You have a kid who is asking for a small pet as a birthday or a Christmas present. You are starting to think about which small pet would be most suitable for your child, doing some research you get an idea to buy a hamster.
Maybe you have heard that hamsters are great first time pets, easy to handle and maybe your kid will learn something about responsibility taking care of one hammy. But is this all true?
I was looking for some information related to this topic and to be honest with you there are both pros and cons of having hamsters as a pet if you have a kid. Maybe even more cons then pros…
Let’s start from the beginning and hopefully, at the end of this article, you will have all the necessary information to decide whether this birthday or Christmas present for your kid will be a hamster or some new toy.
Table of Contents
Hamsters Are Really Fragile
Although hamsters are very flexible, their bones are fragile and easy to crush. If you have a small kid ( younger then 8-10 years old ) then having hamsters as a pet is not a good idea. Kids simply don’t handle fragile things well. I guess that is why you are giving your 5 years old a plastic cup and not a glass to drink water from.
If your little one accidentally drops its furry ball, the hamster can end up hurt very badly, which I am sure you would like to avoid.
Hamsters Have Very Short Lifespan
Hamsters live pretty short. It depends on many factors ( health issues, genetics, diet, stress…) but the average hamster’s lifespan is somewhere between one and two years. This pet is a short time commitment but this can be very hard for your kid. If your child attaches to his/her pet, which is expected and totally normal, he/she will be very sad once your hammy passes away.
Hamsters are Prone to Different Diseases
It is important to know that hamsters are prone to many illnesses that can end fatally. Tumors, abscess, respiratory infections and many other conditions that can make your hamster’s life even shorter and leave your kid in grief.
On the other hand, hamsters are also prone to many viruses and bacteria which can be bad for your kid. Small kids don’t have properly developed immune system and it can be compromised especially with salmonella bacteria. Hamsters transmit this bacteria very often so you have to be careful.
Hamsters are Prone to Stress
Hamsters are prey animals and therefore very timid creatures. Your furry ball can be easily stressed with different things and situations.
For example, if your kid grabs a hamster to play with, your hammy will be frightened to death. If your child finds fun in chasing your furry ball around the house, your pet will be very, very scared.
If you don’t know the hamster’s nature and behavior, these situations may seem to your pretty harmless, even cute but they are very dangerous for your furry ball.
Too much stress will surely cause some disease which eventually can lead to death. One of the most common diseases that your hammy can get as a result of continuous stress is Wet tail, very low survival rate health condition.
You Want to Teach Your Kid Responsibility
One of the main reasons parents are buying pets to their kids is that they think that having a pet will teach their little ones a responsibility lesson. This is true, caring for a pet, a kid will learn something about responsibility but here you should be careful about your child’s age and his/her temper.
Don’t leave the young kid to take care of the hamster all alone. He/she might forget to feed your hammy, give him water, clean the cage. Imagine what will happen if you don’t supervise your kid and he/she simply doesn’t give food to your hamster for a couple of days. So elders should be a primary caregiver to pet hamsters.
Your Kid May Lose Interest for a Pet Hamster
This can easily happen. I am sure you have already seen this situation. Your kid is begging you for quite some time to buy him/her some toy. Eventually, you decide to fulfill your child’s wish and buy the toy. He/she is playing with the toy for a week or two and suddenly you notice that a precious toy is collecting dust in some corner of the house.
A similar thing can happen with a hamster and if you are a busy person, do not have the time nor will to take care of a pet, you will face the problem.
Hamsters are Nocturnal Animals
This means that hamsters spend most of the day sleeping and they are very active during night time. Ok, they wake up every two hours or so to take some food during the day but they are not in the mood for play at that moment.
If you have a small kid, it is natural that he/she will love to play with its pet but it is not a good idea to wake up a hamster just because your child wants to play with it.
Hamsters are rather grumpy, can nip or even bite if you disturb them while they are sleeping. Even though you think those small teeth cannot make too much damage comparing to other pets such as dogs, for example, hamsters bite still can be painful, especially for a kid.
Some of the hamsters will wake up around 7 pm, others even later, at 9 or 10 pm and If you have a kid that goes to bed early then he/she will hardly ever see his/her pet.
Another important thing – do resist the kid’s desire to place the cage in his/her room. Since the hamsters are active during the night, the noise can disturb your kid’s sleep.
Although these furry balls are very quiet pets, don’t produce too many sounds, still, they can make some noise by running on the hamster’s wheel or taking the water from the bottle or rustling through the bedding material. Hamsters like to put some seeds in the wheel and run, so those seeds will make a great deal of noise.
Of course that is why you should not put the cage in your bedroom neither.
Hamsters are Not Cuddling Pets
If your kid wants to have a pet that will snuggle in his/her lap and that he/she can cuddle while watching cartoons, the hamster is not the best option.
Hamsters are very curious creatures, great explorers, like to move, hate to sit in one, same position. It doesn’t mean that your kid cannot hold a hamster but this pet will quickly slip out of his hands and move further.
Hamsters are Masters of Escape
No matter how hard you try to make your hamster happy, he will always try to find a way to escape. This has something to do with his instincts and not with you personally.
They are small animals, that can escape easily, they can enter in any crack, hole, under the furniture… so it can be frustrating to look for a hamster all over the house. Some of them have even managed to open up their cage door and walk out.
Kids can be rather reckless and leave the door of the cage not properly closed or even open. Hamsters can easily run away from your child’s small hands.
Some of the hamster’s breeds smaller in size are very fast ( Dwarf hamsters) so if you want to buy a hamster for your kid, pick the larger ones such as Syrians. They are easier to hold as they are bigger and they are not so fast as their smaller cousins.
Are Hamsters Really Low-Maintenance Pets?
Hamsters are labeled as easy to care for, low-maintenance pets. That is why many parents pick this animal as a first-time pet for their kids. This is exactly what sellers want you to think, that hamsters are perfect pets for kids. But is it true?
Many people think that you just need to feed the hamster and that is it. But that is hardly it, proper care requires many kinds of research regarding every aspect of it, hamster’s enclosure, diet, behavior and problems related to it, common diseases and their symptoms, toys and other things to keep your hammy entertained, etc.
To get more info about hamsters I suggest you to read our article ”18 Most Important Things to Know About Hamsters Before You Get One as a Pet”
It is true that you do not have to spend to much time in play with your pet on a daily basis ( 15-20 min is just enough ) but you have to do it every day.
You have to make sure your hammy has a large cage ( don’t think you can place your pet in a small cage as it is a small animal ). He/she needs a lot of space and a lot of toys to keep him/her happy. It might happen that you do whatever it takes and you discover your hammy bored and unhappy. If he is not ill then you should think about the size of the cage and the toys he has, maybe you need to go shopping.
If you would like to know more about hamster’s cage and cage set up, do read our articles ”The Best Cage for Your Hamster” and ”What Does My Hamster Need in its Cage ( Cage Setup ).
One important remark – in a pet store you will find tons of different cages for hamsters but they are made to be attractive for your kid and not to be a perfect home for a hamster.
In most of the cases, they are too small but made in different colors, with some lights, some of them look like fairy tale castles, super fun and cute, look more like toys then a hamster habitat. Don’t let your kid decide which one you will buy. Bear in mind that hamster cage should be large ( the larger the better ) with a minimum 450 square feet of floor space (should be larger).
Final Thought
Hamsters are indoor pets. No matter you have a kid or not if you live in a small place forget about hamster as he really needs a lot of space.
Hamsters are good pets for school kids especially if you think that your kid is ready for some kind of obligation and commitment, not suitable for small kids though.
The good thing about hamsters is that they have a minimum odor, they are not expensive and they are pretty quiet pets. I am sure it will be very interesting and fun for your kid to watch a hammy playing in its cage.
