Looking to buy a hamster or a gerbil

[TripletDaddy]

Not for THAT, sickos!

Someone brought a hamster to show and tell at school and now The Puffy Check want a pet. I tried to talk them into a fish but they want a hamster. I don't blame them because you can pet a hamster and also put it in one of those hilarious plastic balls.

Both my wife and I grew up in homes that were pet-friendly (no cats, though...we both hate cats), so we are not opposed to introducing the kids to their first pet.

Is a hamster easy enough? We had a few hamsters when we were kids. I only remember that the female became pregnant. When she gave birth, we didn't know any better, so we opened the cage and pet the babies. We found out pretty quickly that doing such causes the mom to cannibalize the babies in fairly gruesome fashion. My mom mistook this natural hamster act as a sign of cruelty and aggression, so she took the hamster to the local park and released it into the wild, claiming that it was an evil hamster. We all cried because in the span of 2 days, we lost the entire litter of babies and the adult hamster. Afterwards, I had to put all the half-eaten corpses into a trash bag and throw them all away.

Anyway, I think it would be fun to own a hamster. Any thoughts?

[Moliere]

Your post obviously shows how much fun it is so what's stopping you?

[YOhio]

Gross. You may as well get a pet rat or mouse.

[Non Sequitur]

You'll get used to the smell, but keep a lot of Lysol on hand, just the same.

[TripletDaddy]

I have since asked some coworkers and the one recurring concern is the odor.

Hamster seems to be off the list at this point. I don't like stinky pets. Which is probably why we have no pets at all.

What about ferrets. Do they stink? Ferrets are cool and there is something extra cool about having an illegal pet.

[Pheidippides]

What about ferrets. Do they stink? Ferrets are cool and there is something extra cool about having an illegal pet.

Lol.

Seriously, does anybody use google anymore?

(FTR, I'd have a ferret if I could).

[Babs]

I have since asked some coworkers and the one recurring concern is the odor.

That's what I was going to say.

Incidentally, I find the thought of Triplet cleaning out a rodent cage highly comical. lol.

[SeattleUte]

We have a 0 tolerance policy for rodents in our house.

[SeattleUte]

Gross. You may as well get a pet rat or mouse.

Totally.

[Soccermom]

I have since asked some coworkers and the one recurring concern is the odor.

Hamster seems to be off the list at this point. I don't like stinky pets. Which is probably why we have no pets at all.

What about ferrets. Do they stink? Ferrets are cool and there is something extra cool about having an illegal pet.

I don't know anything about ferrets, but one of my children's preschool teachers always suggested rats as a good pet. Rats are actually fairly intelligent animals, and your kids will be less creeped out by rats after reading books like unto "The Rats of Nimh." At least I was. Of course, I have no idea if rats create the same smell issue as hamster.

[TripletDaddy]

Lol.

Seriously, does anybody use google anymore?

(FTR, I'd have a ferret if I could).

are ferrets no longer illegal in California? i thought they were.

[Soccermom]

We have a 0 tolerance policy for rodents in our house.

My children will be lucky if they get a dog some day. I like dogs. Just don't like cleaning up after them.

[TripletDaddy]

That's what I was going to say.

Incidentally, I find the thought of Triplet cleaning out a rodent cage highly comical. lol.

ME?

/o/!

[Pheidippides]

That's what I was going to say.

Incidentally, I find the thought of Triplet cleaning out a rodent cage highly comical. lol.

That's exactly my thought. Plus ferrets are exceptionally high-need animals, not really suitable for younger children, and are very musky unless properly neutered.

My "lol." was me thinking about DDD actually owning a ferret. I would be hard-pressed to think of a less suitable pet. Legality aside.

[Pheidippides]

I don't know anything about ferrets, but one of my children's preschool teachers always suggested rats as a good pet. Rats are actually fairly intelligent animals, and your kids will be less creeped out by rats after reading books like unto "The Rats of Nimh." At least I was. Of course, I have no idea if rats create the same smell issue as hamster.

They do not. My sister had a series of pet rats. They were surprisingly clean. But they are not exactly long-lived.

Also, having a pet rat is not really a big deal when you also have several head of cattle, five horses, four pigs, three geese, two dogs, a goat, a cat and a flock of chickens.