Where to Start.
For years, many years, I was a busy working person with a cat allergy. Not enough time for a dog, too many allergies for a cat. I thought about getting a cockatiel (many times!) but worried about how to find a pet sitter if I went away, so many people don’t know what to do with birds (it’s sad. I love birds).
In 2019 I started thinking about wanting a hamster. I was going to be making some pretty big life changes, quitting my job of 10 years and moving across country. I figured a new life meant I should get a pet. FINALLY. I started imaging stories about who my hamster would be. I named him Steven, (since, in my head, he was a huge Steven Spielberg fan and had all his movie posters on the wall). I imagined his life and what he did each day. I found myself doodling his cute little face.
And then COVID happened. And you would have thought I would have gotten a hamster then. But no. I worried. What if what I imagined him to be was too lofty, what if he didn’t live up to my imagined stories and adventures we would have together?
And then one day, I went to PetCo, “just to see.” I didn’t know anything logistically about hamsters. There were no hamsters except this one, tiny guy, in the bright lights of the petstore, trying desperately to sleep, I felt like I had no choice but to get him out of there. I didn’t know what to do with a hamster then, but I knew I would learn.
That was July 27th, 2020. I spent the rest of the weekend cramming hamster videos. I learned I had gotten a Roborovski hamster, the smallest hamster breed and notoriously difficult to tame. I learned that hamsters need a lot of space (way more than the tiny cage I had gotten. although I had a sense that cage wasn’t quite up to snuff). I learned that hamsters needed a lot of stimulation and space to burrow (particularly robos!).
I learned a lot of things and felt overwhelmed how to move forward. What do I buy right now? How can I give my hamsters something good right now and continue to provide enrichment to their lives?
This is how I found myself making YouTube videos. As a beginner, I found many hamster care videos and forums overwhelming. I wanted to share what I had learned about my hams and what I continue to learn as I go.
I hope you too can find value from what I’ve learned and hope that this can be a resource for other hamster companions in the world, they are marvelous little creatures!
Please send me an email: StevenAndSophiaHamster@gmail.com
I would love to hear from you!
Rachel