Hamsters

[titchy]

OK a few quick questions - dd wants a hamster for her birthday. How long do they live? Are they nocturnal? Do they bite a lot? Do they like 8 year olds and 6 year olds handling them?

TIA

[southeastastralplain]

about 2 years, yes they are nocturnal, some bite some don't. if you handle them young they should get used to you!

[titchy]

So they wouldn't want to play much during the day then? And it would be cruel to keep one in a playroom that is noisy in the day?

any other ideas? Gerbils?

[oooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOoooooo]

Depends on whether or not they decide to crash their cars whilst driving at 300 mph

[southeastastralplain]

we kept ours in the living room, they'll sleep through anything! they do get up during the day too but are very active at night. i prefer hamsters to gerbils

[expatinscotland]

I sssooooo want one!

So does DD1, who sometimes say, 'I want a hamster to spin round and round on a wheel.'

Yes, so do I.

[2Babies0Bumps]

have had loads of hamsters. i got them all out during the day, they didnt mind.
some hamsters bite initially but even though they are bred in captivity, they are not handled daily so you need to 'tame' them once you have it at home. make sure you have not just eaten anything which might leave a smell on your hands- i found even my tame ones would bite me if i had just eaten some bacon crisps for example!! all hamsters will bite if squeezed though- as some children tend to when the hamster starts wriggling, so make sure they hold it over a table so if it wriggles and they cant handle it they can let go of it safely!
def dont keep it in a bedroom as they are nocturnal and it will keep you awake all night.
they live for approx 1000 days (however many years that is!)
but...
have also had rats and i would say they were the best small pets i ever had. they can be taught to do tricks etc and are very clever.
they are not as hard to hold as they can climb so sort of hang on and they never bit me. even when brand new.

[thelittlestboho]

Hamsters are not good pets for kids really. Have you thought about a guinea pig? They're fantastic for children, they communicate their needs through different noises, love being handled and are 100% more placid rodents than hamsters.You can keep them indoors too. If you need any advice on them, let me know as at one point I had 9 of them, I'm down to 5 now though.

Tlb.x

[thelittlestboho]

Gerbils are a definitely no-no too.

[FredBassett]

Get a girl one, the boys have huge balls!!! They are smellier than gerbils but slower.

[themoon666]

ROFL at 'huge balls'

[cece]

One hamster I had - the shop told me it was a girl. Called her Maxine. After a few weeks she developed large 'growths' at her rear end . Took 'her' to the vets. Well he was highly amused - that is all I am going to say on the matter of hamsters....
Apart from they are lovely

[FredBassett]

pmsl cece!!

[cece]

In my defence I was a student and young and naive

[bottomburp]

IMHO hammies being nocturnal and prone to biting make rubbish pets for kids.absolute winner is a ratty, clean, intelligent and really bondable with for kids, also lifespan similar to hammy.usually just parents squeamishness is biggest barrier but they come in lovely colours, nice to get 2together.
i wasnt convinced until i started work and met loads with very happy owners of all ages

[wannaBe1974]

Imo hamsters don't make good pets for young children because of being nocturnal and also if they bite then they bite hard, drawing blood. I personally wouldn't have rodents of any kind as they smell. Could you get a rabbit or guinne pig which you could keep outside?

[LittleB]

I had hamsters, mice and gerbils as a kid. the gebils were the hardest to handle as they were very quick! Got bitten a couple of times by all of them, but not hard. As long as they are handled daily and you supervise the kids handling them at first they should be fine. I had my first mouse aged 7, and bought a hamster for my step brother when he was 8, all were fine. Its a good way of getting children to be responsible too, learning to feed and clean out animals. Its also easier to find people to look after them for you when you're away than something larger like a rabbit. They were also fine coming out after school to play, would have a good run about. I was once school gerbil monitor too - so had gerbils at home and at school and tonnes in the holidays!