Rescuing Foster Hamster Joy | Sunfire Djungarian Hamster

Meet Joy who will be staying with our Foster Home for some time. Joy was surrendered to our rescue because her owner was not allowed to keep her and reached out to us to take her. Joy has a wonderful story to tell, so i hope you'll enjoy this tale of how Joy came to us and what her owner did that was so amazing.
Want to help out our foster home? We have an amazon wishlist to help with our current intakes. Feel free to check it out for items we constantly need like bedding and food: a.co/eJRfn0Q
My Foster Home is about rescuing, rehabilitating and placing the animal in a well matched home. I learn about their personality, their needs and try my best to place them in a forever home once they're ready to leave. Fostering is temporary and tho i may get attached, there will always be a helpless animal out there who needs a place to go, so there will never be a foster fail because i want to have as many foster children as possible, because that's how many animals I've helped in my lifetime. Why not consider fostering yourself? Get involved and see for yourself what it means to be a Foster Home.
* www.paws.org/g...
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/ munchiesplaceforhomele...
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[@wolfbeam3915]

It's a shame Joy had to be given up as the previous owner obviously cared for her. My hope is that this doesn't cause tension within her family. It is nice to see a 'rescue' with a more positive story behind it too.

[@parkfareprincess6550]

Awh thats so sad that her family member wouldnt allow her to keep Joy because Joy seems like she was very well kept!

[@krabhadie9986]

Honestly BLESS THAT WOMAN!!! I feel so bad for her🙁💖

[@moodyangel]

this is joy’s previous owner. i randomly came across this video and became so emotional. THANK YOU for everything you do and how beautifully you handled this situation. sending you so much love.

[@latishajackson4549]

my hamsters are both in bin cages and my girl only climbs the mesh part when she sees and or hears me and wants treat lol but this lady is an angel who owned this hamster she took super good care of her and she is a beautiful hamster i wish more people would do research before getting a pet so they could take good care of it like this lady was it is sad she had to rehome her tho i would be super sad if i had to rehome either of my hamsters

[@alexkelley3814]

My Albino Cambells Russian Dwarf is in a XL bin cage (36 inch by 24 inch) as well, and actually loves to climb on top of his hides... I've never had a dwarf that actually climbed as much as he does. I ended up making levels with ramps as well and he loves to run up them for treats :)

[@krazykookie23]

MY dad was like “look at the pet stores and how big there hamster cages are” and I’m like “Umm, I need to explain some things”...

[@lyricdemers8203]

I think this was the most positive (as it can be) re-homing situation I've ever seen! Thanks for sharing :)

[@imflattered4014]

I feel so bad for the owner I had to give up their amazing pet but I feel so thankful for them to because they worked so hard to take care of her hamster

[@MunchiesPlace]

The good part is that the owner wanted updates of Joy and so that to me says she cares a great deal. 😀

[@delaney6912]

This just makes me smile about how much she cared for joy

[@giovannisingergs4159]

Joy is such a cute hamster I can't wait to see where her journey at the rescue takes her

[@iwritejava]

It’s nice to see people with proper care

[@hollydavis4011]

I think it’s funny how all hamsters are all so different when you mentioned you said you’ve never seen dwarfs climb but my winter white climbs like crazy!

[@murphdawgswizzle]

wow, i would love to have any of your fosters, but i live across the country. i would 100% drive across the country to get her but 1, that’s probably not in the best interest for the hamster and 2, i cannot drive that long because my parents would get worried haha. i think i am going to start fostering hamsters and/or mice and rats when i move homes, i’m going to have a much bigger room and an extra room so i will have plenty of room to build the cages for the fosters. i choose to build the cages because they’re super affordable and you can customize them to your liking. but they definitely take a lot of time and space. have an amazing day munchie!

[@MunchiesPlace]

That sounds so wonderful to hear. ❤️🐹

[@Alex-pn2hn]

I love how passionate you are about saving animals! I would love to rescue, foster and rehome small animals some day. I am planning to adopt a Syrian hamster who was surrendered to a pet shop soon!

[@avg8185]

I used the Ikea detolf display cabinet as cage for my gerbils! It is quite easy to create a lid, if she starts to climb!! She is so sweet hope you found a loving home for her.

[@lisashipman9984]

Thumbs up for AWESOMELY hamsters Care love it joy JOY is soooooooo AWESOME cute

[@paperpenn9923]

Aww god bless this lady. Welcome Joy!

[@animallover2240]

i like dwarfs and havent had one for while im sorta like a rescue and rehablitation service and i love animals but i havent got a rescue/rehabilation lisense im 19 i love all animals willing to help educate and help people understand about their pets

[@ilovemyself9565]

She's so lucky

[@Audrey-th6hg]

Joy is gorgus she brung me joy plus whats wrong with rats??!!!! they are VERY amazing animals love you guys

[@heyimsosorry902]

I feel so sad for the original owner. They obviously loved her and it’s so sad that they have to get rid of her

[@CrazyScienceBro]

These videos make me miss my rodets :( . I had two gerbils for five years before they passed. You're amazing

[@kristinebruton8607]

Joy is such an adorable little sweetheart I hope you have some fun times with her until she's rehomed or that you decide to keep her

[@MunchiesPlace]

She's being rehomed. I already have 5 personal Hammy's. I enjoy finding the fosters good homes. It creates a powerful bond with my community so people can rely on me for future adoptions. 😊

[@kristinebruton8607]

@@MunchiesPlace awwww sweet that's awesome but until she's rehomed I hope you'll enjoy watching her play and enjoy life

[@gracekreis9839]

Sooo cute hope she finds a good home.

[@mollym6556]

What a cutie! She looks like a little dumpling haha. Good luck finding her a new home :D

[@Cloud_less]

As sad as it is to have to relinquish any pet, it’s so wonderful and refreshing to see a responsible and truly caring owner. I’m so happy you stepped in here and. It because you’re saving an animal from neglect or abuse for once but because Joy’s precious owner can now rest assured her beloved hammy is in the best of hands! A beautiful testament to the work you do Munchie! ♥️

[@smallpetchronicles3586]

That glass cage is amazing omg! Totally would’ve gotten joy myself if she was in my area, she’s so cute :)

[@anthonymcdonnell6615]

Joy is very very cute

[@elle4892]

I feel so bad for the owner ☹️she took so good care of her and must've loved joy so much!

[@HAH_G]

Wow amaizing women so sad she cant hold hammy but wow so cute hammy has new home temporary and waiting to adopt to another person who love him 💖

[@funnybunny9144]

If I lived closer to you I would so want to adopt Joy she’s stunning and absolutely adorable!!!

[@amberlanier5224]

You inspired me to rescue a hamster named honey. Thanks 🙂 I am also from Washington

[@amberlanier5224]

Nao a hybrid i think

[@skipiscool6792]

I have a hammy called huney to😊🤯😅I love dat name

[@Audrey-th6hg]

YAY!! I AM ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO GOT HEAR QUIKLY!!!

[@rhiannamae6075]

It’s so sweet that there are amazing people like this in the world

[@laragray6901]

Btw the wooden house you showed goes with the little castle house with the tunnel that’s in her cage and the little bendy bridges (there are 3) attach from the top of the big house to the bottom and another bridge goes from the second hole on the top layer to the other side of the tunnel which is on the castle ..... btw I have that product so that is how I know look it up on amazon and it will show you the set😂💗

[@MunchiesPlace]

I found that out after making the video. Im happy that I can stick the bridge back onto it and create the awesome little wooden home. XD

[@lilyprice3207]

Aw she's so sweet and cute. It makes me so happy that there are some people out there who take good care of there animals. I might be getting another hamster soon. He's from the pets at home adoption which is like the petco adoption but in the UK. He's so sweet and I'm really hoping I can get him. He's been in there for about 2 months and I really bad for him and he's in a tiny cage even though there's a bigger cage next to him that he could go in!

[@lilyprice3207]

@@negan1445 oh no I meant how he's in one of the small tank cages on display but there's one twice the size next to him which he could be living in until I get him. I already have the Alaska at home for my hammy and will probably get another one for him

[@funnybunny9144]

Oh my gosh your new lil rescue soooooo adorable!!!

[@anikal.2317]

My syrian is in a 40 gallon breeder tank with lots of toys and lots of bedding. Shes very happy

[@JeremyGoneWildPets]

Wonderful! This is great!

[@i_dont_exist_shh7387]

I’m seeing this video rn and we recently got a hamster that’s really similar to Joy and we actually called him Joy to hahaha

[@laragray6901]

Aww love the hammy xx

[@mak3960]

I honestly love the rescue videos and hearing the backstory

[@nicholasdriscoll9392]

I have a Sunfire named peanut also!

[@fionafox420]

As someone that has 7 rats, I take so much offense to her family member not liking rats. They’re one of the best small pets IMO

[@darkdragoneclipse]

It's really sad how many people hate hampsters/rats/mice when I got pregnant in march everyone in my family and my fiance's family kept trying to make us get rid of our rats. We didn't of course because we love our boys. Now we've had our son and he's going to grow up having rodent pets too.

[@thesecretroman]

Shes gorgeous! I love her cage too, she looks well looked after and I know you'll make sure it stays that way for the rest of her life! I'm shocked at how much they sell that sand for over there! Those tubs of sand are £3 in Pets at Home, one of the UKs big chain pet stores (google tells me that's $3.80 right now) and not much more on Amazon.

[@304kaya]

Wow! That is amazing! That hamster has perfect cage!

[@katelynbenson9122]

Hello i’ve been watching you for a little bit now and I really appreciate the work you do not a lot of people help rescue small animals and i love that but I really just wanted some advise I do rescues for animals in need in my area also and I just rescued 2 winter white dwarf hamsters Monday and they where in really bad condition.. the lady said he 12 year old daughter got them from Petco without her which I don’t know if I believe but anyways they where kept in the Petco box for 2 days with no water and no food and nothing to do and she didn’t know anything about them nor did she want to hold them because she was scared so I said I would take them right away and the next day I got them. I found out they where girls and that’s about it I don’t think their very old because they are very small, but I have noticed they are squeaking at each other a lot they haven’t been fighting but just yelling at each other a lot and I have looked into it but I just wanted some advise from you 🙂 update an hour later I noticed they have been fighting so I’m separating them

[@MunchiesPlace]

Yes separate them. They are stressed from being shifted around. They could have been litter mates, however with this situation this has caused them to lose their bond and it's good to keep them separated from now on. Thanks for rescuing them. 🙏

[@katelynbenson9122]

Munchie's Place okay thank you so much!

[@izziec3498]

Yayayyay another foster

[@sarahcoast7465]

I love your videos! You are awesome!

[@capricebaker5271]

In Bristol the tiny friends farm sand is under £4!!That's such a difference

[@hunterurban5465]

I like to put in one water dish in a spot where I know my hamster doesn't dig and then one water bottle in the kind of main area of her tank. It's neat to see which she chooses after different activities

[@plantbeanmama9112]

Keep up the good work Munchie! ♥

[@SullenAngel]

Yay, another lavender hater! Haha, I don't understand how anyone likes that smell. My favorite smelly flowers are lilac and cultivated red roses. Wild roses are too much for me- soapy kinda like lavender. I thought maybe I was just a weirdo. Anyway, love that you help these little guys out and show them so much love and care! I'm currently taking care of a Great Pyrenees/German Shepherd mix dog while his owners find a new place to live that allows dogs.

[@MunchiesPlace]

#AntiLavenderClub 💜

[@gracekreis9839]

Love your channel I wait al the time for a vid lol

[@darciebuckley2292]

Thank you so much for telling me this about the hamsters my hamster was in a small home and I’ve moved her into a been cage and now when I hold her she does not run away and I am enjoying my time with her much more

[@ichangedmychannelforever2888]

I had a hamster like this and I named her Marshmallow And she passed away :C

[@carganatpal31]

I would love to adopt a hamster but I don’t where I can

[@alexiszoubek]

I was scrolling threw hamsters on KSL, and saw someone selling two Syrians in one tiny tiny cage 🥺 he said they are very playful so I messaged him and said to separate them. He did have another bigger cage but kept them both in the same one

[@alexiaandtwodogs451]

Great video i like it!💗

[@catiewolford9009]

My pancake looks just like joy!

[@chloeszoo]

Why dont i live in the state u do?!?!? XD im wanting a winter white dwarf hammy maybe by next year i can find one on CL

[@scin1ty]

chloes zoo ah! Look on Craigslist. There are many hammies needing to be re-homed.

[@theodorethehamster8574]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[@highalien]

amazing

[@yeano2759]

Congrats Joy! My personal opinion on Vita Smart, even though I haven't tried it, I read the ingredients and the first ingredient is Soy. I say that's not great but I could be wrong. Joy is so cute!

[@sharrongray1837]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@Corita93]

Comparing to other rescued hamsters, yeah, these conditions were great... except disk :P No tail to keep balance (like mices) means disks are risky.

[@MunchiesPlace]

Flying saucers are fine for hamster use.

[@Corita93]

@@MunchiesPlace no, they're not for reason I wrote. Hamsters don't have long tails that would help keep balance. If they stop running on flying saucer, it keeps spinning and centrifugal force pushes them out of disk and they can fall off and hit something. This doesn't happen in wheel and it stops much easier. No German breeder would ever use disk, they were developed for chinchillas, who have long tails.

[@MunchiesPlace]

For flying saucers I've found they work best for litters of hamsters so they don't pinch themselves in a traditional wheel and for larger hamsters who cannot fit comfortably into a traditional wheel. But the thing that bothers me about your statement is the fact that you don't seem to realize traditional wheels cause impact too. My hamsters especially my dwarfs go flying off of their traditional wheels if they suddenly stop and my dwarfs have been at the top of their wheels while running and suddenly gravity happens and they fall down. That's why I don't use bigger than needbe wheels for dwarfs. So let's just be honest here and agree everything we use for them will somehow be bad for them in some ways.

[@annasmith4818]

I do the same thing she does with two beddings lol I thought I was the only one fewww hahaha

[@horsesarecool371]

Where do you live in Washington? I live in Spokane and look for hamsters all the time but can barley find any!

[@NKC228]

Whats the name of the video with that soiled bedding? I don't recall watching it

[@MunchiesPlace]

I rescued 6 hamsters part 2. Be warned...it's a nightmare.

[@nataliefoltz3014]

My hamsters name is joy !

[@tiffyah3982]

You’re so amazing; I wish I could adopt many hamsters but I’m full :( I’m not trying to attack and I apologize if this sounds rude or comes of wrong but what is your typical day like and how do you earn enough money? Also, sorry about the emergency that happened... hope everyone is fine and doing well. Anyways, great video! It’s always so exciting when I see someone who takes proper care of their hamsters and they’re other animals. xx👀❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤💗💓💞

[@MunchiesPlace]

We don't earn money. Adoption fees are low. 5-8 dollars is usually a adoption fee. All money for these guys comes out of pocket or donated by wonderful people online. And typical day is just spending my time working and coming home to spend half an hour with the Hamsters. Interacting, feeding, holding, checking food and water dishes and bottles.

[@tiffyah3982]

Munchie's Place only 30 minutes 😱😱😱 it takes me 2 hours worth 5 hamsters. Oh lord your fast ❤️🧡

[@kswain5900]

Hi ,I was am getting this IKEA cage and was wondering if I could put two darwf hamsters together.And thanks for answering my past few questions it feels good to get advice from an expert.Love your vids!🤗

[@MunchiesPlace]

Ikea Detolf is 1k of sq inches so yes if you have a bonded pair of dwarfs, this would work well. It's also great to divide up the cage encase they ever need to be separated.

[@therowantree]

ooooh i use vita smart for my hamsters diet

[@aimeekathleen3789]

YAYYY!!!! munchie how to u have enough space!!!! Hahaa

[@MunchiesPlace]

I'm a wizard. 🧙‍♀️

[@thatkidmason-7068]

I want that one

[@tossacointoyourwitcher3951]

I just got a sunfire hamster! She is super sweet and tame. Our son demanded we name her Jellybean(coco melon kid) Is it normal for them to have red eyes?

[@MusicLvr4ever15]

I understand the oxbow garden select has high fiber, but is it even worth feeding when there are other high quality feeds? Just curious

[@MunchiesPlace]

It's a high quality feed. The down side to Oxbow is that none of the Hamsters really like eating it. So I mix it into their food.

[@MusicLvr4ever15]

Munchie's Place then why does every hamster group I’ve been in so far recommend not feeding it? Not trying to argue- I really am curious.

[@mollym6556]

I agree with MusicLvr4ever15 Oxbow is actually not suitable as hamster food, It's too low protein (16% rather than 18-20%). It brings down the total protein content even mixed with other foods. It's great that you took in another hammy though, Munchie! Good luck with her :)

[@MunchiesPlace]

I never thought of it as a main meal for a hamster due to that analysis. I always saw it as an additive to their food. From my own opinion i find it to be fine to mix into their regular food. However sunburst already has a similar pellet for fiber in their blend so i don't actively go out and buy Oxbow but free food is free food unless it wasn't properly marked, then i don't use the food if i don't know what it is. And i'd like to see this forum you've been on MusicLvr, please link it to me if you can. Thanks.

[@MusicLvr4ever15]

Munchie's Place there’s just a few different hamster care groups on Facebook that really seem to get into a tidy when oxbow is brought up. Which is why your recommendation confused me- I’m always looking to improve my girls diet so if it’s a good idea to add this for a bit of extra fiber, then I’m for it. I tried asking that awhile ago in the different groups and everyone was adamant that it wasn’t worth it to get it. I myself don’t buy sunburst for the seed mix,I personally prefer vita garden or Browns tropical carnival natural. But need a little fiber supplement to go with the tropical carnival natural as it is slightly on the lower end of the spectrum.

[@jaidyn4638]

my baby girl who was a rescue she is a extremely curious winter white she has a 540 sq inch bin and she climbs her hide all the time

[@chloeszoo]

If*

[@sarajohannestheimsreng5735]

Do you have any tips? My hammy is superangry and attacks me everytime I put my hand in the cage waiting for him to come over to my hand (he is 9 weeks old) and bought from a petstore.

[@MunchiesPlace]

Sounds like he has cage aggression. If he actively attacks you then there is nothing you can do. Cage aggression happens in hamsters who're not provided the right space and became territorial or they breed aggressive parents and their offspring learn from them. It's the same with bird breeders. They hold onto the ones that would not sell well due to behavior and breed them. Your hammy is unfortunately going to only be a watch hamster. There is no way to correct this.

[@ElohiSilverEarthVentures]

So we'd planned to get our 8 ur old son a hamster on his birthday this year last July but his dad wasn't for it. Ide done tons of research and figured out all the details for specifically the Syrian hamster. The care for each individual hamster is surprisingly diverse. But...I guess other night while our son was eith his dad and he suddenly decided to go out and buy a hamster.. called me to tell me after he bought it. And he bought one that ide acually never even heard of, and was sort of unhappy he'd done this so spontaneously without my knowledge. He didn't even get a water feeder, the cage was a handy down and had missing parts...just a mess. Our son hadn't even seen the hamster, neither of them even knew the name of it. I came to find out the little guy is Djungarian deaf hamster...and boy he's way different than the hamster ide learned all about, he is like half the size. So, I did a little research and ya totally from Petco. And they bought just random stuff that's not exactly what he needed and he was broke when coming back I guess, so very frustrating he didn't even get what he needs. I mean a dang water feeder...Com on. Anyways fast fwd to today, which I didn't know he'd be coming today but they brought the hamster to my house and came rushing in the door with the cage almost falling apart because the poor guy had tipped over in the car ride, ugh I was almost in tears mad. I grabbed the caged and quickly tried calming "Humphrey" down, and found a little empty toilet paper roll for him to hide in and put him in a little shoe box while I fixed up his Cage...just had him right next to me w the shoebox in a clothing hamper so I could keep an eye on him too. Finally after getting this all fixed and situated better for his environment, I grabbed some seeds and veggie pieces,and a little slice of apple, im sort of just guessing what he'd like, so after he munched a bit, he went straight to the little cubby spot i made for him and went to sleep. But now I'm trying to quickly research as much I can and learn and figure out a shopping list for this guy. So thank you for helping me get some good tips on what I can do to make him happy.

[@ElizabethRodriguez-zg4xk]

Hey munchie I'm just asking but is a 15.5x22.2x12.5 (WxLxH inches) container okay to use for a dwarf hamster?

[@MunchiesPlace]

It's 344 sq inches. The community advocates for at least 450 sq inches however from personal experience with dwarfs they've been ok with a 360 sq inch tank which is the 20 gal long tank. Just keep in mind every hamster is different and if you see any stress/boredom signs, please upgrade. I'm about to have a discussion about cage sizes since the 450 sq inches was abolished by the hamsterhideout forms so i need to address this for the community. Bigger can be better but not always. My roborovski actually had a behavior change after being upgraded to a larger enclosure so i'm not always for larger cages unless it's a Syrian Hamster. So we as a community need to have a sit down chat and actually discuss this. So honestly my advice, try it out and see if your dwarf is alright but upgrade if you're finding your dwarf needing more room, more enrichment. And of course add plenty of toys/hides and sand dishes for them.

[@ElizabethRodriguez-zg4xk]

@@MunchiesPlace thanks for the advice since I'm doing alot of research about them for my first time^^ The container is only gonna be temporary but I just wanted to make sure. I also wanted to know if PetSmart or Petco do adoption for hamsters since I saw hammylux adopt one from one of these places.

[@MunchiesPlace]

Petco takes in surrenders if they have room and adopts them out. Petsmart doesn't take in any pets but only adopts out their inventory if they become sick/old/ have behavior problems or they were returned within 2 weeks of purchase at petsmart.

[@ryleefroh6330]

Coulf you maybe add an inch of so hamsters need to burrow which i am sure you know thank you😀

[@MunchiesPlace]

The enclosure has 3 inches on one side while the other side is flatter. Usually hamsters pile their bedding in corners, however Joy is not a digger and lays on top of her bedding. Not sure if this is because of how dense the paper is but this what I've observed besides there being plenty in her den already to keep warm. And yes I'm aware.

[@ryleefroh6330]

@@MunchiesPlace ok thank you

[@capricebaker5271]

Hi wondering if you can help we use woodshavings from a pet shop that says hamster safe and dust extracted etc on it but it smells so strong and we want to get another bedding for them . We were going to get the carefresh one but wanted to check with you first to make sure it's 100% okay apparently it is but want to make sure????🐹

[@MunchiesPlace]

Carefresh is good to use but can be dusty if getting the natural bedding. I always use kaytee clean and cozy bedding myself.

[@capricebaker5271]

Thanks so much I didn't think we would have it here but we do !we will defiantly get that thanks again

[@shin-ahbluedragon5409]

I was Browsing through “blocket” witch kinda Sweden’s version of Craigslist and I saw a listing of a mother rehoming her daughters Syrianhamster and that poor hammy was in the tiniest cage! (the wheel was super tiny to)I would love to take him in but I highly doubt my parents would let me, even if I rehomed him afterwards😔😢

[@tatump1326]

I absolutely love Joy so much but I sadly live in Ohio :(

[@Ms3queen]

How is Joy now?

[@luvqmiaa]

At my pet co they are in 20 gallon tanks

[@blahblahblahblahblahblah3242]

Do you have any adds on hamsters on the app kijiji

[@GhostHamsters]

Hey there :) is there really that big of a difference between German and US hamster cages? I'm from Germany myself and I didn't knew we had such a difference housing situation for our hamsters :)

[@MunchiesPlace]

Correct. German cages from what my fellow munchkins and viewers had said to me is that usually German cages for hamsters start around 800 sq inches for minimum size requirements and that they're mainly all natural with hardly any plastic inside the cage.

[@charlottestevens9352]

Are u UK based I'd love to take joy

[@madeleineb.3229]

Can 2 female djungarian sunfire hamsters live together?

[@siribarr8063]

My hamster name is jellybean

[@recycledfelines]

awwwwwwwwwww

[@phrogboi2791]

VitaSmart is really good for guinea pigs and small rodents

[@wloxya7422]

What would you recommend if your hamster can’t drink from a bottle? My hamster has a bit of problems with that 😉

[@extraaccount8177]

If she doesn't like it, that's understandable. But if she has trouble, take her to the vet.

[@momo-ct4ve]

So I don't know much about your channel yet or much about how you take care of your hamsters. I just know that you rescue hamsters with love and that you really want to make sure they're fine. But since hamsters are natural diggers, they need a minimum of 20cm/7 inches (the more the better) of bedding height so that they can follow their natural habits. It's even better to give them a bedding height of about 30cm/12inches on the one side. I heared some owners say that their hamsters don't even dig but that's most of the time because they don't have the opportunity to. I really appreciate your work you put in to the care for the hamsters and hope you see this as what it is, a constructive critic. Since you're a pet rescuer I think you will accept and use tips just as I do, to give your pets the best live.😄 And I just wanted to say, that I wouldn't recommend Vita craft cause they use lots of sugar in their food.

[@MunchiesPlace]

Thank you for understanding i rescue/foster hamsters. For the food, we use what we are given and if it's free, it's not thrown out. I understand Vita Kraft has sugar but usually i avoid giving the hamsters Sunburst since they do have higher amounts in their food, yet i still use and recommend their food because it has a good seed mix. I just avoid it with overweight hamsters or prone to diabetes. Understand that everyone has a preference for food (People were just nagging at me last week about Oxbow and honestly it's getting pretty overwhelming to keep hearing "you're doing it wrong") and that i mix different food mixes together to balance out their needs. As for the bedding, Joy has piled high her bedding within her den/hide. She does not burrow (I was shocked too) but she has made herself comfy within her little home. Like most hamsters, they will make burrows and dig and push bedding aside and bring it to their place of sleeping in their mouths. For Joy, she carried bedding to her hit and has it packed to make her comfortable and i have witnessed this. We are aware of the 3+ inch rule (it's alright to give them more) but Joy is fine and surprisingly doesn't use her entire cage. Some dwarfs will prefer a smaller space and i'm starting to see Joy is one of those hamsters who will not use half of her enclosure. But all hamsters are different and the more i observe them, the easier it is to give out correct and better info to the general public about each species of hamster. But rest assured, she is fine and is being properly enriched. Thank you.

[@saydethelittle2741]

Munchie I need your help/advice/guidance. One of the pet stores I don’t usually go to had one female hamster in with 10 or more males in a tiny glass tank. The tank was marked not for sale. The female was getting raped and bitten by multiple hamsters. She had wounds and looked half dead. She was just laying there and it was so sad. I’m home now and crying. Will they kill her? This can’t be okay right? I wrote a yelp review but idk what else to do. That place was horrible. They had mice tanks with several dead mice. They had a huge fish in a tiny aquarium with no space to swim. I’m bawling and scared I have not seen anything like this in person and I don’t know what to do.

[@MunchiesPlace]

Is this a local private petstore? Cause I would never expect a petstore to bred their own hamsters unless they were used as snake food but even then there shouldn't be that many in one enclosure like that. It's inhumane. If there is laws set in place in your state for animal currently, you can report the pet store to local athorities for cruelty and Google anything up regarding pet store cruelty.

[@saydethelittle2741]

Munchie's Place its a local chain called Petsway. I didn’t even think to take a picture or video or anything because I was in shock and horrified. I know I live in one of the only states that allows puppy mills thanks to Roy blunt :/. I will look up the animal laws and see because I’m not sure what they are. I knew that couldn’t be okay. There are more petsways that I could go to to try to report them maybe? I don’t know the other ones I have been to weren’t like that. It was like nothing I had seen before :(

[@The_fake_tessa]

Wait is lavender bedding bad or unsafe ?

[@MunchiesPlace]

Scented from what people say shouldn't be used because it's too strong of a smell for small animals and is not needed. It's only there for the humans and not the benefit of the pet. But I think more studies need to be done first to understand how strong it really is.

[@The_fake_tessa]

Ok thank you for informing me I’ve used it before and loved it but guess I just assumed it was ok since it was carefresh