Ever own a hamster?

[Biu]

I'm thinking of getting some sort of rodent to keep me company during summer school. Hamsters seem pretty manageable. Thoughts?

[PaulReedSmith]

they smell really really bad when the cage gets even fairly dirty...they also kick shaving sometimes out of the cage and it can make for quite a bit of vacuuming if you want to keep your rug really tidy. Their cage needs cleaning out at least 3 times a week, and yeah. They are fun though, but watch your fingers because they bite really deep.

In additon, the most fun thing is the tunnels you can make for them to crawl through.

I still think that birds are a lot more fun and easy to take care of, honestly.

If you want some kind of bird that you can actually handle, pet, etc...budgies, lovebirds, and other medium sized birds are great!

stay away from finches unless you just want to watch them. They are not really birds that you can handle/pet.

Birds are very low maintenance compared to hamsters, and dont smell, which is a big PLUS.
In addition, birds make nice sounds haha. I have 5 budgies.

[Smilemon]

I had a dwarf Hampster, they are really cute, not very messy, and easy to take care of. The only downside is the 1 year lifespan.... I got pretty attached to mine.. It was sad when it died.

[jerryjg]

I raise them. The fillets taste almost like quail when marinated and wrpped in bacom.

[theodie]

I'm thinking of getting some sort of rodent to keep me company during summer school. Hamsters seem pretty manageable. Thoughts?

....Dont take any Hampster tips off of Aceman!!!!!!

Remember the South Park episoide with Lemiwinks?????

[34029324079]

....Dont take any Hampster tips off of Aceman!!!!!!

Remember the South Park episoide with Lemiwinks?????

haha

theodie owns one?????

who on this forum hasn't owned a hamster!?!?!?!? lol

[Skarekrough]

who on this forum hasn't owned a hamster!?!?!?!? lol

*raises hand*

I never understood how rodents would be considered "companions."

[Christobevii3]

If you use decent caging material and have something more than one square foot, you only have to clean like once a week.

They are really easy, but they are up at night and will make you commit genocide if they are in your room.

[Rich_T]

My housemate has one. Stinky little bugger. Sort of cute though I suppose.

[Robert S.]

We have a hamster, an amazon parrot and a canary. The hamster is the cleanest of the lot and generally is the most fun to play with.

Hamsters can be biters but this one hasn't bit anyone yet and my daughter handles him daily. I prefer a hamster bite to what my parrot can do if he gets a hold of your finger.

Teddy bear hamsters have a lifespan of aprox 1000 days.

If you want a very cool and smart rodent with a deceint lifespan and good play-ability, get a rat. Rats dont have fancy cages made specifically for them like hamsters do so you'll need an aquarium with an attachable lid instead of the fancy plastic, wire and tubed hamster homes available on the market currently.

Most rodents are nocturnal and the wheel in hamster houses will keep you up all night if it is in the same room with you.

Having been married twice, having had two children and being the kind of guy that has owned most every animal variety at some point I can tell you this. They all smell funny if you don't clean them at least once a week.

This holds especially true for women.

[exnihilo]

If you want a very cool and smart rodent with a deceint lifespan and good play-ability, get a rat. Rats dont have fancy cages made specifically for them like hamsters do so you'll need an aquarium with an attachable lid instead of the fancy plastic, wire and tubed hamster homes available on the market currently.

BUY A RAT! +1.

Just, buy a girl rat. Those boy rats have ridiculously large balls, and well if you're going to be playing with him a lot, you might not want some rodent rubbing his junk all over your arm. I've owned both, but I have to say the hamsters we had were really playful and were pretty "smart" too.

cg

[jeremy]

im with rob, i think a rat makes a fine pet. they are smarter than a hamster too. dont get a white one with pink eyes, theyre creepy.

birds are cool but they can make horrendus noises. the cool birds are expensive and require lots of attention

with any pet you have, clean the cage atleast once a week

[Jimbo Jr.]

I'm thinking of getting some sort of rodent to keep me company during summer school. Hamsters seem pretty manageable. Thoughts?

I would honestly recommend getting a rat.

[PUCKBOY99]

Jeff H & Theodie used to be into gerbils......not sure if hampsters were as "enjoyable"




That was hard to even write !!!

[Eblis]

I had hamsters when i was young. Their bites do hurt like a ***** and if they have babies, they eat em...Thats weird. The cool things are definately the tunnels they make and if you get one of those clear plastic balls to put them in. Then you can let it run around the house in it...

Now i have a corn snake. He rules. He is extremely calm and dosent bite. They dont get too big and you wont have a problem with its eating habits. Ive had this guy for 9 years and every time i throw mice in there he eats em up like nothing. Good looking snake too.

[Carl762]

but they are up at night and will make you commit genocide if they are in your room.

Yup, they like to run in their little exercise wheels all ####### night long. Friend has two for his kids and when I sleep over in the living room, I yank the wheel, first thing. Then they start chewing on the cage wires. Doh@!!!!!
They do it on purpose. I'm sure of that.

[exnihilo]

Yup, they like to run in their little exercise wheels all ####### night long. Friend has two for his kids and when I sleep over in the living room, I yank the wheel, first thing. Then they start chewing on the cage wires. Doh@!!!!!
They do it on purpose. I'm sure of that.

Lol, yeah they do! I'd forgotten about all that. I guess once you've owned a "few" birds, the 'pets making noise' thing tends to fade. I still can't stand the sound of a dog or dogs barking out the window at every.... freaking..... thing......! Hence our cat, snake, and tarantula. Quiet animals.

cg

[tubeman87]

I had two hamsters....Bobby & Billy....they died...the end.

[34029324079]

haha

confounded hamsters that they are!!

[XSSIVE]

i bought a single dwarf hampster and this cool massive size tube cage thingy for it a few years back. i brought it home and all was well, then it gave birth to 4 babies. ok, no problem it was like buy one get 4 free LOL. then when the 4 little ones got older one got knocked up by one of her brothers and i had 4 more...this makes 9 now. soon after that another one gave birth to 5 more so i ended up with 14 of them which would all sleep in a huge clump at the top of the arc of one of the tubes. it was a bit crazy. a few died on their own i gave a bunch away and was left with 1 again which eventually died.

the moral?

make sure the one you buy isn't a knocked up hampster or you'll end up with a truckload of inbred hampsters LOL.

-Mike