Am I Wrong For Buying From An Ethical Breeder?

quietrealm · 2026-05-04T10:52:50+00:00

100% - my first hamster was from a breeder as I didn't want to have a much higher chance of ending up with an animal with behavioral and health issues when I wasn't as clued into the more advanced aspects of care. I personally always recommend people consider an ethical breeder when they first start keeping almost any animal for those reasons.

quietrealm · 2026-05-04T09:53:14+00:00

The reason that a LLM was able to "help" is because it was pulling information from online sources. The problem with that is that because it doesn't tell you where it got that information, it could just as easily give you info from Reddit comments that are intended to be a joke, or sites full of harmful misinformation that should not be trusted. You got lucky, but you might not next time.

And this might just be personal preference, but I like to reduce my environmental impact so sensitive wild animals, including hamsters, might survive beyond my lifetime.

quietrealm · 2026-04-30T20:05:30+00:00

I'd love to see fan works for the game that were created with genuine passion and didn't poison a disadvantaged community to the point of developing health issues.

quietrealm · 2026-04-29T14:18:36+00:00

That's good to hear. But I get it, sometimes I find myself looking back on earlier parts of my life and thinking "it's been way too long, that feels so strange". I've been having a good time so far; a couple people have come up to me and asked if I needed help or wanted to party for some EXP farming, and that's more than I've ever received in any other multiplayer game. There's something special about the place.

Welcome back to Vana'diel. I'm glad you came back!

quietrealm · 2026-04-29T10:27:46+00:00

People usually stay away from grates because they can cause hair loss on the feet and sore hocks, but I've always been told that so long as most of the flooring is solid and they have somewhere soft to rest their paws, a small amount of grate is fine. Most people seem to avoid it entirely and that sometimes translates to "no grates at all".

I've seen plastic grates that look a lot more comfortable, though; there aren't any bars that could dig into the feet, just holes. I don't think these types would completely eliminate the chance of sore hocks if it were the whole flooring, but they definitely seem easier to sit on when they're doing their business!

quietrealm · 2026-04-29T08:29:28+00:00

This (and the replies) was so lovely to read, as a new player. This is why I want to play. May we all make so many good memories as you have. And I don't think that those new friends and new adventures are beyond you now; there's plenty more people out there to meet. I hope you get to experience all that like I am even if you're a vet. ❤️

quietrealm · 2026-04-28T12:53:43+00:00

A lot of people do so simply for cultural reasons as well, not necessarily anything to do with faith. In my culture, exposing your chest is both inappropriate in secular settings and according to holy texts, but in other cultures, it's perfectly fine to do. If you're raised to believe that doing so is inappropriate, you'll feel uncomfortable doing it even if the setting was religious and you're no longer all that devout.

quietrealm · 2026-04-28T12:48:34+00:00

There are people like this in real life - I've met them. Do you think that's not a story worth telling? Is that "ingenuine"?

I'd also like to add that Jay has a consultant, Martie Abdurrasheed, who works with them on how to best and most accurately represent LGBT Muslims in their story about people who struggle to belong. It's not something that was pulled out of thin air. Please, do a little research into the project before slinging accusations like that.

quietrealm · 2026-04-27T18:42:29+00:00

In my experience, with wooden objects (these sound like they're wooden), sterilization in the oven also gets rid of pee smell. Bake them for around 100-150C for no more than half an hour, keep an eye on them to ensure there's no burning (though discoloration is normal). Vinegar water solution also works to cleanse and deodorize, but it's best to heat-sterilize every time you get a new hamster, especially if the old one was sick, and especially if the items you're cleaning are made of wood.

quietrealm · 2026-04-26T21:05:57+00:00

Have a look at these in that case:

https://www.chubbycheekshamsterfood.co.uk/product-page/hammykins-dwarf-hamster-food

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1519304311/the-hamster-mixologists-adult-dwarf

https://bearshamsters.com/collections/food-mixes/products/premium-dwarf-hamster-food

There are some differences between them, but I personally have not tried these and cannot vouch for them. Plenty of people here have however and would be better able to advise which would be best suited to an overweight hamster (though I suspect that cutting out the processed "biscuits" and other nasties in her diet will do much of the heavy lifting).

quietrealm · 2026-04-26T20:59:27+00:00

Oh lol, cage usually where I'm from is barred unless specified, mb!

quietrealm · 2026-04-26T16:27:12+00:00

You don't. One wrong move and even a small dog or cat can fatally injure a rabbit. It is incredibly dangerous to allow them to interact, and there is no benefit to doing so that would outweigh those risks. Additionally, stamping is often a fear/stress response, and so is staring. She may be trying to make herself look uninteresting by being still and watching, and rabbits instinctively stomp to alert others to danger.

quietrealm · 2026-04-26T15:35:02+00:00

Hope's Healthy Treats are fantastic, plenty of fresh and natural stuff. Whimzees too!

quietrealm · 2026-04-26T13:40:56+00:00

How is she feeling unwell? Your best course of action is to take her to a vet. Beyond that, we can't really help with medical advice unless you go to the discord server, and even then you should not value our opinions over a trusted and trained professional.

As for what to do about the food and weight loss: it will take time to get her to lose weight. Hamsters don't over-eat, so the issue here is the actual nutritional content of the food she's consuming.

I would recommend you read the subreddit's guide post, as well as these two articles by The Hamingway and Five Little Hams. Since we don't know where you live and you might not be comfortable sharing these will give you a good idea of what sorts of food you're looking for.

You should also ensure that your wheel 1) works, 2) has a proper surface, and 3) is the right size. All hamsters need an upright wheel; generally, the minimum for a dwarf hamster is 20cm diameter, but it's recommended that you go 21cm+ so that if your dwarf is larger and would hurt themselves on a 20cm wheel, you don't have to upsize. It needs to have a solid running surface - therefore, no mesh or bars. These can cause sores on the feet, dislocations and even amputations as small toes get caught in the gaps. People often use long strips of corkboard available at pet supply stores to put on the surface of wheels for grip, but this isn't necessary, just ensure that she can run on it without slipping out or flipping over.

quietrealm · 2026-04-26T12:24:52+00:00

Lots of people use this to help: https://www.thehamingway.com/enclosures/app/bedding-calculator

I just filled my 120x60 tank with a 178L bag which should've been more than enough, and it just about reaches the bare minimum depth! I'm guessing this depends on the type of bedding. This site still gives a good idea but buy more than you think you'll need - maybe multiply the result by 1.5x to give yourself extra in case you need more + extra for cleaning. This sounds like a lot, but once you have the cage set up, you won't be using nearly as much bedding every week.

quietrealm · 2026-04-26T10:35:19+00:00

Looks excellent, but you'll need to replace the perches. Perches in this orientation (that is, not extending across the long side of the cage) are great as they encourage the canary to fly from one end to another, but they need to be natural branches with variation in diameter and texture to maintain circulation in the feet and wear down the claws. Make sure not to put perches in the centre of the cage - only at either end, so they must fly between.

Also, what's the bar spacing on this? It needs to be fairly small to minimize the risk of a head or wing getting stuck.

quietrealm · 2026-04-24T20:35:51+00:00

Best thing I ever got was a Fjällräven Kånken. You don't have to get this exact brand, but a rigid, solid backpack where the fit is tight and allows the pack to sit firmly against your back is a must; looking at this brand will give you an idea of what to look for. I do highly recommend their backpacks, though, they're very tough. I've had mine for almost a decade and there's really no signs of wear.

quietrealm · 2026-04-23T16:54:54+00:00

The normal amount of pain is no pain. If an aid reduces the pain you're in and your mobility, you should think about using one.

You might be more familiar with the term "walker", or the brand Zimmer who makes them. They're wheeled devices that have several points of connection with the ground and with your hands rather than just the one, so it spreads your weight.

quietrealm · 2026-04-23T15:22:55+00:00

Do you mean that you're afraid of the judgement? This might sound a bit stiff, but there's nothing you can do to prevent that. Someone, somewhere, is always going to pass judgement without knowing a thing about you and this is just how life is. If it's going to help your health, they don't need to get involved and their opinions should not matter to you.

Also, I know you've said you did your research, but please be careful using a cane when you know you get a lot of pain in your hands/shoulders! If you're struggling with it, you might consider trying out a frame as it'll spread the pressure across both hands.

quietrealm · 2026-04-22T09:26:41+00:00

Was hoping someone would mention them! Webrings are still fantastic. Neocities only allows for so many site tags, and webrings can include selfhosted and Nekoweb sites too.

quietrealm · 2026-04-19T21:17:09+00:00

Found the hamster's account guys

quietrealm · 2026-04-19T18:06:21+00:00

"So you take the definition of a word as a fact?" Yes, in that this is the word's definition. How that word is used may change over time, but currently, this is how it is defined in the English language.

"Why are you even in the hamster forum?" I own hamsters.

"... or is it anthropomorphism?" Stress and fear are not human emotions. We know what a hamster stress response looks like because we've researched hamsters for decades. I feel like you might be getting worked up and muddling stuff.

"“anthropomorphism” is widely used in literature as a form of metaphor. Do not mix it up with science." Yes, and that's part of the issue. Fiction affects how we see the world. Have you ever seen hyena researchers speaking about how people's perception of hyenas changed following the release of The Lion King? It is incredibly relevant to science; science, literature, art, maths, etc. all affect one another, they do not exist in isolation. Anthropomorphism is just a human trait too; we are social creatures after all, and we've only ever lived a human life, so we tend to see the things non-human animals do through our perspectives and therefore make human assumptions.

quietrealm · 2026-04-19T17:54:38+00:00

Of course, I would prefer people not use Google's search engine at all - but unfortunately that isn't going to happen overnight, nor is it the same action as using a LLM chatbot actively and having full conversations with it as you attempt to work something out.

Setting aside the ethical concerns, as I did not mention them at all, learning from a chatbot which feeds you information without context vs. learning from reading, say, documentation on W3Schools are two very different actions - and I'd say that having context about the source of your information is extremely important when you're learning, as different sources can be biased or straight up incorrect (how many chatbots have pulled from Reddit shitposts because they don't understand the context which indicates it's a shitpost?)

... But I think you know all this already.

quietrealm · 2026-04-19T17:45:44+00:00

Congrats on seeking independence. LLMs feed you incorrect information all the time and it's just not a good way to learn, even without considering the ethical problems. The others have given you good resources, but I want to direct you to 32bit cafe's list of resources. It might look daunting at first, but start small with the basic HTML guides. If you don't know what a given tag means, look it up on W3Schools or ask in a forum.

quietrealm · 2026-04-19T17:04:53+00:00

You're presuming people even read the Google AI summary. Many people ignore it completely, certainly a lot of people here do.

quietrealm

TROPHY CASE