Have a hamster? do you regret it?

[Cogswel_Cogs]

LET ME TELL YOU!!
HAMSTER CAN BITE, I mean really bite.

 

[kinntj]

I would be beyond pissed if someone gave my kids a pet as a gift without discussing it with me first.

I agree completely! No hamsters allowed here and if someone gave it to us, we would give it to someone else. We have 2 dogs and a cat and I told my kids, no more furry animals. I finally agreed to a fish.

My DD6 wants a Betta fish, so we are going shopping soon to get her one. She's paying for it with her own money.

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

Betta fish are lovely, easy to care for pets.




As long as you don't accidentally boil them trying to keep them warm.

 

[MrsPete]

I've had guinea pigs and gerbils. Guinea pigs, being larger, make loads more mess and need their cage cleaned more frequently; however, they enjoyed being held more.

I've been researching hamsters and plan to get one for DD#2's birthday in a few weeks (in fact, the cage is already purchased and hidden -- I'm going to let her pick her own hammy). Here are a couple things I've learned from my research:

There are two readily available types of hamsters: Syrians (which have the name "bear" in their names -- Golden Bear, Teddy Bear, Panda Bear) and dwarfs hamsters. Syrians grow a little larger, they cannot be housed in pairs, and they bond with people and like to be held (assuming they're socialized from a young age). Dwarves are smaller and more active; they like to be housed in pairs, they're faster and more difficult to catch if they escape, and they prefer to interact with one another rather than with people. I'm going to steer DD towards a Syrian because I know she'll want to hold it rather than watch it.

 

[DevilDuckie]

When I was an infant my father and I caught viral menengitis from a hamster and nearly died. Hamsters were never allowed in our house again and my father developed an acute phobia. Go figure.

I don't really have a problem with them but out of respect for my father I'll never own one. We had mice when I was a kid and they were okay.

 

[Lorix2]

Hi everyone,

Well DS got a hamster last night, an all white one, female.

It bit him already and it bled a good amount too.

Petsmart said none of their hamsters are held or socialized. Now he's afraid to hold it and so am I. She's really skittish. Despite my efforts to slowly acclimate it us, my DS couldn't wait to try to hold it.

I hope we'll be able to bond with it, but I dunno.

 

[WildernessBride]

Hi everyone,

Well DS got a hamster last night, an all white one, female.

It bit him already and it bled a good amount too.

Petsmart said none of their hamsters are held or socialized. Now he's afraid to hold it and so am I. She's really skittish. Despite my efforts to slowly acclimate it us, my DS couldn't wait to try to hold it.

I hope we'll be able to bond with it, but I dunno.

Please don't worry, time will really help and soon you will be able to hold him. Our hamster, Magical, loved to squeak and squeal when we first got him. He actually jumped up in the air away from us, and bit us. I have to admit I was scared of him then. He had a minor escape, but after we caught him again, we left him alone in the cage and talked to him over the next two days and things really turned around. Magical was the most skittish hamster we ever had, previous ones let us hold them almost immediately, but Magical was completely different than the ones before. I even thought about bringing him back to Petsmart...but my DH said we needed to give him more time, I am so glad we did. Just give her some time, talk to her through the cage, and go slow. Btw.. we also fed him some fresh apples, trying to show him we were nice. I think things will get better for you over time....it sometimes just takes a little bit of patience.

DD can now hold him and play with him like she did with the other one before...all is well with Magical. Good luck to you...I am sure things will get better...what did you name her?

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Hi everyone,

Well DS got a hamster last night, an all white one, female.

It bit him already and it bled a good amount too.

Petsmart said none of their hamsters are held or socialized. Now he's afraid to hold it and so am I. She's really skittish. Despite my efforts to slowly acclimate it us, my DS couldn't wait to try to hold it.

I hope we'll be able to bond with it, but I dunno.

awww.....I hope it gets better for him.

 

[Lorix2]

Please don't worry, time will really help and soon you will be able to hold him. Our hamster, Magical, loved to squeak and squeal when we first got him. He actually jumped up in the air away from us, and bit us. I have to admit I was scared of him then. He had a minor escape, but after we caught him again, we left him alone in the cage and talked to him over the next two days and things really turned around. Magical was the most skittish hamster we ever had, previous ones let us hold them almost immediately, but Magical was completely different than the ones before. I even thought about bringing him back to Petsmart...but my DH said we needed to give him more time, I am so glad we did. Just give her some time, talk to her through the cage, and go slow. Btw.. we also fed him some fresh apples, trying to show him we were nice. I think things will get better for you over time....it sometimes just takes a little bit of patience.

That's funny you should mention the apples, DS said the same thing and we'll do that shortly. I hope this will help DS get closer to her - thank you

 

[Barbossa]

May I suggest pet rats. They have surprisingly good dispositions and are relatively easy to care for. I've had 7 pet rats and the only time I ever got nipped was when I tried to take one of their quesadillas from them (don't ever get between a rat and his quesadilla ). They are very active and aren't real good for sitting peacefully in your lap (guinea pigs are better for this, but are 10 times as messy), but aside from this they make great small pets.

 

[Lorix2]

awww.....I hope it gets better for him.

thanks, I really do too