Should I buy TWO hamsters? *UPDATE 1st post*

[paigevz]

I had two when I was a kids. Either they both chewed each others feet off, or it was a murder suicude because when I got home they were both dead and neither of them had any feet.

Kristine

Yuck! When I was a kid I had two hamsters though, and they didn't fight. Maybe I had unusual ones.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

when i was a kid, i had one, got anther a few weeks later, and one killed the other and stuffed it with hamster litter

One of my hamsters killed and attempted to eat the other one....we had a foot hanging out of her mouth.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I used to raise hamsters when I was a teenager and they will DEFINITELY fight if you keep more than one of the same sex in the cage. If you keep a male/female pair, they'll fight after they "do their business". Do not get 2 hamsters and keep them together if you want them both to live. My SIL didn't believe me and got 2 hamsters. They seemed to get along fine- until one of them decided the other really only needed 1 eye.

Just the opposite of people, huh?

And EWWWWW to the stories about them eating there own.

 

[Caskbill]

Keep in mind that the normal life span of a Hamster is only 2-years or so. Make sure your DD knows this and will be prepared. Hamsters are not like dogs or cats who can live fairly long lives.

 

[disneyfreakk]

Hamsters do not live in social groups. They generally dislike other creatures.

Guinea pigs and gerbils thrive in the company of others. It is cruel to keep them alone.



Firstly, this is the best advice ever, especially if you have young children. Guinea pigs are pretty hardy and much less skittish. Hamsters are fast, wriggly and much less child-proof!

If you get a Syrian (golden -the large, regular ones) hamster only get one. They will fight, eat each other or multiply. You don't want any of those things.

If you get Russian/Chinese dwarf hamsters, they are okay in pairs of the same gender if they are from the same litter.

Your breeder should be able to advise you. My advice is to get two guinea pigs, or one Syrian hamster.

There you have it! Get her TWO guinea pigs!!

 

[mjkacmom]

Never put 2 together. We ended up with 2 sisters, and they wouldn't even play together. For a few minutes, they checked each other out, but when they both realized they were both girls (both positioned themselves to "receive," to the confusion of the other), they tried to rip each other apart.

 

[chisnpeke]

I had a hamster when I was a kid. Then my brother decided that he wanted one. So he got one and a week after we got it his hamster had ten babies! Two of them died and we saw half a baby pink thing sitting in the cage that the mother had eaten The pet store wouldn't take the remaining babies back even though we had bought the hamster from them and it likely got pregnant while it was there since our hamsters were never together. We found another pet store to sell them to but kept two of the babies for ourselves. OH and they got loose in my brother's room. My hamster also got loose once and was in my closet for a WEEK!!

One of the hamsters escaped outside and was never found.

I'd definitely get a guinea pig or even better, a rabbit.

We've had it all!

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I agree with previous posters. 2 Hamsters will become many, many hamsters very quickly (and they're almost impossible to sex by looking at them).

 

[Mickey's Neighbor]

Two female hampsters make great pets and usually get along together. Males often fight with each other when they are full grown.
I'd say get two, hope neither is pregnant at the time you buy them , and things should work out great.

 

[N&B'smom]

One hamster's motto is make love not war... two hamster's motto is "Let's get it on"

So true!!

I had a female and my brother had a male. Apparently while frolicking about out of their cages, they got a little action. Sure enough, we had 11 babies to find home for!!

Just get one. They won't get lonely, your child will play with them!! They are very sweet little creatures! Enjoy!!

I've actually debated on getting one for my kids but darn it, if/when it dies I know I'll be the one that's super heartbroken and I just can't handle that!

Shelby

P.S. If you do get one please post pics!!!!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Never put 2 together. We ended up with 2 sisters, and they wouldn't even play together. For a few minutes, they checked each other out, but when they both realized they were both girls (both positioned themselves to "receive," to the confusion of the other), they tried to rip each other apart.

 

[Tinijocaro]

Thanks for the advice everyone. The verdict is one hamster. I don't care at all for guinea pigs or rabbits. I had hamsters from elementary school all through college and absolutely loved them. We have quite the cage setup for him already. Thanks again!

 

[torinsmom]

I have always had hamsters in my classrooms. My favorites are the teddy bear hamsters. They are very tame and I have never been bitten by one. Every Russian(Siberian) hamster I have gotten (4 or 5) have been mean and bitten for no reason. The teddy bears are also larger and with their long hair, they really do look like teddy bears!

Check your local Petco. They often take people's unwanted baby hamsters and then adopt them out for free. I got my last one that way and she has been great,

BTW, people here are right. I got two sisters this last time, thinking they'd get along and keep each other company. They were fine for a few days, then they escaped. When we found them, they started beating each other up and we had to separate them quickly. Needless to say, another classroom gained a hamster to avoid them murdering each other!

Marsha

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I would only get one. But my experiences with even just one, was not what I thought it would be. I bought a pregnant one. After she had her babies, we gave them all away except the mother and one baby. Well my son let them out to "play" and a few weeks later I notice she is huge, she had 12 more babies. So one hamster turned into 19 very quickly. LOL!
She was a great mom and very friendly with us. It was a fun experience actually, not something I would do again but we made the best of it.


Another time we tried 2 females together and all they did was fight. So we seperated them.

Next time we got a parakeet instead!

 

[disney1990]

Go with guinea pigs. They're big enough to cuddle, they don't try to skitter away from you, they don't chew their way out of cages, and they don't eat each other when they die. The only downside is that since they're bigger they need bigger cages/habitats.

Another vote for Guinea Pigs. Ours is so loveable. He crawls up near my ear and "purrs". He definitely know who I am; not like the hamsters that the kids owned years ago.

 

[flying_babyb]

We bought two MALE hamsters. They fought, darn near killed each other. We ended up getting two seprate cages. Just started getting them freindly now. Petco, Petsmart, and Just pets told us ONE hamster is better than two. One lady told us about how "lovely" it was to come into work to a dismembered hamster, in a cage where they were all freinds.

 

[Barbossa]

May I suggest pet rats instead of hamsters. They're very friendly and rarely (and I mean rarely) bite. You can spot a male rat a mile away, so baby rats are a matter of choice. I've only owned females, they're very social as long as they're introduced to each other when they're youngsters. Downside is that they don't live long, about 2 years.

 

[torinsmom]

May I suggest pet rats instead of hamsters. They're very friendly and rarely (and I mean rarely) bite. You can spot a male rat a mile away, so baby rats are a matter of choice. I've only owned females, they're very social as long as they're introduced to each other when they're youngsters. Downside is that they don't live long, about 2 years.

It's fairly easy to tell the males of the bigger hamsters varieties as well, without even picking them up. The little dwarf hamsters are almost impossible though. When mine had babies, I had to put them in a clear bowl and count holes, LOL.

Marsha

 

[Barbossa]

It's fairly easy to tell the males of the bigger hamsters varieties as well, without even picking them up. The little dwarf hamsters are almost impossible though. When mine had babies, I had to put them in a clear bowl and count holes, LOL.

Marsha

The same thing happened with our guinea pigs years ago. The guy at the Humane Society wasn't very good at sexing GPigs. We ended up with a bunch of babies.

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

I had 2 gerbils when I was younger. They seemed OK w/ one another, for a couple of years. Then I went to church camp. Came home, and had 1 intact gerbil, and 1 tail