To whom it may concern,

 

As you well know, thousands of people from across the continent trust that the products sold in your store are conducive to a happy and healthy life for their pets. While that opinion may be largely correct, there is an area in which products that truly meet the needs of the intended species is sorely lacking.

 

Thousands of us are deeply concerned about the current standard of hamster care that your stores promote. The cages marketed for hamsters are incredibly small and inappropriate for long term housing. The wheels used in your store displays are frequently dangerous models or species inappropriate, and those wheels available for sale are either dangerous or not correctly marketed for the intended species. There are wood beddings sold in store that are marketed for rodents despite the fact that they are well known to lead to grave illness. The care guides--given to novice pet parents that trust your advice--give grossly inaccurate information, causing well-meaning people to put their pets at risk unknowingly. These are not all the issues we take, but the glaring ones.

 

We in no way mean to diminish the wonderful work your stores do in partnering with local rescues and shelters to facilitate adoptions, as well as the charitable giving the company does as a whole. There are also many products that the hamster community does enjoy and purchase. What we are asking is for you to examine the good products you have in-store and, drawing on your noble ethics that have the animals’ interests at heart, make meaningful and positive change in that direction.

 

Addressing the changes we’d like to see, we must first start with the caging options. Petsmart officially recommends that hamster cages be 16” by 12” (192 square inches) and offer 2 inches of bedding. We take this recommendation from the recent packaging change of the All Living Things Paper Bedding. However, those recommendations are rather off base.

 

We understand that Kaytee Crittertrail cages are the most popular, and so we understand your decision to make similar style cages under the Petsmart label--that being the new All Living Things Tiny Tales line. However, we must point out that no cage currently sold in your store or website cages lends itself to hosting a healthy life for the hamsters. The suggested minimum hamster cage size, according to most hamster organizations including our own, (although widely accepted by most informal circles as well), is 450 square inches of unbroken floor space. The largest cage in the Tiny Tales line is 320 square inches, with the smallest coming in at about 212 square inches. Given the unique shape of each cage, we know that  While these cages are connectable and could add up to over 450 square inches, the minimum states the space must be unbroken. The reason for this is twofold.

 

Hamsters reign large territories in the wild. Take these findings of a study on Syrian hamster ecology by Gatterman et al. (2001) which states, “The mean length of the entire gallery system measured 200 cm and could extend up to 900 cm.”  While this cannot be replicated in the home, a cage large enough to allow for many natural behaviours (such as nesting, foraging, running, and maintaining separate areas) is imperative. Those simply cannot all be accomplished with 320 square inches, and certainly not within less. As well, additionally studies have proven that providing larger cages reduces stress behaviours in hamsters, and is related to welfare. Fischer et al. concluded that, “Since the frequency and duration of wire-gnawing was significantly higher in smaller cages than in the large cages, the welfare of pet golden hamsters might be improved by providing enriched cages of at least 10,000 cm2.”

 

Even if you were to consider our minimum arbitrary, let us point out that none of the cages sold for hamsters in Petsmart stores allow room for all of their species appropriate accessories. That means they must allow for space for several inches of bedding, multiple suitably sized hides, a food dish, bottle, enrichment products, and, most importantly, a suitable wheel. Consider than Syrian hamsters need a 9” wheel at minimum, otherwise their spines are forced to arch and put them at dangerous risk. The wheels provided with the cages are just not adequate for all species, yet that is what they are marketed toward. As well, no cage currently sold at Petsmart allows for such large wheels to be added to the habitat. For an animal that “loves their cardio,” as the online Petsmart hamster care guide states, it certainly doesn’t seem fair to deprive the animal of a suitable place to run.

 

We must also address the fact that basins of the Tiny Tales cages are shallow and only allow for a few inches of bedding at most. This, coupled with the fact that Petsmart only advocates providing 2” of bedding for hamsters, is problematic. In addition to the surface area, hamsters also need deep bedding for nesting and burrowing. Again, Gatterman et al. (2001) touches on this, noting that in the wild, “Burrow depths ranged from 36 to 106 cm (mean 65 cm).” In a laboratory setting, Hauzenberger, Gebhardt-Henrich, and Steiger (2006) stated, “we showed that cages with at least 40 cm of bedding seemed to enhance the welfare of golden hamsters, although those in 80 cm bedding had more body fat compared with the other groups.”

 

With these points in mind, we ask Petsmart to look toward stocking species-appropriate cages. Petsmart must absolutely be commended for creating larger alternatives than previously available with the addition of the Tiny Tales line, and that is why we believe more change can be brought about as well. Since the Petsmart corporation has embarked on this foray into making new hamster cages under the All Living Things brand, we ask that you consider making larger and more appropriate cages in the near future. We would like to see a company meet or exceed the 450 square inch recommendation and feature a large basin (8-10”) for burrowing animals as well. The All Living Things brand could be the first to do so, and would be supported in the utmost by the hamster-loving community. Additionally, we would like to ask you to consider stocking the Kaytee Crittertrail Super in store. Many of us in the community worked with Kaytee to see that cage made and it has always been with the hope that it will be available to the general public. I have no doubt Petsmart could make these hopes a reality, and we would love to work with you in doing so.

 

Returning to the issue of bedding, we are concerned that cedar and pine bedding are still sold as options for small pets. These beddings have been empirically proven to be unsafe for rodents, and their use as small animal bedding should be ceased. Ayers et al. (1989) found that “Instillation of plicatic and abietic acids into rat lungs produced bronchial epithelial sloughing. Abietic acid also caused destruction of the alveolar epithelium. The addition of either acid to rat tracheal explants caused epithelial desquamation that was dose- and time-dependent.” The findings of Weichbrod (1988) corroborates this, and additionally found that kiln-dried pine also produces a rise in liver enzymes in rats.

 

We therefore ask that Petsmart ceases marketing cedar and pine beddings toward small pet owners as neither is safe for any rodent.

 

On the topic of wheels, we should address those being sold and used in-store. Currently, Petsmart uses and sells metal mesh wheels. These are both available to consumers as well as frequently used in store displays. However, years of research--both professional and anecdotal--has proved these to be unsafe. It’s far too easy for tiny toes to get caught in the small holes and cause breakage while running. The perforated surface also induces and exacerbates the condition known as bumblefoot. A 2009 study by Beaulieu and Reebs found, “Four groups of 10 males and 10 females were each assigned to one of the following treatments: pine/no mesh, pine/mesh, chips/no mesh and chips/mesh. Each hamster paw was observed at 1-3-day intervals for 60 days. A total of 1-3 wounds, separate in time, developed on the paws (mostly the hind ones) of almost all animals. Wounds appeared as small pinpricks, cuts or scabs, mostly on the palms.” Lastly, the design of such wheels when used by multiple hamsters at once puts animals at incredible risk of injury, as seen in this video taken at a Petsmart store: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt084vYqbnY.

 

As noted, Syrian hamsters need a 9” wheel at minimum, and dwarves of all species should have at least 6-8”. Yet, in Petsmart stores, wheels as small as 4” are sold, all hamster cages come with wheels that are 5-6” on average, and 6-8” wheels are marketed toward Syrians. This puts animals at risk of serious spinal damage, shortening their lives and condemning them to immense pain with age.

 

We therefore ask that Petsmart stops selling all mesh wheels in store as the have been proven to be incredibly dangerous. We also ask that Petsmart replaces their store displays with more suitable wheels where applicable. In speaking to numerous Petsmart pet care associates, we have found that the reason for not replacing the wheels in store displays is largely due to lack of approval for replacements. We ask that Petsmart sets a better example for pet parents by replacing wheels across all Petsmart stores to those of reasonably suitable size (we understand that juvenile Syrians can make due with an 8” wheel) and with a solid running surface. We also ask that Petsmart begins advocating for correctly sized wheel based on the species of hamster. Relabeling of some products would be appreciated, as would literature in the store care guides that reflects the correct sizes.

 

This letter is limited to the larger issues of note. We have not touched on some of the more dangerous products on store shelves--such as Snak Shak toys, cotton/fluffy bedding, and calcium chews--but we would like to address those too if Petsmart is open to listening!

 

In short, we are concerned that hamsters sold at Petsmart stores are going home to continue to see inadequate care. We know the Petsmart corporation puts the animals first, which is why we are reaching out in this manner. We would like to help you make meaningful change by introducing larger and more appropriate cages, discontinuing the sale of dangerous products, and advocating for better and more modern care standards.

 

We know that there are many issues and suggestions contained within this message. It was pertinent that everything be addressed at once so that the line does not keep moving once change has been reached. Please also understand that we know change takes time and we enter this conversation with the hope that it inspires just the first steps toward the ideal that we’ve laid out. We are willing to work with you and not against you so long as the same is afforded to us. Please also understand that we are thousands strong. We will support whatever steps Petsmart takes toward ensuring a healthier and more positive future for hamsters across the continent. We will relish the change that comes and support you with our recommendations and our purchases. Like you, we love to see healthy, happy pets. Please help us achieve that.

 

Please send responses to: californiahamsterassociation@gmail.com and info@ontariohamsters.ca.

 

 

References

Ayars GH, Altman LC, Frazier CE, Chi EY. (1989) The toxicity of constituents of cedar and pine

woods to pulmonary epithelium. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 83, pg.

610-18

Beaulieu, A., & Reebs, S. G. (2009). Effects of bedding material and running wheel surface on

paw wounds in male and female Syrian hamsters. Laboratory Animals, 43(1), 85-90.

doi:10.1258/la.2008.007088

Fischer, Katerina, Gebhardt-Henrich, SG., & Steiger, A. (2007). Behaviour of Golden Hamsters

(Mesocricetus auratus) Kept in Four Different Cage Sizes. Animal Welfare, 16: 85-93

Hauzenberger, A. R., Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G., & Steiger, A. (2006). The influence of bedding

depth on behaviour in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Applied Animal

Behaviour Science, 100(3-4), 280-294. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2005.11.012

Gattermann, R., Fritzsche, P., Neumann, K., Al-Hussein, I., Kayser, A., Abiad, M., & Yakti, R.

(2001). Notes on the current distribution and the ecology of wild golden hamsters

(Mesocricetus auratus). Journal of Zoology, 254(3), 359-365. doi:10.1017/s0952836901000851

Kuhnen, G. (1999). The effect of cage size and enrichment on core temperature and febrile response of the golden hamster. Laboratory Animals, 33(3), 221-227. doi:10.1258/002367799780578246

McPherson, C. W., & L., V. H. (1987). Laboratory hamsters. Orlando: Academic Press.

Weichbrod, Robert H. et al, (1988) Effects of Cage Beddings on Microsomal Oxidative Enzymes

in Rat Liver. Laboratory Animal Science, 38 (3) p. 296-8