Hamsters - Good or Bad Idea for a Pet

Anything that eats and drinks has to go to the bathroom. Someone has to feed them and clean up the mess. It has been my experience when the newness went I was left to either let the animals die or feed them. (Of course I couldn't just let them die), so I say pick something with a short life span. The hamster falls in that catagory.

Has she thought about a guinea pig? My boys, 4 & 8, have them (3) and we love them! A little easier to hold and cuddle and they sleep at night like we do!!! We adopted ours from the guinea pig rescue (in Lewisville), that is also their web page theguineapigrescue.com. They are reasonably priced at $25 and the volunteers know so much about them and how to properly care for them, which is pretty easy but specifics need to be known... like they need vitamin C, timothy hay daily, fresh veggies and fruits daily (easy stuff like lettuce and carrots etc.), are social and don't want to be a single, do not smell, live 5-8 yrs, cannot have tap water.......the rescue provides printed correct material... unlike some of the pet stores I've visited lately!
I would love to answer any questions for you if you want to email me! We have had ours for a couple of years now!

We adopted a Hamster from a classroom teacher. She had him for 6 months and we had him for almost 3 years after that. My kids loved him. We did not have any of the problems the others have mentioned. He died of old age. It was sad to watch him go thrugh the stages. They are like any other pet, they require food and water and snacks are fun. We cleaned the cage every Sunday night before bedtime. We would have got another one, but we adopted a Parakeet from another teacher. Not a bad pet, but very noisy and required more attention. We just adopted a guinne pig. Also noisy, but very low maintence. The smaller animals are eaiser to get someone to take for a weekend. I think they teach kids responsablity. If you do not take care of it, we will find someone who will. That is how we got our last one. Good LucK!

My daughter has had 3. One that lasted 2 weeks and end up dying of wet tail.(Petco) That one was mean and bit. The next one died about 1 month later. (Petco) WE finally struck gold with a Teddy Bear hamster. She had him for almost 3 years. He died a few months ago :(. He was the sweetest thing. Never bit, she could hold him and she would put him down in her room (door closed) and he would just hang around. My other daughter had a Teddy Bear too and he didnt last as long(about a year 1/2), but no biting, very sweet natured. If she gets one I highly recommend the Teddy Bear Hamster. We got them both at Petsmart. Bad part- getting a hamster that gets sick, and having to clean the cage. But as we all know there is cleaning and care with any animal you get. If she cleans the cage once a week then it should be fine.

Hamsters are smelly, noctornal escape artist that are really hard to remove once they get stuck behind your fridge....A parakeet may be a much better idea for that age. If you get one instead of a pair, it will be much easier to tame. Parakeets are easy to care for, clean up after, and you can even clip the wings yourself so if it does get out, it won't go very far.

We tried hamsters a few years ago and didnt have very much luck, our kids were too young, I had to end up taking care of them. Well, the kids have decided they want to try again. We have two big dogs now, I spoke to my h about getting one for each for the holidays, he said no. We ended up telling the kids that if they saved up enough of their allowance to buy the cage, we would buy the hamster. We feel that that might be a start with some responsiblity with them. You might also mention a hermit crab, although they are kinda smelly if their cage isnt cleaned also.

Hi Tam,I have had two hamsters for pets on two separate occasions. I spent a lot of time with each of them on a daily basis, and kept their cages really clean (which is quite a laborious task). While they were healthy, they both died at just over a year old. It was heartbreaking both times. This is especially difficult for a young child. Hamsters generally are very fragile, labor intensive, and die young.

Someone else mentioned guinnea pigs. They make wonderful pets, and live up to 7 years. They also require cage cleaning (and it will smell if you don't keep up with it), but any animal takes work. They are cute as a button, make neat noises and are very cuddly and loving if treated right. Just make sure not to put a male and female together, they W I L L procreate, and procreate, and procreate. (I learned that the hard way.)

I think they were easy, but wet-tail can be a problem. Keeping the cage clean helps keep the hamster healthy.

We had two. One lived 6 months, and the other one 2 years. I think 2 years is normal.

They are cheap and you can play with them (in an enclosed area so when it hides - and it will- you can find it). They are nocturnal, they do smell a little, but if you keep the cage clean it's not bad. Just don't keep it near her bed so she hears all the playing in the cage at night.