Hamsters: a reminder about small animals.

[Anonymous]

21:01 again, with more gerbil facts:

Get the largest wheel you can fit in your aquarium, because they need the exercise and large diameters don't hurt their spine. Niteangel is a quality brand for all hamster/gerbil accessories and they make large wheels. No wheel is silent, though. My kid wants the gerbils in her bedroom, but turns the wheel so it faces the glass wall so the gerbils don't use it at night and disturb her.

Also, you'll see a lot of sand marketed towards hamsters, gerbils and chinchillas. Only chinchillas actually need their dust baths, hamsters and gerbils don't really, and indeed, their respiratory tracts can't handle too much fine dust, and neither can humans'. So if you want a sand bath for your gerbil, don't put it in the cage all the time. Give them a sand or dust bath once a week for a few hours, and that's it. There are different grades of sand: the coarser kind is safer for respiratory tracts because neither they nor we can breathe it in, but it doesn't do much to keep them "clean". The fine dust sand is perfect to keep fur clean, but it's not good to breathe in. So use in moderation.

[Anonymous]

^ Me again. I am against all water bottles, they all leak and are generally hell-bent on making my life difficult. So I give the gerbils a bowl with water and bowl with food. Easy.

[Anonymous]

Happy hamster owner here.

I agree the corful cages at the petstore are cringy. Hamsters travel like 5 miles a day so they definitely need surface area. We have a large longish cage that Kaytee released not too long ago for hamsters (their Guinea pig and rat cages' slates are too wide for Syrian hamsters, but they had great space and multiple level).

Also, adding to the PSA, check your hamsters' nails. They can grow too much and curls and be uncomfortable to walk/exercise and it's hard for self cleaning when their nails are too long. It takes like 3 days for me to trim them, but it does need to get done.

[Anonymous]

Oh, I feel terrible. I had a hamster when I was a kid and didn’t know any of this. The experience turned me off from ever having another pet.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:01 again, with more gerbil facts:

Get the largest wheel you can fit in your aquarium, because they need the exercise and large diameters don't hurt their spine. Niteangel is a quality brand for all hamster/gerbil accessories and they make large wheels. No wheel is silent, though. My kid wants the gerbils in her bedroom, but turns the wheel so it faces the glass wall so the gerbils don't use it at night and disturb her.

Also, you'll see a lot of sand marketed towards hamsters, gerbils and chinchillas. Only chinchillas actually need their dust baths, hamsters and gerbils don't really, and indeed, their respiratory tracts can't handle too much fine dust, and neither can humans'. So if you want a sand bath for your gerbil, don't put it in the cage all the time. Give them a sand or dust bath once a week for a few hours, and that's it. There are different grades of sand: the coarser kind is safer for respiratory tracts because neither they nor we can breathe it in, but it doesn't do much to keep them "clean". The fine dust sand is perfect to keep fur clean, but it's not good to breathe in. So use in moderation.

OP here
Hamsters actually can have sand baths all the time, with Robos needing at least 1/4 of their cage to be sand. it is fine as long as you use a calcium-free, undyed reptile sand, like zoomed reptisand. Hamster can't have baths, so they use the sand to clean their fur. never use dust/powder though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would still recommend hamsters more as a first pet, guinea pigs cost a lot more, require a lot more, and are a much bigger commitment. They have more dietary needs and poop sooooo much. For hamsters, just make sure you have the right setup, and then they are great pets are relatively easy to care for. Hamsters can be left alone for a few days, but guinea pigs need a constant supply of hay, veggies, and poop cleaning. They also WHEEK WHEEK when ever you open the fridge.

I agree that GPs poop a ton and are loud. But they are so sweet and interactive with the kids. They don't bite and love to be cuddled. They chill with me on the couch too when I'm drinking wine.

And they don't necessarily cost more- ours were free at the shelter! They were 3 months old. We love them so much.

[Anonymous]

Our hamster seems very happy. We use the tubes. He's very friendly and likes being petted too. Every animal has its own personality. Ours loves when we get new things to explore

[Anonymous]

A guinea pig is the best pet for a child 7 years old or so (old enough to be gentle and help with cleaning.) My childhood guinea pig was always out of his cage participating while we played. I adored him! He died when I was a senior in high school and that night marked the end of my childhood.

[Anonymous]

Fish are really only fun for a science minded child because there is a lot of chemistry involved in keeping the water conditions under control. If you have hard water certain fish will never thrive in your house and they'll just keep dying off . My kids love watching my fish but they are definitely mine and not the kids'.