Why Hamsters Are Great Pets for Busy, Older Kids

Older kids are often busy and away from home a lot during the day and into the evening with school, sports, and other activities. Finding a pet that they have time for and can enjoy when they are home can be a challenge. I personally think that hamsters make great pets and there are several reasons why I would recommend a pet hamster for those busy, older kids.

The Nocturnal Advantage

The fact that hamsters are nocturnal actually works well with a busy lifestyle. A hamster really doesn't care if everyone in the house is gone all day since that's when a hamster wants to sleep. A busy kid that has some time in the evening to spend with a pet can enjoy the active hours of a hamster's day.

My daughter is thirteen and has a long-haired black bear hamster named Shakespeare. We are gone most days of the week into the evening. Shakespeare is either going to bed or in bed when we get up in the morning and is still in bed or just getting up when we get home. After doing whatever she needs to around the house, my daughter loves to get Shakespeare out to play with him in the evenings. Even if Shakespeare is still asleep, he doesn't mind at all if she wakes him up. My daughter just takes his hide-a-way off of him and starts to pet him. Shakespeare then wakes up and starts to move around the cage stretching and yawning. It's absolutely adorable. My daughter gives him a few minutes to wake up and get a drink or use the bathroom if he needs to and then gets him out to play. On days that we are home, she can get him up like this in the late afternoon too, she just doesn't keep him out as long so he can go back to sleep until the evening.

Easy to Take Care Of

Another reason a hamster is a great pet for busy, older kids is that they are easy to take care of. Their daily needs are not time consuming at all and consist of making sure they have food and water and spot cleaning the cage if needed. Depending on the size of the cage, it needs to be thoroughly cleaned once every one to two weeks. My daughter also washes her hamster's hide-a-way and his wheel when she thoroughly cleans his cage. The fact that she doesn't have to spend much time taking care of him during the week and can do any thorough cleaning on the weekends works great with our busy schedule. For more detailed information on caring for a hamster, you can read my article How to Take Care of a Hamster.

So Much Fun

Most kids think having a hamster as a pet is a lot of fun. My daughter has had two hamsters so far and has absolutely loved playing with both of them. She gets very creative in making things for her hamster. She sets cardboard tubes on the floor in different patterns for her hamster to run through. She made a cardboard ladder and slide for her hamster to climb up and slide down. She made a hamster "run-through" by cutting sections out of a small box and setting it on the floor. The hamster loves to run in one "door" and out another over and over again. My daughter even made a hamster "castle" out of boxes and odds and ends. It had several floors, tubes and ladders for her hamster to get to each floor, and even a working elevator made out of a toilet paper tube that would take the hamster down to the floor from the top level when it climbed inside the tube. She also enjoys watching her hamster run around in his run-about ball and even entered him in the annual Petco Hamster Ball Derby where hamsters race against each other down tracks in their run-about balls to win prizes like hamster treats.

Inexpensive Pet

Another great thing letting you kid have a hamster as a pet is that they are relatively inexpensive. The most expensive part of owning a hamster is purchasing a cage, but once you have one, it can be used for years. Hamsters themselves are inexpensive. We got Shakespeare at Petco for $10. Dwarf hamsters usually cost a little more than bigger hamsters, selling at around $15. Bedding and food are also inexpensive and last a long time for one little hamster. I buy a medium sized bag of aspen bedding for about $8.50 and a four pound bag of hamster food for around $5 and they both last a few months.

If you want to save some money when getting a hamster for your kid, you could check your local Craigslist and Freecycle. I often see hamster cages and hamsters with cages listed on Craigslist for very little money or for free. On Freecycle, everything people list is free. I got my daughter's first hamster, Tinkerbell, for free with her cage and supplies from a family in our town that listed her on Freecycle. You can also find a lot of inexpensive hamster cages listed on Ebay.

If I have convinced you that a hamster is a great pet for busy, older kids and you're ready to run out and get one, I recommend that you also read How to Tame a Hamster, especially if you plan to purchase a hamster from your local pet store.

Further Reading:

Hamster Mites: Signs, Symptoms and Treatment

Is Mite Spray for Birds Safe for Treating a Hamster with Mites?

Sources:

Petco.com

Craigslist

Freecycle

Ebay