My THOUGHTS on Naturalistic Hamster Terrariums

VICTORIA! My brother has had his hamster in a 20 gallon tank for her whole life, and I FINALLY convinced him to upgrade her to a 40 gallon. She is doing sooo much better now and it’s thanks to you!

Thank you for drawing attention to this. Just because something may look "nice" or "natural" doesn't mean it's what's best for a hamster's well-being.

and it’s kinda sad how people are praising them and attacking people who actually know better about hamster enrichment

It’s been driving me CRAZY seeing how many people “LOVE” this enclosure because its “natural”. Just because it’s natural does not mean it is appropriate. Thank you so much for making this video! 💖

It's so weird to me (someone who keeps reptiles bioactive) that he didn't put any kind of mesh between the LECA and the soil. Any bioactive tutorial , whether you have vertebrates in it or not, will have that and since he knew to put the LECA surely he saw or read something along those lines. And why not make it bioactive? Springtails and isopods are not hard to buy and would at least help keep it clean, plus they might be interesting for the hamster. Also It bothers me so much that he has made this wet foresty tank for an animal that comes from an arid climate. It is possible to make an arid bioactive setup which could be cool if done well, though personally my experiences going bioactive with burrowing animals haven't been great so idk if it would be good with a hamster.

They could've gone with an arid, bioactive enclosure in a 40 gal, and that would have been interesting to see. I do bioactive enclosures for arboreal geckos so I am not sure if bioactive enclosures for hamsters are similar, but they did everything wrong just from a bioactive reptile enclosure standpoint.

when i worked at petsmart in 2014 (omg almost 10 years ago im getting old lol) i would always tell people to not get hamster cages and go w fish tanks/terrariums. so glad to see another person so loving towards these little babies! never heard of someone making a natural terrarium so this video was very interesting and informative! and im sure if done properly it could be a good thing but i was having the same thoughts as you throughout the vid. anyway sorry for the ramble! keep up the good work!💕

I will never get people who make tutorial videos about their "I have no idea what I'm doing" way of life, without any research on the topic, without knowing that what they are doing is wrong on so many levels. Thank you for pointing these out and I find it pathetic that they tried to block you without any self reflection.

I really think it is crazy how people mistreat hamsters 😢 Thank you so much Victoria for spreading awareness ❤️

the reason they didnt want to hear ur thoughts is prob bc they know ur right!🥰glad u didnt give up!

I always see my friends who have hamster and they always have super small cages and poor care. I always recommend your channel and hopefully we can spread good information around and the hamster care will get better!

This frustrates me so much 😭 It isn't hard to give your animals proper care and housing. I'm so tired of people treating hamsters like they're decorations.

Since getting a frog I’ve been more interested in naturalistic hamster setups. I don’t want to risk anything for my hammy right now but maybe after more research it can be something I could try in the future! I think it would be interesting to see what can be done with store-bought materials for a naturalistic enclosure to make sure its as safe as possible

I have learned from my experience with worm farming that it is really easy to introduce an invasive species (especially mites) that can thrive in an enclosed environment. Sadly bringing things in from outdoors or letting pets go free then bringing them back to their homes indoors means exposure and could lead to an infestation and so much harm 🥺

This was very interesting! I always wondered how natural enclosures could work with soil substrate and being bio active/no cleaning. Your explanation makes sense. It’s also always fun learning about the landscape where hamsters come from 🐹 Thanks for the informative video!

Victoria, you are so great. After growing up myself with hamsters, which we kept in small plastic enclosure, not knowing any better, I came across your channel while researching when my own children asked for a hamster. I ended up getting a large enclosure made for her because I couldn't find anything suitable where I live, and the hamster is doing so well. It could have been so different without all the tutorials I watched. She has sand and soil boxes, we try to keep her stimulated, and she has 20cm of paper bedding not sawdust. It's all thanks to you 💛💚💙

One of those videos came up as a recommendation to me. I could not watch the whole video as it was so upsetting so see that sweet hamster in such a tiny and unsuitable set up. It is like the person is using Stefan as an experiment rather then trying to meet Stefan's needs.

I adore how smart yet sweet and classy you always are ❣️ 😘 You have inspired me since day one to ALWAYS research and do your homework before taking on a new pet. It's so rewarding to help a new critter with the best care possible. 🙏🙌

Your videos are so awesome!!! I could watch them the whole day!🥰

I love your channel sooo much!! ❤❤ So much amazing information on hamsters!