The No. 1 Reason You Shouldn’t Get a Pet Hamster — Best Life
Hamsters have been regarded a well known pet for ages—especially throughout childhood. Even if you did not have a single in your house, you may have had one particular as a classroom pet, or fondly bear in mind Dewey’s pet hamster Bernard from Malcolm in the Middle. But irrespective of their constant recognition, hamsters may possibly not truly be the ideal pet choice for anyone. In simple fact, this fluffy and adorable creature actually has a darkish side that could make you imagine 2 times ahead of taking 1 in. Go through on to obtain out the range a single cause you should not get a pet hamster.
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Hamsters ended up presently a preferred pet selection when most of us were expanding up, but their desire has skyrocketed of late. Los Angeles resident Samantha Slaven-Bick explained to MarketWatch in January that when she went on the lookout for a hamster for her 11-calendar year-outdated son in the summer of 2021, she realized she was significantly from the only a person. “Everybody desired one through COVID,” Slaven-Bick instructed the news outlet, conveying that she had to check out four pet suppliers to uncover any hamsters in stock.
This elevated demand from customers for hamsters is in line with the recent soaring reputation of little animals as pets. A study from the American Pet Products and solutions Association (APPA) located that 6.2 million households have at minimum one modest animal as a pet as of 2021—which was up from 2019 by a whopping 800,000 households. According to the association, 27 per cent of all those 6.2 million households very own a hamster, which equates to about 1.5 million American households owning this small rodent as a pet, for each MarketWatch.
A lot of households take into consideration hamsters to be a excellent rookie pet for their children to have right before they dedicate to a dog or a cat. They are often viewed as low-upkeep, affordable, and not dangerous. Jennifer Shepherd, DVM, a veterinarian and owner of Cloquet Animal Clinic in Northern Minnesota, stated the recognition of hamsters as pets for youngsters in her “Ask Dr. Jenn” column with Pet Guarantee.
“Hamsters are cute with their fluffy haircoats, major tooth, and big puffy cheeks. Teddy bear hamsters are specially well-liked with young children, since as their title indicates, they seem like miniature teddy bears,” she wrote. “They feel easy to keep and pretty low maintenance. The pet keep possibly even has a starter kit, finish with a cage with tunnels, a hamster wheel, a drinking water bottle, foodstuff, and bedding—everything you want to make your new pet come to feel at household.”
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Despite their acceptance among the households, Shepherd defined that she basically does not “endorse hamsters as a pet for younger little ones.” One particular of her main reasons? They “are acknowledged to bite,” she wrote.
Daniel Jackson, an animal behavioral expert and the CEO of Pet Lover Guy, tells Finest Lifestyle this is one thing lots of people today are unsuccessful to know ahead of they decide to go forth and get a hamster.
“It is really simple to overlook that hamsters are rodents and just like other rodents, they like to bite. It truly is in their mother nature and is basically healthful for them to do so,” Jackson says. As much as he is involved, this is a main rationale why “hamsters are not fantastic animals for children, regardless of preferred perception.”
Hamsters trend to count on scent and style to locate their way around mainly because they have poor vision, according to Jackson. So if you or your boy or girl set your hand in their cage, they are probably to bite you. “This will most very likely hurt because of to their sharp enamel,” Jackson warns. And once they have little bit down, they are not most likely to let go—which can go away you “bleeding and squealing in agony,” according to Shepherd.
“Hamsters are identified to bite when they are disturbed or startled,” Shepherd also spelled out. These creatures are basically nocturnal, so they are typically startled out of their sleep in the center of the day—leading to negative repercussions. “Children are generally excited to participate in with their new hamster and demonstrate him off to their close friends immediately after faculty, but this is prime sleeping time, and your minimal hamster will not hesitate to chomp down on a finger with his sharp very little enamel when he is awakened,” she added.