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Original poster

Hamster

35 replies

Hibernatalie · 16/08/2023 09:37

My 7 year old is desperate for one. Also considering a pair of gerbils. No to rats and Guinea pigs.

Experiences of hamsters? Any big regrets or basically fine? I loved mine as a kid…

OP posts:
mylittleprince · 16/08/2023 09:41

I don't think they're great pets for kids. Pretty much nocturnal, often quite bitey (especially the smaller breeds). Hard to handle as fast little things. Also people seem to keep them in the smallest cage.

I always think Guinea pigs are the best pets gif young children but I can see you've said no to them. They love being handled and stroked, can feed them and their wheeking is the best noise ever.

Whinge · 16/08/2023 09:43

Why no to rats? They're by far the best small pet for children.

Hamsters are difficult to handle, nocturnal and are often scared of being touched.

Annaishere · 16/08/2023 09:43

I only regret keeping my sons hamster in his cage most of the time. I didn’t have the empathy at the time to realise it was cruel. Apart from that they aren’t very sociable

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Annaishere · 16/08/2023 09:47

@Whinge I’ve thought about getting a rat for my son. He loves cats and wants one so much but we live in a flat and I couldn’t deal with a littler tray

WhiskersPete · 16/08/2023 09:47

Hamsters must be one of the most neglected animals in this country. They don't really do much so end up just left in their cages all the time.

Rats are great. They are so interactive and friendly.

Cookerhood · 16/08/2023 10:12

Anyone thinking of getting rats (one of the best pets for children imho - I've had hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits & rats) please don't get "a" rat. They are sociable animals and will be utterly miserable on their own.
Pros: friendly, intelligent, cuddly
Cons: can be a bit smelly, need a large cage, don't live long enough for the amount of your heart that they occupy!

Annaishere · 16/08/2023 10:18

@Cookerhood ill keep that in mind and get 2 if I decide to go for it. Do you know if they can be toilet trained ? And I thought they would be about as smelly as a hamster ?

toastofthetown · 16/08/2023 10:22

Hamsters need much more space and enrichment than most people give them. A minimum of 100x50 cm is suggested, with at least 25cm of bedding for them to burrow in as they are burrowing animals. Victoria Rachael on YouTube has a lot of information, and this hamster rehomer has care guides for what is needed for all kinds of hamster.

TeenDivided · 16/08/2023 10:22

Our first Hamster was fab.
He was handled a lot, we kept him in the dining room and he used to come out at our evening meal to see what was going on. I did shared care with DD (13-15)
One day he escaped and went all the way upstairs to find our DD !!

Our second was not so good. We got her just before lockdown happened, but DD's MH took a nosedive, and the hamster was more skittish, and DD (15-17) never really got confident handling her, so DH and I ended up doing most of the care.

We now have 2 guinea pigs which are kept indoors in a spare bedroom. The hay does migrate around the house but they are good to handle. DD (18) does 99% of the care.

We are about to get a snake. DD will be doing 100% of that!

mintbiscuit · 16/08/2023 10:23

Not great pets for small children.

TheMousePipes · 16/08/2023 10:27

I have kept hamsters for years. They’re only antisocial if you don’t socialise them. I have a new ham at the moment as our last one unfortunately had cancer and I had her put to sleep. New ham is currently being socialised gently as we’ve only had nine 10 days. He is currently happy to take food from my hand and will climb into the tube that I will use to get him out of his cage for the first month or two.
The hamster we have just lost was so tame that she would fall asleep on my shoulder or in my pocket. She liked to watch tv with us in the evening, was friends with our large and stupid cat and would wait patiently every morning on her platform so she could come out for her breakfast - which she ate off a teaspoon on the breakfast table with everyone else. She would then try and pinch bits of other peoples breakfast and go for a mooch over to the toaster to look for crumbs.
You get out what you put in. Bored hamsters are boring hamsters.

Tafaa · 16/08/2023 10:48

Just note that hamsters need a lot more space than most people realise, virtually all of the 'hamster' cages you can buy from pet shops are far too small. 100x50cm is about as small as you should go. A PP mentioned Victoria Raechel on YouTube, she is fab and definitely worth a watch before you decide.

Original poster
Hibernatalie · 16/08/2023 11:01

@TheMousePipes oh my goodness, that’s so adorable!

OP posts:
Annaishere · 16/08/2023 11:20

@Hibernatalie I know. I never knew hamsters could be that way

Cookerhood · 16/08/2023 13:30

Annaishere · 16/08/2023 10:18

@Cookerhood ill keep that in mind and get 2 if I decide to go for it. Do you know if they can be toilet trained ? And I thought they would be about as smelly as a hamster ?

They can be litter trained but you might have to work at it. To be honest you need 3 or possibly 4, & remember they don't live long so you could be starting a rotation of forever getting a new one to keep the remaining ones company. Having said that they are adorable & well worth the heartache of losing them!

TheMousePipes · 16/08/2023 14:35

You don’t want 3 or 4 if you keep Syrian hamsters, they live solo as adults. I find the easiest way to litter train them is with a big helman’s jar (other mayonnaise brands are available!). Once ham has decided on a corner to wee in, scoop up the wee’d on bedding, put it in the jar and then put the jar in that corner. They’ll use that then. If it’s in a stupid place you can move it after a week or so - they’ll follow the jar rather than revert to the corner.

youveturnedupwelldone · 16/08/2023 14:44

Hamsters are amazing little creatures, I've had several. All have their own little personalities etc.

They are totally unsuitable for young children tho, they are awake while the kids sleep.

Do not get two Syrian hamsters - they love humans but will kill each other very visciously if housed together after their baby phase.

Educate yourself before you get one tho. Pet shops will sell you a shoebox cage and tell you it's fine - it's not. Go on hamster central and learn from the helpful and knowledgeable folk on there.

Cookerhood · 16/08/2023 14:47

The 2/3/4 & litter training was in response to a question about rats)

Savagepuma · 16/08/2023 14:48

Syrian hamsters are great, I would recommend to get male, they are more slow and can get more tame, from my own experience. I had about 20 of them through my childhood - teens.
And highly recommend to get only one at time, as they don't like to live in groups.

fantasmasgoria1 · 16/08/2023 14:51

Rats are excellent. Look at some pet rat videos and they will give you an idea of how awesome they are. Also guinea pigs are good too.

GLmum · 16/08/2023 14:54

Love Syrian hamsters.

Agree that you need to get the biggest cage possible and put effort into socialising them early.

We were advised when we first got our Syrians to sit DD in the bath and then to put the hamster in the bath as well. Let them crawl into a tube and put the tube into the bath. That way, the hamster just crawled over DD and repeat until they were comfortable with each other, and she could handle easily. It's time consuming but does pay off.

And don't get the tiny Russian hamsters, they move far too fast for children to handle.

Dragonwindow · 16/08/2023 14:56

Is there a reason you've discounted rats and Guinea pigs? I love Guinea pigs, they're a good size for children to handle comfortably, they're not completely nocturnal like hamsters, they're much less bitey in my experience, and they're so squeaky and cute!

amylou8 · 16/08/2023 15:02

I've had rats, hamsters and Guinea pigs in the past.
I'd say gerbils are the best fit for kids. They're robust, big enough to be handled easily and pretty docile. They're great fun running round making their little noises at each other, and will eat pretty much any leftnover veggies you chuck at them.
Hamsters are boring. They party all night and sleep all day. They're small and delicate. They're also escape artitists.
Rats are amazing pets but are pretty high maintenance. They need attention and stimulation. Great for adults and older teens but not ideal for children.

amylou8 · 16/08/2023 15:03

That's should say Guinea pigs are the best fit for kids not gerbils....I've never had a gerbil.

TheMousePipes · 16/08/2023 15:04

Although I have been waxing lyrical about hamsters, we’ve kept rats before (they’re hilarious, and super clever) and also have a couple of squeaky pigs in the garden. They’re also fab children's pets because they love cuddles so much. The piggies take up quite a lot of space though, they’re crap at ramps (fall off them and damage limbs) and should have one level cages. The hamster, on the other hand, has a majestic multi level house.