Sorry odd title!!

My kids have for years been asking for a hamster or gerbil and up til now I've resisted.  Too much hard word, too tempting for the dog (now dogs), I'll end up looking after it etc.  However I've just been in the garage to find my OH has bought a huge box of groovy hamster bits - cage, wheels etc - looks a bit like a toy box in there.  Apparently it was only £3 at a car boot sale - yes, but still no good to us if we don't have said hammie is it!??

So the upshot is that I feel a bit mean to keep saying no.  The dogs don't really go in the kids bedrooms anyway, unless invited; the children are 12 and 13 so easily capable of being careful and responsible; also I remember my sister had a hamster or two as a child and I do feel I'm denying them one of the pleasures of pet owning...

Do you have kids with gerbils or hamsters?  Assuming the kids are ok to handle and care for them are there other pitfalls we need to be aware of?  And a big thing for us - what do you do with them when you go away?

Any advice gratefully received :)

I used to have gerbils as a child. Either had a friend to come in and feed them or left them at a friend's house when we went on holiday. :-) If you get them from a breeder I think they will often rodent sit for you while you are on holiday as well. :-)

A bit off topic, but are hamsters best off on their own, or in twos?

I think best off on their own,if you dont want loads of babies that is ...thats only if you done know what sex they are like lol....

My mate kept Gerbils and Hamsters years ago and they used to multiply by the dozen...he used to keep the local pet shop well stocked up

Hey Philly - do they do ringcraft for hamsters?  Could keep J & L entertained for hours!

> I think best off on their own,if you dont want loads of babies that is

Do you know I hadn't even thought of that - not off topic at all cocopop, thanks

I was thinking they could have one each - there seem to be so many component parts to this boot sale hammie gear we've got

> Hey Philly - do they do ringcraft for hamsters?  Could keep J & L entertained for hours!

lol R dunno about that like Id love to see it though....think it might be a bit difficult placing the legs correctly haha and as for teeth checking ...wonder if youd have any fingers left

There is to my knowledge, only 1 species of hamster tht can live together.
Hamsters have to live seperate!!! they fight, and fight to the death!!!!
We had them as kids, my brother used to breed them LOL
I had them in my bedroom, and my mum never had to look after them!!!!
My son has had rabbits since he was 8, he is now 13 1/2. The only time I have had to look after them is when he is away!!!
Maybe I am just a strict mum, but they both have to do their Chores and thats it.
Lea :)

i think to be honest a rat is a much better animals , lot bigger but more fun i have owned rats  found the rex ones the best (bald type lol), hamsters are very quick to bite , rats are soo easy to train ..

Russian dwarf hamsters can live in groups, Syrian hamsters (ie your normal hamster ;-) ) need to be on their own, gerbils are better in groups (same sex unless you want lots more than you bargained for :-D ).

Thanks Lea, I just don't like the idea of animals having no company.

Hamsters are nocturnal creatures so might keep the kids awake running about in its cage or playing on its wheel.  For this reason they aren't ideal pets as if the kids want to play with them during the day they are fast asleep (the hamsters, not the kids!).

Gerbils, mice or rats might be a better small pet, although you might find the hamster caging not suitable for gerbils, and not big enough for rats.

As others have said, never keep two hamsters together as they will fight to the death.

Gerbils are great pets for responsible teenagers. They can have one each but in the same tank - just make sure you get two of the same sex. Don't trust the pet shop, check yourself - they're easy to sex. Gerbils are (if properly handled from a youngster) friendly and love attention, they won't keep the kids awake at night and if you get two and the kids get fed up of them at least they'll have each other for company. You can get all sorts of pretty colours too! For holidays I'm sure the kids will have friends that will be keen to look after them or get a neighbour to pop in and feed them. Gerbils don't smell like hamsters do either... or maybe it's because they like really deep shavings to dig in that keeps them smelling sweet.

Gerbils will eat out of a plastic cage.
Syrian hamsters (the usual big ones) have to live alone but after many years of owning them I still believe they are lovely pets although I now have rats and gerbils - in my experience, long haired male Syrians are the most laid back easy pets.

> they won't keep the kids awake at night

As long as you don't give them a noisy wheel. :-D One of my flatmates had gerbils.... and they drove another flatmate mad by running in the wheel all night - I remember waking up one morning to an arrangement or screwdrivers stuck through the bars on the top of the cage and the bars on the wheel so it couldn't go round. :-D Did look very funny....

lol - oops! I've never kept gerbils in cages, mine have always had tanks, and have never had a wheel, so maybe that's why I think they don't keep you awake all night :-D

> Gerbils will eat out of a plastic cage

Plastic tanks are ok - no edges to get hold off ;-)

I had hamster's as a child and as long as you handle them on a regular basis they are very friendly, the only drawback though is they sleep through the day and play at night and they can be quite noisey so maybe the  bedroom is not the best place for them especially if the kids are light sleepers. 

Gerbil's are more active through the day but you need to have 2.  They also live longer than hamster's (18 - 24 months on average), gerbils up to 3 - 4 years.  My son had 2 gerbils at the beginning of the year, but sadly within 2 months of each other we had to have them PTS due to skin cancer, aged 3, which they are prone too, so the vet said. 

I have a very nice neighbour who came in to feed and water them every day and to make sure they were still in the tank when we went away.  Forgot to say they chew/destory anything thats soft enough to chew and will escape if not secured in.  My OH had to make a metal cage round the water bottle as they chewed the soft pads that stuck the bottle to the side of the tank quite a few times.

On the plus side they are lovely little things, very funny and easy for kids to look after.

My two girls recently got two gerbils. I believe that under the recent animal welfare act gerbils can only be sold in pairs. Ours have been fine, girls don't seem to notice the noise they make at night. We have a neighbour who will look after them if necessary, but both our local pet shops offer holiday care for small pets at a very reasonable cost, compared with kennelling the dogs!! Sam.

They were in a tank - you can get metal wheels that hang off the side. :-D Personally I just used loads of shavings with mine so they could burrow and avoided the whole wheel business. ;-) They used to keep me awake by chewing up paper though....

Okay, I haven't read all this thread so sorry if I repeat a lot (had a busy day and just logged on quickly), but I bred hamsters for most of my life and have kept several hundred (last one only died a few weeks ago), I co-founded 2 national hamster clubs, I'm an international hamster judge, wrote several books on hamsters, so if there is anything, ask away. :)

Syrian hamsters must live on their own. Russian Campbells, Russian Winter Whites, Chinese and Roborovski (=these are all the species kept as pets) can live in pairs or groups.

The plastic cages with lots of tubes, little compartments etc are awful and dangerous :( and I campaigned for years to try to get them to be banned for sale for Syrians -they can at a pinch be used for the dwarf/small species (technically speaking the Chinese aren't  dwarf hamsters, but they are as small) but nothing bigger, and they are not very escape proof -plus they are very difficult to clean out. Go for a simple wire cage any time. :)

All, thanks for your advice.  I do need to consider whether they should both have a critter each and in their own rooms; or whether I'm expecting the small furries to share living space and if so, where.

Marianne, thank you for the feedback about the plastic cage bits.  if I'm not tied to that as a possible dwelling I can have a proper think about what might be suitable.  I'll have a look at the breeds you've mentioned.

Again, if I'm not obliged to use the car boot stuff it means we could also consider something that can live outdoors - I've always liked guinea pigs, might these be a good alternative?

>I've always liked guinea pigs, might these be a good alternative?

Guinea pigs are marvellous pets, but don't thrive outdoors in our damp winters. They need to be kept indoors (in the house, or a dry shed or garage) during the winter months. And they can't be kept singly - they're a group animal and as such the AWA states they must be kept with their own kind.

We've got a pair of house guinea pigs and they're the funniest creatures I've ever met.  They make great family pets and keep the kids occupied for hours on end (us adults as well, if I'm honest!).

> We've got a pair of house guinea pigs

Where do they live indoors?  How do you manage with dogs too?

I quite like the idea of something bigger than a gerbil or hamster and we can accommodate them in the garage or one of the sheds in the winter.  If they are inside what sort of space do they need?

If you need animals that can live outside, it's only really rabbits that are suitable without extra heating. Have to say though, you don't get much interaction with pets that live outside, they become far more interesting and tame indoors. :) My guinea pigs live in a big cage in the kitchen. :)

My piglets are in a big cage in the lounge (next to my desk) so they're very much the centre of the family.  We've got an oldish rescue dog (she's 9) so she's not too interested in the piglets but when we have them out on the floor in their run she's in a different room - it wouldn't be fair on the piglets to have her in the same room as she does like to answer when they squeak and she'd probably deafen them that close to their heads!!

I recently had to have my hamster PTS.
He was a syrian hamser bought from the pet shop. Was an adult when i got him (not sure on age) as he didnt grow at all while i had him.
He exceeded his expected age and had a very happy life full of fun :-)
They are great pets but can be a pain when you first get them and have to train them to be handled. They do bite until they realise its nothing to be scared of so your kids need to be prepared for that and not let it put them off.
I generally found that he needed to be cleaned out about once a week and came out most evenings for a run around either in his ball or out. I also had a collection of toys which i used to alternate putting in his cage so he was never bored.
They are very interesting creatures to watch and can be trained into being awake during the day and asleep at night. Thney can also be trained to toilet into a certain area(you can get hamster toilets, although a jam jar would do!) but i found a whip round in the cage with the nozzle of the hoover picked up all his bits of poo!!! They are very pleasant animals and will give you as much as you give them-much like every other animal.

Hamsters are better off by themselves cause they will fight unless you get them lil weee hamsters I believe siberian hamsters- Dagu's are better in pairs and so are rats- personally to this day my rodents of choice is a rats :-) I find less likely to be bit by a rat but thats just my opinion.

My children have had hamsters, rats, rabbits, ferrets which they looked after themselves. The rabbit mind you I did rehome cause my daughter just was not giving it the time it needed so better to be on a farm. My son is now just 13 so have always had animals the birds n dogs are more mine lol

When we did go away for a weekend and brought the dogs the hamsters were fine I just gave them more food and rigged up another water bottle since it was only a couple of days.

you sound like you have an amazing household of animals marianneB!!

Guinea pigs are fab.  They are sooo funny and i have found them easier to handle than hamsters due to their size.  They also live longer too - ours all made it to about 7 or 8 years old.  I love that little juddering noise they do and their whole body shakes when they do it!

I have 2 boys, 9 yrs old & 10 years old. They have a hampster each and take care of all the cleaning out & feeding. I check daily that the hampsters have been given thier water & food (the kids sometimes forget the water).
We have a cat so that is the biggest worry, making sure the cat doesn't think they're a snack. Other than that the olnly down side is the possible noise at night time. One of the hampster chews the bars on her cage evey nioght and you would not believe what a racket it makes :( last night she woke me up at 2am, so I was scabbling 'round the house looking for something that may keep her occupied (ended up with a loo roll inner stuffed full of tissue and a big piece of card wedged in the cage over the corner that she make all the noise in).

When we go away we always have a family member to stay at home to look after all the pets (dog, cat, rabbit, fish pond, hampsters), but as hampsters are so portable it would be easy for somebody to care for them at thier house, or have somebody come in to check on them. Basically you could put a weeks supply of food in the cage and that would last as hampster hoard thier food, not gorge it down like a dog, but they can nock a water bottle off, or a water bottle could spring a leak, so daily checks for that reason would be best.

> I've never kept gerbils in cages, mine have always had tanks, and have never had a wheel

I had gerbils when I was little, they lived in a big tank and we used to put peat in the bottom anout 5 inches deep and then sawdust on top, as the tank was glass you could see the burrows they made in the peat, they love burrowing :)

> If you need animals that can live outside, it's only really rabbits that are suitable without extra heating. Have to say though, you don't get much interaction with pets that live outside, they become far more interesting and tame indoors. :-) My guinea pigs live in a big cage in the kitchen. :-)

I hate to see rabbits stuck in a hutch at the bottom of the garden. I have 18 rabbits here at the moment. 16 of them live in the garden in 2 groups, each group has a large shed (12' x 6') with a 28' X 10' aviary attached.
The other two are giant french lops who live as house rabbits. They don't have a cage and have free run of the house, they are trained to use a litter tray and don't make any mess, although they will steal veggies from the fridge if I'm not quick enough. :)

Some rabbits are also long lived, my oldest, a mini lop, is nearly 12 and still going strong.

Ferrets make excellent pets, we have 7 of them ,so clean, clever, can take them for walks, if handled from being young, they are excellent, we have a huge outside aviary where they live, and run and climb in, they eat dry food, plus mince, chicken raw, and dont smell that bad, all out jills(girls) are spayed, but the boy is intact, bless him, he's the softest of the lot!!
I have owned Ferrets for 10 years, and cant praise them enough!!

>I hate to see rabbits stuck in a hutch at the bottom of the garden.

I think the AWA makes keeping a single rabbit alone in a hutch in the garden illegal, doesn't it? They must have the company of either their own species of their owner.

>> I think the AWA makes keeping a single rabbit alone in a hutch in the garden illegal, doesn't it? They must have the company of either their own species of their owner.

I'm afraid this is still the sad and lonely fate of thousands of rabbits in this country. It's easy to forget something that is out of sight at the end of the garden. Rabbits are I believe the 3rd most commonly owned pet, but many are left to die or abandoned every day. They are still considered disposable by many.

It is something I really don't understand, surely if you take on a pet, whether a dog or a fish you are responsable for it's welfare for life.

>I'm afraid this is still the sad and lonely fate of thousands of rabbits in this country.

It is. :( But at least now the owners can be prosecuted.

>> It is. :-( But at least now the owners can be prosecuted.

Although in reality very few will be. :-( Of course then theres another problem, if a prosecution lead to someone being baned from keeping animals how could this be policed.