We got each of our kids a hamster when they were younger. I think my daughter was about 10 and my son was 7. While they did help out cleaning the cages, I was the one who did most of the work...but I didn't mind. I ended up falling in love with the little guys! :)

They're a great pet for kids...just make sure that they're supervised when the hamsters are out of the cage....they do love to take off and hide under furniture if you let them! :)

Their life span is 24 months or thereabouts...ours lasted 2 years almost exactly to the day. I had one of them die in my hands while I was comforting him...it was so sad. We cried and cried, but wouldn't trade the experience for anything. They had the most wonderful personalities.

:D :yeahthat: :doh: :embarasse :embarasse hmmm :D

My daughter is 5 and we have a hamster. She helps feed it and clean out the cage.

First, you will be the one cleaning the cage, trust me.
Second, let me suggest getting mice instead of hamsters. We have 2 fancy mice, and they are just as cute (cuter IMO :) ) than hamsters, but the most important thing is that hamsters tend to bite, whereas the mice usually don't. Mine have never ever bitten. Also, when you can't catch them, you can usually get a hold of the tail.

As for the smell, I have had lots of experience with that LOL. First off, know that the males smell worse than the females. Also, it is good to get them in pairs, since they are social creatures. Two females get along well, but two males will usually fight--even if not at first, they will eventually.

I have found the one thing to keep the odor down. It is called Aspen supreme (they have it at petsmart). It looks like rabbit pellets. Put this in the bottom of the cage (enough to cover) and then top that with the white (not the natural color) carefresh bedding material. You can change out the carefresh and leave the bottom material, and you can get two weeks out of each cleaning this way. After two weeks, you have to dump all bedding material and clean everything.

If you have any other questions, just ask. I'll help with what I know. :)

PS, look at my youtube videos (link below) and you'll see my mice and their set up for ideas. :) there are two mouse videos there.

I used to have one. I bought him when he was a wee little baby and stayed with me till the day he died. He lived a little more over 2 years. I remember one day, I looked in to his cage and he wasn't there! He chewed off the wire holding his door and got out in the middle of the night! We looked and looked everywhere but couldn't find him then when my dad was having a shower, he climbed out of the drain hole! He was all black and smells so bad that we had to bath him a few times to clean him!!! Eeewww. In Malaysia, there is always a hole on the bathroom floor for water to flow out and the toilet is kind of wet most of the time. Then another time, he got out went in to a store room to hide and we had to take out ALL the stuff from that store room and he was in the very corner of the very last box that we removed. It was good though. He was a veyr cute little companion.

Guinea Pigs
 

I had an adorable Guinea Pig named Dusty when I was a kid. I love that little guy. I would highly recommend them. They're affectionate and loving little balls of fluff. :D Sorry but I don't know much about hamsters. All I know is my cousin Nicole has what she THOUGHT were 2 girls but it turned out they were male and female. She ended up having over 20 babies and before she had a chance to stop her, the mama ate HALF of the litter! :eek:

So, what did you ever decide, Chachi?? Is she getting a hamster??? Inquiring minds want to know:D

Gerbils
 

Soon as I read the gerbils post, I was flooded with memories. When I was little (a very long time ago), we lived in the country, surrounded by corn fields. We always had a problem with little field mice after they harvested the corn. I guess all that big equipment scared the little things out of the fields and into our house. Mom had to fight them every fall. One year, we lost a gerbil in the house. That fall, mom found a colorful "mouse" in a trap. It was not the same gerbil we lost, but it was definately not all field mouse either. It was a white and brown, big-eared "moubil or would that be gerbouse." After a second one turned up, mom could not use the traps anymore. So the little cross-breeds had a reprieve. After a few chewed wires and an invasion of the pantry -- the humane novelty worn thin -- she finally had to get tough and think of them all as mice to get them out of the house. We were never allowed to have gerbils again.

My duaghter was about that age when she got her first one. I helped her alot at first with the cleaning. Now she does it all herself and does a good job. She has had this one for over 2 years now.

She is getting a couple of dwarf hampsters. We have already went out looking and have picked out the habitrail we are going to get. Right now Alexa Rae has to help us organize her bedroom and her playroom and after we get that done we are going to get it. My Husband is going to build up the tubes so it goes all around her room.

My 7 year old son has a hamster. its his 1st pet (for him only) and he is great with 'Speedy' every morning the 1st thing he does is feed his hamster and he cleans him out himself too. His sister on the other hand used to have rabbits and she never cleaned them out or feed them it was always left to me.

Make sure you watch the tubes. I remember mine used to chew right through them and sleep in the wheel-thing. :rolleyes:

LMAO, that's the funniest thing I've read in a long time!!!! :D I can just imagine... "well, I guess 'Andy' should really be 'Andrea', because 'he' is a girl!" LOL

I've never had a hampster, but a few of my friends had them. They seemed to love those little plastic balls you can put them in and the roll all over the floor by running. I don't remember my friend's stinking at all. He (I think it was a he) did bite me once though - OW!! They're so soft and cute though. :)

Wow, the tubes all around her room sounds very cool!

My hamster bit a lot. Even when he was handled quite a bit. Mine smelled really bad too.

I hear rats and mice make much better pets. But the dwarf hampsters are really cute.