Getting a Hamster!

[OverplanninJess]

DBF surprised me and told me he would get me a hamster for my birthday!!! (he knew I'd been wanting one) Now I've got to decide what kind of home to get for the little guy! I want something sturdy with a good amount of room for him to play in. I think this is adorable http://www.freshpets.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=RP-603151(I want to name him Sir ChubbyTummy-so a castle is perfect!) but I can't find any reviews on it. I'd like to keep the price around $50, any suggestions?

 

[Handbag Lady]

I would stay away from plastic worlds for your new pet. Would you want to live in all that plastic?

All of our hamsters were kept in a very large tank with a secure lid and lots of playthings (plastic and otherwise) that they could climb in/on and around that we changed around a lot for excitement for the little guys.

An empty roll of toilet paper was a good toy for them, too.

With whatever you decide to buy, make sure you have the right bedding and be prepared to change it weekly, and daily for that one special spot.

 

[mjkacmom]

We had a plastic one, and hated it - we took out the tubes because they got too gross, and poop would fall out. We had one like this, and liked it much better - easier to clean! http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind...-03E7-DD11-80C2-001422107090&mr:referralID=NA

We now have a ginormous 3 story rat cage, for our rats - much better pets than hamsters!

 

[Stan's MaggieMouse]

Very cute! And it looks like the bottom comes off for easy clean up which is a must. My sister and I had hamsters for years growing up and each of my sons had their share and then one gerbil. I really prefer hamsters though this particular gerbil was nice enough.

Maggie

 

[mrsklamc]

I would think either the plastic or the cage would be better than a sealed tank..can you imagine being shut in with....well, what hamsters are shut in with?

 

[ShiPooOwner]

I don't want to rain on your parade and I agree that hamsters are very cute. But did you know they're nocturnal? They love to sleep all day (when you would probably want them to be active and alert) and run on their wheels and live their little hamster lives all night long. Maybe you've had other hamsters and know that already. If you haven't considered a Guinea pig, they are awesome and sleep at night and are wide awake during the day. They are also very cute (well, at least I think so), love to be handled because they're very social, easy to take care of, and don't need a huge cage if you have only one. If you do get a pair, make sure they have ample room and that they are two of the same sex or you'll have Guinea pig babies before you can blink six times. Anyway, we have had many Guinea pigs over the years and they're awesome little pets.

 

[mrsklamc]

Can hamsters 'learn' not to be nocturnal?

We have ferrets, which are only awake about 4 hours a day. We play with them a lot during the day, so, that's when they are awake.

 

[czycropper]

My DDs have a hamster each, unfortunately one passed away this past weekend and we held a small ceremony for him (Snowball). They are (were) the smaller hamsters and they've survived over 2 years to my surprise since poor Snowball got dropped a couple of times and even went down the basement stairs in his balls because my DD left the door open!

We have the plastic homes and have had no problems with them. My DH even bought extra wheels and tubes for them to climb. AND the plastic is only on the bottom and some of the tubes so it's not plastic everywhere-the sides are like the wire cages. The houses are cleaned top to bottom every other week and we change the aspen every week. I wouldn't put them in a tank either poor things wouldn't be able to climb on the side of the cage which our two (ok, now one) loves to do when he wants to be picked up.

 

[cjackearl]

I didn't look at the particular home you're considering, but we've had LOTS of hamsters, and have found the plastic tube ones to be the hardest to escape from, and believe me, that's important! The tubes are a bit of a pain to clean but not awful. We started out with 10 gal. aquariums with wire mesh covers and one of those darned little guys climbed on their hamster house, reached up and clung on to the wire and chewed a hole through the wire! Luckily all of our escape artists have been recaptured, but you'd be amazed what those tiny little brains can come up with. Good luck!

 

[DISNEYNV]

Do not get a dwarf Russian hamster! I got my DD a hamster after returning a frog to the petstore...was NOT the pet for me ... I mean us! The kid helping us reccomended this RH to my DD and while it is adorable it bites and is small so she doesn't want to hold it. I think we should have opted for a panda or teddy bear hammy but I didn't want to dissapoint her again by taking it back for another exchange. Plus since they are nocturnal they do not make very good pets for small children who want to play with it during the day... I think it gets grumpy and that is why she bites. Plus the wheel going around and around ALL night long ! Oh well they don't have very long life spans...that's horrible I am an animal lover really! Go for a bird or something more acive during the day and sleeps at night

 

[dyna]

I agree I'd go for the guinea pig or a bird. We've done the hamster thing a time or 2 an I hate them they BITE!! They stink!!! sleep all day an make all kinds of noise at night. If they get loose by accident they hard to catch an will be just like any other rodent an eat everything you don't want them to ruining much of your food sometimes even furniture when they chew an crawl in it.

 

[TupperMom7]

Good for you getting a pet hamster! I always wanted one as a kid, but my mother said they were rodents and wouldn't let me get one. When my dd was in 7th grade, her friend raised hamsters and gave her one. All we had to do was go spend about $50 on supplies, lol! She wanted a hamster habitat - plastic. It was great. The only problem was, the hamster she got was a dwarf teddy bear hamster and he was too small to climb up the tube. So he had a plastic wheel that he liked to run around in....all night long. Finally we figured out that if we put a book under the wheel, he couldn't turn it. He had a few hours at night and then the book went under until my dd got up. She had no problem keeping the cage clean, but he did manage to chew some of the plastic. He never escaped though.

 

[Newfie2000]

I don't want to rain on your parade and I agree that hamsters are very cute. But did you know they're nocturnal? They love to sleep all day (when you would probably want them to be active and alert) and run on their wheels and live their little hamster lives all night long. Maybe you've had other hamsters and know that already. If you haven't considered a Guinea pig, they are awesome and sleep at night and are wide awake during the day. They are also very cute (well, at least I think so), love to be handled because they're very social, easy to take care of, and don't need a huge cage if you have only one. If you do get a pair, make sure they have ample room and that they are two of the same sex or you'll have Guinea pig babies before you can blink six times. Anyway, we have had many Guinea pigs over the years and they're awesome little pets.

I very strongly agree with this poster - please definitely consider a guinea pig! Not only have I owned just about every imaginable pet at one time or another, I worked at a pet store for 13 years. I have NEVER been bitten by a guinea pig but can not count the number of times I have been grabbed by hamsters and gerbils. Sometimes they bite staright down to the bone and it really hurts. There are lots of factors to consider and I know there will be views on both sides of the fence but I'd like to point out a few other things, for you to consider. Guinea Pigs develop personalities that you can interact with, believe it or not they will greet you when you come home, squeel in delight, and yes even moan and groan when unhappy. They will respond to you calling their name and display affection towards you - even snuggling up beside you to take a nap. I know to a certain extent hamsters do similar things but not at all the same! You can also let guinea pigs out of the cage to roam free and train them to go in a litter area in a certain place and because they are larger they are much easier to find! They will live longer than a hamster and should they become ill or are injured there are vets that will treat them and even perform surgeries. All around they make great pets and the relationship you will form with one is very similar to that of one with a dog or cat. I know some people feel the same way about their hamsters but I think it is safe to assume that most do not - usually a hamster falls into a different level/category of pet. Just wanted to chime in with my 2 cents and please if ytou have any questions or would like any more info just give a shout!

Whatevber you decide...congratulations on adding a new "furbaby" to your life and good luck!

 

[mjkacmom]

I very strongly agree with this poster - please definitely consider a guinea pig! Not only have I owned just about every imaginable pet at one time or another, I worked at a pet store for 13 years. I have NEVER been bitten by a guinea pig but can not count the number of times I have been grabbed by hamsters and gerbils. Sometimes they bite staright down to the bone and it really hurts. There are lots of factors to consider and I know there will be views on both sides of the fence but I'd like to point out a few other things, for you to consider. Guinea Pigs develop personalities that you can interact with, believe it or not they will greet you when you come home, squeel in delight, and yes even moan and groan when unhappy. They will respond to you calling their name and display affection towards you - even snuggling up beside you to take a nap. I know to a certain extent hamsters do similar things but not at all the same! You can also let guinea pigs out of the cage to roam free and train them to go in a litter area in a certain place and because they are larger they are much easier to find! They will live longer than a hamster and should they become ill or are injured there are vets that will treat them and even perform surgeries. All around they make great pets and the relationship you will form with one is very similar to that of one with a dog or cat. I know some people feel the same way about their hamsters but I think it is safe to assume that most do not - usually a hamster falls into a different level/category of pet. Just wanted to chime in with my 2 cents and please if ytou have any questions or would like any more info just give a shout!

Whatevber you decide...congratulations on adding a new "furbaby" to your life and good luck!

That's how I feel about our rats, compared to our hamsters. The rats would never bite, and they're big enough that my 6 year olds can carry them around. They jump up when you enter the room, and would wag their tails if they could! They love to play, or sit in your lap. With our hamsters, they always wanted to get off of you, and with the rats, they want to get on you!

I'm actually sad they have about the same lifespan as the hamsters - with the hamsters, I was pretty much done about 2 years.

 

[onelostsockie]

Watch out and make sure you buy a boy hamster! Sometimes the people at the pet store can't tell the difference...so do your hamster anatomy research before you pick him out.

I bought a female dwarf hamster and named her Robert. Except I didn't know she was a girl and was knocked up the day I bought her. I ended up with 7 Hamsters. Before I had to seperate them by gender, they all lived together in two cages.

As you can see..they are messy! I actually have more towers and tubes than pictured.
These cages are by Crittertrail. They sell them at Petsmart, Petland, and Pet Supermarket. The pink one was about $25. The smaller one was $18. The tower attachment was $13. They were easy to clean once you figured out how to "solve the puzzle." I think Crittertrail is the best because all the pieces are interchangable, and you can easily buy accessories locally as opposed to having to order them online.

The last hamster just passed last week and I'm going to try to sell all my cages, add-ons, food, and bedding for $50 locally. Maybe somebody in your area is selling used items? Check the paper or craigslist!

 

[albertamommyof4]

I can tell you one thing that they do stay up all night. You can put a towel over them during the day and sometimes they will think that it is night but be careful as tehy will naw on the blanket and after a while there will be lots of holes . They love to hoard food so make sure you do not overfeed it. The metal cages they do climb on and they love to naw on them all night. Don't get it tons of toys as they will get over stimulated. other then that have fun and good luck

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I love the name!

I would suggest you at least consider gerbils. We've had gerbils for years, two males (littermates like to be together), super friendly, never ever bite, hop into your hand, awake during the day if you want to play.

We have a 10 gallon cage with a wheel hanging from the mesh grate top.

We've had the tubes, boy do they ever get gross.

I second the toilet paper tubes, we give them to our gerbils and they go to town on them. For a special treat we leave some of the toilet paper still on them and they love to shred it and makes beds.

They're very cute little critters, have fun with them!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I vote for guinea pig! They are so sweet. Don't bite. They talk, chirp, and do popcorn jumps. Just happy little guys.

 

[Taximom]

We had the teddy bear hamsters,,,,my kids loved them till they were both bit, at the same time, and those buggers drew blood! They also escaped out of their plastic habitat. I can still see my DH in the middle of the night trying to corner those things in the bathroom. We had to put them in the laundry room because they made so much noise. Do yourself a favor and get a bunny!

 

[JerJan]

We have this one: http://www.habitrail.com/ovo/eng/index.php.

Our hamster died 2 weeks ago (also named SNO-BALL) and we have not replaced her yet... we are still grieving .

I LOVE this hamster cage. You just take the hamster and put it in it's ball then put the whole cage in the dishwasher about once a month!