[Cedar Grove Seekers]

briansnat, on Jun 26 2008, 11:51 AM, said:

I talked with one of the leading hamster caches and he explained that I need to put little air holes in the ammo box.

From experience we can tell you that it's better to put the holes in the container BEFORE placing the hamster in it.

[The Jester]

Suburban Hillbillies, on Jul 3 2008, 07:16 AM, said:

So, Let's say I find a lamp post skirt lifter type micro, since the hamster won't fit in the film canister, is it acceptable practice to leave the hamster under the lamp post skirt, as long as I log it as such?

At least he'll be able to run in circles for a while.

Sorry, just like "No signature in logbook = No find" - No hamster in cache = No HamsterCaching.

[blb9556]

wimseyguy, on Jun 28 2008, 04:48 AM, said:

The Leprechauns, on Jun 26 2008, 02:42 PM, said:

"Comeback?" Sorry, but I wasn't aware that hamstercaching was on the decline. From where I sit, hamstercaching is stronger than ever as it approaches its five-year anniversary. It's officially recognized by Geocacher University, and for Groundspeak's opinion, I direct you to my avatar to the left of this post.

Perhaps the only major trend in hamstercaching is dealing with the proliferation of micro and small caches. Hamsters don't do well in anything the size of a Decon container or smaller. (PLEASE trust me on this -- do not attempt to duplicate the experiences I've had.) As an accommodation to this trend, I've taken to using white mice in the smaller containers. They have also proven heartier in colder climates. I think I've overcome the criticism leveled at me during the harsh winter of 2003.

Why would you put a perfectly healthy Grade A hamster in a crappy gladware container?

Thats what I said!! Animal Abuse!!!!

[Michael]

There is no abuse. All reviewers undergo a 3 day intensive training from the ASPCH org. They are schooled in the protection of hamsters and how to spot potential problems in any hamster cache up for review. The senior reviewers even get a course on hamster CPR.

[SARAH !]

Is there a log in there? How do you claim a find?

[Moose Mob]

SARAH !, on Jul 3 2008, 12:18 PM, said:

Is there a log in there? How do you claim a find?

Trust me, the hamster will make a log or two. They will be very small, but there will be logs.

[SARAH !]

Haha. I set myself up for that one.

[SARAH !]

Ok...Is this really real? Do people really put live hamster in caches? Or is this one big sarcastic joke?

[jholly]

SARAH !, on Jul 3 2008, 12:29 PM, said:

Ok...Is this really real? Do people really put live hamster in caches? Or is this one big sarcastic joke?

What!? you've never found a cache with a hamster in it? I've learned to open ammo cans very carefully because if a hamster is in the can it just might bite you. They get pretty testy being locked up in that can.

Jim

[SARAH !]

??? ????

[SARAH !]

??? ????

[Suburban Hillbillies]

SARAH !, on Jul 3 2008, 11:29 AM, said:

Ok...Is this really real? Do people really put live hamster in caches? Or is this one big sarcastic joke?

I've found dozens... Usually keep them for a while, then trade for a new one.
If I do happen upon a dead one, I take it, and trade it for a happy meal toy, I feel that's an even trade.

[TheAlabamaRambler]

Suburban Hillbillies, on Jul 3 2008, 03:10 PM, said:

If I do happen upon a dead one, I take it, and trade it for a happy meal toy, I feel that's an even trade.

Wow!

Do you have any idea how much hampster pelts are worth today?

Please, next time you find a dead hampster in a cache please send me the skin for my new hampster-fur coat.

Thanks

This post has been edited by mtn-man: 06 July 2008 - 01:58 PM

[TeamAtlas]

Sarah, don't feel bad, I asked the same (serious) question and got more (not serious) answers. I assume it's all a big joke.

[The Blorenges]

For those who haven't come across HamsterCaching before, may I refer you to the links in my post#9 ?

You will then be better informed.

MrsB

[skisidedown]

The Blorenges, on Jul 3 2008, 07:28 PM, said:

For those who haven't come across HamsterCaching before, may I refer you to the links in my post#9 ?

You will then be better informed.

MrsB

Great links there. I am exicited about trying this in my area and I can think of a few cachers who would 'enjoy' finding such a cache. I will need to be very careful with placement. I think that on the ground, at the top of a wooded (spruce trees) hill, with a long air tube (at least six feet) should keep the fuzzball dry, breathing and allow the cache to be covered with snow in winter, sending it into hibernation without freezing it solid. Don't ask me how I know this, because I won't tell you, but hamstersicles are to be avoided at all costs. They do not taste like popsicles!

I also noticed a picture of Leprechaun eating a hamster, and after finding this site I believe that his technique is incorrect. The hamster should be head first, according to the experts that is.

Skisidedown

[midnightrosefashions]

odd that suggesting to put live animals in caches would be acceptable. considering all the talk about how to clean the food smells out of containers before using them as caches, then to say make sure your hamster has food. uuughh. i wouldn't want to find anything, dead or alive in a cache. it would be liberated and the culprit scolded for sure.

[TheAlabamaRambler]

midnightrosefashions, on Jul 5 2008, 07:55 PM, said:

odd that suggesting to put live animals in caches would be acceptable. considering all the talk about how to clean the food smells out of containers before using them as caches, then to say make sure your hamster has food. uuughh. i wouldn't want to find anything, dead or alive in a cache. it would be liberated and the culprit scolded for sure.

[midnightrosefashions]

you geocachers are an odd breed i'm infected enough with the bug that i thought i might be one of you, but it may take years before i reach the caliber of some of youseguys. hopefully many long years.

[webscouter.]

midnightrosefashions, on Jul 5 2008, 10:09 PM, said:

you geocachers are an odd breed i'm infected enough with the bug that i thought i might be one of you, but it may take years before i reach the caliber of some of youseguys. hopefully many long years.

(``·.¸(``·.¸(``·.¸*¤*¸.·`´)¸.·`´)¸.·`´)
«´¨¨`·....¤*MidnightRose*¤....·´¨¨`»
(¸.·`´(¸.·`´(¸.·`´*¤*``·.¸)``·.¸)``·.¸)

You already have a stylized road kill gerbil on your sig line and you think you are a long way off??

Me thinks you are already further assimilated than you think.

[jholly]

Resistance is futile.

Jim

[midnightrosefashions]

webscouter., on Jul 5 2008, 07:42 PM, said:

(``·.¸(``·.¸(``·.¸*¤*¸.·`´)¸.·`´)¸.·`´)
«´¨¨`·....¤*MidnightRose*¤....·´¨¨`»
(¸.·`´(¸.·`´(¸.·`´*¤*``·.¸)``·.¸)``·.¸)

You already have a stylized road kill gerbil on your sig line and you think you are a long way off??

Me thinks you are already further assimilated than you think.

gasp! no wonder it was sooo cute.

[Five Frazers]

I have no idea how to thank you all. Not only do I have an awesome new hobby, but also have been given a humane way to unload all these rodents that keep breeding at my home. Thank you all so much!

[bogleman]

Hi everyone, long time thread reader first time poser......

I am considering purchasing one of those travel bug thingies. I saw the HamsterCaching thread and it got me thinking......would it be ok for me to put my hamster into a peanut butter jar and then attach my travel bug and send it on it's way.

I've got a "Sams Club" sized jar and I thought I could leave a little peanut butter inside for the hamster to eat while he is on his adventure.

Thoughts

[blocko1000]

I thought I had seen it all when I saw people hamster caching, then I went to San Francisco and I saw gerbil caching.  It is all the rage there.

[jholly]

bogleman, on Jul 6 2008, 08:29 AM, said:

Hi everyone, long time thread reader first time poser......

I am considering purchasing one of those travel bug thingies. I saw the HamsterCaching thread and it got me thinking......would it be ok for me to put my hamster into a peanut butter jar and then attach my travel bug and send it on it's way.

I've got a "Sams Club" sized jar and I thought I could leave a little peanut butter inside for the hamster to eat while he is on his adventure.

Thoughts

You could, but I would never take that TB, much to big and to hard to find a cache to put it in. But a neat idea.

Jim

[boda]

jholly, on Jul 6 2008, 09:19 AM, said:

bogleman, on Jul 6 2008, 08:29 AM, said:

Hi everyone, long time thread reader first time poser......

I am considering purchasing one of those travel bug thingies. I saw the HamsterCaching thread and it got me thinking......would it be ok for me to put my hamster into a peanut butter jar and then attach my travel bug and send it on it's way.

I've got a "Sams Club" sized jar and I thought I could leave a little peanut butter inside for the hamster to eat while he is on his adventure.

Thoughts

You could, but I would never take that TB, much to big and to hard to find a cache to put it in. But a neat idea.
Jim

But, there will likely be a resurgence in 'peanut butter alergy' threads. Nooooooo!

[TheAlabamaRambler]

boda, on Jul 6 2008, 11:27 AM, said:

But, there will likely be a resurgence in 'peanut butter alergy' threads. Nooooooo!

How did you discover that hamsters are allergic to peanut butter?

[webscouter.]

I have found that if you get one of the long haired hamsters you can braid their hair enough to feed it through the hole in the travel bug and tie a knot in it. As long as you get a lethargic hamster they won't pull the tag loose. Be careful to place the tag in the center of the hamsters back, if you get it too far to the left or right it pulls them off balance and they get dizzy running around inside the cache. Sometimes it gets bad enough that they get sick and when you open the cache it smells really badly.

[WebChimp]

webscouter., on Jul 6 2008, 10:29 AM, said:

... you can braid their hair enough to feed it through the hole in the travel bug and tie a knot in it.

What kind of knot?

[webscouter.]

Well a monkey fist gives it the best diameter but I find that usually you only have enough to tie a double overhand which works pretty well.

[GOF and Bacall]

TheAlabamaRambler, on Jul 6 2008, 08:42 AM, said:

boda, on Jul 6 2008, 11:27 AM, said:

But, there will likely be a resurgence in 'peanut butter alergy' threads. Nooooooo!

How did you discover that hamsters are allergic to peanut butter?

A camo taped, recycled peanut butter jar cache container.

The problem with hamster caching is the odor. Even if the hamsters don't expire in the cache all those little jelly beans become rather pungent, especially in the warmer summer weather.

[hairball45]

I'm sorry to respond so late to this thread, but I have to describe my current experience with hamstercaching. I hate spending a great deal of money on swag, and I'm not patient enough to buy a pair of hamsters to breed my own, (don't want one of those hamster castles in the house either) I have discovered that my little storage barn, and neighbors larger regular barns are great sources of wild hamsters. They are an attractive gray-brown in color and have bright, it tiny, little eyes. They come in two distinct sizes, excellent for small caches and large ammo cans too. They have, unfortunately, rather long tails, but these can be trimmed off, much like docking puppy's tails. Really this is an advantage though. Leave about a third of the tail - instant gerbil. All of the tail but a stub, hamster. I've gotten lots of positive comments on these little guys, folks say they remind them of the wild hamsters that lived in their houses when they were kids. They give them names like Mickey and Chuckie.
I hope these ideas spread - new homes for wild hamsters, good cache swag, nice pets for cachers and their kids.
hairball

[WebChimp]

hairball45, on Jul 22 2008, 02:30 AM, said:

They come in two distinct sizes, excellent for small caches and large ammo cans too. They have, unfortunately, rather long tails, but these can be trimmed off, much like docking puppy's tails. ........
I hope these ideas spread - new homes for wild hamsters, good cache swag, nice pets for cachers and their kids.

When good ideas turn bad...

[GSVNoFixedAbode]

New vehicle found for Hamstercaching drive-bys!


No need for those back-to-nature hunting in the woods cache expeditions for your Hamster. The Urbanite Hamster of today will be at home collecting LPC caches with ease!

[Parabola]

I saw this today and for some reason or another I thought of this thread.



He looks to be in training for something. I don't know if this is a photo of one of The Leprechaun's hamster's while they are training it to be placed into a cache or what.

Maybe the SWAG really can fight back.

[blb9556]

I just got an idea Next time I visit my caches I will add labels that say "Hamster caching prohibited"

[The Blorenges]

Isonzo Karst, on Jun 26 2008, 01:24 PM, said:

Anyway, I wonder if others have been seeing a resurgence of what was once a part of the sport?

Lep?

I fear that HamsterCaching has never become established here in UK so we're not seeing any 'comeback'.

However, I have done my best to introduce the variation by placing the First (HamsterCache) in Wales. I'll make no apologies for this blatent plug for our cache: the need to spread the word over-rides other forum niceties. I look forward to the time when there is a hamstercache in every state and country.

Spread The Word in 2009 -
HamsterCaching is very fine!

MrsB
(HamsterCache Promoter for the U.K.)

[wimseyguy]

blb9556, on Dec 29 2008, 09:52 AM, said:

I just got an idea Next time I visit my caches I will add labels that say "Hamster caching prohibited"

Dude, no one bothers to read cache pages any more. Do you really think they will read or obey your labels? Besides, once you have hiked all the way out to your cache, most intelligent cachers will want a lighter load for the return trip. Good luck with that project though.

[Renegade Knight]

All this Hamster Caching is nothing more than Gerbil Cacheism. Gerbils deserve to see the world as much as a Hamster. One advantage of Gerbils, they tend to make the inside of the cache less wet while they wait to be moved to the next cache. Something about being desert critters. Sure you could put a diaper on a Hamster but that takes work and the Hamster would just gnaw it off.

[The Leprechauns]

blb9556, on Dec 29 2008, 09:52 AM, said:

I just got an idea Next time I visit my caches I will add labels that say "Hamster caching prohibited"

I just got an idea too! Next time I visit Central Ohio, I'll first weed out hamster-unfriendly caches by using the "Ignore Listing" button.

This would all be much simpler if Groundspeak would simply add the Hamstercaching/ No Hamstercaching attribute icons. As you can see, I suggested this way back in 2004:

The Leprechauns, on Nov 3 2004, 07:55 PM, said:

Another important attribute that I'm sure was omitted purely as an oversight, or to keep the test page uncluttered:


Hamstercaching Permitted

Groundspeak has ignored my requests over the years for a hamstercaching attribute, a "small animal cache" cache type, and even a forum section for discussing hamstercaching. Yet at the same time, there is a special attribute for snakes (which are less desireable as trade items than hamsters), a special cache type for ape caches (not very practical in urban environments where a hamster-sized cache can be hidden), and a forum section for Luxembourg (there are more hamstercachers than there are people who speak Lux).

It is a conspiracy fraught with arbitrariness and inconsistency, firmly rooted in an underlying quest for world domination through subversive religion masquerading as science.

[The Blorenges]

bogleman, on Jul 6 2008, 03:29 PM, said:

I am considering purchasing one of those travel bug thingies. I saw the HamsterCaching thread and it got me thinking......would it be ok for me to put my hamster into a peanut butter jar and then attach my travel bug and send it on it's way?

I've got a "Sams Club" sized jar and I thought I could leave a little peanut butter inside for the hamster to eat while he is on his adventure.

Thoughts

It might work. Size is important.



MrsB
(HamsterCache Promoter for the UK)

[Waroku]

You all do know that not everyone who reads these forums is an adult that understands sarcasm right?

Some kid might take you seriously and attempt to send his/her hamster on a road trip.

I just hope that no HamHams are killed because of this thread.

[seacarrot12]

Just realised I've been doing it wrong......


I've been putting large venomous Spiders in my Caches.

Dam.

[GOF and Bacall]

Waroku, on Dec 31 2008, 12:55 PM, said:

You all do know that not everyone who reads these forums is an adult that understands sarcasm right?

Some kid might take you seriously and attempt to send his/her hamster on a road trip.

I just hope that no HamHams are killed because of this thread.

What sarcasm?

[Bergie Bunch]

GOF & Bacall, on Dec 31 2008, 02:23 PM, said:

Waroku, on Dec 31 2008, 12:55 PM, said:

You all do know that not everyone who reads these forums is an adult that understands sarcasm right?

Some kid might take you seriously and attempt to send his/her hamster on a road trip.

I just hope that no HamHams are killed because of this thread.

What sarcasm?

Really, what sarcasm? I have 12 cages with breeding pairs for hamster caching. I place them in all suitable caches as well as in large JIF peanut butter container. They don.t seem to mind, and I have only had one complaint.

[GOF and Bacall]

It just isn't the same since they banned those little ketchup packets from caches.

[The Leprechauns]

Thank you, Bergie Bunch, for your contributions to hamstercaching -- not only by your placement of many hamster-friendly caches in the Pittsburgh area (the BIRTHPLACE of hamstercaching), but also through your generous contributions of trade items.

Winter time is a good opportunity to build up a supply of signature hamsters for placement when warmer weather returns. March is usually safe, especially for placements in brand new caches or travel bug hotels because these are visited quickly and regularly.

[GOF and Bacall]

I've been having a bit of trouble with micro caches. Anyone have a link to the proper folding method?

[The Leprechauns]

This has been covered in prior threads. For large micros and smalls, use white mice in lieu of hamsters. A side benefit: mice don't hurt so much when they bite you.