Buyers Remorse - what was I thinking?

[Dizneydaz]

I got my DD10 a Teddy Bear hamster for her 8th birthday. She really, really wanted one. That lasted for about 1 week. Then it was up to me to take care of little Ginny. She moved into the spare room and then when we got my nephew first of this year, Ginny moved into my office. She was a nice hamster, never bit, but no play value at all.

The only thing that kept me going was they told me when I bought her she would live about 2 years. That hamster was very smart. She lived 2 yrs and 1 day. She conveniently passed away one day after DD's 10th birthday, while we were at WDW. My 2 DSis' had to deal with the body.

Now I have a cage, etc. that I have to dispose of. Keep meaning to list it on craigslist.

Oh, BTW, Ginny was a little Houdini-she escaped many times. Gnawed on anything she could get her little teeth on, and even survived 2 episodes with one of our cats. I think they played together.

Here's a small listing of what Ginny destroyed:
My mom's good black pants, bedskirt, comforter, & carpet in several different areas (closet, by the door,etc.)

Now she says she wants a Zhu Zhu-easier to take care of.

OP, you made the right decision!

 

[Va-bear]

OK, I can see why you guys feel this way and all, but wanted to speak up for the happy hamsters owners (well, past-tense owner....)

I am VERY very thankful (more so after reading this thread...) that my parents let me have pet hamsters/mice - they are one of my most fond memories. Now, I was required to take care of it/clean up after them, no 'ifs'. My parents wouldnt have 'just done it....' that hamster would have been taken back to the pet shop and I knew it - strict but wonderful parents!Thanks again mom and dad!

 

[Va-bear]

I got my DD10 a Teddy Bear hamster for her 8th birthday. She really, really wanted one. That lasted for about 1 week. Then it was up to me to take care of little Ginny. She moved into the spare room and then when we got my nephew first of this year, Ginny moved into my office. She was a nice hamster, never bit, but no play value at all.

The only thing that kept me going was they told me when I bought her she would live about 2 years. That hamster was very smart. She lived 2 yrs and 1 day. She conveniently passed away one day after DD's 10th birthday, while we were at WDW. My 2 DSis' had to deal with the body.

Now I have a cage, etc. that I have to dispose of. Keep meaning to list it on craigslist.

Oh, BTW, Ginny was a little Houdini-she escaped many times. Gnawed on anything she could get her little teeth on, and even survived 2 episodes with one of our cats. I think they played together.

Here's a small listing of what Ginny destroyed:
My mom's good black pants, bedskirt, comforter, & carpet in several different areas (closet, by the door,etc.)

Now she says she wants a Zhu Zhu-easier to take care of.

OP, you made the right decision!

LOL! I'm lmao about this post...as I seem to be the only hamster supporter and my name is Ginny!! (I use Virginia 'formally', but all IRL call me Ginny).

 

[NMW]

Did anyone see the Nip/Tuck episode when the mom loses it and flushes the hamster down the toilet? Then, the toilet keeps backing up and she has to call a plumber. Meanwhile, her DD is looking everywhere for the pet hamster. The plumber finds it and accuses the mom of murdering the hamster. Her husband finds out an looks at her like "You did WHAT?'' Very funny episode and I think most people can relate to frustration she felt at the time of the flushing and the gulit she felt afterwards.

 

[TupperMom7]

Okay the cages are listed on Craigslist and I don't feel a pang of guilt because the kids never knew about them and never will.

I must give my other daughter credit, the one that had the hamster before. She got the hamster when it was a baby from a friend of hers in 7th grade. Her friend raised them to sell to pet stores. The little guys name was Teddy Bear and he was friendly. She'd hand him to me once in a while when she was cleaning the cage or whatever and he never bit me or anybody else. He only got out of the cage once, and it was my daughter's fault. We found him under the dresser. And she did clean the cage pretty regularly - once in a while I had to remind her (nag her) to get it done.

But it's not enough to want all that goes with a caged animal ever again. I feel so free!!!

 

[swissfamilyrobinson]

This thread is hilarious! Growing up, my brother had "Melvin" and I had "Sweet Pea". I don't remember too much about Sweet Pea, but Melvin could jump like there was no tomorrow. My brother would get Melvin out to play with him (or to clean his cage, although I KNOW that didn't happen often) and put him on top of something high - like the chifferobe (sp?) and next thing you know Melvin was gone - travelling down the hallway.

When my DD was getting ready to graduate from high school, all she wanted was a hedgehog. Her friend had one, and needed to get rid of it before he went off to college. We said NO NO NO you can't have one, we know you'll never clean up after it, it'll stink, blah, blah, blah...

Well, to make a long story short, she had a car wreck on graduation day (she ended up okay, but it was a really bad wreck) and we were so thankful that she was okay, that guess what we got her for graduation?

Fast forward about a year and a half. She got rid of "Mrs. Nesbit" on her own. Gave her away for free - cage, food - everything. After a year and a half of no sleep and much stink, DD had had it!!!

 

[surfergirl602]

Oh, I think we've all had our cases of buyers remorse. My latest one? I bought way too much for DD's birthday last month. I waded through a pile of receipts and was able to return the stuff that she just didn't need, or was too old for. We are redecorating her room to look like pixie hollow (her choice) and I just bought way too much fairy stuff. She turned 9, and really doesn't need a tinkerbell teapot. lol

 

[kellia]

LOL, been there, done that! So glad you came to your senses before your kids knew! We bought 2 sister hamsters a couple of years ago. We were told it would be fine since they were from the same litter, they'd get along. Nope, one killed the other one after a couple of weeks! I was so sick of the smell and noise by then (not to mention having a "killer" in my kids rooms). Then a couple of weeks later, dh took the cage out to the deck to "air out" and a bee flew up and stung the hamster and it died. (I was kind of glad one of the kids saw it so we didn't get blamed for doing in the hamster.) I was so happy that fiasco only lasted a month or so!!!

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Several years ago DH was channel surfing and stopped on the Home Shopping Network because the item they were selling caught his eye - it was a Casio electric piano that could 'teach' you how to play via light-up keys. He was fascinated. He called and ordered it. It was his first and only HSN/QVC purchase. I was cracking up because it was so unlike him to order it - I never knew he was a wanna-be Liberace.

Well, the piano came and he never used it! My DD would play it once in a while but it basically just gathered dust. We finally sold it in a garage sale this year.

 

[minnie6895]

This thread is so funny! It reminds me of when my sister had a fish. My mom was the one who ended up cleaning out the bowl and she couldn't wait for that fish to go. While we were on vacation, our neighbors were "watching" the fish. When we returned home, there were now three fish in the bowl!! My mom thought for sure one was my sisters and the other two were for her boys...nope, while we were gone, naturally the fish finally died and our neighbors felt so bad they bought my sister three to replace it!! Mom graciously said thank you, and thankfully for mom those fish didn't hang around as long as the original. We still laugh about when my mom saw those three fish in the bowl. It is one of our favorite family stories.

 

[TupperMom7]

I had a fish live in a fishbowl for 7 years. His name was Fred. When the sides of the bowl got green, I changed the water and scrubbed out the bowl.
My sister had a goldfish live for 5 years in a mayonaise jar! I think she thought it would die so she never bothered to buy a bowl.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I'm glad to read this thread. I saw hamster cages this past summer at yard sales. I would pause and tell myself, I need to think some more about that. Never did buy a cage, but I felt guilt from not buying one! I'm just not real big on hamsters. I'm actually a little skiddish of them. A friend had one long ago and it nipped me. It didn't hurt much, but I didn't want to handle one again. I knew I'd be the one to take care of a hamster if I got the cage. I wasn't in for all of that.

I think we'll just get some fish.

 

[smylie1]

Oh thank you for posting this! My boys have mentioned getting a hamster a few times. I was thinking of maybe making that one of their Christmas gifts, but after reading this, I think I'll just have to come up with something else!

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

This thread is so funny! It reminds me of when my sister had a fish. My mom was the one who ended up cleaning out the bowl and she couldn't wait for that fish to go. While we were on vacation, our neighbors were "watching" the fish. When we returned home, there were now three fish in the bowl!! My mom thought for sure one was my sisters and the other two were for her boys...nope, while we were gone, naturally the fish finally died and our neighbors felt so bad they bought my sister three to replace it!! Mom graciously said thank you, and thankfully for mom those fish didn't hang around as long as the original. We still laugh about when my mom saw those three fish in the bowl. It is one of our favorite family stories.

This made me think of the goldfish we had when I was a child ... it lived in a fishbowl on a shelf in the living room. Once summer while we were on vacation our neighbor was checking on the house for us and feeding the fish. Well, we lived in a house that didn't have central air (this was the early 70s) so the house got really hot since it was closed up. One day the neighbor came over and the fish was dead because the water got too hot. Ooops!

 

[maddmike]

Did this ever happen to you? On an impulse, you buy something and later say to yourself - "what was I thinking", LOL.

Dh and I went to a garage sale a couple weeks ago looking for a dresser for dd10 room. They didn't have any furniture, but I spotted a couple of those hamster cages, the plastic colorful ones with the tubes and stuff. I said to Dh "these would make good presents for dd10 and ds10 for their birthday, we could get them each a hamster"....

Now under normal circumstances, Dh says no to everything, lol. But this day he agreed and forked over the money for the two cages and off we went. Then I started to remember what it was like to have a hamster when our other daughter had one. He would keep us awake at night running around that wheel. He would poop and pee whereever he wanted to, including in the wheel that he was running in. Shavings were everywhere. Then when it was time to clean the cage, it was in the bathtub! Yuck. He didn't smell too bad, until the cage needed cleaning - but we didn't get any more hamsters after that.

So I emailed Dh and told him that I was having buyers remorse and how did he feel about it. He quickly suggested that we well the cages on Craigslist and not mention anything to dd or ds about it. Whew. I haven't listed them yet, but plan to this weekend. I hope they sell for at least as much as we paid for them!

Sorry but I don't get the buyers remorse. You bought it at a garage sale so you didn't pay much. Throw it away and move on.

 

[Peaceableone]

Ha Ha.. We just had a garage sale and guess what someone felt so excited to buy from us... Our hampster cage. Please take it. No more for us. Once was enough. They have a very short life span too. I've never not had a pet. We've always had dogs and cats. Our cat is now 18 yrs old. When he goes, we'll be left with the dog. When he goes, I'll be left with my husband . And that is just what we are waiting for .

 

[LanaJae]

This is so funny, I did the same thing and my daughter's hamster lived FOREVER. Someone told me they lived about a year, the thing lived almost 4 years and it wasn't a baby when we got it. All night long I heard squeaking and scratching and running and building new nests.

I actually missed it after it died and even cried lol, but never again will I own one, but if I have grandchildren one day... I might have to pass along the love

 

[squirrel]

How about a mouse?

My sister bought my niece a mouse after the hamster died. She said she likes the mouse more than a hamster.

Where do you put the hamster at night? I don't know how you could hear it if it's not in your bedroom.

I had a hamster downstairs. It was able to escape out of a brand new cage. I called the company that made the cage and they sent me out a new door (that's how it escaped). Luckly, my cat never caught it. After that one died, I planned on buying a new one after my WDW trip in 2008. Now I'm not sure that I want another one. I may try a mouse.

 

[sara74]

DS5 wants a puppy for Christmas. I am not opposed to dogs but we already have one (and a cat) So DH thinks Santa should bring a small caged mammal, ie mouse, hamster etc. I think a second cat is WAY easier!! And this thread is reminding me why!!

 

[MrsPete]

I can't believe how many people dislike hamsters! Maybe we just got lucky, but we have a wonderful little brown hamster, and the whole family enjoys her.

She's not much trouble at all -- much less than larger pets. She does run on her wheel ALL NIGHT LONG, but she's not anywhere near our bedrooms, so it's not a problem. We laugh about the fact that if anyone gets up at anytime of the night for a drink or something, she is running. And if you pick her up, she's HOT. My husband jokes that he wants to remove the wheels from his car and replace them with four hamster balls; he claims he's going to get more hamsters and let them cart him to work every day! I, of course, pointed out that he'd have to get a night job for that to work.

Her cage has about a 5" plastic screen around the bottom (then wire for ventilation to the top), and that prevents her from throwing out shavings; very little gets out of the cage. When we got her, someone told me to buy CareFresh bedding -- it was good advice; we tried some cheaper stuff once, and it didn't do anything to prevent odors. CareFresh is worth a little more money, and the large bags last for months. The large, lower portion of her cage needs to be cleaned out every 2 weeks(a 15 minute job, and I do it because the kids spill shavings everywhere); she prefers to poop in an upper chamber, the place where she sleeps, and that is easy to lift out and empty about twice a week.

We've had her since she was tiny, and she's always had lots of love. She comes running to the door when we open the cage, and she does not bite -- ever. When she was small, she had trouble understanding food vs. people sometimes -- IF the person holding her had just had a cookie or a cracker, she'd smell it on their hands (hamsters have a great sense of smell, but poor eyesight), and she'd "nibble", but she quickly learned to tell the difference.

I've heard that Teddy Bear hamsters are the best (and that's what we have). They're larger, less hyper, and slower-moving. They come in a variety of names: Honey Bear, Panda Bear, Black Bear. We baby-sat a dwarf once, and she was an escape artist. She also didn't much like to be held, but she had been "raised" in a family with three very wild young children, and I suspect her early training wasn't particularly kind. My girls, being older, understood that they needed to hold her gently and speak quietly.

This hamster was a birthday present last year. On her actual birthday, our youngest received the cage and a hamster care book (to her great delight), and we didn't allow her to go to the store to choose the hamster until she'd finished the book. That book made her a much better hamster-mommy. She was well prepared, and I think that's why our experience has been so good. She's also been very outspoken about taking care of HER pet. Everyone in the house knows to ask HER: "May I give the hamster a lima bean? Is she allowed?"