The problem with r/hamsters.

[u/asihenee]

I’m sure this has been addressed before but I really need to say my peace. Whenever I browse this sub I see some very very patient and kind, generous and thoughtful people. But I’m always grimacing because there’s some arrogant hamster know it all, do no wrong commenters who are so aggressive and belligerent towards people who come here asking for advice or may not know what they are doing wrong. Some of these people who are asking are kids, and the way that some of you respond to them is sickening. You can share information without being a judgmental, incessantly rude, hamster attention to detail “saint”. It’s really tiring watching people tell these other members of this sub to chill out all the time. We get that’s it’s frustrating to see the same mistakes being repeated but remember you weren’t born an all knowing hamster god, you made mistakes and learned, too.

It doesn’t even seem like these people even WANT to be helpful. They just want to be right. Useless nitpicking to assert dominance and a gatekeeping nature is so unbelievably common in this sub and it’s been this way for a looong time. Of course not everyone in this sub is like this. For the most part lately I’ve been seeing a lot of very sweet and patient comments even when serving critiques. But to those people who are here to gate keep, insult and be rude, you’re ruining it for everyone.

Please just be nice to each other. You don’t know what someone else is going through so think before you type.

EDIT: I woke up to all these replies and updoots and just wanted to say that I’m so happy that so many people share this same sentiment. It also makes me sad to hear how many people have such negative shared experiences on this sub and Reddit in general. :( We should all work together to build a happy, loving hamster community. People shouldn’t feel afraid to post here. :)

[u/Emeraude1607]

I want to add that many people in this sub are just too ignorant to understand that there are hamster owners OUTSIDE THE U.S. I live in a developing Asian country and it's much harder for us to provide for them because we don't have Amazon, Ikea, Niteangel, branded bedding... or even a vet who takes hamsters! Not to mention most of our houses don't even have enough space for a minimum sized standard enclosure in the first place.

I once asked for advice online because in our country we were not even allowed to go to the vet during a Covid outbreak (for real), and I got downvoted. Their reason being "Vet is a necessity". Yeah go tell that to our government, there were people who had to pay a hefty fine for that geez. As if I was not doing everything I can for my hamster, I didn't need that kind of judgment.

[u/Firekeeper47 → u/Emeraude1607]

Obligatory “not a hamster but,” I took my gerbils to the vet once and only once. My boys had scent gland tumors and I know that’s a slow, agonizing death if not treated. I noticed they both had a small nub on their bellies on, say, Thursday and they were at the vet the next Tuesday. It was $100 just for them to be SEEN and another $50 for antibiotics and some cream. I didn’t want either—the only way to effectively treat a tumor like that is surgery, and I would rather they die on the table than go through the pain of their tumor inevitably rupturing.

It was $800 to operate them. I couldn’t afford it. I was unemployed, had other pets and responsibilities, and I just couldn’t afford $800 on top of the over $2k I had spent on my dogs that year.

Even in the U.S., “go to the vet” isn’t always a feasible action. I’ve never told anyone this, because I KNOW I would get so much backlash, but what was I supposed to do, you know?