Mumsnet Talk

ds2 mad for a pet. ds1 has allergies to dog and cats. thought we might try a hamster if ds2 keeps it in his room, washes hands, etc.

one shop told me they have to live on their own, another they can be in pairs if they were raised together.

how much room do they need?

what else do I need to know?

thanks mucho!

If you go for a syrian hamster, they have to live alone. Syrian hamsters are the largest of the pet hamsters and because they have to live alone they tend to form quite a nice bond with their owner.
Dd's syrian hamster is now a year old and has been an absolute delight. She comes to the cage door as soon as we open it, takes treats from our hands, loves to clamber all over us and enjoys being tickled.

There are smaller hamsters (chinese or russian dwarf) which can live in pairs. My nephew had some of these. They are however skittish and harder to handle.

Hth

syrian would be the one! that's what they have at the pet shop. but they said if they were raised together from birth you could get two?

are they nocturnal? meaning do they make a lot of noise at night?

thanks!!!

They're crap, buy a rat

HTH

They are bloody noisy at night and it's not a good idea to have it in a bedroom.

can't do a rat [shudder]

can't have it in bedroom?

why? cause of noise?

Syrians are the generally the better natured, and easier for a small child to handle, but they are nocturnal, and make a hell of a racket at night (I had several as a child!) Nor do they always appreciate being woken up during the day!

I'd seriously second Jareth's idea of a rat (and please don't say- oooh no, I hate their tails!) They are intelligent and affectionate little pets, and far far less likely to nip than a hammie. They are far more sociable and are usually easily handled.

Don't get two Syrians because they will fight - especially males.

They are nocturnal and have been known to chew the cage bars and be very noisy <speaks from bitter experience>

If your DCs are young enough to be in bed by 7pm at night then they won't see much of the hamster I'm afraid. Also, you need to be aware that they only live for about 2 years.

Having said that I've loved all of the hamsters we've had but have now moved onto chickens - who are much more interesting imo

we've got a syrian hamster, i don't think the petshop is right about having them in pairs if they're raised together - at least that's not what we were told when we got ours.

ours is absolutely delightful, we got her as had to rehome cat after dd became severely allergic, no allergy issue with hamster.

they are very noisy at night, and it took ours about a month to become at all sociable but with careful daily handling she is now very friendly... but she is rarely awake before 5pm.

ours has the largest hamster cage (on 3 levels) we could find, but we let her out for a run around a lot, and are currently investigating getting a larger cage as apparently they prefer lots of space on 1 or 2 levels rather than lots of small levels & tubes.

erm yes, because of the noise.

We have a lovely Syrian, very friendly and loves being handled. They love to climb the bars of their cage so don't go for one of those wit a plastic lid and no bars. It is part of their excercise.

They love the wheel but are nocturnal so this can be noisy at night!

Ours is usually awake in the morning and then after school time so lots of opportunity to handle.

syrians are lovely

We got a Syrian in September for ds after our elderly cat was pts.

He is fantastic and really friendly. But he is bloody noisy. He is in the living room at the back and there have been times he's kept me awake. Our room is upstairs at the front! No way could we have him in a bedroom. The wheel is loud but so is bar chewing and scratting.

We have just changed his cage to the fabulous Savic Hamster Heaven and he is much calmer now. I wonder if he chewed so much from boredom/stress.

get a big cage - not one of those shitty plastic things from the pet shop. They are very active.

They do need to live alone - forgot to add that!

when we talk noise. are we talking I will hear it in my bedroom while i'm trying to sleep if it's in the sitting room underneath me?

our hamster also stopped chewing the bars when we changed to a bigger cage

ok. so big cage. don't they want a wheel or something to play in?

A lot of the cages will come with a wheel, food bowl, water bottle and house.

Yes, our wheel was squeaking and she was on it for hours which was very noisy which did keep us awake but she has calmed down now and we don't notice the noise.

I could hear mine downstairs but that was the bloody awful wheel (our loves his). I spent a fortune on various wheels trying to find a quiet one.

Luckily for us the bloke we bought the Hamster Heaven cage from was handier than dh and had doctored a rolly wheel with nuts and bolts. I love that man, we no longer watch tv with subtitles! It was that bad though that we were doing. I love ebay!

What about gerbils? They can live in a fish tank with straw/peat for them to dig tunnels in and the only noise they make is the weird stomping they do with their feet.

Bloody sharp teeth though.. little fecker ruined my helicopter wallpaper..



rats are like little dogs.. lovely animals.

Also, we got some little bedding squares from Pets at Home, like little fleece blankets and they use them for nesting and the blankets triple in size and look really cosy.

Oh shit. DD has been asking for a hamster for about 2 years and we've finally decided to get one and were going to surprise her with it at Christmas. Are they really that noisy at night? We'd planned on keeping the cage in DD's bedroom...is it going to keep everyone awake at night?

yes possibly. My last hamster (Fatima, rest in peace ) was REALLY loud. She has a plastic tank with bars at the top, and she would hang off them monkey-style and chew them. It was really noisy and could be heard all through my flat and in the flat above.

They do like wheels to play in and old toilet roll holders, I had loads of pets when i was a child. Could i suggest a couple of gerbils as they live in pairs s dont get lonely and are really socialable. Rats can live alone or in pairs. As can tame mice. I have had mice, rats, gerbils, russian hamsters and syrian hamsters. A big comfortable cage is advisable. hamsters can bite if woken and if they do bite, you will bleed like a PIG. you could keep them in a tank, instead of a cage. My hamster kaz, used to climb up the bars and across teh bars at the top of her cage. She had sooo much charachter. Really did miss her when she passed away aged 4. x