If you are at university, you are probably used to the endless stream of fellow students selling hamster cages, wheels, bedding, and even the little creatures themselves on Facebook at the end of the year.
It makes sense why so many students opt to have hamsters. They’re small, quiet, usually allowed by landlords (or easy enough to hide if not), and relatively low maintenance.
However, it’s clear that these pets don’t last long in the hands of some university students, who pawn them off when it’s time to move back home for the summer, and many have raised questions over the treatment of them in uni houses.
Treat hamsters well
An anonymous confessions page at the University of Birmingham, Brumfess, features several posts from students concerned about the welfare of hamsters kept in student houses. One person urged students to ‘stop buying hamsters when you don’t know if you’ll be able to keep them’ and begged people to ‘please stop putting them in tiny cages’ as they get stressed in small enclosures.
They went on to write: ‘If your house is cold, invest in an under-tank heater over winter, otherwise the cold will send them into shock and kill them. They’re tiny souls and by buying one you take responsibility for them, please take them seriously!’
Another said that it was ‘shocking’ seeing the number of posts about hamsters needing a new home.
‘Hamsters are not just cheap pets that are ideal for students because they’re supposedly cheap and have fairly short lifespans. They need so much love and care and actually there are many other rodent based pets which are much easier to look after (not that you should even get one without doing research and being able to fully commit first),’ they posted on the forum.
Student houses and hamsters
Why might students’ houses not be the right environment for hamsters? Firstly, hamsters need predictable lighting, which means being kept in a room where the lights go off at more or less the same time each night. Furthermore, they are distressed by loud noises such as music or yelling. They also need a large cage with lots of space to burrow, and should be kept away from ultrasound noise which is emitted by things such as running water, televisions, or vacuum cleaners.
Even if they are able to care properly for a hamster (including providing a suitable cage, wheel/ball, food, time to play outside their cage, and a quiet environment) there is another thing students should consider when getting a hamster. How long can you keep it? It’s apparent that many students don’t consider what will happen to the hamster when they move back home or to another city where they cannot take their pet, as there are always students selling cages and hamsters on Facebook when term ends. Hamsters get stressed out when they are transported, making transitions to a new household unsettling for them.
Remember, as the saying goes, a pet is for life, not just for Christmas (or, more aptly, during term time in your second year of uni).