Give me all the reasons NOT to get 2 pet hamsters!

[Denine]

DD,7, was offered 2 Panda Bear hamsters. She really wants them, but we just lost our kitty a week ago. We still have 1 kitty.
I know NOTHING about hamsters. We want to find a good reason to not let her have them. A simple no isn't going to cut it with her.
We do travel often.

 

[Disneycrazy!!]

the cat will eat them

they reproduce and eat their young

their cage can get stinky if not changed often

they get loose and are escape artist and could do damage to your home just like any other rodent

oh and they will pee and poop in her hand!

 

[MinnieMe87]

They are LOUD. We had them when I was a kid and for some reason they were loud at night. Had to put them downstairs because the squeaking of their exercise wheel would wake me up at night.

Oh, and their cages stink as Disneycrazy said. Especially if you don't clean them about every other day. (At least that was our experience)

 

[pixiemel]

They bite, and they will get loose in your home.

 

[Duckfan]

Hamsters are nocturnal, yep they like to play all night and sleep during the day. If your two are not same sex they will have babies, lots and lots (our gerbils had them about every six weeks). As a rule, hamsters are not really friendly, like to be held creatures and spend the time you let them out try to escape you. They chew up things. You can't take them with you when you travel.

Hope that helps

 

[SandrA9810]

Hamsters generally do not get along together. They're ok when they're still young and might be ok if they're litter mates, but generally they don't like each other.

Hamsters breed like crazy, I had dwarf hamsters and you can NOT tell them apart. Larger ones are a bit easier. But it's true, they do eat their young, especially if there's too many in a cage.

Cages are a pain to clean, especially tubes. They come apart, but it's annoying to take it all apart and put it back together again. You're talking an hour or so to do this. Granted I'd do a major cleaning like once a week, but freshen every few days.

They can bite. My first two hamsters were the sweetest little things. My first dwarf, little buddy, I could wake him in the middle of the day and he'd be just fine for a bit of loving. Teddy on the other hand didn't like to be woken up in the middle of the day, he was alright if it was evening. But I had several that would bite if you put your hand to them, especially coming down on top of them, they feel threatened.

They're pretty good if you travel, you really only need to clean the cage about once a week. And they store food in hiding spots, so you don't have to worry about over feeding them. You'd just have to worry about them running out of water.

They are very good at escaping, and knawing through anything that looks amusing. So you might end up with quite a bit of damage before you find them. You generally have to find them at night when they're normally "awake".

The cages are really expensive. And even if the two you get, get along together. I would still suggest connecting two decent size cages together to give them personal space. I had a critter trail 3, critter trail 1, and a critter trail mini. And the 3 is like 50$ or more. I mean it's more of a one time cost, but I had mine even chew through the tube connecters (at least they sell these individually for replacements). And the tubes are expensive too. Pine shavings aren't that bad, I could get a big bail of it at the pet store for like 10$ and it would last for ever.
http://www.petsupermarket.com/search.aspx?Search_Query=crittertrail - here's a general idea of prices.



Tell her she can have them if she can buy the cages. Then go to the store and let her start picking out the cages and accessories. Write down everything she "wants" with the price, then show her how much it is. And the food isn't all that cheap. And since they do a lot of "storing" food, you wind up throwing a lot out when you clean the cages.

Having a dog was a lot cheaper.. even if you include the vet bills.

 

[wdw_girl_18]

If the two fully grown hamsters are kept in the same cage they will try to kill each other. We made the mistake of doing this.

They smell

They are way too loud at night

The cages are junk

 

[3jsmommy]

poopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopooppoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopooppoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopooppoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopooppoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopooppoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopooppoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopooppoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoopoop(lots of little poop)

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have 1 hamster. You would need 2 cages for 2 hamsters because they cannot be in the same cage.

That alone is just too much. One cage is enough to clean.

 

[dcentity2000]

Get some guinea pigs instead. Yes, they breed like crazy too, but love to be held and petted and even "talk" to you



Rich::

 

[Pooh Crew]

We have one...a Teddy bear hampster. The cage stinks all the time. It seriously needs to be cleaned every other day. The poop is bad, but the urine smell is awful. I fully clean the cage once a week--and it does take a while to clean--and it still stinks. Ugh. I wish I had asked this question before we agreed to get our first (and last) hampster.

 

[minkydog]

We have had *one* maniacal, flesh-eating monster hamster and about 110 wonderful, lovely, fun gerbils. Hamsters tend to be loners. They are nocturnal--prepare to hear them all night long. THey pee like a racehorse--you MUST clean their cage just about every day. GEts old fast.

Gerbils are very communal creatures; don't get just one, they will not be happy. Two or three siblings together will make a happy little family. They like to have lots of sisters or brothers around, just don't try to introduce a non-littermate--they will fight until one of them dies. They are active early in the morning and in the evening. Gerbils don't mind being handled and if you are nice to them they don't bite you. Gerbils can breed every 28 days, so you have to keep same sex together. THey are desert animals so they don't pee or poop much. We changed the litter about every 5-7 days.

My DD16 raised gerbils from the age of 5 until the last one passed of old age last year. I can't even tell you how many litters she raised(yes, we mis-understood gerbil anatomy a couple times. DD16 is now an expert on the birds and the bees!) Gerbils are great parents--the dad helps the mom keep the babies warm.In fact, if you take the dad out of the pen when she gives birth and don't leave a sister or daughter, the mom will get so stressed out she can eat the babies(trust me, you don't want to see!) BUt you can avoid all that by just having someone knowlegeable set you up with all girls or all boys.

Awww, now I'm wanting to get more gerbils. They are really funny little creatures. Only thing is they are short-lived. Our oldest one lived 4 years and she was pretty decrepit by then. We have a whole gerbil graveyard out back.

 

[Micca]

Wouldn't she rather have another kitten?

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Get some guinea pigs instead. Yes, they breed like crazy too, but love to be held and petted and even "talk" to you



Rich::

Yes! My mother is allergic to guinea pigs, which is the only reason we don't have them, they are awesome pets.

Hamsters . . . not so awesome.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

They poop in a box. The end.

 

[LoraJ]

I had two males when I was in high school and I just did not like them at all. They weren't friendly and they fought all the time. And they would get loose all the time.

I had 1 gerbil prior to that and I loved him. Was so sweet.

If she is set on a hamster, only get one.

 

[samshane]

Totally agree with the others - 2 syrian hamsters (teddy bear, golden, etc.) kept in the same cage will most likely fight. They are solitary creatures so you will need 2 of everything. And they do stink - a LOT. Believe me, we had 2 at one time.

We have one Robo hamster now and he is pretty cool. They are really small and he doesn't stink 1/4 of what the other ones did. He is far less messy and eats a heck of a lot less.

And if you child is like mine, YOU will be the ones cleaning them... so I would tell her she would be responsible to clean them and that might change her mind (I know it always works with my kids when they ask about getting a new pet).

 

[Disneycrazy!!]

They poop in a box. The end.

 

[jackemail]

Like an idiot, I let my grandkids talk me into a hamster. Whenever they are here in the daytime, stupid hamster is asleep and won't come out of his house. She's a rather hyper hamster, won't let you hold her, tries to nip at your fingers. Hamsters are not exactly fun to play with! And I find myself cleaning the cage every day because of the smell. She is nice enough to poop in one corner, but brother---the stench!

She also got too big to crawl in her tubes safely--I just knew she would get stuck and I would find a dead hamster, so I took out the tubes. She still managed to jump through the rather large window in her house and get stuck. Hamster's lips and skin actually turned purple until I managed to get her out. Now, I really would have been traumatized with a dead hamster stuck half in and half out of her house.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

when they escape, and it's a when not an if. They are harder then all get out to find. My friend calls me daily with tales of where "Hammy" had last been seen. She regrets getting him every day and her kid is pretty good at taking care of him.