Hamster Advice

MAJJ

Hi,

First time poster in this forum and would appreciate some advice.

We have two kids 9 and 7 - both caring and gentle with animals. They want a hamster each. From some research - Sryian are a better option than dwarf for kids.

Am interested in advice on potentially choosing two hamsters and the gender to choose.
We can accommodate two cages if necessary and would appreciate advice on what to get.

We are also talking to petshops but would appreciate independent advice.

Thanks,
MAJJ

baby and crumble

Hamsters are a great pet for kids, especially Syrians. They cannot be housed together at all though, as Syrians are incredibly territorial. You’ll have to have separate cages and playtime. You’ll also have to have two of everything which adds to the costs.

Each hamster has their own personality, but in general boys are usually lazier and females quite active.

The important thing with kids and hamsters is to make sure that kids learn not to hold them tightly, to never wake them up to play- this can become an issue as while hamsters aren’t actually nocturnal they are crepuscular which means most active at sunrise and sunset. Which might be a little bit too late for kids. Some hamsters can also be nippy no matter how well tamed they are.

Have you considered guinea pigs?

MAJJ

Hi Baby and Crumble,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond. I will convince them to go for a single Syrian female, they just need to agree on the name
We absolutely will supervise them as kindness to animals has always been a key thing with all of us.
We did discuss guinea pigs but the strong preference was hamsters.

Thanks again for the wisdom!
MAJJ

Cherry Blossom

I don't recommend hamsters for kids under 10. I had a hamster when I was 18. I took the time to tame it and it was a lovely pet but not very cuddly. My younger sisters and brother (teenagers) had hamsters at different times and all would have described their pets as viscous. The reason for this being that they didn't have the patience or inclination to try to tame them so they never got used to being handled. Once bitten they were reluctant to try again. A pair of female Guinea pigs housed together in as large an e closure as possible would be my recommendation for kids that age.

baby and crumble

I get what the above poster is saying but I had hamsters from around the age of 8 and none ever bit me, I was able to take them out every day and hold them, play with them under supervision etc.

Agreed, they aren’t “cuddly” but they are great fun, inquisitive, and they have piles of personality.

em_cat

We have a pair of bonded Guinea Pigs and they are flipping mad! They are really tame and one tries to play with Mr C, she also steals his fruit slices, he doesn’t really like it but puts up with it. He is a bit wary though when they get the zoomies & popcorn during floor time. They do sleep, but in small increments so wouldn’t keep in bedrooms if you have light sleepers.

Plus they really love fresh veggies & fruits (in moderation) which is fab for me as I eat a lot more than my OH so we had a lot of waste, not anymore though.

MAJJ

I appreciate all the posts. My youngest brother had one when he was 8, many years ago, and had no issues with biting etc. We all helped out though and I will do the same with my kids to ensure a gentle introduction, held at the right height. Thanks to you both.

Zapperzy

I've had gerbils, dwarf hamsters and a syrian hamster. Gerbils very active and fast. Drawfs fast also but more open to handling, used to get the odd nip off them but as they were so small was usually nothing more than a tickle. The female syrian I'm not sure what went wrong but she was a biter. Maybe I got her too old or she had a bad experience early on but got a few very nasty deep bites from her. From research though she was the exception.

I'd recommend buying as large a cage as possible and avoiding those plastic ones with all the tubing. They'll chew anything plastic and sometimes can get into a very bad habit of chewing the metal bars. Buy plenty of wooden hamster safe toys and start collecting the cardboard inserts from toilet rolls. Avoid the cotton wool type bedding and instead put in a few sheets of kitchen towel for a bed. I used to use a brand called carefresh which was like a recycled mulch instead of wood shavings. Wood shavings can sometimes cause respiratory problems so I've heard.

I used to save all shoe boxes and turn the bath into a hamster playground.