Hamsters anyone?

[JESW]

Does anyone have a hamster for a pet? If so, could you please tell me about them?

DD will be 6 in january and I was toying with the idea of getting her one. She loves animals and would love something she could hold and pet. We have two indoor cats but they are 16 years old and not much "fun" for a kid. Our other pets are the birds and again, no "fun". She would really love a dog but that's not going to happen.

I know that a lot of the care would fall to me and that would be ok as we already have all the other animals. Just wondering what kind of pets they make.

TIA!

Jill

 

[2BOYMOM]

My son has had several hamsters. They all three lived about 2 1/2 years and died of "old age". They were good low maintenance pets. He enjoyed them alot. He now has a guinea pig that he loves alot but it requires much more care.

 

[missypie]

Ours bites. Lots of them bite. We can hold her if we give her a LOT of time to sniff around us, but you can't just put your hand in her cage without being bitten. I've heard that a white rat is a much better pet..gentle and smart. (I just can't get over their RATNESS, though.)

 

[LoraJ]

I had hamsters, gerbils and mice as pets when I was growing up. I think I liked the gerbil the best. My hamsters didn't seem to have as much personality as the gerbil. They are all cute though.

 

[2BOYMOM]

I had gerbils when I was young and liked them alot, they were funny. None of our hamsters bit.

 

[Barb D]

We have guinea pigs and rats. LOTS of rats. Rats are actually pretty good pets, but make sure you have two of the same gender! NOW I know how to tell. I can give you FREE rats if you want to travel to Maryland!

We've had gerbils in the past. I like the rats better because they're bigger and easier to handle (less skittery.) Honestly (don't tell DS) the guinea pigs are best of all because they don't climb or jump and I know they can't escape (or get very far if they do.) DS found our adolescent boy rats on top of their sisters' cage the other day trying desperately to get in. When DS walked into the room, the boys all scurried back into their own cage. Their lid now has a heavier book on top of it!

 

[JESW]

Hmmmm...I didn't think about gerbils...are they bigger than hamsters? I don't want to go as big as a guinea pig but I also don't want to go as small as a mouse - I need to be able to get it when (not if) it gets out the cage and gets behind a bureau.

And eeeewwwww about the rats! Even if they are good pets I also couldn't get over their "ratiness"

I'll have to start hanging out in the pet stores again.

Thanks for all the advice so far!

Jill

 

[KLAIT]

I had the same situation. DS6 wanted a pet...had a dog who was almost 14 and not very much fun. I had a hamster as a child that was so tame and fun....went and bought 'Hammie" for DS who is also very loving and sensitive with animals......bought him when he was a baby...and then tried to handle him a lot right away so he would not be afraid.

He never bites and is still a little jumpy...but, DS was disappointed that he cannot really "play" with him. The hamster doesn't want to just sit on lap or run around the house with him so the novelty kind of wore off. So, now I have a hamster that I have to take care of..and yes, they do require cage cleanings because they can get stinky in a few days.....

don't get me wrong, he is the cutest little guy (teddy bear hamster) and I love him, but wish I hadn't gotten him.

No, a gerbil is smaller than a hamster and they are really fast...much harder to catch if they get out of the cage...I would say they are the same size as a mouse.

 

[gallaj0]

Another vote for the guinea pig if you're looking for something to play with. We have one that oves attention and being pet and carried, etc. It is also pretty low key during the week, when we don't haaev much time to play with it.

 

[2BOYMOM]

Yes, I vote for the guinea pig too. Jeffrey is very sweet and my son holds him every night and feeds him carrots. Jeffrey loves attention and he "sings" while we are holding him. He has never got out, I don't think he even wants to.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

my brother and i never had hamsters..we had guineas..they were great

 

[Lizzydoll73]

Too bad you won't consider a rat. They are lots of fun and are more sociable than the other rodents. We have three girls and they run to the side of the cage every time you walk by. They love to play and are actually very clean. Ours go crazy cleaning themselves after we put them back in their cage, like we're the dirty ones. I do not care for the white rats with the beady red eyes though. They do freak me out. Guinea pigs CAN jump, we had a male jump into the females cage and ended up with 3 babies. Hamsters just want to sleep all day and usually don't want to be bothered and will bite if you try to wake them up.
Good luck with whatever you choose.

Here are my rats.

 

[JESW]

Ok...so how tough are the guinea pigs? Do they smell? I heard they can be paper-trained, is that true? I really don't want something that's going to go around peeing/pooping all over the floor. Do you keep their cages in the house? In the kids room? At least the cats won't be able to eat them, right?

I'll have to think about this...

Jill

 

[2BOYMOM]

JESW - We clean Jeffrey's cage about once per week, it would smell if we waited longer than that.

Lizzydoll73 - Those are great rats! I like the one on the right in the top pic.

 

[HisEllyNelly]

Ive had guinea pigs, hamsters, and rats.Of them all, I LOVE THE RATS. I have four females. The arent as smelly as guinea pigs and much more friendly than hamsters. They are pretty smart and VERY social. I hated the thought of rats about a year ago, and my ex bought dd one. She was so friendly and tinkerbell soon became one of my favorite pets ever. We then bought her a playmate, and then rescued two more that were to become dinner for a snake .
Go to a pet store and ask to hold one and see if you can get over the Ratiness thing, they are GREAT pets.

 

[gallaj0]

The guinea pig is very clean, and doesn't smell bad at all, unless you let it get way out of hand. The cage isn't overly big, it's inside in a bedroom.

 

[RitaZ.]

We have had hamster for almost a year. At first, it took a little while for her to get used to us. She is really gentle, lets us pet her (she vibrates when she is happy) & will take food from the kids. If she wants us to take her out of her cage, she will bite and shake the door. We bought her a plastic igloo, which she loves. We put fluff outside of her igloo which she pulls into it to make a round nest. One night, she got out of the cage (kids left the top open) and we found her in the morning on the floor, next to the cabinet where her cage sits. They are skittish animals, so she still jumps if we can sudden moves. I'm still surprised that she will sit there and let us pet her, I didn't think that hamsters liked that.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Barb D]

We have three piggies (Guinea Pigs), and their enclosure takes up my DD's entire bottom bunk (with the matress removed.) It's a "cube and coroplast" enclosure, very similar to this one

, which is really cheap...until you start buying bedding for it. The bedding is expensive in that quantity. We tried using shredded newspaper, but the cage got way too smelly way too fast.

We have four cages of rats now (one for the mama, one for the dad, one for the four girls, and one for the four boys.) The only problem I have with the rats is the sheer quantity of them. I promised DS that they wouldn't become reptile food, and we haven't been able to find homes for the "extras."

 

[LadyBears]

I also have had my share of different types of hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, fish, snakes, rats, dogs, ferrets, etc. over the years. My newest additions are our Degus (they look like a squirrel from the front, a hamster from the side, & a rat from the back, but are more closely related to chinchillas. Here is a picture of some, but not mine. I haven't uploaded their pics yet.

For your 6 year old, since you wont get a dog, I would also recommend getting a rat. They are definitely one of the smarter animals! Of the small animals listed, they are the closest thing to a dog as far as being able to play with, love, feel loved back, etc. They are actually easier to train than some dogs. They are easier to handle, you can teach them tricks & commands. Mine used to LOVE riding everywhere on my shoulders. I guess he enjoyed the view better. They are low maintenance, & have an easy diet.
As much as I love them, I have to agree with Lizzydoll73 about the white ones. As far as appearance, just think of the rat as an overgrown gerbil! Once you get to know one, you won't want to go back to hamsters.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We have a hamster for my 8yodd. Her name is Sugar and she is a cutie. She has never bitten any of us. We got lucky I guess. We have had her for 1 year.

Pretty low maintenence, cage does get stinky must clean 2x week for optimum smells. She is noisy at night so make sure she has a place that is "with people" but at the same time will not bother you when you are sleeping.
We did buy the glass tank for her. She escaped out of everything else. Those plastic tube cages are a PITB to clean.

We have had a guinea pig and my BIL had rats, Jake & Elwood. Cute little things.

For a 6yo, I would say a rat or guinea pig would be the better choice.