A PART TIME FURRY FRIEND (Hamsters)

Member Name: chrissypops

Product:	Hamsters
Date:	05/04/02 (603 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Teaches your child how to look after, care for pets, Lots of information about where they come from

Disadvantages: Extra hoovering hehhe(but not a lot)

One of the blessings with having a daughter at nursery is sharing the holidays with a….hamster. Yes a hamster, a furry, funny little creature, which seems to have an insatiable appetite for fresh fruit. Most nurseries and infant classes have a pet in the classroom. Sometimes it of the furry kind, hamster, gerbil and maybe a small rabbit. Or others can have fish or simple insects, but thank goodness no spiders.

I know usually these opinions generally deal with the keeping of hamsters as pet, this one being the same apart from its part time so to speak, but I also want to run through the benefits of a child bringing home a pet from school as well as general care.

This isn’t the first time Jessica has brought home the school pet, in fact the last half term holiday we had him for a week. Sud-nik, named after the Russian satellite, as he is indeed a Russian breed takes turns in going home at weekends and holidays. He must enjoy it because to be honest he is very tame, friendly and we have only uncounted a few nips to my daughters fingers when they are put where they are not wanted. Yes, hamsters do bit, but as a warning, usually because they are not being handled very well. Either that or a finger is poking him through the bars of the cage and he cant say * hey leave me alone I’m eating , sleeping etc* so he will nip.

In general, hamster’s are an easy animal to look after with relatively low starting costs. You can get a hamster start up kit which consists of a cage, food, bedding and of course a hamster for around £10 from a pet store. Of course these are juat a very basic cage but if you want to spend a little more you can buy a Rola-stat cage which basically has tunnels, sleeping quarters and other fun things to keep your hamster fit and healthy. These start from about £20 for a basic cage but you can add bits to it and make it as big as you wish.

Hamsters are very clean if looked after properly a
nd all it takes is 2 minutes to clean out the cage and put fresh sawdust over the base of the cage, fresh food, water and bedding. It’s a really good habit to teach your child at any age to have respect and love for any animal and really bring a pet home from school/nursery, is a good starting place for any child.

When I brought Spud-nik home and although hes a very friendly hamster Jess wouldn’t hold him at all. So all I did was showed her how to handle him and held him in my hands while she stroked him. After a few days of me doing this she decided she wanted to hold him, so I sat her down and told her to put her hands in her lap so I could place him there. She was beside herself and kept laughing as he sniffed and run around on her lap. I didn’t leave her alone with him just incase she dropped him or anything but she was fine. After about 10 minutes I asked her to go and put him in the cage and wash her hands. Remember with all pets washing of hands and good hygiene id really important. It doesn’t matter what pet we have, they can all carry diseases, which can be harmful to humans. So please remember to teach your child to wash their hands after handling a pet.

There is no stopping her now. After the first week of having Spud-nik from being scared of him she now handles him on her own. I was a little reluctant when she asked me to have him in her room but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I knew she wouldn’t be unintentionally cruel, but children tend to be a little rough sometimes with their love. Never the less I let her keep him in her room on the condition that if she lose him or was cruel I would take him back down stairs. Some might say that they wouldn’t of done this because after all Jess is only 4 so she is a little too young. Then again I felt she is old enough to accept the responsibilities of looking after him. Each day we clean him out, put fresh food and drink in for him and she plays with
him and puts him in and out of his cage.

It will be a shame to see him go on Monday but I’m sure we will have him again over a weekend or maybe the next holidays. I think its wonderful to have my child learn about the aspects of different animals, where they come from, how to look after them. In reality as well as an extension of the learning of preschool education, its given my daughter a lot of pleasure and joy looking after spud-nik. I’m not sure if I will actually ever buy a pet for her at this present time, I would be scared as in so many home that the novelty will wear off. But you never know in the near future and a hamster is a definite possibility. So next time your child is at nursery and the teacher asks for anyone to take him home for the weekend, take the opportunity to have him.

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