accept the responsibility of taming them and do some research for themselves. There are bound to be some mistakes as it's part of the learning process, but thankfully there is a lot more information out there compared to ten years ago.

I'm still horrified at some of the cages and other items on sale for them in shops, wired levels, really small and that cotton wool type bedding.