Hamster Stereotypes and Myths 

What are other awful stereotypes you've heard people say about hamsters? Happy Saturday! 🌸🐹

My friend said I had too big of a cage. Uhm sis no 🤡

My mom didn’t want a hamster because she says they bite and smell, and now she’s all over my Syrian hamster

When I got my hamster I bought her a big wheel cause she is a Syrian and the pet store lady told me that this wheel is too big for a hamster and It wont be able to run on it, she said that this wheel was for rats, I told her that my hamster is a syrian, and showed her how big they can get, she didnt seem to understand lol. NEVER TAKE ADVICE FROM PET STORES

PetSmart interview: Employer: what animals do you have? Person: A hamster Employer: We don’t allow experienced hamster owners to work here

Oh god, I cringed when the little girl basically slapped her hand on the poor tiny robo.

“If your hamster gets wet, they will get wet tail” WRONG They turn into Gremlins

"hamsters are cheap" *me remembering spending over 200 euro in one day for my hamsters*

This pet store employee said to me when I got my first hamster “Do not buy the cages here, they are not suitable and you should buy a cage with at least 450 square inches” That is the best employee EVER Edit : How did this get so many likes???!!!

I'm an 11 year old kid. I own a hamster. I never did any research on them before I bought him so I ended up getting a cage way too small and didn't do anything correctly. Then I started watching your videos about 6 months ago and I changed his life completely. Thank you for your advise to properly care for them!

Myth: Hamsters aren’t cute Me: WRONG WRONG WRONG!

“And no dr.phil you can’t just go to the store and trade your hamster for a new one because it bit your grandchild” that killed me lol 😂

I am ten years old and even I agree that hamsters are not just for kids 🐹

I pick my hamster up, smell him, kiss him. Trust me, he is a very clean guy, he smells like a new plush toy in department store.

I’m a night owl so I’m good on getting a hamster 🐹

I want to work at a pet store so that way I can make sure everyone buying a hamster can get the right stuff.

10:13 They won't turn into a cannibal Because they already are cannibals

"And no Dr. Phil, you can not switch your hamster out for another one because it bit your grandson." 🤣😂

That Dr Phil shade though! 😂 Thanks for the unexpected shoutout! 😊

When I’m older I’m gonna buy a house and make half of my room just for the hamster-

The first myth I hate. I could say that humans are technically small compared to the world. Some cages are so small it’s like a human living in a closet

My dad always calls my hamster a RAT. Its hurtful Lol🤣

I have a hamster and he used to have a very small cage 😩 but then I got him a ginormous cage and he stop biting the bars of the cage! 🙂🙂

My sister’s first hammy was a dwarf and she was the slowest most calm thing I’ve ever seen! She would let you hold her and if you let her free roam she would just walk around and come back to you when she was done. 😂😂

I remember asking a petco employee advise about my very first (and current) hamster. Now, 5 months of having her, I can say I probably know more about hamster than that employee does because the advises she gave me were literally some of the stereotypes and myths in this video. Thanks to you, Rachael, and Erin's videos for educating me!

the last stereotype hit so close to home! I got robodwarf hamsters like at the beginning of high school (I’m a senior now and know so much more), but the employees said it was fine to get 2 hamsters and keep em and raise em together, so I got 2. like a couple months into it, I notice the smaller “brother” was getting bullied, attacked by the bigger one til the point of open, bleeding injuries. THEY WERE FIGHTING and I legit had to buy another cage because I was soooo worried and found out through the internet that way more often than not, having two hamsters is extremely bad. now I know, and I think pet store employees should definitely be more aware of information like this...

When you turn on the captions, it actually says “longest sigh of your life” when she does a long sigh 😂

This is my hamster story: When I was 12 I got my very first hamster. He was a dwarf hamster, I named Turbo. Then I thought I was taking so good care of him. I gave him a cool cage and lots of toys and the cage had a tunnel that went outside of the cage. I could never understand why he bit me and didn't ever want to play with me. Also I thought climbing his cage was normal and he just liked playing like that. Now I'm 21 and know that I didn't take as good care of him as I thought. He bit the bars of his cage which I now know was wayyy to small and that breaks my heart, I loved him so much but I didn't know any better but I didn't make the same mistake when I got a Syrian hamster last year. He has a very large cage, paper bedding and he is living a happy healthy life. I hope that other people will discover this channel before getting a hamster and not make the same mistakes I did. These hamsters deserve the best.

*pet store manager:* so do you like animals? person: yes *pet store manager:* ok you hired! person: and I also know *about* animals! *pet store manager:* ok never mind your *fired*

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say hamsters are rats or mice or that mice are rats... drives me nuts! They are SEPARATE SPECIES. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

BTW I am a kid and I'm not going to attack for saying something. I'm 12 years old and I saved up all my allowance for a year just to buy my precious princess Mochi 🐹

My dog smells worse than my hamster :P Edit: BTW no my dog doesn't have any access to my hamster's cage

I’m 11 and I’m getting a hamster soon after covid-19 And you are the reason my hamster will have a good life unlike my last one I made many mistakes, but because of you I get to be the great mom of my hamster I’ve always wanted to be, I love you !!❤️💕🐹

every single time i've been bitten by my hamsters and gerbils, it has been my fault, either because I startled them or didn't read their body language correctly. people love to assume that animals are mean because they bite, but 99% of the time, it's the human's fault

I am in love with your hair!!! I'm jealous lol

When I saw the children playing with the hamster my anxiety went 📈

Something i always here from my parents when they think i cant here them is "Oh, it's just a hamster, we can just replace it."

It was shocked when I saw a pet store employee recommending An 8 inches wheel and a bin cage but sadly most of the time they recommend crittertrails

Victoria:when you feed tour hamster meat it will become a canible *pauses* NO next myth That was funny

I find it really interesting when you are talking about hamsters being tamed. My family socializes feral kittens for a local shelter. So when we took home our first foster hamster we automatically started socializing the hamster like we would a feral kitten. We ended up adopting the hamster due to him being very old and he was the friendliest little guy ever with us.

I set up my cage 1 week before my hamster came and I realized the smell I had always thought was because of hamsters/bunnies was because of hay and herbs

"hamsters are like rats and mice" ME: *SOOOOTRIGERED!!!* even people at pet stores sometimes comfused them with mice! Lol.

In my honest opinion, I don’t think hamsters are a good starter pet for young children. Tiny pets like hamsters, birds, guinea pigs, etc. are much more stressful for me to take care of than with dogs or cats. I feel like your first pet should be an adult cat or dog, since they will usually be trained and calm. Cats and dogs are much more hardy than hamsters and the like and cats are pretty low maintenance compared to my hamster.

*“Most kids have bedtimes at around 8.p.m...”* Me, a young kid watching this at 1.a.m: 👁 👄 👁

Oh my goodness! 6:16 That clip makes my stomach hurt. That poor, poor precious creature.

Hamster Mythbusters

I work at Pet Valu (a pet store in Canada) and every time someone comes in considering a hamster, I always recommend they watch some of your videos to help with research! ❤️😍

All these 11 and 12 year olds getting off to a great start with their hammies! We're lucky to have Victoria, and other knowledgeable youtubers to make our pets' lives better. I'm 64, and grew up before home computers (!), so knowledge was harder to come by. My hamsters were in too-small cages, because I didn't know any better. I got my current hamster from our Humane Society, and I think she's doing pretty well, other than showing signs of aging.

I'm 13, and I just got my hammy a little over a week ago. And, Victoria I can't even explain to you how helpful your videos are. I would spent hours on end just watching everything on your channel, so I would be prepared for my little girl. And honestly without you, I don't know if I would be a good hamster owner, so thank you so much! 🐹❤

“If they eat meat they will be cannibals” OMG😂😂😂

0:25-3:00 3:30-4:06 9:34- 9:58 10:21- 10:58 11:02- 12:42 Don't mind me! Just making parts to show my mom since she won't let me have one because of these problems ;-;

One of my Russian hamsters that I adopted from pets at home was the sweetest boy! My little frodo❤️

I completely agree with the first point, which is why I let my hamster wander around my house freely, I have not seen him in 6 months and he has not been eating the food or water I leave for him, but I am satisfied because I know he is happy and in his natural habitat.

I'm 56 and my boyfriend bought me a hamster as a gift! I had one when I was 11, and I forgot how cute they are! I, also, don't think they are for young kids. They require work and money!

I hate when people say they're just like rats

From a new adult hamster owner, I really appreciate your videos. They have been so very helpful. I did get my hamster from a pet store. Thank goodness she is very well adjusted and we connected and I was able to hold her in less than a week. You’re so right about the pet shop employees. I had to upgrade everything I initially purchased for her.

Thank you so much for having captions, makes me love watching your videos :)

One of the worst stereotypes that I’ve heard is that hamsters with red eyes are evil.

I went to PetsAtHome to get my Syrian Hamster and the cages that they kept the hamsters in were tiny! I hope they fix these problems.

Girl in YT video: *[slaps her poor robo]* Me: *[dies]*

Now I'm gonna send this to my dad since be belive most of the myths here are true

I have 2 dwarfs and oh god are they different from each other... different sleeping patterns, eating habits, sleeping preferences , different reactions to being handled etc. It's actually quite great cause its like having kids HAHA you treat each one differently and expect different things from both of them. So like you confirmed, you can't define a whole species by owning only 1 hamster

Oh Victoria such fantastic, valuable information you put out there! I HOPE EVERYONE IS LISTENING!!!!

Hi Victoria! I've had many rats and mice and when I made the transition to a lovely little Syrian named cashew and boy did he steal my heart! You made the transition easy for me, not only are you brutally honest which means so much to me, and you give affordable options. There are so many differences between the species, even between rats and mice.. let alone hamsters! They're so different but in wonderful little ways. One of my favorite things is the clumsiness which rats obviously lack and is super endearing.

I’ve heard a lot of these and I did these for a while from what my sister said but now that I have watched your vids and they have helped me sooooo much

in indonesia, hamsters are really cheap, u can get one for $1-$2 the most expensive might be around $4

The video at the 7:25 mark nearly made me cry, seeing that hamster in the corner all freaked out is sad. ): On a happier note, I'm so glad I've found your channel, I've got 3 hammies and have found your videos so far to be really helpful and reeducational. I've also learnt some new things I haven't found yet online during my research from when I got my first girl. So I'm glad I found your channel in the midst of looking into more things. ♡

I’m 13 and I have been wanting a hamster for so long and I’ve finally persuaded my parents to get one. So about a week ago I’ve started watching your videos and now I’ve watched pretty much everyone of your hamster videos! Thank you so much!

i got my hamster from a pet store and when the employee picked her up she bit him but i decided to take her home anyway. i feel like i did a good thing by getting her out of that horrible place and giving her a caring lovely home

Myth: Hamsters are another type of rat. Me: OMG NO! 🤦🏻‍♀️ Love this video and this educational information. My three hamsters are doing great! ❤️

"Hamsters are stinky!" So are dogs but you still house those guys.

I’m 19 and getting my first hamster in a couple days, made a bin cage with adequate enrichment and I’m super excited, your videos definitely helped a lot in teaching me how to properly care for one 😊

Im 9 and I have a hamster I’ve been training to have one since I was five I got train to know what to do with them by you

When I was applying to the pet store I work at now, they were asking me all kinda of info about lighting and temperature and all of my knowledge about the animals they sell

I absolutely love your totally bewildered reaction to the last few myths, especially the "hamsters will become cannibals if you feed them meat" one! Exactly the reaction I have 😂

Myth: Hamsters NEED to be in groups Me: Hmmm... i got hamsters in a group and one killed the other hamsters.. :(

I can’t even count how many times I’ve been given a robo hamster for free just because a parent’s child got bored with them and claim that they are “not friendly” and that they are “untrainable”. That’s a stereotype that unfortunately been said about robos several times. And it’s sad because my robo dwarf Pecan was the sweetest hamster I’ve had, and I even trained her to go to her cage from the living room to my room!

0 veiws, 50 likes, no comments....Tbh i think youtube has a alcohol (??) problem ;-;

I'm getting my first hamster in a month and your videos are really helping me figure out what will be best for him/her. Thank you, keep making awesome vids

The funny thing is that when I didn’t handle my gerbils for a week they just begged for my attention a week later

I agree hamster aren't cheap.... 😂😂😂😂... and dwarf hamsters are so cute.. they can become so good... but we need a lot of patience in the taming process..... 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

the smell bad one my mom wouldn't let me have a hamster because, "They smell bad" but, i said they don't smell the urine does and that can be easily fixed.

I am new to your channel because i have not owned any hamsters since childhood and I was thinking of getting a new friend. I just wanted to say, you are a great and beautiful person! Thanks for all the great content!

Thanks for telling me this because i have a small cage

My hamster lives in a aquarium and she’s happy. 😃 Also it’s a lot cheaper and she can’t easily escape. So I recommend a aquarium/tank.

I am a kid and I love watching your videos to learn how to take care of a hamster so I can properly care for a hamster

I love your videos because I learn new things about my hamster everyday!

I had my hamster in a 630 square inch bared cage but she still chewed the bars! Of course I didn’t want her to ruin her teeth so I switched her to a 40 gallon tank but man that was a lot of money.

I like smelling my hamster😑

You can never have an over huge cage! The bigger the better! This video is fab and it makes people feel better - well done Victoria!

5:01 awww that hamster looks exactly like my hamster Neo 💙

I totally agree that hamsters arent a good pet for kids as they are fast and small. A kid could accidently but easily kill one by dropping it. Plus like you said hamsters come out at night. I love my syrian hamster. His name is benny . Ps. My hamster has never bitten me

Holy mess. I wasn’t aware of the hamster mills. That’s nuts. So many in that small cage. 😳 Very informative video and appreciated... I want to meet a cannibal hamster. 😂👍🏼

I'm a kid and the ONLY reason I take amazing care of my hamster is because of you Marshmallow Thanks you :)

I just started at petsmart and I can say I absolutely love it. My coworkers are all very knowledgeable on all the animals we carry. I am still learning but knew about rodent animals, fish, and hermit crabs. They DID ask what I knew to determine if I should work in ‘pet care’. My coworkers and I could care less about ‘selling’. We always try to educate people if they don’t seem to know what they need, although some people will always think they know better. I love working there and am glad to have such a caring team with me

5:01 I agree that adults can own hamsters! My cousin and her husband have five hamsters 😂

I’m not usually the type to comment on videos but I just wanted to talk about the last myth about pet store employees being knowledgeable about animals. I have worked for a local pet store for approximately 3 years now and I can say that when I first started working there I knew practically nothing compared to what I know now. And a large majority of what I know has only come from my personal research, done on my own time, off the clock. I’m not one to brag on myself ever, but I would say I’m one of, if not the most, educated about the animals sold in the store. And I say that only to tell you how little education these employees have. In fact, most of our employees are teenagers, (I’m not saying teenagers are dumb either because I’m just now turning 20.) and this is their first job, they’re only here because they’re starting to need money, and yeah they like animals so here they are. They don’t really know anything and they have too much else going on in their lives to spend their free time learning more to help them at their part time job. My boss always asks people in interviews “why do you want to work here?” And their response is always “because I love animals, blah blah blah” and she tells the people who think their job is just going to be playing with animals, that yes we do sell pets but over everything this is a retail store, our job is to sell product and in our case living creatures as well, and make a profit. So yes while some minuscule amount of pet store employees know mostly what they’re talking about, the vast majority of them do not, and I stress to everyone who buys an animal that I don’t know enough about to help them with, to do their own research. It is the sad truth that I’ve come to know and I wish it wasn’t the norm but sadly it is. We just have to make an effort as true animal lovers to spread the knowledge enough to where it does become the norm!

I’m 11 and I have been seeing a lot of kids getting a hamster and getting the wrong stuff for them and thanks to your videos I know what to get for my hamster and showed my parents I can be responsible 😊❤️

I'm 11 and recently I adopted a hamster named Luna, (she's grey like the moon) and bought her a critter trail cage not knowing that was bad for them, I eventually noticed she looked rather sad and depressed, I started doing research and found out that I had been doing things wrong and making her life torture, but I didn't know, so during my research I found your channel and started watching it and started finding the things I was doing wrong which stressed my mother to the point where she refused to provide Luna with anything she needed (bedding, food etc) but I have an allowance so I could provide her stuff like that, but your channel has helped Luna have a better life, a bigger home, and more fun things to do.

My hamster is friendly with me even when I first got him, he is a robo dwarf and he is used to me and has never bitten me