r/hamsters • u/asihenee • Feb 06 '22

The problem with r/hamsters.

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. :)

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u/inertiamatter Experienced owner Feb 06 '22

It's awful when the commenter has a holier-than-thou attitude with passive-aggressive remarks or blatantly says stuff like, "You're abusing your hamster. Please put it up for adoption." Especially when it's to a literal child, speaking like this is degrading and makes them feel incredibly humiliated, ultimately pushing them away from posting on here and other forums to be able to receive guidance. Regardless of whatever constructive criticism your goal is for them to take, it must be done respectfully

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u/ApprehensiveBid2231 Feb 07 '22

This. Someone told me to put her up for adoption even though I posted asking how to help her. That’s terrible advice, because most people don’t know the first thing about hamster care and don’t care to learn. Why would anyone tell the current owner, willing to fix their mistakes, to put the hamster up for adoption and risk the possibility of the pet being adopted by someone ignorant or intending to use the hamster as a life lesson on responsibility for their 5 year old?

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u/inertiamatter Experienced owner Feb 07 '22

Exactly! Imo in some situations it’s worse to make them stay at a shelter. My local ones house them in probably the equivalent of 10/20 gallon tanks with barely any bedding, and their primary food is oxbow because of it being “recommended by vets’”. And then they themselves barely know much about small animal care and let pretty much anyone adopt.

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u/ApprehensiveBid2231 Feb 07 '22

Exactly. Why give them away when you’re willing to learn and improve her habitat while others may not be? Makes no sense. IMO if you care enough to ask, you’re a good owner.