Some of you know that I rescued a little male, long haired Syrian hamster a while ago. He lived 6 months with us, we think it was old age that killed him. That was about… 4 months ago. We are getting another today! It’s a little female Syrian, she’s grey and white. The lady at the pet store said that she was special needs, so they were rehoming her for half the price. Chains still gotta make their money
Sooooooo, she is going to live in the little critter trail cage I had for the original guy. It is not big enough, I have been doing loads of research. We are going to get her a bigger tank, deep bedding, and lots of hides and toys as soon as we are able to! According to the employee, she has the hamster equivalent of Down syndrome, but not really. Idek, but apparently it is fairly common in inbred hamsters. She has a wide face, tongue, and nose and no teeth. We will be buying a pelleted feed that we can soak for her. My mom said “no new pets before Florida trip, I promised the pet sitter” so she brings home a special needs hamster
I will post photos as soon as I am home!
Sooooooo, she is going to live in the little critter trail cage I had for the original guy. It is not big enough, I have been doing loads of research. We are going to get her a bigger tank, deep bedding, and lots of hides and toys as soon as we are able to! According to the employee, she has the hamster equivalent of Down syndrome, but not really. Idek, but apparently it is fairly common in inbred hamsters. She has a wide face, tongue, and nose and no teeth. We will be buying a pelleted feed that we can soak for her. My mom said “no new pets before Florida trip, I promised the pet sitter” so she brings home a special needs hamster I will post photos as soon as I am home!
. That's what I figured out, hamsters aren't capable of having down syndrome, although it sounds like thats what a lot of pet stores call it for some reason... uneducated peeps ig. lol. We know enough to do some of our own own research, so felt comfortable taking her. We are on a first name basis with our local Petco's manager, we chat every time we go in the store, so when he saw us there he was like "Hey, I know y'all are looking for a hamster. We have this little girl. She has the hamster equivalent of downs syndrome. She's definitely special needs, but I know y'all know what you're doing with your animals. If you want her, you can have her for what we payed for her. If you don' want her I'm keepin her myself" So obviously... we did some research and took her. We bought a complete nutrition pellet that we break into pieces then soak for her each day. That way all of it gets soaky and she can't pick and choose what she eats. We are looking into some soft veggie options for her. Her tongue is rather large, so her mouth is open a little bit and she has a single little snaggled tooth up front. Her face is also broader than a typical syrian's would be. Is there any way to tell which she is? Through my own research, it sounds like a genetic issue/runt thing going on is more likely and somewhat common?
We think that the stress of being shipped to the store and then coming home was just too much on her little body
