Tell Me About Hamsters.

[PlecMama]

Humm. My kid wants a hamster for Christmas.

I was going to ignore this since he also wants a puppy and has passed the stage of wanting a rabbit; but the hamster thing has gone on for a long time now and we are considering buying him one. I blame Little Bill.

Now, my experience with hamsters is limited. My sister had a golden hamster when we were kids, and all it did was sleep and die.
The next time I encountered hamsters, my friend went away for a month and I babysat her Russian hamsters - which, IMHAO, were psychotic homicidal maniacs. I had to put two gloves on one hand to even be able to reach in there to get the food bowl. My hand would come out with all these bloody hamsters attached to it like when they fall in all the mouse traps on Tom & Jerry. I'd have to shake them off before I could get the feeding done. Those suckers bit!


So, if I am going to buy him a hamster I need one that pretty much fulfils the same criterior as Nani gave when she went to get Lilo a dog - something sturdy, that won't die - plus it actually has to do something rather then sleep and keep him awake all night.
I realise they are nocturnal.

He doesn't want a guineapig, since seeing Eddie Murphys "Dr Dolittle", he can tell the difference so I can't cheat, there's no chance of a rat because I am allergic to them, and a mouse is to small, and a chinchilla is to expensive, plus they are all too sociable anyway, I don't want to get some zoo thing going whereby they all need a friend, then breed with said friend and then I end up with 10 of them. I just want one nice littleish creature that he can have in his room as his pet.

Any ideas?

 

[MegTheFish]

Hamster = furball with teeth

Solution = hairless rat!

Hope that helped!

 

[OohFeeshy]

What about gerbils instead? They are awake during the day, unlike hamsters, and although it's best to keep two or three, it's fascinating to watch them tunneling. They're not very small either, and are robust enough to handle easily. Or if you wanted to go for something a bit bigger but IMO easier for small children, what about a dwarf rabbit?

 

[PlecMama]

Gerbils are too quick, he'd only need to put it down once and it'd be out the door and straight in to Sasha's mouth. A rabbit is a bit to big to have in his room and we were really thinking he should be responsible for his own pet - not easy when he has to be accompanied outside to see to it's needs.

Not that we won't be taking care of it and looking out for it, but since small aminals and small children perform some time honoured learning curve, about gentleness, and kindness, growing up, growing old and dieing - we'd really rather it was something he was actively involved in. If it's outside I can see that it will just be something that Dan and I end up looking after.

 

[black angel]

Syrian Hamsters have a reputation of biting, but when handled carefully and when they are fully awake, make ideal pets. The problem though is that he will soon get bored as it wont be out very much through the day. At night if its in his room, your son wont get any sleep as it will gnaw on everything and be constantly on the wheel.
A hamster is also surprisingly quick on its feet and once it learns how to escape from hands and say a settee it will keep doing it.
If you hadnt have been allergic to rats then I would have said it was the perfect pet as they love to be handled.
How about spiny mice? They are slightly bigger than normal mice and more and more pet shops are getting them in.
How about a Jird? They are bigger than gerbils, about rat sized but need the same care as chinchillas, but i think like the mice you need to get two.

 

[animals_4_life]

why doesnt he want a guinea pig? guinea pigs are soo cute! and they make the cutest sounds! and their sooo friendly!

 

[Wisperian]

Bah. 1. Never get a 2 story cage. One of my hamsters slipped on the secodn floor and choked to death while we were asleep. 2. Always put something heavy on the opening on the door. These little guys can breakout easily.

 

[Breeze7050]

Hamsters are just as fast, if not faster than gerbils. So you would run in to the same problem if he put a hamster down. I feel like both gerbils and hamsters are a little to small for your son right now.
Rodents that small are quick, injure easily - especially if dropped, and have a tendency to nip or bit if scared. If it is possible to change his mind I would go with a guinea pig or rabbit as a few others mentioned. IMO - only.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You should only get a pet if you yourself would not mind looking after it all the time, as this may happen at some point- kids may promise they'll look after the animal, but pets like hamsters are not as interesting or entertaining as tv or computers, and a lot of kids quickly get bored of their pet chores like cleaning its cage out on a weekly basis.

Syrian hamsters are the largest and most colourful hamsters commonly sold in pet shops, things you need to know about them (plus some reasons why they aren't that suitable for little kids);

a. They are primarily nocturnal, which can be a problem, as they will be most active late at night when most children are sleeping. They can become aggressive if disturbed from their sleep as well.

b. It is difficult to find suitably sized cages for them- most "hamster" cages are pitifully small and are actually designed for the smaller dwarf hamsters. Finding a suitable sized hamster wheel is also important as it grows, it is likely you may have to get a rat wheel at some point for it- if the wheel is too small for the hamster (or exercise ball for that matter), the hamster will strain its back exercising in it and will eventually refuse to exercise at all.
An exercise wheel should be kept in the cage at all times as hamsters monitor their own body weight and will exercise regularly on their wheels, especially when young.

c. The hamster should be taken out of its cage on a daily basis for play and extra exercise- if you do not handle the hamster on a regular basis, it will become scared and/or aggressive towards people. On the other hand though, hamsters generally do not make very "cuddly" pets and will not relish attention from people (but will not mind it either). So handling them can be difficult as they are not the sort of animal that sits there while you hold it.

d. Their food bowl should be kept topped up at all times with proper hamster food from reliable brands/suppliers- a hamsters diet is very important as they are prone to getting diabetes or getting overweight or rotted teeth or generally malnutritioned if not fed an appropriate diet.
Feeding extra veg every now and then is also important so the hamster gets enough vitamin C, however avoid feeding the hamster vegetables high in citric acid or sugar.
As the hamster grows older, giving it hamster vitamin and mineral supplements in its water is advised to help keep it in good shape.

e. The cage and bedding needs to be cleaned out once a week, the water should also be changed and topped up once a week too. Your good hamster set up should have;
1. a hamster house/bed for it to sleep in during the day out of the light. It should be lined with tissue paper.
2. an exercise wheel of suitable size.
3. an accessible water bottle
4. soft bedding (wood shavings for rodents sold at pet shops are good).
5. A topped up food bowl.

Well, that’s the essential stuff anyway. Decorating the inside of the cage with pipes and hamster toys is also good- hamsters are very intelligent rodents and can suffer from severe boredom, so you should give it things to do in its cage since it will be spending such a considerable amount of its life in it.
Hamsters live on average for 2 years, however some live for a lot more and some live for less. Hamsters can suffer from a variety of things which can require taking them to the vet for, I lost my last hamster not long ago from cancer of the liver.

Make sure you are prepared to look after this animal if your child/ren lose interest in it, particularly if you are only getting this pet for your children (and you wouldn’t have got it if it wasn’t for them)- this goes from any family pet. If their interest in hamsters can easily or quickly be changed to another animal, then avoid getting them any pets at all until they totally have their hearts and commitments set on it.
Rabbits are the most abused pet animal in England and Wales, with 35,000 of them abandoned every year, and with hamsters not in that much different a position as well;

http/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6166113.stm

 

[PlecMama]

I don't much care for rabbits, we had one and it was overly aggressive and terratorial.

We do understand that whatever we get will be our responsibility, he's four, and while he's a very serious and mature child, he's still four. However, the idea of it being "his" is that he take the responsibility for looking after it, now if you have a four year old, you know this actually translates to meaning "joint liability" (like your council tax) thus we remind him and accompany him to do it, but he takes an active part in doing it, whether it be feeding or cleaning or handling. I don't expect him to get it out on his own.

We don't want an outside pet because it's easy for him to lose interest if he can't see it when he wants, and doesn't feel connected to it. He still wants a hamster.

I am suprised people are saying they are quick, ours practically just sat there whereever you put it - there it was. Maybe I should look at getting one of those.

I still can't talk him into getting a guineapig. Grrrr. At least they make a noise and try to communicate.

 

[morgan]

Hamsters are very disappointing pets for young children. They don't live long either. A guinea pig would be much better. You could show Dylan the pics of the guinea pigs dressed up in scarves and hats. And as you say they do at least squeak! Another problem with hamsters is that their eyes are a bit bulgy and can be knocked out I expect everyone will say that's not true but I read in a book that it can happen. Hope Dylan gets a nice pet.

 

[KathyM]

To be honest, a hamster is not a great pet for a small child. They're nocturnal, so don't like being handled at appropriate times (and take your finger off for the priveledge), they're well known for being fast and bitey, especially with young kids who are naturally clumsy and not very gentle.

4 isn't really a good age to do the "your pet, your responsibility" thing either, because it'll last at most a couple of days before they land it all on you - and then you have to deal with cleaning a grumpy hamster out when it's its natural time for sleeping, removing said hamster from 4 year old's finger when 4 year old gets bored with it sleeping all day, etc etc. As someone else pointed out, hamsters are very noisy through the night too so you will get your son whinging outside your bedroom door at 2 in the morning saying Elephant (hehe) is keeping him awake.

Cages are also expensive, as nothing in this country marketed as a hamster cage is actually suitable for a hamster - they need much bigger one level cages.

I'm not saying any of this to be harsh, quite the opposite, it's to spare you from what we went through with ours.

I would steer clear of any rodents as pets for very young children. Don't get me wrong, we've had rats since Connie was 5, but they were ours, supervised ALL the time when together, and were in other rooms in the house not in the kids' rooms (although they're in my 11 year old's room now and he's only just reaching the age where he can be responsible for them). If you want a hamster for you, that's great, but I'd warn you against keeping it in your son's room, as that could be asking for trouble.

 

[fenwoman]

To be honest, a hamster is not a great pet for a small child. They're nocturnal, so don't like being handled at appropriate times (and take your finger off for the priveledge), they're well known for being fast and bitey, especially with young kids who are naturally clumsy and not very gentle.

4 isn't really a good age to do the "your pet, your responsibility" thing either, because it'll last at most a couple of days before they land it all on you - and then you have to deal with cleaning a grumpy hamster out when it's its natural time for sleeping, removing said hamster from 4 year old's finger when 4 year old gets bored with it sleeping all day, etc etc. As someone else pointed out, hamsters are very noisy through the night too so you will get your son whinging outside your bedroom door at 2 in the morning saying Elephant (hehe) is keeping him awake.

Cages are also expensive, as nothing in this country marketed as a hamster cage is actually suitable for a hamster - they need much bigger one level cages.

I'm not saying any of this to be harsh, quite the opposite, it's to spare you from what we went through with ours.

I would steer clear of any rodents as pets for very young children. Don't get me wrong, we've had rats since Connie was 5, but they were ours, supervised ALL the time when together, and were in other rooms in the house not in the kids' rooms (although they're in my 11 year old's room now and he's only just reaching the age where he can be responsible for them). If you want a hamster for you, that's great, but I'd warn you against keeping it in your son's room, as that could be asking for trouble.

I have to agree with everything said. Hamsters do NOT make good pets for children. When the children are awake during the day, hamsters sleep, when the child is asleep, hamsters are awake. Add to this the fact that they can be very nippy and you can see why I don't recommend them. They are also easily damaged if dropped, can suffer health problems and they stink. This is because they are from the mustilidae family of animals and secrete musk from their flanks. Without wanting to seem rude, how do you KNOW you are allergic to rats and not hamsters. I would have said a young male rat would be a much better pet for a child since they are highly intelligent and far less likely to bite. I've kept most species of animals all my life and now have rats. All of my rats have been unwanted rescues and I have nbever been bitten by one. I get cold shivers down my neck when someone phones me with a hamster they don't want as I know I'm going to get bitten.
Have you considered a neutered ferret? They are intelligent, don't smell, more like cats, use a litter tray and are great fun. They also live more than the 2-3 years for hamsters and rats. You can put a harness and lead on them and let them lead you around.
Alternatively, just say "no". It does children good to learn that they cannot have whatever they want when they want it.
Tell him to wait until his next birthday and if he still wants a hamster, you will get him one. Use the time to do research and perhaps take him to a pet shop and ask if he can handle a hamster. If he gets bitten he will no longer want one.
Here is a picture of one of my previous rats in his toilet roll tunnel.

 

[guineapigqueen]

To be honest I wouldnt recommend getting any pet for Christmas or Birthdays, so many are bought around the Christmas period for children and left to the parents by the time February hits, but that is just how I personally feeling.

For a child of 4 years old, they will lose interest in any small critter, the very thing happened with my little brother, my mother took two Guineas from me and told me she and my little brother would look after them within a week he wasnt interested.

I feel a larger animal would be most sufficent(sp?) i.e. Dog, cat. This means the animals are around all the time, 24/7 and not in a cage where most children lose interest, you will be looking after this pet within 6 months of getting it, so if you do decide to get something, make sure its something you like also. I personally would not recommend Guinea Pigs to younger children either, they are very fragile, I am not saying that you are not a good mother, but he could feed the guinea pigs something, and they could die, ones it in there it has to pass through, also I have heard stories of Guinea Pigs being dropped, not from a great height and backs broken, dead.

I was brought up with pets when I was younger, hamsters, mice, gerbils, rabbits, guinea pigs. It wasnt until I was over 16yrs I really paid much attension to them and did everything myself. You said you have had a bad experience with Rabbits, not all rabbits are the same, Does(females) have worse tempers that Bucks(males), I have one of each, Flopsey the buck is placid, but Cookie the Doe, is a nightmare at times.

The guinea pig on Dr. Dolittle is a Dutch, this breed is very popular within the fancy.

Emma x

 

[PlecMama]

Thanks for all your replies.

I never personally thought much of hamsters myself, "and they stink" I don't remember that but he's a bit straight and maybe that would be enough to put him off....someone mentioned bigger pets...we already have a 70lb black lab X dalmation and he wants a puppy lab too, we are getting one of those as we whole heartedly approve of that

Just to clarify....this is not a "Christmas thing" - he's wanted one for a while and I have been delaying, but since he doesn't want anything else (read: we haven't talked him into wanting anything else), we figure buying it and calling it Christmas would be a plan.

Anyway, for the time being, he's stopped talking about it, and since we didn't really want one anyway, we are going to let it slide until he starts up again, then we'll negotiate. If it comes to Christmas day and he's heartbroken, we can slip £50 in a card and say here's the money to go get one.

Oh and my boy knows what No means we're raising a child here, not a chav