I don’t know if I’ve said it enough, but Bucatstate’s snake and star bridges are a few of my favorite hamster items.

(I’m now wondering if I should write alternative lyrics to the R&H song from the Sound of Music to include my favorite hamster items…)

These little bridges are the workhorses of my enclosures. They are tightly stuck together (so no danger to tiny feet!) and are the perfect size for connecting platforms or small height differences. I use them often - as a way in an out of a sandbath, or up and down from a platform.

Also, they are just so super cute. I always have a few lying around just in case I need to make an enclosure adjustment.

I particularly find the snake shape is helpful for older hamsters or Robos (who might have more trouble climbing) - the waves seem to help them get across the bridge… or in Dexter’s case, find an opportunity for a snack :)

On Monday, May 20th, I opted to let the spunkiest girl I’ve ever had, drift off into her forever slumbers.

Lemonade never stopped eating or being active, but I did notice a change in her behavior sometime in April. I noticed in particular that she was having trouble climbing up things, so I opted to remove her higher platform and kept her whole enclosure with bedding at about 6” and platforms just above that. I used bedding or cork pieces to help her up on her platforms, but as time went on, I started to get worried that even that wasn’t enough.

I just love what Omlet is doing right now. Upgrading their product line? Check. Sending out newsletters about the history of hamsters to increase our awareness of how special these little creatures are? Check.

You can read their latest article about the history of hamsters here. Check out their upgraded hamster product line here (affiliate link). See photos of the Omlet wheel & large playpen here!

Welp, I got another hamster.

How did this happen?

Well, it all started when I found myself scrolling the pages of the midwest hamster rehoming page on Facebook.

I saw a Syrian hamster who wasn’t too too far from me (about 2 hours) who was looking to be rehomed. The photo posted didn’t look too great- he had a scab over his eye and the photo showed him in some sort of bucket. The post also mentioned he was 1.5 years old, which is entering into “elderly” territory for a Syrian hamster. I worried he needed urgent medical care, so I volunteered to help if the nearby rescues were unable to.

Happy Monday!

Welp, I did it! I finally recorded another episode!

In today’s episode I recapped my last few months - mainly, moving my hamsters to a finished basement with an egress window & caring for Maurice in the last few months of his life.

(I used a combination of GenTeal tears and sterile saline water to keep his dry eyes moisturized during the last few months of his life as directed by my vet, links below to what I used, if you’re curious)

I’m excited about my new hamster room, but having my hamsters in the basement also has it’s downsides. I’m curious where you all keep your hamsters?

Little Maurice left this world on Thursday, April 5th, 2025. He was likely about 2 1/2 years old, which isn’t bad for a rescue, dwarf hamster.

Maurice was my first mid-west hamster. The amazing, Mel from Mel’s Neighborhood Rodents delivered him to me in February of 2023. He was tiny, soft, and unbelievably cute. He remained unbelievably cute for the remainder of his life.

Maurice liked to burrow and hide deep into the corner of his size L Niteangel Vista. If he had a vet appointment, I had to allot a fair amount of time to try to locate him prior to the appointment. Even at that, I had a few times that I was significantly late thanks to his amazing hide-and-seek skills. It didn’t help that he was white, burrowed in white, paper bedding either.

(EXCITING UPDATE! Use code ‘Rachel15’ for 15% off your order, now through March 16, 2025!)

Guess what!? I finally did it! I took down my Christmas-themed hamster playpen and replaced it with the new, Omlet size L Hamster Playpen!

Omlet, a UK based brand that started in 2003 when their founders wanted to re-imagine the chicken coop for modern-day, at-home chicken owners (hence the name, Omlet!) now has a variety of unique, innovative, pet products, for all sorts of animals, including Hamsters!

Omlet has recently re-vamped their whole hamster product line, and I made a video all about it. While this enclosure might not be right for everyone, I think it’s a solid option and am delighted to see a brand make such a positive change in their hamster products. ( You can check out the new Omlet hamster collection here)

If you listen to my podcast (or keep up with all my going-ons) you already know about Lester, the Roborovski hamster I have living in a Christmas tree bin.

He’s a sweet little guy with lovely, light brown spots. He came in his Christmas tree bin from the young woman who rescued him (but then had to go off to college and couldn’t bring him with), and I’ve been slowly upgrading his digs ever since.

Overall, I think his set up is not too shabby. I wish he had more vertical-digging room, but he’s got a lot of hides & points of interest in his bin that I feel happy with. One of them is this lovely, corner sandbath from Niteangel.

A New Year calls for some new hamster water bowls!

Well, I wish it was that glamorous, but it’s actually quite a practical purchase. For the past year or so I have had seven hamsters - the most hamsters I have ever had. For the most part, it’s not a ton of work. I try to keep up with keeping them clean and occupied. I work from home so I can let them out into the playpen while I continue working, or use my break to do some tidying up.

But one thing that continued to irk me was… yes, water bowls.

All of my hamsters have both water bowls & bottles. You can go on YouTube or Instagram and hear hamster owners have a wide array of strong opinions on either - “Water bowls are more natural” or “water bottles are plastic and harmful to your hamster” or “water bottles harbor bacteria in the nozzle” or “water bowls carry more bacteria because they are open and can get messy quickly”. Okay, you get it. In my opinion, there is no right answer, the right answer is whichever your hamster prefers.

Happy Holidays, my hamster friends!

I hope you and your hamsters are enjoying a cozy, hamster holiday season!

I took this video of little Lemonade exploring the Christmas playpen (before it got destroyed!) and chatted about how I use playpens to get to know my hamsters.

Do you use playpens with your hamsters? What kind do you like?

The Christmas hamster play area has been quite the hit! Lately, I’ve has such a surge of hamsters asking to come out to play I had to create a second, play-bin to accommodate their needs!

This year I decided to fill the Bucatstate Cloud Sandbaths with coconut fiber, some dried flowers and seed mix for the hamsters to forage for… and it’s been a hit! I think the hamsters enjoy the cozy, protection of the enclosed cloud, and, bonus for me, the coconut fiber doesn’t get kicked everywhere!

Can you believe it- the year is almost OVER! 😱

… but good news is, it’s time for the California Hamster Association 2024 Holiday Fair!!

It’s December 14, 2024, from 10-12 PM at Baker Ranch Community Park, 26380 Rancho Pkwy S Lake Forest, CA 92630.

If you can make it, I highly encourage it! I have yet to meet a hamster - person I don’t adore, and it’s so fun to be amongst so many passionate and knowledgeable hamster people! Plus there is always fun merch and hamster crafts for sale.

For more info about the Holiday Fair, please see the CHA website here!

Heyo, happy Friday, my hamster friends!

A few weeks ago (or… has it been a few months?! My, how this hamster-season has flown by…), I did a video about the brand new, Omlet hamster collection.

(if you didn’t catch it, see below…)

On the whole, I’m so impressed by the massive upgrades to their hamster products this company has done. I also love that this cage COMES WITH a good wheel and basic hamster-care products; if someone is new to hamstering and stumbled upon their website, I feel confident they would walk away with some good quality, species -appropriate products.

This is a huge improvement from just a few years ago, when a quick google search for “hamster cage” or “hamster wheel” would give you a sea of miniature things to choose from. While I still think it can be overwhelming to find your way when you first get a hamster, guys, we’ve come so far!

Tafit Pet recently gifted me this sleek little sandbath (I’ve now dubbed the “SLS”) to give a try. I have to admit, at first, I didn’t really get it. It just looked like a little, plastic, container, and while I know those work well as sandbaths, I didn’t know what special features it contained that a simple Pyrex dish couldn’t do.

And see- this is why it’s important to try things out!

I recently gave Lester the robo a little bin-cage upgrade. He has been in a christmas tree bin, the bin he came in, since I got him a few months ago. I upgraded his enclosure a bit since he arrived with some nice, cozy cardboard boxes, a Niteangel corner shelf & corner sandbath. And then I just left him alone to get comfortable.

Niteangel was nice enough to send me some of their new snack line recently, so of course, I had to do a full taste test!

The snacks come in a variety of flavors. I have six, but I’m seeing other flavors on their website I don’t have in my collection (okra, tofu & worms!).

I’m a cheerleader for Niteangel Snacks! 

I thought I would do some amazing taste test where I put the snacks down and the hamsters just go crazy tasting each one… BUT! Turns out hamsters don’t love being filmed while eating out in the open. Of course! They’re prey animals! So the taste test was mostly little hams, running around, nibbling here and there. The real taste test didn’t come until I put the snacks in the playpen and let them snack at their leisure (see above image of Dexter realizing the joys of Cheerios, or another video of Dexter enthusiastically snacking on the Niteangel Freeze Dried Peas).

Regardless of how “successful” my taste test was, the point is, I actually love these snacks - for many reasons!

The pumpkins are here, and the timing couldn’t be better!

What a fun way to add taste variety and enrichment into your hamster’s life. Bonus- great for fall-themed photoshoots!

I got these adorable little pumpkins by winning an Instagram contest! But honestly, if I hadn’t, I would have bought these… they are TOO cute!

Wee Peggy poses while nibbling on the pumpkin-flavored pumpkin treat from Bucatstate

The pumpkin-shaped treats come in two flavors, pumpkin & broccoli. They are very light and seem to be freeze dried. They are great treats, particularly for elderly hamsters who might have difficulty chewing.

If you are in the market for some holiday gifting and want to support a great cause, I highly recommend checking out the Happy Horizons Hamster Haven’s Fall Auction!

The auction goes until 11/16, all bids start at just $1!

I’m not sure if international shipping is available, but please inquire if you are outside of the US and looking to participate :)

The pumpkins are ready for picking over at the hamster pumpkin patch! The hamsters enjoy doing their best pumpkin impression while snacking… I think they have an unfair advantage given their natural, round shape :)

Hi Friends!

If you listen to my podcast, you’ll know I recent adopted a one-eyed fluffball from Happy Horizons Hamster Haven! Her name is Lemonade and she is TOO FUN. More on her soon.

I needed to figure out how to better maximize my space in my hamster room and discovered the Ikea Lagkaptel Olov! It’s the PERFECT size for stacking 200 qt bins!

I got mine off of Facebook Marketplace for a great deal (bonus- no assembly required!) I highly recommend!

Ikea Lagkapten Olov (47” width): https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/lagkapten-olov-desk-white-s79416770/

Um, apparently it’s been over a month since I last posted here. WHAT HAPPENED! How is Fall almost over!?

Well, the good news is I just uploaded some photos from my fall themed playpen and mmm, can I say it? I have some cute hamsters! Okay I said it. But just FYI, I also think your hamsters are cute too. I love them all. Especially when they are surrounded by pumpkins :)