My name is Benito!

Benito has the typical hamster's life story. Born in a rodent mill along with hundreds of others he was packed up into a container and shipped to PetSmart probably shortly after being weaned at 3- 4 weeks old.

No one knows how long he lived in a tiny display case on the store's sales floor, but his young owner saw him there one day, fell in love, and purchased him along with a Tiny Tales cage which was much too small. Also purchased was some bedding, inappropriate food to satisfy a hamster's dietary needs and a few food bowls. The cage contained an odd shaped water bottle making it difficult to drink out of and a wheel with little slats in it which could have trapped his feet while running but thankfully did not. There are many reasons why those cages are unsafe as well as inappropriate, but luckily Benito only lived in his for just under 3 weeks. His owner attempted sneaking him into her college dorm room but was caught and ordered to find little Benito a new living arrangement.

Upon admittance Benito was transitioned into an appropriately sized cage, given the right kind of water dispenser along with a water bowl and a safe wheel that has a solid running surface. His new cage also contains plenty of bedding to burrow in, a sand bath, 2 dig boxes with interesting texture substrates and foraging mixes, a neat terracotta hideout as well as a ceramic one, 3 tunnel burrow starters, a nice bridge, a lovely multi chamber house, multiple chew options and various sprays. His favorite items are hard to guestimate because he is busy each night loving them all !

Like most hamsters Benito is strictly nocturnal arising around midnight and burrowing before daylight. He isn't keen on cuddling, hamsters rarely are. Instead, he appreciates the special treats left for him near his ceramic hide every night, and a weekly refresh on foraging mixes in his dig boxes and flax, silver millet and sorghum sprays throughout his cages. He is a great housekeeper mostly only peeing on his wheel and generally keeping other areas tidy. His water bowl and bottle need to be washed and filled with fresh filtered water every day, which takes less than 2 minutes, and he'll need to continue on the diet he's been transitioned to here in the rescue which can be found on the rescue website.

Benito's ideal adopter would be someone who is willing to continue his excellent care and provide enrichment without expecting anything from him in return other than seeing him be cute. He was tamed by his previous owner, but his body language indicates he'd rather be thriving in his cage setup exploring different textures and nibbling on those sprays after rolling in his sand bath and racing on his wheel.

To apply to adopt send an inquiry with your interest and list some days and times you are available for a phone chat.