Home Sweet Hammy Home

08/10/2025

Here are just a few of the animals who have been in, or are currently in, my rescue and also two of our personal family dogs that were all once roaming the streets fending for themselves and were each rescued by Good Samaritans at various times.

It's anybody's guess how they came to be on the streets. And we don't want to think what would have happened to any of them had they not been captured!

Sunni and Valda lived good lives after they were surrendered to my rescue by their finders, and both have passed on now, the rest are still living good lives.

Nutmeg is doing great as the newest rescued stray and currently decompressing from what must have been a frightening ordeal. I will post a progress update soon

07/10/2025

Soooo....the bunny could not continue living in the trap, and the finder wasn't able to house long-term, but someone has miraculously stepped up to foster!

More good news is they are experienced in stray bunny rehabilitation, which is awesome! The rabbit is already settling in their care.

Since this baby was a stray, I've started the search to find an owner by posting on various lost animal platforms. If an owner is not found, we'll proceed with a vet exam, which is already scheduled for next week at Sonoran Veterinarian Center, who has agreed to receive donations toward care on our behalf. I will let everyone know if an owner is found and if not the details on donating towards care soon.

By the way, we had to come up with a name to start a file at the vet office, so the name chosen by the foster family is... Nutmeg 💜

06/10/2025

‼️Urgent‼️

The rabbit is being cared for temporarily, but needs a more permanent solution. The finder has been trying to locate an owner without success. Neither shelter has been able to help. There aren't any credible rescues known of in the Tucson area but if any rescues from the Phoenix area sees this and is open to intake or anyone else who lives in Tucson and has worked with me before and can help, reach out ASAP and I will put you in touch with the finder.

01/10/2025

It's been a crazy couple of days with the stolen guinea pigs situation here in Tucson, Arizona. Let me be clear, I'm not calling out Lidtke Small Animal Foundation in this post. I am not even tagging them because I don't think they are active on anything other than tiktok. I just created this collage as a sort of visual standard. All of these points I've made are purely my opinion, but they are the goals I set for my own rescue in it's beginning development. The only reason I am even acknowledging the situation is because it occurred in my city. Whenever something happens in someone else's city and state, I don't get involved unless I plan to bring affected animals into my rescue, or if someone wants me to help bring awareness to it etc.

What LSAF is doing behind closed doors is still a mystery. My sincerest hope is as more people begin to question their transparency more will be revealed, but I'm not in favor of spreading lies and hate, and that isn't what was doing. We are all people who love guinea pigs (and other small voiceless animals) and want what's best for them. If that means making people aware of possible shady practices, then we can't stay silent.

The situation is being taken over by the proper authorities thankfully, so our hope is everything works out for the best!

Facebook cut off the bottom of my collage but that's okay, it just says the mission statement should be clearly stated. Instagram shows the collage in its entirety if anyone wants to see it.

30/09/2025

The reason we initially brought to everyone’s attention the concerns about the Lidtke Small Animal Foundation was simply due to the story not adding up. The lack of transparency by those currently running the foundation (which we have learned is not Ron) and the welfare of the animals was our primary concern. Now that we have learned more over the past few days, the concern and focus of the situation has shifted.

Out of respect for Ron and his family’s privacy, we will not be sharing the information we learned but are relieved to hear what we found out. We still stand by the fact that something is not authentic about this foundation currently, and are aware of the recent statement they put out. We learned that the appropriate people and authorities beyond PCSD are involved for the much bigger picture and the truth will eventually come out and hopefully justice is served to those with wrong doings.

Please do not speculate because there is so much more to this situation than any of us could have imagined when first seeking information to make sure animals were ok. We feel confident that those handling it will see it through so the wrongs are righted.

27/09/2025

24/09/2025

This story has a surprise twist to it!

Originally the owner reached out humbly requesting surrender for both of the girls, but after talking with me and reviewing the hamster care resources I gave them, and joining Facebook groups and forums, they decided to relinquish just one. On the surrender day they were given a rescue tour with me explaining each of the cage setups I have here and discussing overall proper hamster care. There was a spark of inspiration which was ignited even further in the owner's mind after seeing little Feistyanna explore her new cage and I am happy to report the next day they ordered an even bigger cage for the hamster they are keeping and several appropriate accessories, plus they utilized the setup demonstration pages on my rescue website and poured through more resources. So their little hamster is well set for the rest of her life.

I was, and still am, so impressed!

Adding to all of that I had requested a surrender fee of $40, but they gave $50!

Not all pet store hamsters end up in this kind of circumstance so these two are extremely fortunate.

Feistyanna will be available for adoption soon.

Anybody wanna guess why this name was chosen for her? 🤪

12/09/2025

To apply to adopt send an email to [email protected]

Adoption interviews are conducted by phone call only.

An adoption application and contract is sent after I am sure I can approve the adoption. I won't send one if I can't approve. Prior to sending it out, all requirements are verified and my high standards for care are met.

All applicants receive proper care resources regardless of adoption approval.

Any questions?

09/09/2025

In my last two posts I introduced Cheffie, the newest intake at Home Sweet Hammy Home, and I showed the cage he lived in which was recommended by pet store employees. His owners were unaware it wasn't ideal, but instinctively they must have realized he needed more room to roam so these loving hamster parents created play space in a kiddie pool and crafted several DIY toys for him to utilize. His life may not have been ideal when it comes to proper hamster care standards but he certainly was loved! There is no doubt in my mind his family would have hauled the kiddie pool, cage and all of the accessories onto the plane with them when they moved, if they could have! But obviously that wasn't doable which prompted them to reach out. It's been an honor to work with them through this process of securing Cheffie's future.

Oh and see that little bowl of neatly diced up fruits and veggies... they prepared that for him to munch on during the hour long car ride from their home to mine! That's definitely true love 💜

Cheffie has settled into his new cage here in rescue nicely and is almost ready for adoption. To apply email [email protected]

29/08/2025

Thank you to the person who sent all of these items, only 2 of them had a gift receipt, so I'm not sure if they were all sent by the same person or different people but I truly, truly hope whoever sent them sees my gratitude and knows how deeply I appreciate their contribution!

15/08/2025

It's been a little bit sad here recently. These 3 brothers who were admitted into my rescue at approximately 6 months old in September of 2023, have each passed away, one after another. Coincidentally, the timing of their passings ends up being the 2 year anniversary of the San Diego Humane Society transport.

Altogether, there were seven surviving hamsters admitted here, the other four passed away in the first year. That's the hard thing about operating a hamster rescue, they do not have long lifespans.

When I brought the 7 hamsters into my rescue, I wasn't sure if they'd be adoptable, then for a short time they were but as they aged each of the 7 developed various health concerns and they all ended up living the rest of their lives here after multiple veterinarian visits and treatments. I am happy all three of these boys lived well past two years of age, but it's been quite depressing laying them to rest too.

Lucero was the last to pass, and ironically it was just 1 hour into the second year transport anniversary, so I never posted anything for it on August 7th, but did a great job commemorating many of the survivors while I was attempting to pull myself together and function through the losses.

I always manage to get through these losses by finding comfort in the fact that they were given their own large fully enriched cages to call home while they lived here in rescue and were provided unlimited favorite foods all the way up until their last day alive on earth. But they are all deeply missed 💔

04/08/2025

Rupert received some training treats and supplements for his liver and kidneys from his Amazon wishlist 💜

He's very grateful!

I've gotten his valley fever test results in, but have not shared them yet. I wish it was better news. I've had his CBC blood and urine tested as well and got those results in too.

Again, I wish I had better news to share. He's not doing so good you guys, I know he looks well enough in the pictures but internally he's battling the side effects of the medication that is meant to reduce the valley fever in his body and isn't currently effective.

We've seen so many different veterinarians now, one of them wants to have him go on an a new anti-fungal medication and the other is just saying to administer vitamin C along with the current medicine. These were the 3rd and 4th opinions. Should I go get a 5th opinion?

So much drama with this dog who is a Magnet for Misfortune. And throughout it all, he just keeps on being his same silly GSP self.