Unpopular Hamster Opinions

[Kikya]

Unpopular Opinion: Hamsters do not inherently have to chew like gerbils. If your hamster has a healthy seed mix with variety, the normal wear and tear of breaking the seeds will keep their teeth short. Unless there is some kind of genetic defect, a gum/cheek infection causing pain when chewing, or sometimes as older hamsters age, they are less able to chew harder seeds.

Hamsters do not chew for the sake of chewing, they chew with a purpose. To get through something or to get to something or because they are bored. Many years ago when cages were smaller and less engaging, hamsters needed wood chews to not go crazy. I think of excessive chewing as a stress behavior now. They will chew on a boredom breaker to get to the seeds, not just to chew the wood. Keep a few natural items in your cage, in case they want to but there's no need to make them chew.

I think of excessive chewing as a stress behavior now.

[Spud]

I completely agree- Spud never chewed anything other than her food/treats, and she never had any teeth issues (thank goodness). She enjoyed destroying things- cardboard boredom breakers to get too treats etc., but never gnawed on them.
People used to think guinea pigs had to have chew toys, but this is generally considered a myth now too- they just need loads of hay!
I think the same will happen with the gerbil community in future too.
As a side note- how come pet care communities have known gerbils need deep substrate for years, but people are only just realising this about hamsters?

[hotglue01]

Replying to a very old unpopular opinion here that Rex (Syrian) Hammies aren't cute and OMG I DISAGREEEEEE! I am so obsessed with my black banded golden Syrian boys (Aslan, RIP <3, and now Beautiful Buttercup, aka Butters <3 ). MY hot take is that Roborovskis don't really do it for me...

I sometimes wake up Butters in the daytime just to check on him (I'm worried about my AC being cool enough, but at 77 I think it's just right), but always give him a treat as compensation, lol.

Unpopular Opinion: I also like to pick up Butters a lot, even though in the beginning he didn't want to be touched at all. Of course I didn't pick him up then, but I have seen it as part of our taming ritual. Now he's really docile!

I also enjoy giving him little pieces of fruit during his non-mix food days with a little bit of peanut butter on them... is that bad? He goes CRAZY for it!

[ForgetfulBreeze]

My unpopular opinion: 40G Breeder tanks are NOT suitable for Syrian hamsters.

They are great for dwarves, however recently having a Syrian in one for the last month has been horrible! I can't even fit a 12" wheel in, really. Bernie (Syrian) pawed at the glass a lot and chewed at the metal lid. There was no room for bedding, as when it got to 10", it was a massive massive slope in order for the wheel to fit.

I do NOT reccomend a 40g tank or smaller for a Syrian!

*I love them for my dwarves tho*

[hamsworth]

Aww. Yeah, my current little guy really did not like being in the 40 gallon. I managed to fit in a 12 inch wheel, but it took up so much of his space and all the bedding was sloped like you said. I used a cabin hideout along with a sand bowl and a bridge to block the bedding and keep it a little higher on that one side. He's doing better in the Ikea Detolf, which still feels not quite large enough because it's so narrow. But that's another topic.