My DD wants a hamster. We've been offered one. Should we?

[twinky]

My DD announced yesterday that she wants a hamster for her 9th birthday. A friend then said that she is wanting to rehome hers because her children show no interest in it. I know absolutely nothing about hamsters and would welcome your honest opinions about whether this would be a good idea.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

You need to accept that you will probably end up doing all the cleaning feeding playing once the newness wears off.

Other than that I know nothing about hamsters.

[Hulababy]

Is it used to children handling it?

You will be the one that cleans it out, feeds it, etc. Do you want the pet too? If not, then don't go there.

[twinky]

hmm. I don't really want to be dealing with it - I was hoping she'd do it but since it's being rehomed because it's previous owners got bored with it perhaps I'm being daft. Ah well - a Moshi Monsters membership it is then.

[BonkeyMollocks]

Unless your willing to do the work, don't get it.

Hammys are great little pets though :)

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

My DD is 9 (nearly 10yo) and when she wanted a pet we go guineas (mainly because I had GPs as a child so I wanted them too)

My DD does loads for the pigs.
I do the cleaning, I said right from the start that I would.DH was about her commitment, but she's been A1.
DS owns the GP2, but does bu**er all for them.

A GP cage is much larger than a hampster cage admittedly.So physically I wouldn't expect my DD to sort it out.

But I'm well aware if she did lose interest then I'd be doing all of it. I do all the work for DS GP, I'm cleaning out for 2, DD feeds the 2 and I cuddle GP2 (he's adorable )

So if you don't want to end up doing it all if the novelty wears off, and overseeing in the early days then don't agree.
I've never kept hammys either though, so don't know about their care.

[dietcokeandwine]

i've owned both hamsters and GPs throughout my childhood, and we recently acquired two baby GPs for me our children. Hamsters can be fab, but to be honest 'tis a bit hit and miss as to whether you get a cuddly friendly type or a vicious one. My sis had several hamsters with wonderful natures (although one regularly escaped and ate holes in the carpets and my mother has never truly forgiven it); I had a vicious little sod who bit like you'd not believe and was an absolute nightmare. It's kind of pot luck as to which type you might end up with. Bear in mind too that they are nocturnal creatures so can be a bit of a disappointment to a child expecting lots of daytime interaction!

I absolutely second what everyone else has said about being prepared to do the majority if not all of the care. And if you're not, don't go there. As much as DS1 adores his GP (he's 7), it was amazing how quickly the new pet ceased to be a novelty, and whilst he happily feeds and cuddles and chats to both guineas he will swiftly forget about them, say, if he has a playdate, or if there's a new Pokemon to catch on the Nintendo, or a lego model to make, etc etc etc...and then he will suddenly say oh mummy what about the guineas have we fed them/cleaned them out/brought them in from the run etc! Unfortunately you can't depend on a child to continue the level of interest they display at the outset. Luckily for me I adore my their piggies . If I didn't, I'd be feeling seriously resentful by now (six months after acquiring them).

[sanguinechompa]

Agree what everyone says about being prepared to look after it yourself.

But I must admit, given the choice, I wouldn't go for a hamster. As dietcokeandwine says, they can bite. Also, unlike gps, they are nocturnal so you may only get to hear a squeaking wheel going round and round at night, and see a curled up ball of fur during the day.

Guinea pigs are much more friendly and amenable and make better pets for dc I think. (I have rabbits now which are much more high maintenance (more like dogs) but I absolutely loved my late gps - they have great characters - and are fairly robust and easy to look after.

[insanityscratching]

Dd 9 has a hamster and loves it and looks after it mostly all by herself. Her older sister helps with the cleaning the cage but dd can do it alone if needs be (she just gets sawdust everywhere) Cutie seems to know when dd is about as she is always awake when she gets home from school probably because she knows dd will get her out to play and feed her treats then and she's awake later when dd goes up to her room.The hamster hasn't really ever bitten anyone but you do need to handle them everyday when tiny so that they get used to it.
I'd be wary of taking on a pre owned one as if it hasn't been handled and is older it might never be happy about being handled and they have short lifespans so she'd have the upset to cope with sooner.

[MrsLetch]

It depends on how strict you are with your child and how responsible they are...

My 8 year old Dd went on and on about having a pet for ages... We chose a hamster because she could be entirely responsible for it, and if she didn't we would get rid of it and she wouldn't be allowed another pet.

Dd knows I am always true to my word, but she agreed to those conditions, and she got a hamster. Six months on, she still gets the hamster out twice a day, every day, changes it's water daily and cleans it out every week. Since we got it (at Christmas) I have never cleaned it out. My responsibilities end with buying it food and bedding.

Hamsters are great because your children can be entirely responsible for them (if you have that sort of child), and you can train them to wake up early evening for time together. I'd say they're fairly easy pets. They do need to be handled daily though.

[MrsLetch]

Actually I do have to Hoover up after dd has cleaned out the hamster too!

[insanityscratching]

I'm with Mrs Letch dd had to agree to being responsible for her pet and she would know that I wouldn't allow her to keep a pet that she didn't care for properly. She loves her though and I have never had to remind her of her responsibility.

[ErnesttheBavarian]

Hamsters don't live that long, if it's being re homed, it might well already be a certain age?

Ours never bit. He was a dwarf hamster and came out to do a stunt show performance for us every time we went in the room, so not fully nocturnal like 'normal' hamsters. He was the best pet we ever had (sob) just had him pts (sob sob)