pets from swap meet(flea market) is it okay to buy them?

Question

so i'ved had a dwarf hamster for almost 3 years and they sold it to me at the flea market,on the day it first opened his eyes. was that okay? and all the baby hamsters that were being sold were handeled by EVERYONE that came by or wanted to pet them, some of them even got dropped on the floor. why were they still alive? and why is mine living so long?



and also i got another one from swap meet 2 days ago,this time its siberian. he was in a little 5 gallon dirty and old plastic bin, and he was together with 6 other hamsters,no toys or nothing. they drank from a dirty water bowl and their food really stunk.




i already bought a ten gallon tank and a whole bunch of toys but he's scared of them will he ever play?
he also doesn't know how to use the water bottle.
and he will only eat sunflower seeds. what do i do?


p.s the guy who sold it to me says its about 3 months old, and i got him because i couldn't stand them being treated so badly.

i took him to the vet this morning and he said the hamster will make it, i just needed some vitamins for hamsters and put it in his water, but he doesn't think it could ever be tamed.

oh and yes i do know that buying a hamster from those kinds of people is encouriging him to keep on breeding them. but its not like im the only one who buys animals from him. i'ved seen 5 year old little girls just buy the hamsters with their alowence without even telling their parents. that guy is bad and i dont think he's ever gonna stop selling.

oh and no, he didn't over charge, he asked only for 5$ but it doesn't matter how much he charged, thats not the problem.

Answer 1

OMG! thats horrible (not u buy them of course)!! Why would someone sell them there? Thats not right.

>>>>>>>I would take your hamster to the vet. Like soon. Or call a vet and ask them. describe the situation and the guy.

Is your hamsters hair thin? If so he is TOO YOUNG to be sold!!! does he look sickly?

I would probably call animal control or something. I would think that would be animal endangerment!!!!!

IM very happy to hear someone is stepping up and helping these little things. I hope he didnt over charge you either. (they are usually $10-12 at petstores)

Did you get bedding for him? It should be ASPEN and ONLY aspen. does the tank have a lid? it must have a lid.

Your hammie might be scared. But seriously CALL A VET!! Like.....AS SOON AS YOU READ THIS. which will be like a couple min after i post this but seriously. I would write more but i want you to take him. You may have to try a couple of vets because i dont know how many in your area deal with small animals. i would call a couple (3-4 maybe more) and ask each and describe the living conditions. Take him to one or two of the ones you called. I would seriously do it like now!!!!!!


PLEASE KEEP ME POSTED(email me)!!!
I will pray for your little hammie!! I wanna kno his name please!

Kay.

Answer 2

Flea markets are usually not ideal places to buy pets. You're usually dealing with "backyard breeders" who don't care about the animals- AT ALL!

It's tempting to buy an animal to "save" it, but when you pay someone for an animal who is not well taken care of, the person you paid is encouraged to continue breeding more animals to make more money. Chances are, if the didn't take care of the animals he was selling this time around, the future animals will be neglected too.

Answer 3

I have bought a cockatel from a swap meet hes great.I bought a rabbit there too it died 2 days later.I think it was seperated from the mother 2 young it was very small.Just dont get a pet to young & a lot of birds from the swap meet are feather pluckers make sure it has nice feathers & no sign of plucking.