when you think of a pet to get for a child one of your first thoughts might be a hamster
but for many reasons they may not be the best option so today's video is mainly directed
at both kids wanting a pet hamster as well as parents considering getting their kid one
now of course this is not me saying that children can't own hamsters at all I know plenty of kids
who are way more responsible and mature than a lot of the adults that I know
but still in many cases, a hamster may not be the best pet to choose
for example if your parents are not animal people or they hate rodents
or they've already said no to getting a hamster consider waiting
often what happens is bringing a hamster or any pet really into that type of environment
is going to end up being very stressful for you and the pet
are you going to be able to provide everything that they need?
I get a lot of comments from kids whose parents will not allow them to properly care for their hamster
they won't let them upgrade their hamster's enclosure and if their hamster is sick they refuse to take them to the vet
which in the end is going to end with the hamster suffering
this statement also goes to parents please don't ever tell your child who does not have a steady income to provide the things for their pet
that they are a hundred percent responsible for the pet
because that is unfair
if your child wants a pet you have to be prepared to be a hundred percent responsible if the child becomes uninterested
or if the pet needs new supplies, more supplies,
proper supplies, you have to upgrade their enclosure
or if they become ill you have to take them to the vet
now on to specifically why I wouldn't consider a hamster to be the best pet for a child
hamsters are nocturnal/crepuscular so this is a big thing to consider
now not every hamster sleep schedule is going to be exactly the same
you can range from a hamster who is going to be waking up at 5 PM which is great
but you could also end up with a hamster who's not going to wake up till 12 a.m, 1 a.m pretty late like that
now for a lot of children they may have a curfew or a time where they have to go to bed by or they may not even be able to stay up
that late to be able to interact with their hamster
and so they're likely never going to actually get to see their hamster
it also isn't ideal for them to be waking their hamster up during the day just so that they can interact with them
hamsters are nocturnal there's no changing that if you want a pet
that is gonna fit their lifestyle and sleep schedule look into a pet that isn't nocturnal
not to mention that if you have the hamster's enclosure in your child's room
hamsters can be pretty loud so unless your child is a hard sleeper
your hamster may end up keeping them awake a lot
hamsters take up more space than you would think
they're not just going to conveniently sit on your child's nightstand
you're going to need a space with at least 20 inches by 40 inches in order to provide them with all of the enrichment that they need
pet store cages often do not have enough space leading to bored hamsters
who either are very inactive and just will only run in their wheel
or a hamster who is constantly chewing on the bars and climbing because they are trying to escape
if you're thinking the most you'll ever spend on a hamster is a hundred dollars you sadly are mistaken
for just an appropriately sized enclosure you're easily going to be spending between 100 and 200 dollars and that's not even including enrichment,
or possible cage upgrades in the future because your hamster needs more space
that's not including bedding and food that you're going to have to consistently buy throughout their life
and that's not even including vet care if they get sick or injured
which hamsters are exotic animals so they can't see a traditional dog and cat
vet they have to see an exotic vet which sometimes can be more pricey
so while hamsters do have shorter lifespans so you're not going to be spending nearly as much money as a dog or cat
you still are going to be spending a significant amount
hamsters can be unpredictable and bite pretty hard when they want to
hamsters are nothing like dogs and cats and they have not been domesticated for nearly as long
therefore when you bring a hamster home you're likely going to have to get them used to human interaction
and even then sometimes a hamster will literally want nothing to do with you
and would prefer to be just watched from afar
even the most tame hamster can still suddenly decide to bite you if they're scared or upset
Mabel my very tame hamster
took a nice chomp out of my pinky when I tried to stop her from lifting her play pen because
she just did not want me to stop her from doing that
so if you're somebody who's deciding to just stick their hand in your hamster's enclosure when they're sleeping and try to take them out
be prepared to get bitten because they're not scared to bite you
biting is one of their only defense mechanisms so if they are angry or upset you're you're gonna get bit
hamsters also aren't the cuddliest pets they're not just gonna sit there and want to be pet
and while of course there are some hamsters who are like that they may be calm or they'll let you hold them for longer periods of time
and they may like to be petted
that's not the case for the majority of hamsters most of the time they're going to be extremely fast
they're going to want to zoom around and explore things
and they probably aren't going to want to just lay with you
so for many kids this might be frustrating if they just want a pet they can relax with
hamsters are pretty small and fragile animals especially since they lack that depth perception
so they could jump from your hands at any moment if you're not being careful enough when holding and interacting with them
because if they decide that they no longer want to be held or they get spooked
they will jump because they they can't tell how far
the fall is and if they are really high up that could result in a serious injury
due to their size and speed it's very easy that a hamster could get squished
so if you have young children who are not very gentle
it's really important that they are being supervised when interacting with the hamster
hamsters are also very good Escape artists. It's important that once the hamster goes back into their enclosure that the lid is secure and closed
it's very easy to get distracted and forget to close the lid
and then you can wake up the next morning with a missing hamster
and because hamsters are so small
trying to find them can be a daunting task and
sometimes people won't even find their hamsters because they may end up in a small crack or crevice in your home
hamsters on average only live one and a half to two years and sometimes for unknown reasons they may even pass sooner than that
death can be a really hard topic to discuss
or even process for a young child
so it's going to depend on whether or not you're ready to have that talk with them yet
personally, I know a lot of parents who get hamsters for their children and
they one day suddenly die and instead of having the talk they just go out and they buy a new hamster
and just replace the old one and I just I
i don't think that's necessarily right
in my opinion
I think you should either be able to have the talk about death
or don't get a pet that has such a short lifespan
for many parents the lifespan of a hamster may also be a deal breaker for how much they want to spend on them
countless times have I been told how pointless it is to spend so much money
on something that isn't going to live a long time
but if that's how you feel about a life
I think you should go with a different pet
the lifespan of a living thing does not determine their worth you wouldn't see a person who is terminally ill and only has maybe a couple months to live and say
wow why are they doing that that's so pointless they're going to die
no matter how long you live on this Earth You should still be able to have all of the things you need to be happy and live out the rest of your life
in the end if you are a parent and you've decided to get your child a hamster as their first pet
I see no issue with that as long as you are involved
with teaching them how to properly care for the hamster
how to properly interact with them with supervision
and are going to take full responsibility of the extra costs and care it may take to have a hamster
if you are a child watching this and you still want to get a hamster I also see no issue with that
as long as you have fully recognized all of the things that I've talked about or you have no issues with them
you're able to provide your hamster with everything that they need and your parents are not going to be an issue
and they're going to allow you to take them to the vet and if you don't have a steady income they are willing to pay for
things like taking them to the vet or upgrading their enclosure
I think that is fine
if your parents are not okay with that and you don't have a steady income yourself
I would consider waiting to get a hamster because trust me
if you get a hamster and you're not going to be able to give them the proper care that they need or take them to the vet if they are extremely ill
you are going to feel so extremely guilty
so I hope this video has made the decision a little bit easier on whether or not you should get your kids a hamster
so I'll see you in my next video bye