Should I get a hamster?

[Jennseng83]

I was wondering if I should get a hamster...I have had rats, mice, gerbil, and a hamster. Could you guys please show me the goods and bads of hamsters compared to other rodents I can get? :D That would really help. Thanksss!

[Smallies]

Hiyah,

It all depends what you are looking for in a new pet. I had a syrian hamster years ago (have another one now) and he was a sweetheart but as they mostly come out at night you might want a critter that is awake during the day.

Gerbils (although a bit chewy with their cages) are great in same sex pairs, they interact with each other, are very lively, mostly during the night as you probably know, but also during the day. They are so animated and fun to watch, esp if you have a tank or connectable cages.

I'd go for gerbils, but a same sex pair at least as they do like the company of another and sure two gerbils isn't much more difficult to look after than one. Also make sure they are definitley the same sex (can be tricky as I have learned) I still have to get a gerbil 'expert' friend to sex any young new ones that come into the rescue. :rolleyes1

[wheels]

I think hamsters are great. I prefer a syrian hamster. While they are solitary animals toward each other, they love to be held and cuddled if raised properly. Youc an buy one from a pet shop, a breeder, and sometimes the local shelters or rescues get a few hammies in.

Hammies are great, if you plan on playing with them mostly at night. Upsetting them during the day can stress them out. They are fairly inpensive to care for as well. Food is cheap, a water bottle is cheap, bedding can be free to cheap, and the treats/toys are cheap.

You can make a great cage for a hamster out of a storage bin. It is cheap to make, and has TONS of room for your hammie to play in. If you look around the forum, you will find insturctions on how to make one.

Bedding is also cheap. You can buy big bags of KILN DRIED Pine, a bedding like Carefresh or Critter Care, or you can shred newspaper into little pieces of paper. Newspaper is fine, as long as it is not colored. Out of all of them, newspaper is the most fun bedding for the hammies to play with.

If you have any questions, or need any more information regarding hamsters, feel free to let me know.

[Jennseng83]

Thanks. I don't really need information on how to take care of them...but advatages and disadvantages on which ones. I'm pretty much deciding on a gerbil or hamster. I have all the neccesary equipment...so it's just a matter of which one I will like better.

I want to be able to handle the animal once in a while...but I love watchign the animals even if they are just sleeping.

[AceVentura]

Both are great. But if you do get a gerbil, get two. They are much happier in pairs, and part of the fun is watching them interact.

I personally have had more of a bonding experience with a Syrian hamster, because they are solitary and you are all they've got. But gerbils are really fun. You can't go wrong either way!

[chinny2]

yes you have experience , But then again I know some one whoms student had 15 hamsters before one lived more than one person whose getting a third while his other to died within a week and one person whose had just one forever and another who had 2 that died within to years but I like hamsters bett

[turtlegirl1073]

uhh....chinny, could you say that again? and use punctuation, perhaps?? anyway, have you decided yet, jennseng? i have a syrian hammy right now, and i haven't gotten to taming him yet because he's got a little diarhea, and i need to buy some chinchilla sand and just wait for him to recover. i'm trying to clean his cage more than normal now because hamster diarhea really stinks!! anyway, so, yeah, hammies are great!! have you considered dwarf hammies? you can keep them in pairs, and still get the basic hammy look if you like them. but it's harder to get a good pair of dwarves because they don't get along as much as gerbils, as i'm told. and in general, dwarf hammies are harder to tame. i'm not saying that all dwarves are hard to tame, but most of them are. it just depends on the hammy. i forgot to ask the employee if i could pet the hamsters before deciding which to get, so i ended up with a real timid one. but that's ok, because he's not vicious, at least. so, i guess it all depends on the individual animal, gerbil or hamster or any other pet. by the way, i personally prefer a pet that is boring to watch, but fun to play with!! dwarves and gerbils are fun to watch, but you can't play with them as much. my syrian is a big fat couch potatoe, but as soon as i tame him, he'll probably be the best pet yet!!

[townprep]

I have 2 Dwarf hamsters and even though I've only had them since last Thursday, I absolutely adore them and they are already spoiled. I'd recommend hamsters but my opinion is biased because I have 2 wonderful hamsters that no gerbil could compare to. :p

[chinny2]

sorry, Im used to chatspeak. What I said was they should get one but warning them about death rates.

[chinny2]

But besides that Id say HAMSTERS

[Revenge]

go for the one that your gut (yourself) tells you to chose

[Zouave]

I have LOTS of gerbils and LOTS of Syrians, and some dwarfs. They all have their appeal.