Small Animals = Less Care

Well a cage for a hamster is different than a crate for a dog for one thing.

But it doesn't really matter which animals require more work. The fact is no matter the animal they should be getting the care the require. Because they are cheap, or small or can live in a cage/tank/etc. people assume less of them.

My dwarf hamster doesn't require that much work. I do partial cage cleanings on her cage every week or two, full ones every 4 or so months, she gets food daily, I prepare fresh food too for her, I check her over every few days for any health issues that might have shown up, and I make sure she always has something to do. I would handle her if she wanted it, but as a roborovski she fits right in with the characteristic of being shy.
The only reason she doesn't get a lot of out of the cage time is because she is happy in her home:


Just because she's 2" long and cost me $5 doesn't mean that she does not deserve the care she requires. Most people don't care enough to do the research though and others of her species suffer because of it. The same happens of dogs, of fish, of reptiles, of cats, of any animal. Sad but true.

[~Jessie~]

Originally Posted by Blue_Dog

Well a cage for a hamster is different than a crate for a dog for one thing.

But it doesn't really matter which animals require more work. The fact is no matter the animal they should be getting the care the require. Because they are cheap, or small or can live in a cage/tank/etc. people assume less of them.

My dwarf hamster doesn't require that much work. I do partial cage cleanings on her cage every week or two, full ones every 4 or so months, she gets food daily, I prepare fresh food too for her, I check her over every few days for any health issues that might have shown up, and I make sure she always has something to do. I would handle her if she wanted it, but as a roborovski she fits right in with the characteristic of being shy.
The only reason she doesn't get a lot of out of the cage time is because she is happy in her home:


Just because she's 2" long and cost me $5 doesn't mean that she does not deserve the care she requires. Most people don't care enough to do the research though and others of her species suffer because of it. The same happens of dogs, of fish, of reptiles, of cats, of any animal. Sad but true.

That is an AWESOME cage setup. Everything in it looks like so much fun

[Southpaw]

Originally Posted by ~Jessie~

And then there are the people who will let their small pets suffer and die a prolonged, painful death because "they don't need to go to a vet." I don't care how small or how cheap that pet cost- if they are suffering, please at least have them euthanized (or do it yourself humanely if you know how).

omg this. When I was a kid, one of my hamsters had to be euthanized because he was attacked by the dog. Everyone thought that was absolutely ridiculous, why would we euthanize a hamster? It's not even like it was expensive... $20 at the most... but it like, horrified people that we did that. Why? He was a living animal capable of suffering just like any other.

I haven't read this whole thread yet. Some species are more high maintenance than others. My experience lies with hamsters and rats, and I found the rats to definitely require more care (however, hamster care has changed A LOT in the 10 years since I've owned them, and they look more high maintenance now than they did back then). I probably devoted more time to my rats than I do to my cat, but it's different because the rats are caged so you have to make time for them - the cat is just out and about doing his thing.

It takes maybe one Google search and a few minutes of time to get a basic idea of how to properly take care of them. People are just lazy and would rather ask the pet store employees what to do. Which rarely works out well.

[SarahHound]

Originally Posted by Blue_Dog

Well a cage for a hamster is different than a crate for a dog for one thing.

But it doesn't really matter which animals require more work. The fact is no matter the animal they should be getting the care the require. Because they are cheap, or small or can live in a cage/tank/etc. people assume less of them.

My dwarf hamster doesn't require that much work. I do partial cage cleanings on her cage every week or two, full ones every 4 or so months, she gets food daily, I prepare fresh food too for her, I check her over every few days for any health issues that might have shown up, and I make sure she always has something to do. I would handle her if she wanted it, but as a roborovski she fits right in with the characteristic of being shy.
The only reason she doesn't get a lot of out of the cage time is because she is happy in her home:


Just because she's 2" long and cost me $5 doesn't mean that she does not deserve the care she requires. Most people don't care enough to do the research though and others of her species suffer because of it. The same happens of dogs, of fish, of reptiles, of cats, of any animal. Sad but true.

That's a lovely cage Robo's are sweet little critters.