Ham... ster..?

Question

i am 14.should i get a hamster?plz don't say any types because i kno i want a boy and a girl campbell. i want babies.i read everything there is to hamsters but just in case can u give me websites?hamster websites would be great!ty! and plz give your personal opinion on if a 14 year old should get a hammy. ty! demi

Answer 1

i have had several hamsters and i breed some campbells on accident. it was a fun experiance but a big responsibility. if you have you siblings or a loud house it might not be the best idea. mother hamsterrs will eat thier young if its too noisy (they see it as a threat) and if the door bell rings too. also you have too make sure you get them seperated soon enough. at a certain age the guys will breed again with their mom and sisters. like i said its fun but you should consider this b4 buying and breeding them. =]  14 is a good age too. you would prolly do beterthen me, i was 12  -good luck if you decide too   -hugs you can IM or email me if you want some more info them =]

Answer 2

Well sure I am 12 and I have 1 fish 1 dog 1 chinchilla and 1 Hamster and i take care of the chin and hammie my self and I am 12 as i said. I have a Argente Cambell Dwarf Hamster and I had a Syrian before. Try a cambell they are so fun to watch and cute. I researched a lot of mounths before I ask my parents for a pett, check out these sites:

http://www.geocities.com/aaahamsters/Arg...

http://www.geocities.com/AAAHamsters/

http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/about...

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/hamsters/...

http://www.petsworld.co.uk/hamsters.htm

and for supplies and cages

http://www.petco.com

http://www/petsmart.com

ALSO

Even hamsters housed in quiet rooms still need hiding places within their tanks to feel secure in their surroundings. Empty tissue boxes and round oatmeal containers can perform double duty as both gnawing toys and hiding places. Hamsters can be cranky if disturbed during their daytime sleeping hours, so try cleaning, feeding and handling in the late afternoon or evening. Also you shouldnt put different sexes together because theycan be territorial expesially females. Also because of babies. And if you want babies becareful ask these questions to yourself, Can i find a good home for them? Can i support all of them? Can i afford to buy extra cages until i can find the babies home? Can I keep them all if I want all of them? Cant they reproduce QUICKLY? Do I know that they can give birth up to12 babies a litter? Also can I becareful not to touch the babies until they grow fur?

To let you know some moms can eat there babies! Before you start breeding or pairing them up try one alone first! You really should think, and ask a local vetranarian if you are ready.

Also you will need more food, bedding, cages, vet bills for emergencys, space, patients, money, toys, treats, water, time, and wood and cleaning! And think they can die easily while in labor,after labor getting eaten,and just by fighting.\

And Facts:

Female: Sow

Male: Boar

Young: Pups

Life Span: 1-3 years

Litter Size: 4-12 pups

Birth Weight: 2-5gms

Eyes Open: 14 days

Gestation Period: 16 days

Average Weight: Male 85-140gms / Female 95-120gms

Sexual Maturity: Male 6-8 weeks / Female 4 weeks

Weaning Age: 3 weeks

Diet: Omnivorous

Habitat: dry places, on steppes, sand dunes, borders of deserts. Common hamster also found on agricultural land and river banks.

Life-span: about 2 years.

Food: mainly seeds, grasses, root vegetables, fruits, corn and pulse crops. hamsters need a little ball to run in.

Most hamsters are nocturnal and are rarely active during the day.  

Hamster burrows can be as deep as 1.5 m (5 ft) below the ground.  Dwarf hamsters, unlike their Syrian cousins, are more social with their own species and sometimes live in pairs or very small groups, as long as they are introduced to each other at a young age. In the wild, hamsters will line their tunnels with grasses and wool or hair shed from other animals to help maintain a fairly constant temperature in their burrow (often around 60°F), no matter the outside temperatureLike other rodents, a hamster's teeth grow continuously throughout their lifetime. To help keep their teeth worn and clean, offer suitable chew toys on a regular basis.One of the most common hamster health problems, WET TAIL is a bacterial disease that causes severe diarrhea, caked f***s around the a**s and tail, loss of appetite and lethargy. Animals afflicted with this potentially lethal, highly contagious illness stay hunched over when moving, and may constantly cry out in pain. Time is of the essence, so it's important to seek veterinary care immediately. Treatment involves antibiotics, fluids and supportive home care. Hope I helped!

Answer 3

http://russiandwarfhamsters.tripod.com/h...

This is a good site if your going to get dwarfs

Answer 4

You should if you think you have the responsibility.

Some sites:

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pag...

http://www.simplepetcare.com/pet-care/10...

http://www.hamsterific.com/HamsterCare.c...

http://www.hamsterhideout.com/allabthams...

http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/hamst...

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/rabbit...

http://www.aspca.org/site/DocServer/Hams...

http://www.myhammie.com/

http://www.hamsterific.com/HamsterUniver...

All these sites helped me out when I was getting a hamster.

The bottom link is a list of foods that are safe for hamsters, and ones that aren't. The safes ones are at the top, and the un-safe foods at the bottom. That site also says: "Remember that sugar should be avoided with Campbell's dwarves as they are prone to diabetes so no fruits, corn, peas or carrots for them or anything containing alot of sugars."

Hope this helps, and good luck!!!

Answer 5

http://www.pgaa.com/burrow/general/hamst...

http://www.hamster-palace.com/

and yeah,i think a 14 year old should get a hammy.its a great pet.very fun and easy to take care of!:Dhave fun with your new hammy!

Answer 6

I definitely someone of your age should get a hamster. They're pretty simple first pets, but they teach responsibility. I really feel you should rethink you decision on breeding though. It's best to start slow. Just because you've read everything doesn't mean you're ready. If you've never even owned a hamster before then you don't have enough experience to breed.

Have you considered the money and time that will need to go into breeding? You're going to need at least two separate cages. Once the mom is ready to give birth the father needs to be taken away from her. A father hamster will torment the mother, eat the babies, and impregnate babies and mom again. It's unhealthy for a hamster to have back to back pregnancies, especially considering she may be too young to be having babies in the first place. A pregnant and feeding mom needs extra food and bedding, and a very clean cage. You'll be buying double or triple of everything. And what about emergency trips to the vet for mom or the babies?

It's very rare for all the babies to survive. Some are stillborn. Mom may eat some, this is natural for them. If she doesn't have enough time or isn't producing enough milk she'll eat them. Some may be born with a defect, she may eat these or they'll die on their own. And accidents happen, especially with first time moms.

Are you ready to care for the babies if mom is unable? There's a possibility of mom dying during labor. And some hamsters just aren't meant to be moms. She may have the babies and just ignore them. Then you'll need another cage to separate the babies from mom. And you'll have to be feeding them almost constantly, and make sure they're always warm enough.

What do you plan on doing with the babies? This is something you should have planned before they're born. Are you going to keep them? If so they'll need to be separated at a few weeks age. Dad may get territorial if you put the boys with him. He may fight and kill one or all of them. Are your cages big enough for all the hamsters you'll have? I've seen litters of 20 or more. If you're going to give them away or sell them you'll want to have homes planned for them. A good breeder has loving, caring homes lined up far before babies are born. If you plan on not keeping them and don't have definite homes you can be in trouble. You may end up keeping a lot of the litter. Once they're older people don't find them as cute and you'll have a hard time homing them.

I would stick to one hamster, or two of the same s*x. And remember any time you have more than one hamster you run the risk of fights. Dwarf hamsters are more social than syrians, but are still known to fight. And fights end in death of one or both hamsters most of the time. Hope I could help!

Answer 7

I got one a year ago, but it didn't do anything so I gave it to a friend. They are easy to look after so you should be fine.

Answer 8

Yes get a ham.....ster..

lol here is some webs i found :)

http://www.allaboutpets.org.uk/Pet-Leafl...

http://www.thehamstersite.com/hamster_in...

http://www.angelfire.com/tn/allabouthams...

good lucky

flo

-x-

Answer 9

capybara!

Answer 10

I would highly suggest getting a same s*x pair to start with, until you are comfortable with the hamsters and their habits.

Who knows, you may get annoyed with their constant night running around and decide you don't want tons more making more noise. Once you get the hang of hamster care- oh, at least two years with a same s*x pair- then purchase a BREEDING pair from a BREEDER. Never get breeding hamsters from a pet store. More on why later.

Are you ready to control the baby population?

Hamsters mate and them mate again IMMEDIATELY after the babies are born, and then IMMEDIATELY after those babies are born, etc. It will make the female weak and sick and shorten her life.

IF you insist:

Do you have a small animal vet and funding in case the pregnancy or birth goes wrong? Or if one severely injures the other?

Do you know both of their medical histories? Pet store hamsters should not be bred, as you don't know their family history with defects or injuries. The hamsters you have now may even be inbred. Inbred babies can be born without limbs or without eyes. There is nothing that can be done, and they will either die, or be put to sleep by your family after you cannot afford vet bills or find homes.

If you got them from a breeder, call and ask the breeder's advice.

Are you planning to keep the babies or adopt them out?

If you are planning on keeping them, you need to get enough living spaces for them- new cages, etc.

If you are going to adopt them out, you should have enough homes BEFORE the babies are conceived.

How old is the female?

If she gives birth and decides she isn't ready, she will eat her babies.

Completely true- you can YouTube it, and there are videos of this phenomenon. Are you ready to see that in your bedroom?

The male needs to either not be housed with her during the pregnancy, or removed IMMEDIATELY after the babies are born, or he will impregnate her within minutes or hours or birth, that's how hamsters work.

Do you know enough not to try and change the bedding for a week or so after the babies are born, so as not to upset the mom? If they smell like humans, she will eat them. This means, DON'T pet the babies until they have weaned off the mother's milk.

That is a lot to think about and do research into.

Hope it helps your decision. :]

Answer 11

yes you should get one and both genders have there false the girl will be moody with her babies and the boy is to himself but you should get one type hamsters in google that should give you something

Answer 12

I think it's great to get a hamster. They can be fun pets to watch & while they aren't exactly lap pets they'll let you hold them if you work with them enough and show them you are a friend. :P

But you should think very long and very hard before you decide that you want babies. They are cute, but that's no reason to risk hamster lives to have them. Are you going to keep all of the babies? If not, do you know exactly who is going to take them, no matter how many? Having babies is always a risk to the life of the mommy hamster, as well. If you let her get pregnant, are you willing to risk losing her and the babies? I'm not trying to lecture you or anything, I just don't want you to lose a hamster that you love.

Shelters aren't just for dogs and cats. :(

I'd recommend getting two of the same s*x.

Answer 13

You should get a hamster, that is if you are responsible. Also, if they are not "potty-trained", you have to clean the gross peed-on bedding. Hamster's do smell, but use your best judgment on if you want to get a hamster. ( I recommend dwarf hamster's because if they bite, they have smaller teeth that normal hamsters.)

Answer 14

Well, first off, do you have the money needed to buy the hamsters and all the supplies needed for them? Do you have money to continue to provide care for you hamsters? If so, I would highly recommend getting a hamster. I had my first hamster when I was 12. However, I do think you need to rethink about getting a male and female pair. What are you going to do with the babies? If you keep them, will you have the money, space, and time to care for all of them? And if you're going to give them away, what are the chances that you won't be able to find them homes? Not everyone is looking to get a hamster just like that. Do you have any other pets that might pose a threat to you hamsters? Such as a dog or cat. Will you be able to keep your hamsters safe from such dangers? I would highly recommend that you think about getting a same s*x pair, or just one hamster.