hamster abuse

[smartestnumber5]

I was helping my roommate move out of our apartment complex today (yes, in the middle of a heat wave!) when someone came over with what seemed to be a hamster cage and began talking to some of the people helping with the move. Sure enough, one of the helpers stated calling out to us "does anyone want a hamster?" No one did.

A few minutes later she was still talking to the neighbor but she started seeming somewhat agitated--she started saying loudly "You can't do that!" We walked over and turns out the man was going away for a month and had no one to take care of or adopt the hamsters and none of us wanted them, so he was just going to leave them out in the heat to boil to death! We were all shocked that he would even think of doing that but he acted as if we were crazy in thinking there was something wrong with that. He just put the cage down on the ground (in 95 degree + heat) and started walking away. We tried to point out that this would seem to count as cruely to animals and could possibly be illegal but again he seemed to think we were crazy and just said "well what am I supposed to do--know one wants them?" My girlfriend suggested the humane society and he replied "there is no humane society for hamsters."

She ended up convincing him to let us call the humane society and see if they would take the hamsters. At first they said no, that they had no cage space for them, but when we told them the guy was going to let them die of heat stroke, they agreed. Of course, the guy said there was no way he could take them to the humane society (a 10 minute drive tops) because he had to leave for his trip. So my girlfriend and I said we'd do it. Meanwhile one of the people helping with the move moved the hamsters in front of the fan we were standing near so they could get some air. That was when we realized we were not talking about just one or two hamsters. No this was a cage about 12 inches long, 8 inches wide, and 10 inches high with numerous adults as well as a litter of babies--clearly way too many for the cage and it was obvious the cage hadn't been cleaned in some time. After the neighbor left we tried to count and figured out there were at least 7 adult hamsters and what seemed like 2 litters--at least 10-15 of babies in all.

Worst of all, as the guy was leaving he said "oh, and if you can get the cage back to me that would be great" and then he gave us his address. We just stared at him dumbfounded thinking "Like hell I'm giving this cage back--what, so you can get another 20 hamsters, keep them in overcrowded and unclean conditions, and then boil them when you go on vacation?"

 

[Sherri]

That is so heartbreaking. I probably would have taken them even if I wasn't in the market for them. But i'm a sucker for sad stories like that.
What happand at the humane society? Did they get them out of their crowded cage and into better conditons? I hope they don't get put to sleep it sounds like they were living a life of hell and deserve to be happy.

 

[msdznyduck]

That's disgusting.......hope the humane society presses charges against him.

My DS33 when he was about 13 got 2 hamsters, which turned out to be male and female, and we had babies about a month after he got the adults. Unfortunatly, we did not know what to expect, and apparently the male will eat the babies, because they interfere with his woman.

I can't imagine having that many hamsters living in one cage. Maybe he had other cages in the house, and decided to lump them all together and get rid of them all at once....still dispicable.

 

[thewishfire]

Thats so sad! I hope everything turns out OK for them.

 

[smartestnumber5]

That is so heartbreaking. I probably would have taken them even if I wasn't in the market for them. But i'm a sucker for sad stories like that.
What happand at the humane society? Did they get them out of their crowded cage and into better conditons? I hope they don't get put to sleep it sounds like they were living a life of hell and deserve to be happy.

At the humane society they took them in right away but just had us do paper work really quickly and basically said "you shouldn't have to waste your time here because of this guy so just sign this and we'll take it from here." I guess usually it takes longer to surrender animals, maybe? We asked if they usually end up having to euthanize hamsters (especially since at first they said they didn't have room for them) and they said sometimes they do get adopted and there is some type of hamster rescue group. But we figured from the large number of them that it would be difficult to get all of the adopted, so we expected they'd have to put most of them to sleep. It's sad, but at least they'll have a quick and painless death this way which is the very least an animal deserves.

 

[megan4777]

cruely to animals....

I would call who/whom ever I needed to with this guys info(since he conveniently gave it to you) and tell them what you said he was going to do with the animals.

 

[smartestnumber5]

Unfortunatly, we did not know what to expect, and apparently the male will eat the babies, because they interfere with his woman.

I can't imagine having that many hamsters living in one cage. Maybe he had other cages in the house, and decided to lump them all together and get rid of them all at once....still dispicable.

Ah, we were wondering if the males would eat the babies--that just makes it all worse.

One can only hope he had more cages in his house. We couldn't figure out why he wanted the cage back given that he seemed not to care at all about the hamsters. Was he planning to get more when he got back from vacation? What would be the point of having them if you treat them as if they're so disposable? My girlfriend thought maybe he was breeding them to feed them for a snake or something like that. We were sorry we didn't ask if he had any more pets--if so they probably need help.

 

[my3kids]

We see hamsters and gerbils, bunnies, guinea pigs and all sorts of little furry critters at our SPCA. They seem to just keep them out near the desk. Everyone loves to visit them when they enter. One of my kids who was there to walk the dogs asked if he could walk a gerbil!

 

[my3kids]

Since he had no regard for the little guys, so you think he had a snake he had alread made provisions for and the hamsters were the kitchen cupboard???

 

[mking624]

My DS33 when he was about 13 got 2 hamsters, which turned out to be male and female, and we had babies about a month after he got the adults. Unfortunatly, we did not know what to expect, and apparently the male will eat the babies, because they interfere with his woman.

What type of hamsters were they? Syrian hamsters are very territorial and are solitary hamsters...they will kill another hamster to protect his or her own area. They only "get along" when they are babies, but should be separate within about 3-5 weeks...not only because of the territorial issue, but also because of sexing (male/female). Some Syrian moms also do what is perceived as eating the babies...although what is actually being done is that she's trying to hoarde them in her cheek pouches if she thinks danger is around...not realizing she's actually killing them. Dwarf hamsters get along great and can live fine in pairs or groups. That said, whenever a female hamster gives birth, it's very important to keep the mom & babies separate from other hamsters until the babies are old enough to rejoin...just as a safety precaution.

Anyway, OP...that story makes me sick. I LOVE hamsters (well, I love rodents in general) and I absolutely hate it when I see people giving them no regard because they're "just a hamster". They are an animal...just like a cat or dog or anything else...and they depend on us to take care of them. They're not like larger animals who can roam freely in a house or apartment...they live in a cage so they are 100% dependent on someone to take care of them. And if a person isn't willing to take care of the little creature just because it's a hamster, then they should never get one. They are fragile animals and need care just like any other animal. That kind of cruelty just angers me so much...especially when it's involving an animal that has absolutely no defense.