Hamsters (merged)

picklepick

I agree, I've had both and neither of them are good for children.
My hammie definitely smelt more than my gerbils. they hardly wee cos they're desert animals whereas hammies wee quite a lot and it can be smelly.

my hamster never bit but one of my gerbils has a right good nip on her. she can draw blood.

they're really fast and if they escape (mine have) it can take bloody ages to catch them again!

a guinea pig would be a much better option. they're much more child friendly

viktory

blindmouse wrote: »

In my experiance neither.......... They are fast little critters and do not like the cages and as soon as you let them out they rush around and want to be free........... Mine were very frustrated at being held and no good for small children, they gnaw at the cage trying to escape and of course are nocturnal.......... They are very clean though......... If they do escape and they will, expect hours of misery trying to catch them............

And I had a totally different experience. Top tip is to make sure you get a baby hamster (no p BTW) and handle it lots (gently of course). Food is good to tame a hamster. Make sure the cage is big enough, with lots to play with, they like to burrow and hide. They are nocturnal, so can be noisy at night (chewing and playing on their wheel).

I loved owning hammies and would often sit for most of the evening with the hamster on my lap/shoulder. We also used a ball to exercise the hamster.

Agree re escape - if they escape you will likely never catch it. I have owned many hamsters and they have never escaped. Guess I was very careful.

kindofagilr

Well I think Hamsters are great, we got Wispa when he was 14 weeks old, he did bite to begin with BUT then someone on here kindly pointed out that I need to make sure I washed my hands first because he can of course smell food on my fingers or something and he would bite me, so once I remembered to wash my hands then he never bit

He will happily sit on my knee and let me stroke him, he loves playing in his ball, he loves his cage, he has lots of toys in there

He has never escaped yet (touch wood) but we hand feed him every night (we love doing it, we give him about 5 pieces and some treats and then he can help himself to his food bowl) so I am quietly confident that we could sit in the middle of the floor with one of his treats and he would come to us (I dont want to test that theopry though lol)

blindmouse

viktory wrote: »

And I had a totally different experience. Top tip is to make sure you get a baby hamster (no p BTW) and handle it lots (gently of course). Food is good to tame a hamster. Make sure the cage is big enough, with lots to play with, they like to burrow and hide. They are nocturnal, so can be noisy at night (chewing and playing on their wheel).

I loved owning hammies and would often sit for most of the evening with the hamster on my lap/shoulder. We also used a ball to exercise the hamster.

Agree re escape - if they escape you will likely never catch it. I have owned many hamsters and they have never escaped. Guess I was very careful.

By the way you have composed your reply I assume you are over 18, and thats what they should come with a warning of no good for children We tried rabbits and guinea pigs but of course they live outside and no fun in the winter............ Our best pet and she is still alive :rolleyes: unlike any hampster and rabbit, is our lovely cat, she adores the kids never needed cleaning out, loved chasing balls and running round the house in fact she grew up with my kids and now keeps me company on the winter nights that I am on my own....... We got her when the youngest was 5 and could appreciate how to be caring for an animal........

beks

I had hamsters when I was about 10/11 (a few years ago now!).

They are definitely fast, not a pet I would recommend for many people (definitely not young children). Not particularly friendly or cuddly either and they do nip your fingers at times (although as someone above suggested, better if you wash hands first). If my daughter wanted a hamster when she is older, I think I would try and convince her otherwise. I am not really a fan, from what I remember I think I got them because all my friends had them too!

In terms of catching them, yes they can be caught but not easy ( a bit like a mouse that a cat brings into the house). With my first hamster, I used to let it out in my bedroom with the door shut (it was a tiny box room with a cabin bed). He used to go straight under the bed and disappear for about an hour. I had to wait for ages until I could get him out. I always wondered why his cheeks were fat when I put him back in his cage. When we moved house and my bed was taken out we realised why. He had chewed up all the carpet under my bed and taken it back to store in his cage, only half the room was carpeted!!! :eek: I don't think the new house owners would have been happy and i doubt they would have believed the reason .

I used to keep my first hamster in my bedroom and he kept me awake at night so was banished to the utility area with the dogs. There began my mistake, Chico (the hamster) escaped one night (out the water bottle hole) and came to a sudden end :eek:. I came down to a present in my dogs mouth (and i am still traumatised )!! Hence not a good idea with cats or dogs about. In my defence, my next hamster lasted 4 years and died of natural causes (a stroke) :cool:.
TBH, I always felt a little guilty having hamsters as when I wanted them out during the day, they wanted to sleep and when I wanted to sleep, they kept me awake.
They are fairly clean and not smelly if cleaned out often.
Anyway, hope I havent put you off, I really did care about my hamsters when I had them.

faded_flowers

How old are the kids? If you're aware from the start that you will need to be the one to tame hammy, clean him out and supervise any handling it would be fine. A weekly clean-out is best, only takes 5 minutes and they are quite clean animals.

If they escape they are hard to catch... I wouldn't have the cage within reach of kids though, you can always lift it down when it's time to get ham out. If it's close enough to leave the door open without you knowing there's more chance of fingers being bitten when poked in, and ham getting stressed all the time.

Gerbils are awesome but much trickier to hold. You would need to have a pair, but they at least are active during the day.

gettingready

As above - how old are the kids?

Had hamsters before but they are not much fun as pets for kids - they do nto follow the kids around, they will not ask for cuddle like cats and/or dogs and besides.. any animal spending most of its life in a cage is not a pet that kids will be interested in long term.

Hamsters, being quite small are not easy to handle for younger kids, they may bite before you tame them and be "wild" if not handled regularly.

Guinea Pigs are much better - bigger for a start.

Annabee

Agree that guinea pigs are much more cuddly and responsive than hamsters. Pllus they should live much longer. Our lovely old guinea is now 7 and a half - but he is the oldest we have had. Hamsters only get to about 2 years don't they?

You can keep them indoors you know - instead of hutches for outdoors you can get indoor plastic and metal cages that look like giant hamster cages from Petsmart and places. They are best kept in pairs (same sex of course!). Two girls are easier.

In fact, it is a bit unkind to keep guineas outdoors in the winter as the Britiish winter is too cold for them , as they originally come from South America.

gettingready

susieanne wrote: »

Do they like being held and fussed ?are they a friendly pet

Not really from what I remember and as before they are simply too small to consider as a pet for kids - unless the kids are happy just to watch them, eat, sleep and poo

And they are called hamsters, not hampsters - just noticed

viktory

blindmouse wrote: »

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By the way you have composed your reply I assume you are over 18, and thats what they should come with a warning of no good for children.

I think they are a great 'starter' pet for children, but of course the parents have to be heavily involved right from the start, so that the child is taught how to care for their animal.

My daughter has had many hamsters (as have I) and even now at 22 still loves a hamster.