Would you let your kids get a hamster? They are 4 and 5 and both want a pet so I want to start off small…what do I need to know?
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We got our boys a hamster a few yrs ago. Unfortunately hamsters do not have a very long life. Ours died after like 2.5 yrs. They are fun pets but be prepared for the inevitable.
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No, they are the worst pets. I ended up buying my daughter 6 different ones. They all died. So heartbreaking for them. Broke my heart.
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No, they’re very high maintenance. Any furry animal is high maintenance and unless you want to be the one taking care of it, don’t do it. I was in high school when I made my own decision to get my own hamster and it was sorta fun but not really. I’d recommend more family pets where it’s all a shared responsibility or something way more low maintenance. My son is 8 and has 0 interest in caring for animals but will help as best he can to care for our current animals (we own snakes).
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No, but we have a dog. Cleaning out the cages etc isn’t for me
We started off with a fish 
Our next pet will be a dog I think.
My nieces have hamsters and they are nocturnal so keep them awake all night (kids wanted the cages in their bedrooms). They also can stink if their cage isn’t cleaned often
Only get 1!!! ……my mom got my sister 2 “girls”. They had babies….first the male started to eat the babies (we were little maybe 6-7……traumatizing) then once we separated that one…the babies escaped into the walls of the old farm house we lived in (also traumatizing) one crawled up my older brothers pant leg well sitting on the floor (we almost died 
) they died in the walls so gross!!! The whole thing was a big thing when we were little and still to this day (I’m in my 40’s with 4 kids who ask all the time) I will never have hamsters 
again!!! Get fish 
!!!
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Guinea pigs are much more social and might be a better option
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Theyr fragile so little ones have a hard time not hurting them, they take a bunch of care with cleaning out their cages regularly (that’s 100 on you to do) and they don’t really do alot of anything except being cute. Kids get bored with them once the novelty wears off and now you have an animal that just is in your house for whatever reason. If you want a hamster, cool get one. If your kids want a hamster, do not.
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If you are prepared to clean the cage make sure it has food and water I’d say go for it but if you think the kids will keep up with it that was definitely not the case when I bought my niece one when she was 5 little Dora became my responsibility very fast lol but she lived a good life she lasted 3 1/2-4 yrs her dying though was a little traumatic for her she curled up and all her fluids and blood leaked out. now when my daughter asks I tell her she’s too young she’s 5
Hamsters die if you sneeze wrong - your kids will learn about death very quickly. Get 1 not two because most pet stores don’t know the difference and you’ll end up with 12 hamsters. Your kids will help, but they will inevitably be your responsibility so make sure you want to take that additional task on. If you don’t handle them all the time, they will bite and be little jerks.
We have 2 dogs,a cat,& hamster(it’s my daughters & she is the friendliest, loving hamster we’ve had). Going to be adding a ferret early next month. If you keep up after them they don’t stink
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Hamsters are small pets but they still need allot of space.
Start with one and remind them there fragile animals to handle carefully.
No. Not at that age. Maybe a fish?
Hamsters sleep during the day get a guinea pig instead
A lot of rodents need another one to bond with because if you don’t give them a lot of attention and interact with them daily or enough they can die of loneliness. I’d say get a kitten for them to share. Cats eventually become self sufficient. Also, cleaning the cages for fish and rodents suuuuucks.
My five year old has a hamster and she loves him. Never lost interest, socializes with him daily. Hamsters are solitary rodents, so you would only need one. You cannot have two in the same cage like you can with gerbils and guinea pigs. Hamsters prefer to be alone, and get aggressive with cage mates. They are nocturnal so they will spend most of the day sleeping.
We started our kids with lizards. Anole and long tailed lizards. Aside from the initial set up and figuring out the temperature settings/heat lamps, they were pretty easy to take care off (and cheap to replace if they died). Now we have a tank of lizards, 4 dogs, 3 cats, a bunch of chickens and ducks, and a hermit crab or 2.
Get a rat, I know it sounds crazy but they are cleaner, nicer and way smarter.
Get a rat. They’re so friendly. My oldest got a hamster and my youngest got a rat. The hamster was MEAN and would bite and draw blood every other time my daughter got her out of her cage. She’s 12 and was handling properly it’s was just mean as hell. And then it died. My youngest got a rat, she licks my daughter, purrs, and hangs out in her hoodie pocket. You’ll definitely be the one cleaning the cage and making sure it has water and food but rats are amazing little pets.
not if they want to hold it and play with it. They can be very fragile creatures. I seen the comment for a rat and while they can be gentile you put their cage near anything they end up grabbing it and tearing it up. Personally I’d stick with a kitten or puppy. Easier to play with and end up being better buddies through the years.