Do hamsters make a good pet?

Answer 1

The answer will depend a lot on who the pet is for and the lifestyle of that person. In general, hamsters need little care. They need a clean cage, clean water, healthy food, and excercise. However, they can be sensetive to rough handling and can bite, especially if they were not handled much as babies. They can be territorial and don't like others around them. Hamsters are also escape artists so if you have any cats at home, a hamster may not be a good choice. But if whoever wants the hamster can care for it properly and meet it's needs in a responsible way, hamstes are cute and interesting animals to have around.

Answer 2

Hamsters are cute little pets, but they have their pluses and minuses. They are relatively low maintenance, so you just have to clean the cage when needed, and make sure they are properly fed and have enough water. They hardly ever need medical attention. Some are nice and calm, but some are skittish and bite. It just depends on what you take home. They are very active, especially at night, and love to run for hours in their wheel. It can get pretty noisy when you're trying to sleep. There were many times when I had to put mine in the bathroom with the door closed. Hamsters like to climb, and will constantly try to escape their cage so I would not recommend them for small children. They are territorial so you can't really keep more than two together in a cage. And do NOT keep a male and female together unless you want a bunch of hamster babies! Not a good thing. They have a life span of about three years.
I loved all my hamsters. If noise doesn't bother you, go for it.

Answer 3

They make great pets because they look good and they normally have great health

Hamsters are easy pets for practically any family. They have simple needs and are cheap to keep. Provide a dry living space outfitted with a gnawing log and a hiding place and a hamster is content.

There are two main types of hamsters suitable to bring into your home -- the golden, or Syrian, hamster and the dwarf. Dwarf hamsters are not as friendly as the golden, are smaller and can give birth to eyeless offspring. If you must have two golden hamsters, keep them separated or they will injure or kill each other. The dwarfs have no problem living together.

Hamsters are very economical pets. You can buy them for as little as £5 each and their diet won't break your budget either -- they eat small quantities of fruits and vegetables.

Hamsters like interacting with people and might live a happy life in domesticity, but not for very long. They have a life span of only 1,000 days, so you might want to include the cost of a replacement pet. Your total cost of bringing home a hamster can easily be under £100.

they are lovable!
you will be addicted to them (like me) haha.
just require a cage, bedding, water bottle, wheel, hide-out and food.
It's cheaper than rearing a dog, smaller than a rabbit or guinea pig.
teach your kids to be patient loving and kind towards animals.
teach them to learn to cope with the eventual loss of a pet. =)

Hamsters are docile pets with clean habits. They make good pets that are inexpensive to keep. They are short lived usually enjoying 1 - 2 years of age but they may survive up to 5 years

Answer 4

Hamsters are cute and all but they don't really make good pets. They sleep all day, they are not very friendly, they always bite me when I pick them up, and they don't live very long. The average hamster lifespan is about 2-3 years.

Answer 5

First of all, I have to say something in regards to "Crystal S" and her comment: I believe she doesn't know anything about hamsters here....

She says they are very dirty and require a lot of care and cleaning and cats are easier....
Hamster: requires food (generally a scoop will last 4-7 days depending on the appetite), a water bottle (you can have a bottle last a week), exercise (you can buy a wheel that goes directly into the cage), cleaning (once a week throw out the old shavings and if things are dirty scrub the items and dry them before putting them back into new shavings), you can give your hamster small pieces of fruits and veggies as treats or buy things from the store that will last a few days or longer.
Cat: requires food (pretty much a daily thing), bowl of water (pretty much a daily thing or every other day) cleaning (don't you love the smell of kitty litter that's full of poop that you have to clean pretty much daily or else it starts to smell up your house??) Treats (you have to buy those from the store) and then you have vet trips/bills as well as exercise (If your cat won't play on it's own you have to play with it unless playtime includes scratching things or climbing your curtains...not saying every cat does that but I have seen some that have)...

Now, correct me if I'm wrong here but doesn't this hamster seem like a lot less work than a cat??? Yeah, I thought so.... And less money too considering the average vet bill will cost you about $30..... now that's not including getting your cat fixed or declawed if you choose that route...
Sure a hamsters life span is a lot shorter but you could buy probably 30 hamsters for the money it would cost you to pay for a cat for one year!!

I think the real question isn't do they make good pets it's do you want something that is small and you won't see all the time because they are nocturnal? Hamsters can be very entertaining to watch, they love to play with things, can run around like morons (granted so can a cat or dog), they will not make much noise (if any at all), they can be held and cuddled with (it's encouraged to hold them and create that "bond" as it tames them and gets them used to you), and you can go away for a week and know that you have nothing to worry about in regards to your pet going hungry or thirsty or have to get somebody to go into your house to care for it or put it in a kennel....Just top up the food and throw in some extra treats (fruit/veggie/store bought...like a nut bar) and they're fine.

I loved my hamster very much...she passed away the end of Jan at 2.5 years of age. I got her when I was feeling really down and she was my pride and joy..... My husband got one as well and she has provided many smiles to him in down times...she is his little girl.... not saying anything bad about our mice, we love them as well, but this post is about hamsters.

For other info or looks at our hamsters/mice please go to http://4einc.info and click on the "our pets" button.

Answer 6

Sure they can be good pets. They get attached to you just like a cat or dog would. They even understand you. They're not that expensive, so go ahead and get one. Personally, I like the female hamsters better, but get them alone. If you buy two females, they'll live fine when young, but will start fighting when older and give off a strong odor to protect their territory (the opposite of the usual females). The male hamsters are okay, but they usually fight and they are not as "cuddly." BUT they do not give off odor even if there are two of them. If you're planning to get two, get them young. If you get a male and female, well, you know that they will reproduce. Good luck!

Answer 7

i like having hamsters as pets. there cute, tiny, and also entertaing to watch. my roommate just bought one and because of the style of cage we have it in it makes a MESS, it likes to dig in the food bowl and the food bowl is on top of everything.

they can small but you just need to clean there cage reguarly, i think about once a week is what i read for hamsters...you'll know when it needs cleaned.

i think the only bad part about them as pets is unlike dogs and cats you can't really cuddle with it ort anything. you can hold him and somewhat pet him but it's not the same.

Answer 8

Depends on who you are buying it for...they dont live long and they need to be taken care of. Not like a cat which pretty much takes care of itself. But if you decide on a hamster get a female, they dont smell as bad.

Answer 9

Yes they can
We have two dwarf hamsters in our house.
One is my son's and one is my daughter's
If you get them when they are young and play with them every day then they become very friendly.
You can actually get them to come to you when you are playing with them and even when you are trying to get them out of their cage.
Like any pet it is the time that you put in for how they turn out.

Answer 10

Well, I had a hamster once. Named Harriet. She was my pride and joy. They do not live very long. Like mice or rats.