The concept of emotional support animals – pets that soothe and calm an owner through their sheer presence, thus becoming vital to mental health – is growing increasingly commonplace in society.
Hamsters are small, quiet, and relatively low maintenance, meaning they can be registered as emotional support animals (ESAs). The responsibility of meeting a hamster’s needs can bring order and meaning to a person’s life without becoming an overwhelming responsibility.
You’ll need to go through appropriate channels if you want a hamster to be registered as an emotional support animal. Such status can only be bestowed by a mental health professional.
What Defines an Emotional Support Animal?
“Companion animals without any special training, who are denoted in writing by a licensed mental health professional to be a therapeutic necessity for someone living with chronic mental health symptoms and who has a condition that meets the legal definition of a disability.”
Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health
Does this mean an ESA is the same as a service animal, like a guide dog?
No, at least not from a legal standpoint. While ESAs are invaluable to those who rely upon them, they’re not provided with the same legal rights as service animals.
What is the Difference Between Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals?
The main difference between ESAs and service animals is training.
A service animal will be carefully coached to behave in a particular way in public. ESAs are considered pets that soothe their owner through their presence.
A service animal’s training often grants leeway in locations where pets aren’t permitted. Registering a hamster as an ESA doesn’t override an establishment’s rules or private policies.
If you want to eat in a restaurant with the hamster in its cage beside you, the proprietor is entitled to ask you to leave. You can show a letter that assigns your hamster status as an ESA, but this will not provide you with legal rights.
The only exception to this is housing. Under the Fair Housing Act, registered ESAs are exempt from “no pets” policies in rented properties. Also, it’s illegal to charge a pet deposit if registered as an ESA.
Previously, ESAs were allowed to accompany their owners on flights free of charge. The law surrounding this was changed in 2020 due to passengers attempting to fly with peacocks, marmosets, pigs, and miniature horses. Today, ESAs must travel in cargo held by most airlines, if permitted.
Can You Register a Hamster as an Emotional Support Animal?
Any domesticated animal that doubles as a pet can be registered as an ESA, and hamsters are no exception. As long as the presence of a hamster calms and soothes the owner, it qualifies as an ESA.
You may be more resistant when introducing the hamster as an ESA. Dogs remain, by some distance, the most commonplace choice of ESA. Also, cats and rabbits are popular in this capacity.
You’ll need a mental health professional to proclaim a hamster an ESA. Spend time with the hamster before seeking an appointment, ensuring that the hamster will meet your support needs.
How To Get An Emotional Support Hamster
Hamsters aren’t sold as ESAs – they take on this role case-by-case.
As a result, the first step to getting an emotional support hamster is getting a pet. Adopt the animal or purchase it from a pet store. If you’re looking for an ESA, the latter is recommended.
Hamsters have short lifespans, usually peaking at around two years.
If the hamster is intended to provide emotional support, you’ll want one as young as possible to prolong your time together. Pet stores rarely sell hamsters older than eight weeks old.
Once you have the hamster home, bond with it appropriately. Remember that in pet ownership, emotional support is a two-way street. Moving to a new home surrounded by unique smells and sounds can be overwhelming for a hamster.
Once the hamster acclimatizes to its surroundings and you can confidently state that the presence of the hamster calms and soothes you, make an appointment with a mental health professional.
This medical professional can register your hamster as an ESA.
How To Register a Hamster As An Emotional Support Animal
If the hamster is to be recognized as an ESA, you’ll need a formal letter from a certified mental health professional. The letter must meet specific strict criteria:
- Printed on official letterhead that displays the practitioner’s name and license number.
- Signed and dated by the practitioner, ideally in wet ink.
- Explain why the hamster qualifies as an ESA, providing evidence relevant to your mental health.
Use an online resource to obtain the letter if you’re not in contact with a mental health professional.
You’ll need to complete a mental health evaluation before this letter is provided, and a fee will be levied for these services. Examples include the following:
If possible, contact a professional you can meet with in person. As explained by Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, the assessment of a forensic practitioner is considered more detailed and reliable.
Once you have the letter that assigned your hamster ESA status, store it in a safe place. No central, nationwide database lists all registered emotional support animals.
You’ll need to produce this letter whenever you wish to use the hamster’s status as an ESA.
Are Hamsters Good Emotional Support Animals?
Having established that hamsters can be registered as ESAs, another question remains – should they be? Do hamsters help with mental health?
While hamsters aren’t a common choice of ESA, they’re ideal for these reasons:
- Small size: They’re easy to transport and carry around.
- Food bill: Hamster food is comparatively cheap, and they don’t eat much.
- Quiet: They won’t disturb anybody in a public place.
- Low-maintenance: Ideal for children or vulnerable adults who require emotional support.
- Contained habitat: Hamsters won’t run free in public.
Of course, there are potential hazards to registering a hamster as an ESA.
Hamsters are skilled escapologists, so you must ensure their habitat is well-sealed when traveling in public. Also, consider the hamster’s emotional well-being.
Consider that hamsters are crepuscular. Consider another animal if your need for support is primarily during daylight hours. While Biology Letters confirms that wild Syrian hamsters are active by day, it’s hard to reverse a captive hamster’s circadian rhythms.
Hamsters are small prey animals, so keep this in mind when leaving the house with a hamster. Even within a cage, a hamster may become stressed and afraid if it encounters larger animals.
Do Hamsters Help with Depression?
In theory, living with an animal provides companionship and, frequently, amusement. However, Anthrozoös questions if pet ownership can compare to social interaction with other humans.
Overall, there’s no reason why owning a hamster won’t help depression. Having another living creature dependent upon us gives us a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
Do Hamsters Help with ADHD and OCD?
Hamster care isn’t as focused as that of a dog or cat, so you won’t need to take them for a walk or ensure it’s fed at the same time each day. Despite this, you’ll need some measure of routine.
If this is something that you struggle with, a hamster could become the ideal ESA. Upon waking, hamsters are full of energy. You’ll need to let the hamster run on its wheel or out of its cage to play and exercise.
From here, you can introduce other routines into your life via ownership. Hamsters like to play with new toys, so adjust the activities slightly every week.
Hamsters love to explore, so show them a different part of the house. Reshape tunnels and tubes, as your hamster will enjoy the slight change of routine.
Do Hamsters Help with Anxiety?
Pet ownership is a welcome distraction for many who struggle with anxiety, including caring for a hamster. Meeting the needs of a hamster can be a welcome form of cognitive therapy.
The fundamental care needs of a hamster are comparatively unvarying. You’ll need to change the food and water, replace bedding, encourage exercise, and regularly clean the cage.
While focused on these tasks, you’ll not concern yourself with everyday fears and anxieties.
Do Hamsters Help with Stress?
Everybody has a different reaction to the presence and care of an animal.
For some, taking responsibility for another living being adds to the stress caused by shouldering too many responsibilities. For others, stroking and petting a hamster is effortlessly calming.
Much like managing anxiety, needs that arise from caring for hamsters provide a distracting sense of purpose. Watching a hamster explore its surroundings can also be enchanting. As the hamster requires supervision, play provides the opportunity for mindfulness.
A hamster may not be the best pet for you if you’re prone to stress attacks. Hamsters are sensitive and may pick up on tension in an environment. If the hamster absorbs this stress, its health will deteriorate.
If you struggle with your mental health, discuss the possibility of registering an emotional support hamster with a trained professional. Petting the soft fur of a hamster could be just the tonic.