Can I Take Care Of A Pet Hamster?

Do you have children younger than 4 years old?

Do you mind having a pet that will not live for very long?

Are you prepared for the rising costs of keeping a hamster?

Can you provide a place for a hamster cage where hamsters won't be disturbed while sleeping?

Can you commit to spending time interacting with your hamster every day?

Can you provide adequate bedding, a water bottle, an exercise wheel, chew toys, a house, and a food dish for your hamster?

Do you have other animals like a cat or a dog?

Can you find someone to look after your hamster while you are away from home?

Hamsters are not a good pet choice for very young children. They are small animals that can be easily squished by children and they are known to bite when maltreated. They can be great pets for a bit older kids. As the kids grow up and mature, they’ll develop a gentler touch and better understanding of how to behave around animals, which will help your hamster to respond better to being around humans.

Depending on the type of hamster, they usually live for around two years. If you or your children are easily attached to pets, you may want to consider a longer-lived animal.

The initial cost of buying a hamster is usually quite affordable, but this can rise with the ongoing cost of caring for them. You’ll need to consider how much specialist housing, food, bedding, toys, holiday care, and veterinary fees will be, and if you need to separate dwarf hamsters because of fighting, you’ll also have to double up on most of these costs.

Hamsters do not like being disturbed when they’re sleeping, so it’s best to keep them somewhere quiet and away from loud kids or other sources of loud sounds.

No matter what species of hamster you choose, you’ll need to spend time interacting with your pet every day, being as gentle and positive as possible. Some hamsters prefer to live alone, while others like to live in a pack, so make sure you know what your pet needs before bringing them home.

Inside the hamster cage you'll need to provide soft and absorbent bedding, a water bottle, an exercise wheel, chew toys, a house, and a food dish. Keep in mind that hamsters like and need to chew on items so wood, cardboard, plastic, and other items that can be chewed may not last very long inside the enclosure.

Hamsters have strong survival instincts, and they don’t like coming into contact with animals bigger than themselves. As they’re nocturnal, it’s best not to keep them with pets that are very active in the day and likely to disturb their natural sleep patterns. It’s up to you to protect your hamster from becoming stressed by other pets.

You can take care of a hamster as a pet.

If you go off on holiday, you’ll need to find someone to look after your hamster every day while you’re away. It’s best to keep them in their home environment rather than being moved, but at the same time, they shouldn’t be left unattended for long. It’s usually relatively easy to move your hamster’s cage to their carer’s house, although you should make the journey as calm as possible for your pet.