At one point or another, your kid will likely ask you for their own family pet, and in most cases, this family pet will be a hamster. While hamsters can make an outstanding starter family pet for some kids – they are lively, adorable, and relatively low upkeep compared to other animals – they do need mindful, mild handling, and may bite if they feel risky in little hands.
It’s almost particular that a young child won’t have the ability to deal with a hamster appropriately (capture too difficult or stop by mishap), which is why it’s finest to wait up until your kid is at least 6 years or older. Even then, hamsters require to be dealt with just with adult guidance by kids under 8 years of ages.
We’ve noted a couple of advantages and disadvantages to help you make an educated choice prior to bringing a hamster into the family.
PROS
- Hamsters can be tamed if had fun with frequently and end up being rather caring and social.
- These animals are undoubtedly adorable and love to play.
- Their real estate set-up is relatively low upkeep – they need a spacious cage, food, water, bed linen, workout wheel and nesting box.
- They are reasonably economical
- They teach kids duty
- They don’t use up a great deal of area
- They choose living solo, so you don’t require to pair. They won’t get lonesome or bored as long as they have a lot of toys and devices to keep them hectic.
CONS
- Totally grown hamsters can take a number of weeks to tame.
- Like all animals, they might require medical intervention throughout their life. Hamsters are susceptible to a bacterial illness called damp tail, along with oral issues, pneumonia, skin inflammations, diarrhoea, abscesses and tumours. You can anticipate to pay the exact same veterinarian rate for a hamster, as you would any animal.
- Hamsters require tidy cages to keep them from getting ill. If their cage isn’t cleaned up routinely (a minimum of when a week), it can smell.
- They can quickly get lost in your kid’s bed room, and have the ability to squeeze into small holes and concealing locations.
- They don’t connect well with other animals in the home, consisting of dogs and cats.
- Hamsters like operating on their wheel during the night and can be loud and interrupt your kid’s sleep.
- They have a brief life span. Domesticated hamsters normally just live for 2 to 3 years, while Syrian hamsters might live somewhat longer.
Keep in mind to adopt, don’t shop
When little animals like hamsters are raised for family pet shops, they are often maltreated and pushed into terrible conditions; if you’re thinking of embracing a hamster, call a regional rescue organisation initially, and prevent family pet shops.
