A great first pet - at any age! (Hamsters)

Member Name: partyoffive

Product:	Hamsters
Date:	30/12/08 (53 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to look after, gorgeously sweet and can be affectionate

Disadvantages: none that don't apply to all pets

My first pet was a Syrian Hamster called Alice (so named because she was curiouser and curiouser) - it should be said that I was a grown up when I got her as my parents weren't fans of anything furred and feathered - but bringing her home from the pet shop with her attendant hamster starter pack, I was excited as any child.

She was a lovely little character, furry and sweet to look at obviously, but also she would come when she was called (presumably she wasn't sleeping - they aren't active in the day) and she never bit or scrabbled, content to sit on your lap and be petted. I have heard that Russian Dwarf hamsters can be a bit more grumpy and have a tendency to bite although I've never had one myself so I can't vouch for it personally.

The hamster itself is pretty cheap to buy, I see them in the pet stores for under £10 but you can spend a lot on the cage and accessories if you have a mind to - although the standard ones (with the plastic bottom and the cage top) aren't all that expensive and are easy to clean. Rotastak caging is plastic and modular so you can keep adding towers and tubes and changing them round to keep your hamster amused and give them exercise - I had some of this as well as the standard cage and she loved to run through it. She never escaped from as it slots together very securely.

Of course, they are little and sweet but their small size means that they are a little vulnerable to over-enthusiastic cuddles from very small kids. Also, for children, hamsters have the disadvantage of doing most of their entertaining stuff later in the day / evening which can mean that children are getting ready for bed before their pet is ready to play. That said, they are not hard or unpleasant to clean out, and they don't have many demands other than clean food and water and company and it is easy to train children on how to hold them properly and safely.

Summary: Lots of fun!