Which hamster for a 8 YO

Rosabella

My DD aged 9 asked for a hamster too - after lots of nagging we said that if she researched how to look after it & promised to clean etc, then we would give it a go...1 year on, Nibbles is an absolute delight, DD still does all the cleaning etc and loves her pet to bits. We started with a rotastak type cage but had to upgrade to a Savic Cambridge as she got stuck in a tube!! She sleeps while DD is at school and is always ready for a play in the evening - can be a bit noisy at night though! Nibbles was actually easily trained to be handtame - just putting a hand into the cage first of all for her to climb onto, then gently lifting out - she loves exploring DD's pockets for snacks. I really thought I would end up being the main pet carer but I have been so pleasantly surprised and delighted - the hamster is adorable & the DD has been so responsible and loving. A hamster can work as a pet!

scheming_gypsy

threemuttleys wrote: »

instead of a Hamster (which bite and smell IMHO) what about a tortoise/snake (Royal Pythons are ace) Lizard (Bearded Dragon/Leopard Gecko)

Bit pricier to set up, but far more interesting than a hamster (and addictive!)

i'm going to agree and disagree with you!

Hamsters - yep agree. They also don't last very long either

Tortoise - ideally need to give them a decent outdoor space. You can keep them in a tortoise table but they prefer more space. Also pretty boring; eat - trundle - sleep.

Royal - far too fussy. I like them myself but too much handling / too much space / anything else, and they'll start to starve them self. Too shy really for an 8 year old - maybe a corn snake.

Beardie - perfect pets but you need a big viv and have to feed live food which they might not like.

Leos - good choice!

Cost wise is as much as you want to spend. Viv or tub? but a beardie is fairly expensive to set up when you factor in the thermostat, UV lighting and a large viv.


There's also ..........

gettingready

Had hamsters, had guinea pigs.

For a young child would always got for a guinea pig - bigger so easier to handle, friendlier and generally lovely to watch....

My lot use to get free run around the house - hamster would just dissapear du to its size into the smallest hole.. Guinea pigs as bigger - ... much eaier to keep and enjoy - me thinks

gettingready

Yup - african pygmy hedgehog, had one of those too. lovely thing if you have the time for it...

Tame, puts the spikes down and you can stroke it...

After eating strwaberries would spit a pink foam all over himself, after cucumber - green...

Again though - runs around a night....and to buy one - 150 up plus the set up...

scheming_gypsy

You can pick them up cheaper than that... around £80 for a baby, I paid £100 for a year old one as i'm too lazy to do a 70 mile round trip. I paid a tenner for a ZooZone2 off eBay as well, so not too bad if you shop around- although the ZooZone's aren't very big.

gettingready

I paid 150 for a baby but at the time they were very rare here......

gettingready

baby african pygmy hedgehog - just so we are clear

scheming_gypsy

haha, you keep telling yourself that, Madonna.......

balletshoes

gettingready wrote: »

Had hamsters, had guinea pigs.

For a young child would always got for a guinea pig - bigger so easier to handle, friendlier and generally lovely to watch....

My lot use to get free run around the house - hamster would just dissapear du to its size into the smallest hole.. Guinea pigs as bigger - ... much eaier to keep and enjoy - me thinks

yep, I agree with this, we have guinea pigs and a hamster - the guinea pigs are far more fun and much easier to handle.

viscachaz

Another vote for gerbils here! Woulda also suggest, instead of going to a pet shop, phone a few RSPCA places, they often have a "small animal" area where you can go along and have a look.