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I had to post this article I found. Please give me your thoughts.

TOKYO (Jan. 19) - Gohan and Aochan make strange bedfellows: one's a 3.5-inch dwarf hamster; the other is a four-foot rat snake. Zookeepers at Tokyo's Mutsugoro Okoku zoo presented the hamster - whose name means "meal" in Japanese - to Aochan as a tasty morsel in October, after the snake refused to eat frozen mice.

APAochan, a four-foot rat snake, decided to make friends with Gohan, a 3.5-inch dwarf hamster. Gohan means "meal" in Japanese.

But instead of indulging, Aochan decided to make friends with the furry rodent, according to keeper Kazuya Yamamoto. The pair have shared a cage since.
"I've never seen anything like it. Gohan sometimes even climbs onto Aochan to take a nap on his back," Yamamoto said.
Aochan, a 2-year-old male Japanese rat snake, eventually developed an appetite for frozen rodents but has so far shown no signs of gobbling up Gohan - despite her name.
"We named her Gohan as a joke," Yamamoto chuckled. "But I don't think there's any danger. Aochan seems to enjoy Gohan's company very much."
The Tokyo zoo also keeps a range of mostly livestock animals, and promotes "cross-breed interaction," according to Yamamoto.
But Gohan and Aochan's case was "was a complete accident," Yamamoto said.

Yeah, I got a feelin' if the snake doesn't eat soon the hamster will eventually start chewin' on the snake . I would think one or the other has to stress out from this eventually.

Quig

This is some touchy-feely public p.r. crap indeed. Leaving a RODENT alone in the cage with a mammal eating reptile is a recipe for disaster, the hamster could EASILY bite or chew into the snake and cause tissue damage or even death, and of course the snake could easily eat the rodent. Makes one wonder what temps the snake was kept at(sub optimal perhaps?) or if it had ever eaten a hamster before and refused it because of a lack of familiarity with the scent. Who knows? But the spin that they are makeing "friends" is just that, an example of people treating animals as if they were not only all the same in thought process, but also just like people.

I saw this on the local news. The irony for me was that the news people had this "that is one lucky hampster" attitude. We see this as a lucky snake.
I think they also mentioned that this is all taking place in a cardboard box. As soon as the hampster figures this out both animals will be free ranging.

LOL, I would think the hamster would have figured out the cardboard by now. Maybe not.

Quig

The sadest part is...These are zookeepers! So called "professionals". Makes you wonder what other tricks they're doing with other more dangerous animals..lol
Sad sad sad indeed. Thanks for all your comments, I thought it deserved a post.

I would be scared that the hampster would start chewing on the snake... Never seen it happen, but I have heard of it. I dont know, I dont think they are as "happy" as they make them out to be. I think the zoo or whatever finds it amusing. Them being amused by such an idiotic situation is exacerbating the issue of both animals possibly being stressed...