what do you DO with a hamster?!!

[moretolife]

Thnking of giving into constant nagging to get a pet. hamster seems like the best bet. but what do they DO? they run around in their cages,wheels etc, but when kids get bored and stop getting it out in the evening, is it ok or very cruel to just leave it in the cage/wheels/toilet rolls for the evening. i can see me & dh having to 'entertain' it after the novelty has worn off for the kids!

Sod all. Boring things.

Rats much better - they sit on your lap and let you stroke em

agree with flame bat. Hamsters do notmake good pets for children, too small, nippy, and nocternal. Rats are far better. Bigger, rarely ever bite. Cna be tamed a lot easier - are generally friendlier. Lot more intelligent too. Mine used to nestle down inside my jumper and go to sleep. Never ever bit me, was totally adorable.

a hamster, gerbil or budgie is the best pet for a child as they dont live very long and children tend to loose interest after a few weeks but i would spend a little bit extra and buy one that is already tame as children dont want to spend the time doing it.

Hamsters also chew carpets and escape lots and keep you awake at night. They give quite a nasty bite too.

be careful not to lose it in a puddle... now that causes a lot of upset I can tell you!

apparently they taste just like chicken.

Re the budgie - I had one that lived for years and years. Probably about ten. Besides - they're social birds and I do think (in retrospect) that it's a bit cruel to just have one.

I agree with having a Rat for a pet! Most people would go euurrgghh (or something like that) but I think they are a great pet to have.

We have a hamster at the mo, he is very sweet but doesnt really do a lot! And once youve picked him up and hes shat on you then it does get a bit tiresome! Suppose you could put him down on the floor and count the number of wees / poops!

Our hamster is lovely - she is very friendly and makes a sweet little snuffly thank you noise when I clean her cage (dd was supposed to always do it but that lasted 2 weeks and we've had her for 18 months). She never bites because we've handled her since she was tiny. Sometimes we take her outside to run about on the lawn.

No, you don't have to get her out in the evening -hamsters don't mind their own company!

Rats - yuck can't cope with their tails and smell.
Gerbils - yuck they're too weird.
Budgies - anything that flies and shits - forget it.

squash it.

I really dislike hamsters. They're so ugly when they go bald and scabby.

they bite and wee on everything near the cage...urghh

rats are very good pets - I know the thought is not too good, but honestly the are lovely!!!

I like rats - much cleaner than hamsters as well

Nooooo hamsters are a waste of time - they bite and generally don't do anything fun! We got dd rats instead and they are fantastic! They are highly intelligent and you can train them. They are happy to sit with you for hours and don't bite!

hamsters are a lot cleaner than rats!

Any rodent just makes your house smell unless you house them outside.

I think a cat is a compromise since you can say that you are getting it for her but in fact getting for the family??

I did that with the dog... that way when she got bored of it it didn't matter as all the family wanted a dog anyway!

CW

rodents do not smell if you use the correct sawdust and clean them out at least once a fortnight

Ours definately don't smell or they'd be long gone!! The only thing you can smell is the sawdust and we make it dd's job to help clean them out every weekend. Rats are unbelievably clean animals

The idea of sitting with a trained rat makes me psml

At least hammies don't live long.

Cats, yes, but they scratch the furniture and its harder to get someone to look after them when you go on holiday.

Dogs? No. I couldn't have something that remains is so dependent and time-consuming. And I'm scared of them.

hamsters are very easy to keep. Just get a ball that they can roll around in when the kids get bored of handling them but make sure they don't kick it across the room or to high heaven!!!

My personal experience is that rats are much cleaner than hamsters.. just my experience. Although hamster was nagey thing.. ick. Given a choice I'd go for gerbil or at least something more active than a hamster.

rats can be toilet traiend to an extent, if you experiment wiht pots and jars eventually they will find one that they like to use as their toilet. Ours never poo-ed outside his cage. They also don't mind water too much and you can bath them. Mine used to have a washing up bowl with water in to run around in once a week.

My friend "toilet trained" her hamster so she didn't have to clean the cage out so often - surely life's too short?!!

its not hard - I jsut put a jam har in for a week with no luck, then a bowl thing, then a plant pot. The plant pot did it. saved on time int he long run, as the cage stayed cleaner for longer and you do need a big cage for a rat.

Cover them in squirty cream marshmallows and grated chocolate?

That's my answer for everything today