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main is andthatstrue Grant • 24 • special interest blog. I post about hamster welfare, breeding hamsters, and occasionally vintage cages. I am not advocating for using vintage cages, i just collect them because they fascinate me :)

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INTRO/ABOUT ME/LINKS

Hiya!! I'm Grant! You're local cage aggressive guy who's a massive hamster nerd. If you're on my page because you saw a post that you felt was a wild left turn from the info normally shared about hamsters, please check out this for a quick rundown of how I do things here. You're totally welcome to disagree, but if you send asks and want to have a healthy dialogue, I'll always answer. I am always trying to learn more, expand my perspective, and that's all I ask from you in return. This is also a hamster nostalgia blog on occasion, so you may see vintage and connectable cages posted, these are for fun. I collect vintage cages.

ABOUT ME:

I'm in my mid 20s (I'll forget to update it if I put an actual age, but as of the day this is posted I'm 23)

I started keeping hamsters in late 2020, when a neglected syrian was thrust into my care while I was working at a pet store. Since then I have kept well over 100 hamsters, between the rescue operation I ran in 2022 - due to mental health of seeing constantly unwell, poorly bred animals I had to stop rescuing on a larger scale, now-a-days I only take in dwarfs, and only in certain circumstances.

I began breeding hamsters right around the time I stopped rescuing, as I felt contributing better animals to the world was going to be more affective, and something that wouldn't nearly kill me on a daily basis from stress. In the last 3 years I've worked small scale with robos, winter whites, and syrians, but my true passion is the Campbells Dwarf Hamster (Phodopus campbelli).

The claims of mass hybridization, and of only a remarkably tiny 'ethical' breeding pool were a massive issue I saw going into this, even as someone who started out on the side of that club. After i was only able to get real help from breeders not in that club when dealing with a larger intake of pregnant dwarf hamsters during my time in rescue, I ended up being willing to speak to the side deemed evil and cruel, and found a community based in trust and the belief that a person is responsible for their own actions. As a very neurodivergent young adult, this made a lot more sense than a community based on constant surveillance and walking on tiptoes so as to not be shamed. My experience with speaking with animal keepers, rescuers, and breeders of a large number of other species (rodent, reptile, bird, and large mammals like dogs) have reassured me over the years that I made the right choice in who to trust.

Outside of caring for my current critters, I spend hours every week reading studies related to hamsters. I also love deepdiving resources spanning the last several decades (there is SO much fascinating info you find in outdated breeder manuals, even if a lot of the info is outdated), as well as communicating with breeders from around the world to keep my perspective from narrowing to just my own experience. I also admin a large facebook group dedicated to dwarf species, and moderate several others with larger or smaller hamster based focuses.

There is almost nothing in my life at this point that isn't related to these guys (thanks autism), but I do enjoy reading fanfic for a couple fandoms, listening to my favorite podcasts and books, and watching people play games like vintage story and the binding of isaac. I'm also currently close to getting meat rabbits, as I both love eating rabbit and want to craft things from pelts. Sometimes I also doodle hamsters and other things!

I love to talk anything hamsters, the more complicated the better, but am always happy a pet owner find a cage setup that their hamster adores. I've also mentored several people in breeding dwarf hamsters, and would always be happy to do so for new people interested in the hobby in the future!

My beliefs in hamster care:

saucer wheels arent inherently bad

there is no study that provides accurate data on how a hamster should be housed (of ANY species)

there is no one right way to keep a hamster

your hamsters opinion on their enclosure means more than what random people say online

unfortified and homemade diets are more often unsafe than an 'okay' quality mass produced one, if you are not actually testing (or at least roughly calculating) for micronutrient profile

phodopus campbelli and phodopus roborovskii are naturally colony animals and shouldn't be split from cagemates unless necessary (gender, health, poor bond, and individual temperament should affect if a phodopus dwarf is sound for a colony, not a person who's never owned a colony calling you a monster for doing what's natural for a species

I always accept asks, and will at least attempt to answer any i'm sent, so whether you have a question, concern, or notice me actually getting something scientifically incorrect (or if you just wanna say something silly or show me your hamster!)

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considering splitting that now empty niteangel in half into two 570ish sq inch enclosures for a few of my retirees 👀👀

Ivy obviously, but i cant decide if id use the other half currently or make it a temp cage for testing some of my hams in a bigger cage before sending them home? maybe moving my growout boys to there would be a good plan?

so many ideas!!!

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my roommates family is enabling me (got given another 20 gallon tank)

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why are these the same image

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Did you know you can make durable syrian sized tunnels with just a $0.50 cup from walmart? just cut the bottom off the cup and BAM tunnel thats safe to both bury for underground enrichment, or place over bedding due to being light.

Actually on the same note, trying to make hideouts for a large number of small rodents? The bowls sold right beside those cups with a door cut out work fantastic for dwarfs and mice especially

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Video!

https://youtube.com/shorts/M9WspywzCZ0?si=gmPgnPXrokI7UISx

caught this really cute healthy interaction between two of my adult does tonight! Ivy was being so cute and kept coming and laying down anytime id talk towards her tank, and then frankie NEEDED her mom to pay attention to her for a sec

here's a couple pics i got of ivy throughout the early morning anytime id interupt her wheel time with my chattering!

as soon as dawn breaks she'll move back to the communal nest, but at night she only surface sleeps (not a new behavior, she's always done this for some reason when not nursing) Its like she thinks she'll miss out on something her cagemates get! She also isn't being refused nest access, because she'll go there to grab some food from the stash and then come back out to surface nap, weirdo!

They're just in a 20 rn, but now that Ivy's retiring i really wanna give her something really personalized for her since she's def close to if not my fav ham? I may also foster some freshly weaned girls to her before the upgrade, i dont want her to end up as a solo ham permanently when her daughters move out for pairing, and she's not eligable to nanny 😭

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got asked how i know my hamsters arent acting bored overnight

5 days a week im awake in my room with all of my rodents from midnight to 8am

thats how

those other two nights? i think we have bigger issues if theyve mapped my schedule and only cause problems when im not home, and unfortunately i dont think my hamsters are as intelligent as an octopus to pull that off.

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and during the day? my friend whos also a hamster breeder is busting in to get her dwarf fix, so she'd let me know if i suddenly had a buncha insane diurnal hamsters

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got asked how i know my hamsters arent acting bored overnight

5 days a week im awake in my room with all of my rodents from midnight to 8am

thats how

those other two nights? i think we have bigger issues if theyve mapped my schedule and only cause problems when im not home, and unfortunately i dont think my hamsters are as intelligent as an octopus to pull that off.

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the struggle of wanting to repeat things ive already said repeatedly even though i know this audience already understands my thoughts a lot, but knowing if i post them on other platforms i will be inhumanely euthanized by the larger population of hamster keepers

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bummer topic ahead, but one that i think is MAJORLY important to talk anout, considering how odd the hamster community is about this compared to any other small rodent

this is another of those posts id ask you not to reblog since its nit a bummer most people want to see. if you for any reason *want* to reblog this one, i ask you pm first. I know its a complicated topic and i dont want anyone to misunderstand!

cw: talking about rodent species as feeder animals, if you do not want to hear about this, please feel free to scroll on, i will totallt understand a skip here

Hamsters absolutely have a purpose as a feeder animals, and in the same way you can be an ethical feeder breeder in rats, mice, and guinea pigs, you can do so with hamsters.

However, for most animals, hamsters are not an appropriate primary feeder, they're quite fatty compared to their similarly sized counterparts (mice and rats).

When an underweight snake is really struggling with weight gain after a health complication, well raised frozen/thawed hamsters are immensely useful in helping get a bit of weight back on quickly. If a snake is struggling to take to other species of feeders, hamsters may be tried in an attempt to prevent having to force feed or attempt live feeding, as many snakes find hamsters especially tasty.

And for ferrets, they absolutely *are* an appropriete primary feeder species (if offered in a normal varied diet rotation with 3+ proteins). Many zoological ferret breeding programs use hamsters specifically due to the higher fat content, which ferrets thrive on, and for that reason some keepers raise or purchase already euthanized hamsters for feeding to ferrets.

Whats important in an ethical feeder breeder is that they are:

providing an enriching life

providing quality nutrition

not breeding animals with medical faults

ideally raising with quality temperament for ease of care and reduction of anxiety in the feeder stock

breeding in species appropriate ways (ie, not trying to make their syrians live communally)

euthanizing according to ethical euthanasia guidelines set out by their country's veterinary association (in the USA that would be the AVMA)

If they are breeding for type and pet quality temperament? even better! One of the best things of a *good* breeder like this, is they will be far less likely to place an aggressive or unwell animal in a pet home, since it does them no good to place an animal better meant as food.

This doesn't mean every feeder breeder is great, or even good! And whether you're looking for a pet, or a source of feeders, you should still vet the breeder and make sure you are comfy with their ethics.

I have mentored people interested in hamsters as a feeder species for their animals' variety diets, and would gladly do so again. Most of the time they end up falling for the species they start out with anyways, and get really into the idea of improving the species (especially if thet get private bred animals and get to experience the difference between them and pet store animals)

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Okie dokieeee ramble time!!!

just a buncha yappin about picking who to breed/keep below

random doodle page so that my page isnt all text all the time (sorry if ive posted this one before)

So, right now I have 3 mature does who are breeding aged adults, who I'll likely be placing soon. 2 does who've each had a litter for me, Blood Mary who i'm keeping 2 sons and a daughter from. She's the busier doe I was hoping hadn't taken because of her higher needs, but Rocky ended up being the perfect male to have paired her to, as her litter is much chiller than her. There's also another breeder I've been speaking to that is interested in another son from this litter. We'll be watching how he grows out until transport comes through late july. I'm hoping to place Bloody Mary in a pet home with a cage 600+ sq inches since she'll benefit from a larger, more enrichment packed space. She's still living with both of her daughters, so once I remove my keeper girl I may see if her other daughter ends up handling a larger cage along with mom, to place as a pair. If not they'll likely go to individual pet homes. I'm not confident of the daughters' eventual cage needs yet, so if both end up more needy like mom, i'll be perfectly fine choosing to place both in pet homes.

The other doe with a litter, Queen Henry, is Bloody Mary's sister, who was also paired to Rocky. Henry is a more chill girl, who's currently raising a girl heavy litter. I'm fairly sure i'll find a daughter who's an improvement on her, and she's not nearly as bold and confident, so I'll likely place her along with a moderate sized group of daughters in a home who can offer 350-600sq inches. I do not feel comfortable putting Henry in larger than that currently (but, if her confidence grows when in a larger colony as her daughters get older, I'll reevaluate that number).

Third doe i'm *considering* offering to a breeding home, is Bluebell. She and Matpat were both held back as potential breeders, but I really don't *need* both. I'd not be comfortable with either being fully alone due to how close they stay nearly all the time, so the plan was always that they'd need to be paired to males (or freshly weaned females) when the other was split for breeding.

Bluebell happens to be a perfect doe for the program that's also potentially wanting that male pup. Bluebell ALSO happens to be completely unrelated to that male pup; and able to produce red-eyed lilac, a major goal of that breeder. The only negative with her is that she's potentially umbrous AND black, and I have 0 idea how umbrous will visually (not as in, issues with vision, just how it impacts the color the hamster will be) impact a red eyed lilac. She's not a hamster who silvers much as of now, which is a con for the breeders goals, but since the male will silver and is mottled, it will be much easier for the other breeder to pull silvering into their line.

Additionally in the non-keeper department, one of my returned males, who i was worried for a bit may have to stay permanently due to some initial anxiety, seems to have finally come out of his shell! I was worried he'd develop territorial aggression, a trait im a stickler about not knowingly pet homing, but he stopped his little nips he was doing when approaching me. I'll likely choose to place him in an adult home, but with a gentle owner i dont see him having problems. He will be considered heavily for a 20 gallon tank, or a 24x12 with a larger door.

So now that we've talked about the hams i might NOT keep, lets look at who is def staying in the keeper department:

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Frankenfurter is definitely staying, i love her dearly. She's not had a litter yet and is one of my few definite gray carriers. she was paired at one point but didn't take, so I'm currently considering between pairing her to one of her nephews, who have a 66% chance to carry gray, or my older male Coal who has a 0% chance of carrying gray but is a complete outcross. Currently I'm leaning towards the nephew, and then having her 2nd litter (which would likely be her final litter unless she does fantastic w the first 2 and i have a rex boy i think will compliment) with Coal. Pairing her to Coal would likely be able to prove if she carries black, which would be good for long term pedigree info.

Matpat is absolutely staying, and I'll likely be pairing her to Rocky, who's a full outcross from her.

Coal, my returned male who's over a year old, is staying. He will be used in the rex project as he's incredibly sweet, and the rex project is opal heavy so I'm hoping to move to removing some of the opal (unfortunately he could carry opal). I have an eventual goal of having an all black and albino rex line, but albino will not be added any time soon, and i have much more important goals than color in the rexes.

Vidalia, Ivy's only daughter from her final litter, is still just a subadult, but I'm already quite liking how she's growing out! No clue who she might get paired to yet, maybe Coal? Maybe just wait and cross her to a rex?

Rocky, my main man? my handsome little dumb? stuck here, i think i have exactly 1 adopter id ever let steal him when he retires and she JUST had a group of agouti boys from me so she will probably crave some color the next time around

Tungston, my satin umbrous argente male will be staying. Not only to add satin into the rex line, but his litter with Ivy was delightful and I'm considering pairing him to one of Henry's pups someday!

not going through the two litters that either just weaned or are still nursing, ill talk about them when theyre older!

finally all my pet 'keepers' in the campbells department:

Silver *obviously* is stuck here as Epi's buddy for as long as theyre happy together and alive!

Ivy, i considered placing her, but lord i love her, shes so sweet, and I'm perfectly fine setting up something for her to retire into when its time to split her daughters away from her for breeding

Ember, my really silvered old lady who was returned due to her owner going through some stuff? She's such a gentle old lady, and at her age its really not a good idea to place her in a normal pet home, since the owners may not get to have her long. another species hamster breeder keeps considering stealing her as a pet though, she's met this hamster a few times and is head over heels for her more each time we visit 🤣

im FAIRLY sure i didnt forget any of the campbells, but lord if i did im gonna be so sad

sorry for the yap <3

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*tries to talk myself out of keeping the robo program i was given due to being at my space limit*

*is reminded i have one of the only known pairs who are confirmed to carry a gene almost unheard of in the americas*

*is convinced to keep robo program*

I have an outcross named special agent oso i need to pair to things, but without any visual animals for this gene we have to be very careful to with increasing genepool without losing the gene.

In the last 1.5 years we've had 1 individual with the gene pop up in a pet store (who never managed to reproduce) and then this private line that we've had to fight hard to get into hands who are good at cultivating robo lines (not me, but im helping those who are more passionate about robos by keeping a few breeding pairs).

probably expect some rambling about selecting which adult campbells i'll be pairing soon, and choices of who i may place in pet or breeding homes

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i need yall yo know the anguish ive experienced today seeing a very rare 70's hamster cage in fantastic condition for an amazing price on ebay and knowing i cant get it rn

luckily, theres next to no one else intensely collecting hamster cages that ive met, and the few with interest dont have the same fascination with this cage specifically, so theres hope i can grab it in a few weeks

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this is hardly at all related to my blogs purpose, but i wanna make a quick post on a topic i think comes up a lot in dog/cat professional spaces, but less-so in exotics.

I'm eternally grateful for every professional opportunity i had in animal care, but leaving the animal industry is the best thing ive ever done for myself as a hamster fancier.

I'm grateful to the vets who i worked for who let me ask them endless questions, the ones who found and sent me studies on topics i was interested in, the ones who furthered their education to better assist in caring for my rodents.

I'm grateful to my infinitely patient boarding facility manager who taught me so so SO much about not only dog care, but managing large quantities of animals, dealing with crisises, and maintain order in chaos.

I'm grateful to a few incredible managers from awful chain pet store jobs who were responsible for me kindling and maintaining my love for little fluffy critters. I'm glad, now that ive had time to heal, that i was exposed to some of the worst the pet industry had to offer in terms of both customers and managers. i get to form my decisions for my animals based on thousands of experiences with people, animals, and events, and thats not something most people are lucky enough to get to say.

but

i was. so drained. Do you know how hard it is to come home from cleaning up after, monitoring, feeding, and enriching 80 dogs and then need to do the same for dozens of caged animals?

Plus then I had a tropical rat mite outbreak, and the combination of stress from work and coming home and it not feeling like home because of all of the precautions i had to take?

I'm so glad to be able to enjoy caring for my critters as the hobby its meant to be, even if i spend hours a day doing it. When i was doing the same tasks as my job it really made it hard to see my critter care as anything except work.

ugh this is a rambly post sorry

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Big Boy update!

his initial moving stress caused him to lose about 30 grams in his first week, but he's evened out now and is at a gradual weight loss slope now.

For a bit i was hoping he was going to be ablw to stay in his big cage from his pet home, but over the last weekish he's been increasingly skittish and quick to run and hide when i walk past his enclosure, so the downgrade finally happened today, to a slightly smaller enclosure at 36x20. I'm probably going to have to continue editing the layout for a while, but I'm really hoping this is a good move for him!

I MAY show his cage later, since for the sake of not dealing with crazy fallout from his pet owner for the downgrade i dont intend to post info about his cage on other platforms, but i want to wait till i find what makes him content, so in the meantime ill be taking photos between each adjustment so i can eventually (hopefully) show the full process of finding his happy place!

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im gonna make something so hamster special interest core next time i have spare funds for dumb stuff

(imagine, paper doll style vintage cages + paper hamsters w little magnets,, ill be able to make my paper hamsters crawl around in tubes n stuff like 90's lps)

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oh the urge sometimes to 'erm actually' about this style of vintage cage

because these were never used widescale with hamsters (now, its possible they were used with wildcaught individuals kept as pets by children in hamsters' countries of origin, but that doesn't mean they were marketted for such). These were popular far before hamsters were common pets (at leastwere popular in the late 1800's, not quite sure yet when they slipped from popularity), and were most widely used with mice (both domestic and wild).