About Us

About RoseLark Pet Products

Hi, I’m Sasha — founder of RoseLark Pet Products.

RoseLark is a small, family-run UK business built from a passion for ethical hamster care and a commitment to raising welfare standards for small animals.

I run RoseLark with the help of my two children, Charlotte and Joshua, who were just 8 and 13 when this journey began. What started as a learning experience in our own home grew into something far more meaningful — a mission to design better, educate kindly, and improve the lives of tiny animals.

Everything you’ll read below is part of that story.

Our Journey

March 2024
Our ethical care journey began when we brought home our first gerbils and quickly discovered how much outdated small animal advice still exists.

2024–2025
Research deepened. Enclosures grew. Rescue and fostering became part of our home.

July 2025
RoseLark Pet Products was officially created to bridge the gap between ethical hamster welfare and what was available on the market.

How My Ethical Care Journey Began

Like many small animal owners, my journey into ethical pet care didn’t begin with expertise.

It began with excitement.

An impulsive decision.
A trip to a pet shop.
And the reassurance that I was buying “the best” setup available.

At the time, my children were just 8 and 13 — full of curiosity, compassion, and excitement about welcoming tiny animals into our home. It felt like the beginning of something special.

I brought home a pair of gerbils with everything recommended — enclosure, accessories, food, bedding. It all seemed right at the time.

But later that evening, curiosity about these tiny, timid creatures turned into research.

And research turned into realisation.

Much of what I had been advised to purchase simply wasn’t suitable for their long-term welfare.

The enclosure was too small and included unsafe levels.
The bedding wasn’t deep enough for natural burrowing.
The enrichment was limited.
The standards were outdated.

It was uncomfortable to recognise — but it became a turning point.

Instead of dismissing it, I chose to learn.

And my children learned alongside me.

From Pet Owner to Welfare Advocate

That moment opened the door to deeper research into:

  • Species-appropriate enclosure sizing

  • Deep bedding requirements for burrowing animals

  • Natural behaviours such as hoarding and tunnelling

  • Proper wheel sizing to protect spinal health

  • Solitary housing standards for hamsters versus the social needs of species such as rats, gerbils, mice and guinea pigs

  • Enrichment that supports instinct — not just aesthetics

Our home slowly transformed into a place of research, redesign, and rebuilding.

Enclosures grew larger.
Bedding grew deeper.
Welfare standards grew higher.

And during that research, I discovered something else.

Across the UK, countless hamsters and other small pets are surrendered to rescues every year — often because of unsuitable housing, incorrect care advice, or impulse purchases much like my own beginning.

I realised I had something valuable to offer.

Space in my home.
Time to learn.
And a family who shared the same soft spot for small animals.

So we began rescuing and fostering hamsters.

Rescue, Fostering & Ethical Enclosures

Every hamster that came through our home was given what many had never experienced before:

  • Spacious, welfare-appropriate enclosures meeting the ethical minimum of 100cm x 50cm

  • 8" or more of deep bedding for natural burrowing

  • Species-correct solitary housing

  • Properly sized wheels

  • Secure hides and safe retreat spaces

  • Enrichment designed to encourage natural behaviours

  • High-quality, species-appropriate food blends that support natural foraging and long-term health

Rescue hamsters often arrive stressed, under-socialised, or housed incorrectly.

Watching them transform once placed in ethical enclosure setups reinforced something deeply important — not just for me, but for my children too.

When you meet a hamster’s natural behavioural needs, everything changes.

They become more confident.
More curious.
More relaxed.
More themselves.

Helping frightened animals settle into safe, enriching environments became something we genuinely loved doing together.

Designing thoughtful enclosures became both a creative outlet and a shared mission.

Creativity, Care & Themed Enclosures

I discovered that I truly enjoy designing themed enclosures — creating cohesive colour schemes, natural textures, seasonal setups, and calm, intentional spaces.

My children loved it too.

Choosing safe materials.
Planning layouts.
Watching foster hamsters explore new hides and enrichment pieces for the first time.

But ethical care always came first.

Space first.
Depth first.
Behaviour first.

Then creativity.

A beautiful enclosure means nothing if it doesn’t meet welfare standards.

That balance — creativity built on ethical foundations — shaped the philosophy behind RoseLark.

Why RoseLark Was Created

As I improved our setups and prepared enclosures for our own hamsters and foster hamsters, I ran into a frustrating problem.

There were very few suitably sized hides for Syrian hamsters.

Many available hides were:

  • Too small internally

  • Designed more for appearance than function

  • Not designed to support natural nesting and hoarding behaviour

The same issue appeared with sand baths.

Ethical hamster care requires a sand bath large enough for proper rolling, digging, and natural grooming behaviour. Yet most options were either:

  • Far too small

  • Shallow and impractical

  • Or simply repurposed household items like cat litter trays

Functional? Perhaps.
Aesthetically cohesive in a thoughtfully themed enclosure? Not always.

So I began hand-making hides and enrichment pieces using hamster-safe materials — untreated wood, thick cardboard, layered paper, and non-toxic PVA glue.

They worked beautifully.

But they weren’t always practical for a fostering home.

Wood was difficult to sanitise thoroughly between hamsters.
Cardboard and paper builds often had to be discarded once soiled or chewed.

I needed something that combined:

  • Welfare-correct sizing

  • Behaviour-led design

  • Structural durability

  • Ease of cleaning and sanitising

  • Visual cohesion

  • And long-term practicality

There was a gap between ethical hamster welfare and what was widely available.

So RoseLark was created to bridge it.

Designed for Hamsters. Refined by Observation.

Every RoseLark product is created with real hamsters in mind — not just measurements on paper.

Our own hamsters, along with those we foster and a small circle of trusted owners who share our ethical standards, help shape how we observe and refine design.

While we never “test” in a commercial or laboratory sense, we carefully observe how hamsters interact with:

  • Hide entrances and internal space

  • Sand bath depth and width

  • Turning space and comfort

  • Natural hoarding behaviour

  • Nesting preferences

  • Enrichment engagement

If something doesn’t support natural behaviour, it’s redesigned.

Products must work for the hamster — not just look good in a photograph.

Watching real hamsters explore, burrow, dig, hoard and rest in the environments we create ensures every design supports:

  • Species-appropriate behaviour

  • Proper internal sizing

  • Safety and structural stability

  • Long-term welfare standards

Ethical hamster care isn’t theoretical here.

It’s lived, observed, and continually refined.

The hamsters who help shape RoseLark are individuals first — each with their own preferences, personalities, and favourite enrichment pieces.

You can meet our current hamster testers here → Meet Our Hamster Testers


A Commitment to Better Standards

Today, RoseLark remains grounded in:

  • Ethical hamster welfare

  • Rescue-informed design

  • Enrichment-focused enclosure principles

  • Education-led ownership

  • Transparency about care standards

  • Continual learning and improvement

What began as an impulse purchase became something far more meaningful.

A family commitment.

To do better.
To design better.
To foster better.
To educate and support others on their own ethical care journey.
And to help provide enrichment-led, welfare-first care for small pets.

Tiny animals deserve more than survival — they deserve thoughtful spaces that allow them to burrow, hoard, explore, and feel truly safe.

The most meaningful journeys begin the moment we choose to do better — together.