Discussion of Hamster Welfare

Hamster care, as with any animal, does not have an easy one-size-fits-all solution. Many seem to want to increase the minimum standards of care indefinitely; arguing that this is the only way to ensure all hamsters are properly taken care of. Even so, care standards can vary wildly across different hamster fancy groups. Some groups say 450² inches is a good minumum, and some say over 1,000² inches is the only acceptable minumum. There are also some extremely specific "minimums" such as x number of sprays per week, or x number of ceramic hides. The welfare discussion seems more focused on the objective cage, than the mental state of the hamster within it.With so much conflicting information out there, the word minimum seems to have lost its meaning, and gained a negative connotation. The true concept of "minimum" in care is much like the original idea of a minimum wage. A minimum standard is not the point where an individual can merely survive, but where they thrive. Hamster care discussions revolve around cage sizes, absolutes and ultimatums. Hamster care seems to be measured by humans' view of it; not the hamster's experience of it. All that being said, what constitutes thriving in the hamster?In the wild, golden hamsters are known to exhibit several stereotypical rodent behaviors such as burrowing, food hoarding, chewing to wear teeth down, and traveling great distances to forage for food. While domestication has softened these drives in the domestic hamster, they have not gone away completely. As with any animal, the ability to perform natural, instinctual behaviors is essential for a hamster's mental and physical well being. However, as much as it pains many, we simply cannot fully replicate wild conditions in captivity for hamsters. That being said, since hamsters have been domesticated now for almost one hundred years, they have certainly adapted to domestic living. One study on cage floor preference showed that hamsters somewhat preferred conditions that they were raised in, so one can assume that successively over generations, hamsters have gotten quite comfortable in domestic living. It is essential we provide them with the ability to burrow, scavenge for food, run distances, and chew to wear down their teeth, this much is clear. How do we know when it is enough?Syrian or Golden hamsters were first domesticated to be used as laboratory animals around the 1930s. Not long after, they gained popularity as pets, especially for children. Hamsters are still used in the lab, though not very often, and because of this there is a small handful of scientific literature on the care and keeping of domestic Syrian hamsters. In science, one major indicator of welfare issues that has been documented is bar or wall chewing, and it has been correlated with both cage size and bedding depth. Most notably, in an experiment on different cage sizes and female hamsters, not even a cage size of 1,550² inches was enough to eliminate bar chewing completely (Fischer 2007). In another study done on bedding depth with male hamsters, they were able to eliminate bar chewing completely, however this took approximately 30" of bedding (Hauzenberger 2006). This finding corresponds with other rodent enrichment studies, specifically on mice, that suggest that adequate nesting conditions are the most important form of enrichment above all else. This makes sense, given that one of the most basic needs of an animal is to feel safe from danger, and for hamsters, digging a large and deep burrow makes them feel safest. Another indicator of mental enrichment status that has been mentioned in science is incidence of wheel use oddly enough. Hamsters in cages with more enrichment items (toys, hides, tunnels, tubes, novel structures, scattered feedings, etc) tended to use their wheel less than those with less enrichment. Hamsters in smaller cages also tend to use their wheel more than those in larger cages, though enrichment seems to have a larger effect on wheel use. Science has given us a few welfare indicators, but what can we glean as hamster owners through observation?In our experience and the experiences of others, one very large indicator of environmental stress is bar or wall climbing, almost always accompanied with bar chewing. Hamsters are not natural climbers like mice or rats, so climbing is seen as an obvious sign of stress and a desire to escape. Some hamsters also take it further and will "monkey bar" or use their front paws to traverse the top of the cage, suspended above the floor, which comes with obvious fall risks. Another sign can be floor chewing. This usually means the hamster desires deeper bedding and the ability to burrow deeper. You may also notice them pacing along the perimeter of the cage, or running their nose along a gap in the bars seemingly trying to force their way out. There are many ways a hamster will tell you they are not happy with their cage, but what if they have a large, enriched cage already?This scenario seems to pertain more to female Syrian hamsters given online discourse. Female Syrian hamsters notoriously can be more hyperactive and more likely to be dissatisfied with even the largest, deepest, and most cluttered of cages. This has also been shown to be the case in the two studies mentioned above on cage size and bedding depth, and we have observed it in our own hamsters over the years. Every rule, benchmark, and condition has its exceptions. Some hamsters may just enjoy chewing specific materials like the plastic on the cage bottom, the caulking seal of an aquarium, or the wooden edges of their cage. Some female hamsters may never be satisfied as long as their world has walls. As long as you have given them the best housing you can manage, you have done all you can do. We as breeders must do our part to not only breed healthy hamsters, but also hamsters that are sound of mind and do well in captivity.

Conclusion

Hamster welfare is not as cut and dry as many wish it was. Every animal is an individual, and what may work just fine for one hamster will not be enough for another. Instead of applying blanket solutions to hamster care by inflating care requirements infinitely, we must better our knowledge of hamster physiology and psychology. By applying a strategic approach to assessing hamster welfare and thus quality of care, we all become more flexible, educated, and empowered hamster owners. It is very easy to simply say every hamster needs a cage of this size, with bedding of this depth, with no real understanding of hamster psychophysiology or in depth analysis or awareness of your specific hamster and their personalized needs. The hamster care discussion needs to shift away from the human's needs, wants, views, and opinions, and back to the lived experience of the pet hamster.

Scientific Basis for Welfare Tool categories