well, i want to say syrian, but saying that you mention that you got starter kits and they usually tend to be far too small for these big guys. maybe give the cage dimensions of give a link to them. the smaller types, chinese and russian dwarfs, are known to be a bit more nippy but with regular handling they will easily tame. if you do get hamsters make sure you only get 1. even the dwarfs can end up fighting and causing damage to each other.
i would say a far better option than hamsters would be mice, they are so easy to handle, rarely if ever bite, and are fun to watch. both hamsters and mice are nocturnal but mice arent cranky ifyou wake them up to play with them. mice can smell a bit, but if you clean them out twice a week its easily kept down and females tend to be less smelly than males.
no matter what you get, you are better off getting them from rescues than buying from a pet shop, give needy pets homes instead of supporting these big pet shops
another vote for syrians here, i've had experience of the smaller hamsters and never enjoyed it!
they can be very grumpy if you wake them up and try to handle them straight away
i've just gotten another and am in the process of hand taming her - she's very quick.
they need a lot of time and patience - something your children will need to realise very quickly if they are to enjoy their pet and not just see him/her as a hindrance or a chore
mice are nice to keep, but you need a specialist mouse/dwarf hamster cage to keep them in or they can squeeze through the bars and be off when kept in standard hamster cages
the smaller gap barred cages can be a lot more expensive too.
i keep mine in wooden boxes we built ourselves
and plastic storage boxes as they're easy to clean
i have cage and aviary wire over the top of the boxes, but with the boxes with babies/hoppers in i leave the original lid on with small holes drilled in for air flow - as they can get through the C&A wire.
well i personally would not keep a syrian in a cage that small, but each to their own. they grow too large and have far to high energy levels to be happy in there in my opinion. we kept ours in 3-4ft glass tanks with home made wooden levels and tons of toys to keep them active, they also had at least an hour every night out of the cage running around on the sofa with us. a friend kept 1 in a cage around that size a long time ago, infact it may have been a bit of a smaller cage, and all it did through the night was chew the bars through boredom, it ended up with a bald patch on its nose from continually chewing, eventually one night it started on the plastic base and escaped, was never seen again, though i think their dog may have something to do with that :eek:
preloved etc - this is how i had mine given, she is a lot tamer than pet shop hamsters too
my previous three were from P@H and a local pet shop
the shortest lived girl was from the local place, lasting only 11 months
the previous P@H ham was 23 months when she had a stroke
cage chewing is annoying, i have a massive cage and they still do it, i get mine out every night when i have them, with me or in their balls
i think i's just a thing they do in barred cages to be honest
with the current, i think she's after seeing the mice off, as she is right near them until i move the TV after christmas
i do agree with kelly though - those do seem on the small size for a sy.
the next size up in those style of cages would be ideal imo
I would certainly change the hamster wheel pictured in the Argos photo.
My little darling of a Winter White Dwraf Russian wore out three of those types in the space of 8 months even with a bit of vaseline to lubricate the shaft before I found one sturdy enough - and also silent.
I've just got a little addition called Splodge. At the moment he is just getting use to it's new cage, minus it's friends it had yesterday.
OMG! I had a little guy named Splodge a few years back. He had similar markings to yours as well, only he was a lighter shade of brown.
I agree about Pets At Home - I bought a rat from there a few years back. He was fully grown, and was obviously not handled at all because he would attack you every time you tried to touch him. He caught a cold the same year and died, even though I spent the night with him, a towel, and a hot water bottle!
i've never actually met a hamster that couldn't be tamed, when given the right environment and attitude
my last one screamed the house down the night i brought her home, then for a week she would shriek whenever anyone approached the cage.
i leave myself open to being proven wrong though, it could well happen with animals
i agree on the cages - the ones p@H recommend for them are stupidly small.
with no sace whatsoever for a decent wheel or any extra levels
Comments
i would say a far better option than hamsters would be mice, they are so easy to handle, rarely if ever bite, and are fun to watch. both hamsters and mice are nocturnal but mice arent cranky ifyou wake them up to play with them. mice can smell a bit, but if you clean them out twice a week its easily kept down and females tend to be less smelly than males.
no matter what you get, you are better off getting them from rescues than buying from a pet shop, give needy pets homes instead of supporting these big pet shops
I have bought 2 of these.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8706409/Trail/searchtext%3EHAMSTER.htm#pdpFullProductInformation
1 for my little girl and 1 for my little boy. Going to put 1 hamster in each.
We had a pure white one and still have a honey brown/white one
they can be very grumpy if you wake them up and try to handle them straight away
i've just gotten another and am in the process of hand taming her - she's very quick.
they need a lot of time and patience - something your children will need to realise very quickly if they are to enjoy their pet and not just see him/her as a hindrance or a chore
mice are nice to keep, but you need a specialist mouse/dwarf hamster cage to keep them in or they can squeeze through the bars and be off when kept in standard hamster cages
the smaller gap barred cages can be a lot more expensive too.
i keep mine in wooden boxes we built ourselves
and plastic storage boxes as they're easy to clean
i have cage and aviary wire over the top of the boxes, but with the boxes with babies/hoppers in i leave the original lid on with small holes drilled in for air flow - as they can get through the C&A wire.
males are a LOT more fragrant than females!
preloved etc - this is how i had mine given, she is a lot tamer than pet shop hamsters too
my previous three were from P@H and a local pet shop
the shortest lived girl was from the local place, lasting only 11 months
the previous P@H ham was 23 months when she had a stroke
cage chewing is annoying, i have a massive cage and they still do it, i get mine out every night when i have them, with me or in their balls
i think i's just a thing they do in barred cages to be honest
with the current, i think she's after seeing the mice off, as she is right near them until i move the TV after christmas
i do agree with kelly though - those do seem on the small size for a sy.
the next size up in those style of cages would be ideal imo
My little darling of a Winter White Dwraf Russian wore out three of those types in the space of 8 months even with a bit of vaseline to lubricate the shaft before I found one sturdy enough - and also silent.
their backs should be as straight as possible when in wheel.
i got a bigger one for my ham three years ago and i'm still using it now for it's third user
If you get a too efficient hamster wheel this can happen.
Spin Dried Hamster
truth. but thatis a very small hamster and a very small wheel
I did have that happen to a mouse once who did go around with the wheel because she didn't jump off
That little face!!! Absolutely gorgeous!!
OMG! I had a little guy named Splodge a few years back. He had similar markings to yours as well, only he was a lighter shade of brown.
I agree about Pets At Home - I bought a rat from there a few years back. He was fully grown, and was obviously not handled at all because he would attack you every time you tried to touch him. He caught a cold the same year and died, even though I spent the night with him, a towel, and a hot water bottle!
That argos cage looks cruel. None of the 'hamster' size cages are suitable for a large wheel, we had the duna multy.
i've never actually met a hamster that couldn't be tamed, when given the right environment and attitude
my last one screamed the house down the night i brought her home, then for a week she would shriek whenever anyone approached the cage.
i leave myself open to being proven wrong though, it could well happen with animals
i agree on the cages - the ones p@H recommend for them are stupidly small.
with no sace whatsoever for a decent wheel or any extra levels
as a travel cage, fine, but for long term housing