xelay

Even though I already linked this one I have to say that I think Marvel's rescue is my favorite. He was found in a pet store in West Virginia by a friend of a friend with his flesh infected and rotting after being attacked by another hamster. She found him on Valentine's day (a Saturday) and within 24 hours a whole train of people came together to get Marvel from West Virginia to Bloomington Indiana. He traveled over 500 miles because of the kindness of strangers and then lived his next month with round the clock care in an oxygen cage until he fully healed and lived another year as a happy healthy hamster with us.

Here's his story, but be warned the pictures of his injuries are pretty graphic. http://imgur.com/a/PEADb

And as for advice for new owners. First, get a big enough cage. 360 square inches really is the absolute minimum and if you can go bigger both you and your hamster will be happier. Second, find a vet who will at least see your hamster in an emergency as soon as you get your hamster. Trust me, it really sucks to be desperately calling around while your hamster is struggling to breathe only to find out that no vet wll see you if you aren't an already established client.

Syrian hamsters are naturally solitary so they cannot live with other hamsters because the odds are they will kill each other. It's not because they're mean though, it's because they are territorial and humans put them together when they should never live together as adults.

That said, some hamsters are also quite aggressive whether because of poor temperament or neglect and abuse.

In March 2012 we bought our first three hamsters from a pet store (I know, I know), and then shortly thereafter, in June 2012 we adopted 3 hamsters from the local shelter. One of those hamster was named Pipsqueak. We quickly realized she was ill and for the next four months we took her to many veterinary appointments, and whenever we traveled she went with since she was always on medication. Four months later on a Saturday morning, September 8, 2012, Pipsqueak passed away in our hands while we told her how much we loved her and would never forget her.

It was our time with her that inspired us to start rescuing hamsters and gave us the drive to focus on caring for even the sickest of hamsters. Nearly 4 years later we now care for 61 hamsters in our home. Most are sanctuary hamsters because of serious chronic medical issues, behavioral problems, or just old age. We have had many hamsters need surgery, we have treated diabetes, we have had severely injured hamsters, we have had hamsters missing limbs, and so much more. It just seems like they are considered a pet that can be tossed aside when owners are sick of them, but we see them as these tiny little creatures with such huge individual personalities. We can't save every hamster, but we always do our best to make room for the hamsters that really need the specialized care we can provide.

As for the worst case of abuse, I would have to say that's a tie between Marvel and Nic.

Marvel's story is at the following link, but be warned the images are quite graphic. http://imgur.com/a/PEADb Marvel came to us all the way from West Virginia with some of the worst injuries I have ever seen. He was found in a pet store by a friend of a friend with his flesh actually rotting off after having been attacked by another hamster.

Nic's story is just a sad one of serious neglect and an owner that was willing to feed him to the dogs rather than get him proper medical care. His story is at this link: http://imgur.com/a/n7233

Each hamster costs a minimum of $6 a month for food, bedding, litter, and other small items like treats and chews. So that means at 61 hamsters we are spending at least $366 a month on basic supplies. If an average hamster were to live with us for 1.5 years that would cost us $108 just for the basic care of the hamster (I would guess most live with us for about 1.5 years if you average out the longterm residents and fast adoptions).

However, and this is a big however, the cost skyrockets when veterinary care is involved. For example, we took one of our hamsters to the vet to have surgery today and her bill will likely be a minimum of $250 (probably more because it turns out the mass has grown around her urethra). So, we have hamsters that have had $500+ worth of surgery, we have had hamsters on insulin (they cost about $50 a month to keep alive), and we have hamsters that need really specialized diets which all add to the cost.

Given all that it's really hard to come up with a good average, but I would guess every hamster we take in costs us an average of $300 in their lifetime. Any hamster could individually easily costs $500-1000 if they have a serious medical issue though.

It really depends on what's wrong with your hamster. However, my first inclination would be to search for an exotic vet in your area. By your area I mean within about two hours though because even though we have a vet in town that will see our hamsters for minor things we drive almost 2 hours to an exotic vet for anything remotely complicated.

Of course, sometimes you just have to do what you can to keep your hamster comfortable at home, but the sad reality is that a truly sick hamster will often die without veterinary care.