Hamsters

[Bunnyotter1896]

Currently a petless household. I am going to get my daughter a much longed for pet. She is 11 and we are thinking of a hamster. Anyone currently got a hamster or experience of having them?
I have been looking online but any help with best things to buy (best cage and toys) to keep our new pet happy would be much appreciated. And also any tips on how to tame/gain the trust of the new arrival would be gratefully recieved.

Have you considered guinea pigs? Far easier to handle and awake in the daytime (whereas hammys are nocturnal, and often grumpy and bitey). Rats are also a good alternative - again, much more handleable and very fun.
Guineas also live longer, so a bigger long-term commitment, and you need at least two, as they need a friend, but they don't seem to have the desire to escape and chew through wires that many hamsters seem to have
Hamsters can be nice pets of course but do need much more space than most pet shop cages (as do piggies) and its worth seeing if you have a good hamster-savvy vet locally to in case you ever need them (many vets are not very experienced with / knowledgeable about rodents).

Thankyou. I did think about guinea pigs too but think they will need more space than we have. Them being outdoors would be ok for summer but i wouldnt relax if they were outside in winter. Will get hamster a nice big hutch and cross everything we get a friendly one. Thanks for your advice

Hamsters are a bit of a pointless pet because they sleep all day (and then disturb the kids all night!). Personally I'd recommend rats or gerbils for smaller critters, You need to get a pair of them as they're social, and they'll need much more space than the horrible little plastic prisons you get in pet shops (as would a hamster!).

There are lots of videos on Youtube for setup inspiration. Here's a good one for hamsters:

We got a Russian dwarf when very young (9 weeks I think) and, after a few quiet days to recover from the move, handled her for very short periods every day. She is now super tame and comes to the front of the cage when she hears us and loves coming out to play. Doesn’t bite at all. Even if she did she’s so small it wouldn’t break the skin or anything. She did nip at first to discover if your fingers are food or not but it’s very gentle.

Best advice we got is to get a cage that has a really deep bottom so you can pack it properly with a material that they can burrow in - not just a dusting of sawdust.

Love hamsters, we have had about 5 I think. Great pets.

When we had them they were all so tame and came out at all times, especially one of them when he smelt toast on a morning or if I baked on a weekend. He enjoyed eating both.

Save your toilet roll tubes for them to gnaw on or you can put them.under the sawdust for them to burrow into.

Ours all lived for nearly 3 years. Our last one for wet tail, I think it's called? We were devastated and had to have her put down

I recommend the Bucatstate 3.0 for your hamsters enclosure. You can pick them up for cheaper on temu. The Bucastate wheels are brilliant too. Etsy have some fantastic hamster hides and toys, also lots of treats and sprays at good prices.

We’ve had ours for nearly a year now and he’s a lovely little thing, although can be quite loud at night! For the first 2 weeks we didn’t try to pick him up, we just slowly put our hands in his enclosure and let him explore them at his own pace. Offered him treats from our hands too. He has never bitten us once. This was him tonight. They are fantastic pets 😁

I've always had syrian hamsters, my current one hardly ever comes out in the evening though. We rarely see him before 9pm, so most kids wouldn't get any enjoyment from him because they'd never see him. Just depends on their personality

They also need big cages, the minimum recommended size is 100cm x 50cm x 50cm because they need deep bedding to be able to burrow. As per PP, I've also got a bucatstate 3.0 and would recommend it. I've previously had a Pawhut cage but these are wooden, and I've seen a lot of stories of hamsters chewing their way out

Ethical hamster breeders are as rare as hens teeth. Pets at home etc use rodent mills that are very sad places indeed. You can rescue, but they don't live that long, so might only have it for a year or so before it dies of old age. You need a tank, like bucastate or similar, as hamsters naturally live in burrows. They need lots of enrichment, such as sprays, sand bath, dig boxes etc and a 28cm wheel to stop their backs arching when they run. You can find some good info graphics on ethical facebook groups.

But honestly, not the best idea. Guinea pigs make much better pets, even if they do take up half your living room.

Hamsters are solitary animals, please don’t get two as PP suggestion.
I have had several, they make great little pals, especially for an older child who can learn to take care of it properly.

We also had a Russian dwarf who was absolutely lovely. We’d sit on the floor and she’d just pootle about around us getting treats or playing with toys.

We had a massive cage with a really really deep base for burrowing. Hamsters need more space (both in terms of flat space but also depth) than I think any cages at somewhere like pets at home will give.

I meant gerbils or rats!

Thats so much everyone. Really appreciate all the advice and tip. I will look into the bucatstate 3.0.
Interesting that so many mixed reviews. And will makesure there is a sandbath too. Thanks all for taking the time to advise. All points have been very helpful.

He is too cute. Such a sweet wee face. Fingers crossed we have the same experience.

Whatever you decide to get - get the biggest possible cage (shops like pets at home usually sell cages that are inhumanely small).
If you opt for guineapigs...... yes they are more fun, more interactive but they are also ime more work. You must also get 2 as one on its own gets lonely.

My kid's hamster died recently at 2.5 years old.
Pros - it was very sweet, friendly and clean
Cons - really big cage needed, and it's nocturnal!

But generally very easy to look after, only peed/pooped in one area of the cage so we would just do a weekly spot clean and clean a bigger portion of the cage every few months. They need a lot of stuff to burrow in.

Not the most interactive pet though due to being nocturnal so not ideal if your child wants something to play with every day.

We have guinea pigs too and they are more fun and interactive as pets but much more work to look after, poop everywhere all the time, smell and they live a lot longer, up to about 8, so a big commitment.