Depends on the species of the mumma / baby used to size the hamsters.
Amoeba: I'm taking the 5 babies. It'll be harder but I still like my chances.
Oak Tree: I think my only chance is to take the babies, Though I'd be tempted to choose momma just to marvel at such a creature.
Elephant: No good options here, in a fair fight I'd lose either match. I think my only shot is to choose the momma hamster and try to win through trickery.
Hummingbird: I would lose via forfeit. They're too cute I can't do it.
Apparently when a captive hamster does it it's usually caused by a nutrient deficiency. There was some research like a decade ago on how corn based diets didn't offer enough B3 and would create nearly 100% cannibalism rates, with similar problems in diets lacking in protein.
So if you've ever had a mad cannibal hamster mom don't worry, it was YOUR fault!
Thanks! I don't actually have a hamster, I was just curious 😅 and hopefully, someone will find this thread at some point and it helps save some hamster babies
Hard to say exactly but it causes dementia and increased aggression in humans as well, it's simply necessary for proper brain function. Brains need glucose to function and B3 is used in several vital functions related to both energy production and neural health.
It could also just be an instinctual trigger in hamsters that makes them think they're starving and tbf they kind of are.
What we can say is fixing the deficiencies almost entirely eliminated the cannibalism.
Some species, like rodents who reproduce stupidly fast, will eat their own young when under stress to recoup lost nutrients because they can't easily take their brood on the road to a safer location. It's easier to just start over with a new batch.
Some egg-laying species do this as well. Oh, your survival is at stake and there's now a chance you won't be able to protect your brood of eggs? Best to cut your losses and chow down on your babies while you're still around. Best case, you have the hardware to make more and the nutrients are put back to use.
It’s funny how The Art of War is just a senior NCO (Sun Tzu) telling a bunch of idiot hereditary officers how to not lose wars with extremely basic advice because he’d seen what had happened if they didn’t have that
some of that basic advice still boggles the minds of leaders today
"always leave a way for your enemy to escape, a hopeless enemy fights to the death"
oh what was that? grind all the money out of everyone so they feel hopeless and feel like there's no way out? yeah great idea let's do that - apparently every profit centred institution
Just a random thought, stop buying your kids hamsters. They are weirdly fragile, and die if they are feeling spiteful that day. They don't love being held (but can be chill!), and cleaning their enclosure is gross and nonstop. They are cute, and I do enjoy them when they come into my life (friends/partners have them in occasion).
Instead, and I am dead ass here, get a tarantula (new world). They are the stupidestly simple thing I have ever kept, feed them when you remember to, clean their cage at some point, don't handle them. They live for 5-20years (males live very short lives, females live creepily long) and are absolutely fascinating tank pets. Like fish, with 1/100th the work and expense. Oh also baby spiders are basically free, cus while hamster have large broods they ain't got shit on yet old spider bros.
The biggest downside is that they are literally a spider and that freaks people out, but it freaks them out even more when I tell them unlike the probably tens of other spiders in the house I know exactly where mine are at all times.
Spiders can absolutely become addictive though! I got my first pet jumping spider a couple years ago. I fell down the rabbit hole inadvertently pulling my lifelong arachnophobe partner with me. Our collection now inlcludes hundreds of jumpers, about 60 tarantulas, and a handful of other true spiders. Spiders fuggin rock.
Totally! If you have one spider, it's basically the same effort to care for like 5+ more, and even more than that isn't much additional effort just becomes space.
Even feeding them is like $3/mo and that's with buying feeders at big box store.
And the absolute best part about spider? Zero chance of dumping tens of gallons of water on the floor, or chewing up something valuable, or peeing on a pile of laundry. I guess you could get bitten but for the vast majority of tarantulas your have to stick your hand in front of their face and wiggle your fingers, and even then the majority would freak the fuck out and bolt for their safe place.
Meanwhile, my childhood hamster would escape even with books holding the cage door down and once wandered all the way across the house to find us while we were watching TV.
I've never seen a hamster grow to old age. They always die in some horrible way first. Get your kids a hamster! It's not so much a pet as it is a $25 life lesson on the fragility of mortality.
I (and my siblings) had a total of 6 hamsters. 4 died of old age, 1 suddenly bled out overnight, and 1 died pretty young, but nothing was obviously wrong, so I dunno.
My neighbors had more than a dozen rodents (including 5 guinea pigs). They all died horrifically, including 4 that were killed by mouse traps. Because of course you should have mouse traps, and also keep small rodents that you allow to escape constantly. As an adult, I think the parents were seriously negligent in teaching their children, and then also negligent in buying more rodents for the grinder after the first two or three met horrible fates.
We've got two guinea pigs, and in my opinion, they aren't that hard to keep alive.
My daughter's guinea pig just died, but he was an older fellow. He went with her to college and got her all the way through to a few months past graduation.
As George Carlin said, "You're supposed to know it in the pet shop. It's going to end badly. You're purchasing a small tragedy."
68 Comments
TootSweet@lemmy.world · 165 pts · 91d
Sometimes the babies eat the mom too. Yes I speak from... I guess second-hand experience. First-hand would imply I was a matricidal cannibal hamster.
queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone · 155 pts · 91d
That is way more impressive. Any idiot can eat a baby.
joelfromaus@aussie.zone · 42 pts · 91d
Who would you rather fight: one mumma sized hamster or 5 baby sized hamsters?
queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone · 8 pts · 91d
Depends on the species of the mumma / baby used to size the hamsters.
Amoeba: I'm taking the 5 babies. It'll be harder but I still like my chances.
Oak Tree: I think my only chance is to take the babies, Though I'd be tempted to choose momma just to marvel at such a creature.
Elephant: No good options here, in a fair fight I'd lose either match. I think my only shot is to choose the momma hamster and try to win through trickery.
Hummingbird: I would lose via forfeit. They're too cute I can't do it.
ivanafterall@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 91d
Hummingbirds I get, but you're telling me scientists finally figured out how to get elephants to bone hamsters?
YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 91d
I'm going to have to go with Ditka.
SmokedBillionaire@sh.itjust.works · 18 pts · 91d
Tarrare, is that you?
queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone · 22 pts · 91d
wow, TIL. Poor guy.
That whole wikipedia page reads like a tall tale.
prettybunnys@piefed.social · 2 pts · 90d
“No fork was found.”
tdawg@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 91d
But can any baby eat an idiot?
queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone · 15 pts · 91d
I would love to find out but the man keeps denying my grant applications.
ivanafterall@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 91d
No way. Babies can't even have fucking honey, my money is on the idiot.
ElectricMachman@geostationary.orbiting.observer · 3 pts · 91d
Counterpoint: babies will chomp anything within an inch of their faces. Given enough time the idiot might just get gummed to death
starik@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 90d
Mashed carrots are about as dumb as they come, so yes.
Okokimup@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 91d
Great band name.
CombatWombat@feddit.online · 91 pts · 91d
You can use the calories to do anything, even make more babies!
LillyPip@lemmy.ca · 51 pts · 91d
My son is almost 30. Is it too late?
deft@lemmy.wtf · 36 pts · 91d
Absolutely not honestly he might be thinking the same about you. Strike before struck upon
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works · 17 pts · 91d
—Saturn
StarvingMartist@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 91d
That's just extra calories
idunnololz@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 91d
No. Harvest his organs /s
its_kim_love@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 82 pts · 91d
Mama hamster ain't letting no predators have all those nutrients.
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · 77 pts · 91d
Apparently when a captive hamster does it it's usually caused by a nutrient deficiency. There was some research like a decade ago on how corn based diets didn't offer enough B3 and would create nearly 100% cannibalism rates, with similar problems in diets lacking in protein.
So if you've ever had a mad cannibal hamster mom don't worry, it was YOUR fault!
MousePotatoDoesStuff@piefed.social · 6 pts · 90d
What food do they need added to their diet?
moakley@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 90d
baby mice
Tonava@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 89d
MousePotatoDoesStuff@piefed.social · 4 pts · 89d
Thanks! I don't actually have a hamster, I was just curious 😅 and hopefully, someone will find this thread at some point and it helps save some hamster babies
Tonava@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 89d
espurr@sopuli.xyz · 5 pts · 91d
how come b3 deficiecy leads them to want to eat other hamsters?
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · 16 pts · 91d
Hard to say exactly but it causes dementia and increased aggression in humans as well, it's simply necessary for proper brain function. Brains need glucose to function and B3 is used in several vital functions related to both energy production and neural health.
It could also just be an instinctual trigger in hamsters that makes them think they're starving and tbf they kind of are.
What we can say is fixing the deficiencies almost entirely eliminated the cannibalism.
rumba@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 90d
technically better than having to deal with hamster babies....
Etterra@discuss.online · 52 pts · 91d
Some species, like rodents who reproduce stupidly fast, will eat their own young when under stress to recoup lost nutrients because they can't easily take their brood on the road to a safer location. It's easier to just start over with a new batch.
Sualtam@lemmus.org · 34 pts · 91d
I had a collegue who would always tell children running in front of cars: "You're faster reproduced than repaired."
hansolo@lemmy.today · 24 pts · 90d
"This baby is easier to move as my own fat ass."
-Hamsters
Iron_Lynx@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 89d
Some egg-laying species do this as well. Oh, your survival is at stake and there's now a chance you won't be able to protect your brood of eggs? Best to cut your losses and chow down on your babies while you're still around. Best case, you have the hardware to make more and the nutrients are put back to use.
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 44 pts · 91d
Depriving the enemy of food so they are too weak to fight is a good tactic.
just2look@lemmy.zip · 46 pts · 91d
Hamsters out there reading Sun Tzu?
Archer@lemmy.world · 27 pts · 91d
It’s funny how The Art of War is just a senior NCO (Sun Tzu) telling a bunch of idiot hereditary officers how to not lose wars with extremely basic advice because he’d seen what had happened if they didn’t have that
shneancy@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 90d
some of that basic advice still boggles the minds of leaders today
"always leave a way for your enemy to escape, a hopeless enemy fights to the death"
oh what was that? grind all the money out of everyone so they feel hopeless and feel like there's no way out? yeah great idea let's do that - apparently every profit centred institution
FerretyFever0@fedia.io · 6 pts · 91d
It's important to cut off supply lines, true.
Gullible@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 91d
What a grand epiphany, hamsters are Russia in the winter.
Allero@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 91d
Okay I never realized you can put @ in a username for some reason??
brognak@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 41 pts · 90d
Just a random thought, stop buying your kids hamsters. They are weirdly fragile, and die if they are feeling spiteful that day. They don't love being held (but can be chill!), and cleaning their enclosure is gross and nonstop. They are cute, and I do enjoy them when they come into my life (friends/partners have them in occasion).
Instead, and I am dead ass here, get a tarantula (new world). They are the stupidestly simple thing I have ever kept, feed them when you remember to, clean their cage at some point, don't handle them. They live for 5-20years (males live very short lives, females live creepily long) and are absolutely fascinating tank pets. Like fish, with 1/100th the work and expense. Oh also baby spiders are basically free, cus while hamster have large broods they ain't got shit on yet old spider bros.
The biggest downside is that they are literally a spider and that freaks people out, but it freaks them out even more when I tell them unlike the probably tens of other spiders in the house I know exactly where mine are at all times.
Poem_for_your_sprog@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 90d
Have you tried a pet rock?
kender242@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 90d
Jumping spiders make good low maintenance pets as well. They are intelligent, cute, and typically smaller than a tarantula.
Widdershins@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 90d
My mom, an arachnophobe, had a pet jumping spider who lived on her desk at work.
W3dd1e@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 90d
I have had a couple of these. They only live 1-2 years but they are like tiny dogs!
fossilesque@mander.xyz · 8 pts · 90d
kaklerbitmap@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 90d
Spiders can absolutely become addictive though! I got my first pet jumping spider a couple years ago. I fell down the rabbit hole inadvertently pulling my lifelong arachnophobe partner with me. Our collection now inlcludes hundreds of jumpers, about 60 tarantulas, and a handful of other true spiders. Spiders fuggin rock.
brognak@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 89d
Totally! If you have one spider, it's basically the same effort to care for like 5+ more, and even more than that isn't much additional effort just becomes space.
Even feeding them is like $3/mo and that's with buying feeders at big box store.
And the absolute best part about spider? Zero chance of dumping tens of gallons of water on the floor, or chewing up something valuable, or peeing on a pile of laundry. I guess you could get bitten but for the vast majority of tarantulas your have to stick your hand in front of their face and wiggle your fingers, and even then the majority would freak the fuck out and bolt for their safe place.
Spiders are really the best low/no effort pet.
RamenJunkie@midwest.social · 7 pts · 90d
Meanwhile, my childhood hamster would escape even with books holding the cage door down and once wandered all the way across the house to find us while we were watching TV.
pomegranatefern@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 89d
Hamsters are specialty pets which require specialty care and knowledge and I wish to God that more people understood this.
panda_abyss@lemmy.ca · 36 pts · 91d
I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world · 30 pts · 91d
I've never seen a hamster grow to old age. They always die in some horrible way first. Get your kids a hamster! It's not so much a pet as it is a $25 life lesson on the fragility of mortality.
prime_number_314159@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 91d
I (and my siblings) had a total of 6 hamsters. 4 died of old age, 1 suddenly bled out overnight, and 1 died pretty young, but nothing was obviously wrong, so I dunno.
My neighbors had more than a dozen rodents (including 5 guinea pigs). They all died horrifically, including 4 that were killed by mouse traps. Because of course you should have mouse traps, and also keep small rodents that you allow to escape constantly. As an adult, I think the parents were seriously negligent in teaching their children, and then also negligent in buying more rodents for the grinder after the first two or three met horrible fates.
NABDad@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 90d
We've got two guinea pigs, and in my opinion, they aren't that hard to keep alive.
My daughter's guinea pig just died, but he was an older fellow. He went with her to college and got her all the way through to a few months past graduation.
As George Carlin said, "You're supposed to know it in the pet shop. It's going to end badly. You're purchasing a small tragedy."
https://youtu.be/ktp-Zsm25dU?t=140s
shneancy@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 90d
grief is the debt we take on by loving something
there will always be a tragedy at the end
MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 90d
First rule of rodent fight club is you don't talk about rodent fight club.
NABDad@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 90d
I've heard that hamsters will play dead so effectively, that they will convince their owners that they actually are dead.
So, assuming that's true, some hamsters die horribly in a small box underground.
MeowerMisfit817@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 90d
Since we are on the hamster death topics,
My first one's cage was left in the yard by my dad. In summer. I don't even need to tell you how this ended.
We got a second one, went to grandma's house for like 2 days and when we were back he got a parasite on his stomach. The treatement didn't work. :(
xyguy@startrek.website · 3 pts · 91d
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMs25XpjrAo
WorldsDumbestMan@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 90d
I had seen a Lemming die of old age, right before my eyes.
It never got smarter than trying to dig deeper holes.
Thteven@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 90d
On the plus side you now have a fantastic metaphor to whip out when the conversation steers to term limits in government.
Sorry about your lemming bro :(
psx_crab@lemmy.zip · 7 pts · 91d
They just forgot the cheek pouch isn't meant for baby, but i wouldn't blame them, you're not you when you're panicking.
Juice@midwest.social · 4 pts · 89d
I'm so stressed out I'm gonna eat this baby!
LillyPip@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 91d
Hamsters are cannibals.
It’s weird, I know, because they’re so cute. They are though,
ivanafterall@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 91d
Maeve@kbin.earth · 3 pts · 91d
I listened to a lecture recently on the devouring mother archetype.
drosophila@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 91d
Do tell.
(If you don't mind typing up a comment lol)
Maeve@kbin.earth · 3 pts · 91d
It's basically just the smothering mother. Living her dream through her children, overprotective, sheltering, etc.
athatet@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 90d
Is the hamster republican?