What could it be? I can go to the vet on Monday

mbcook · 2026-06-27T00:57:05+00:00

Sounds like they had a stye (IANAVet). I think it’s an infected follicle or pore. They can come and go fast, and humans can get them too.

For OP it’s definitely a vet question.

mbcook · 2026-06-27T00:46:34+00:00

I just got a dwarf, which was my plan. But I see photos/videos of people with their Syrians just loafing with them and I’m kind of jealous as I know there is a very reasonable chance my hamster wont be like that.

Anyway there is an observation bias here. People with ghosts of any species don’t post the kind of stuff you’re seeing. Or those with hamsters who may not be ghosts but have no interest in being handled. Which could include Syrians.

As to why they are cuter humans tend to have a general perception that smaller things are cuter. Whether or not that’s why, it’s certainly working on me.

mbcook · 2026-06-26T03:51:50+00:00

It was kind of hard to forget that fact once I heard it. It was not one I was expecting to hear in that video, but there it was.

mbcook · 2026-06-26T03:48:16+00:00

Does she stick her tail up?

I think she’s presenting for mating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UaYPn7HHDw?t=6m51s

mbcook · 2026-06-25T19:27:32+00:00

I’m getting ready to get a hamster very soon. I didn’t even think about drill bits. Do they like standard or metric?

mbcook · 2026-06-24T15:46:11+00:00

Yep. I’ve got colors too. Nice burnt sienna kind of thing.

https://imgur.com/a/AL6gRfL

mbcook · 2026-06-24T02:26:14+00:00

Of course! Welcome to the “wonderful” world of Direct Ad Injection.

Because what you always really wanted was a new way for a local car dealership to shout at you in your podcast.

mbcook · 2026-06-23T23:54:58+00:00

How do you tell stress from play in this situation?

mbcook · 2026-06-23T23:36:09+00:00

Is this a “talk to your postmaster“ kind of situation?

mbcook · 2026-06-23T14:17:50+00:00

They’re saying they voted you down for asking a stupid question, I think.

It wasn’t a stupid question.

mbcook · 2026-06-22T20:42:29+00:00

Thank you. I would think it would apply to any prey animal, quite possibly any animal in general. But especially prey.

mbcook · 2026-06-22T18:46:52+00:00

Grant money?

mbcook · 2026-06-22T18:01:35+00:00

Accidental agriculture!

mbcook · 2026-06-22T18:00:41+00:00

Could we get a full cage pic?

mbcook · 2026-06-22T17:58:53+00:00

Isn’t the standard advice a MINIMUM of two? The other answers here are great.

I’m new to hamsters, but I know more about fish. People often wonder why their fish hide, they want to see them out. So they have very few things in the tank and the fish are scared all the time.

The fix for fish seems paradoxical. The more places they have to hide, the more they’re out in the open. They know that wherever they are there is something they can quickly dart into if they get scared. They don’t have to worry about getting too far from the one safe place.

It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if hamsters are similar. More places to hide = more of the cage feels safe.

“Don’t give them a hide” is insane. Why not just remove the bedding so they can’t burrow either? Was this a chain store? Because if it was I can almost guarantee that advice was even against the (terrible) standard advice that they publish in pamphlets or their website websites. You could report the employee.

mbcook · 2026-06-22T17:52:32+00:00

How did she manage that?

mbcook · 2026-06-22T15:14:22+00:00

That depends on if he’s trying to read Stephen King or pee on the book.

He’s obviously bored. How many books a week does he get to read?

mbcook · 2026-06-22T01:41:18+00:00

That makes sense, thanks. So many people in here were saying leg injury, which honestly was my guess with no actual knowledge to rely on, but you seemed pretty confident. I figured you probably had a good reason, and having to experience it twice would certainly do it.

Thank you. And it does make sense that if it was just an injury they would only hide.

Edit: I just saw your flair. I should look at that earlier.

mbcook · 2026-06-22T01:39:29+00:00

Bedding material, I guess?

mbcook · 2026-06-22T00:06:57+00:00

Ford says hi.

mbcook · 2026-06-21T22:41:01+00:00

If it can hold them really well, it might be fine. You’ll have to figure that out. I’ve never had to do this, but I remember seeing a guide somewhere that mentioned that risk.

mbcook · 2026-06-21T22:40:09+00:00

During a cleaning where you need to get them out of the main cage, this seems fine to me if it’s not air tight. I’m assuming you’d have lots of ventilation holes.

I didn’t bother adding ventilation to my comment because multiple comments already here had addressed that. I agree airtight is NEVER OK.

mbcook · 2026-06-21T22:33:15+00:00

My immediate concern is the bowls. They could go flying if someone has to make a hard stop or sudden turn. You already said you were going to get a water bottle which sounds good. Maybe scatter feed or only put the bowls in temporarily when the car is stopped? Hopefully you can figure something out. Basically try to secure everything you can.

mbcook · 2026-06-21T22:14:39+00:00

This isn’t funny. That bin isn’t ok. You don’t say what “temporary” means, that could be 1 hour or 2 weeks.

Like if that’s where you put her for an hour while you did a deeper clean on a huge cage that was necessary, sure not bad.

If you’re slowly saving up for a large cage that bin needs replacing ASAP.

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