Hamsters

[bluweyze]

My daughter wants a hamster for her birthday. Does anybody have any experience of buying a hamster in Chiang Mai?

[daoyai]

Never bought one but have seen various rodents for sale at the pet shops on Arak road and on Tippanet road.

[orang37]

For me, it would be based, partly, on the age of the child, and her ability to understand hamster behavior like their natural instinct to bite if suddenly aroused from sleep, like my ex-wife ... even if very tame.

 

I'd want to be sure I found a locally reared one, not one from the Chatuchak Gulag in Bangkok.

 

Given a 14 day gestation period, I would not opt for a male/female pair ????

 

~o:37;

[Bill97]

Experience dictates that if your child takes care of it longer than 4 months it will beat the odds. So get ready for cage cleaning.


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[flare]

The 'Small Animal Expo' is coming up at the exhibition center at Central Airport (I believe it's the first week of November- you likely want something before then, but I thought I'd mention it).

 

There will be snakes, spiders, various rodents (including hamsters) for sale, lots of fish, dogs (every day is dedicated to a different breed, and there's a show), cats, and possibly some interesting animals from the zoo or Night Safari.  It's a fun, free exhibit- we go at least two days every year as my daughter loves it.

[Matzzon]

2 hours ago, orang37 said:

For me, it would be based, partly, on the age of the child, and her ability to understand hamster behavior like their natural instinct to bite if suddenly aroused from sleep, like my ex-wife ... even if very tame.

 

I'd want to be sure I found a locally reared one, not one from the Chatuchak Gulag in Bangkok.

 

Given a 14 day gestation period, I would not opt for a male/female pair ????

 

~o:37;

Oh, dear! The guy is just buying a hamster for his daughter. Do the ones you are talking about come with technical specification too? ????

 

To OP: Just go buy a hamster for your little girl. She will love it and take care of it. Done it with all from hamsters, rabbits and cats as well as dogs for my daughter. She has been bitten two times in 4 years, and that is just things that happens. No big deal, just to tell her to be careful. They learn quickly.

[OneMoreFarang]

6 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

Oh, dear! The guy is just buying a hamster for his daughter. Do the ones you are talking about come with technical specification too? ????

 

To OP: Just go buy a hamster for your little girl. She will love it and take care of it. Done it with all from hamsters, rabbits and cats as well as dogs for my daughter. She has been bitten two times in 4 years, and that is just things that happens. No big deal, just to tell her to be careful. They learn quickly.

Do you think the hamster should feel comfortable?

Should the hamster eat what hamsters are supposed to eat?

Should it live in an environment which is suitable for a hamster?

 

A hamster is not a toy. It's a living animal.

Option 1: Learn about hamsters, ask yourself if your daughter and you are ready for it, and if yes then go ahead and make sure you all live happily together.

Option 2: If you are not willing to do that then forget about the idea of a living animal. Too many animals suffer and die because their humans are ignorant.

[Matzzon]

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Do you think the hamster should feel comfortable?

Should the hamster eat what hamsters are supposed to eat?

Should it live in an environment which is suitable for a hamster?

 

A hamster is not a toy. It's a living animal.

Option 1: Learn about hamsters, ask yourself if your daughter and you are ready for it, and if yes then go ahead and make sure you all live happily together.

Option 2: If you are not willing to do that then forget about the idea of a living animal. Too many animals suffer and die because their humans are ignorant.

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. Yes

 

Most people know that animals is living creatures and need to be taken care of. For most people that also comes automatic and natural. 

Guess as usual that you speak out of your own experiences, and not let your fingers print just for fun. ????

[Vacuum]

47 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

Most people know that animals is living creatures and need to be taken care of.

True, but reading the OP (and your reply), his daughter is around 10-12 years old, meaning your statement is totally wrong.

 

Within a year, her interest (and her fathers worries) will be on other 'subjects'.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

51 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. Yes

 

Most people know that animals is living creatures and need to be taken care of. For most people that also comes automatic and natural. 

Guess as usual that you speak out of your own experiences, and not let your fingers print just for fun. ????

You wrote above "Just go buy a hamster for your little girl. She will love it and take care of it."

How do you know she will love it and take care of it?

Unfortunately there are many many animals all over the word which the owners don't care about.

Some of them end up in animal shelters and maybe some other people will take care of them.

Others are released to "nature" to die there because they never experienced nature in their caged lifes.

And some just die because humans give them unsuitable food.

 

Don't just buy a hamster or any other animal! Learn about them before you buy one and if you are willing to take care of them for the rest of their lives then buy one. If you are not willing to so that or if you are not sure then don't buy one.

[orang37]

3 hours ago, Matzzon said:

She has been bitten two times in 4 years, and that is just things that happens. No big deal, just to tell her to be careful. They learn quickly.

 

That's two bites too many.

 

~o:37;

[Matzzon]

28 minutes ago, orang37 said:

 

That's two bites too many.

 

~o:37;

Oh, yes! But of course it is. Chilren playing with animals never get bitten. What do you do? Do you place your child in one oxygen glass chamber and telling him/her to look at the animal and have fun. To protect is good, but beeing over protective has a more negative reaction than one or two bites.

[stillhereandlovinit]

not sure where to buy a new one, but there seems to be a website to help once its died, called x-hamster.

[daoyai]

Hamsters are easy to care for especially if only 1 and not breeding like....hamsters. Easy food, seeds, nut veggies hamster pellets for more vitamins... I like how they pack food in their cheeks for later.   I had lots of small pets as a child, it inspired me to learn about them and properly care for them... 

[Daffy D]

Just go and get your hamster. 

 

The kids will love it, for a while anyway after that It's left up to you to take care of it, but that's how kids are.

 

We got a couple of hedgehogs, that after the initial excitement and novelty wore off are now left for me to take care off. No surprise you have to expect that from kids. Though I do make them clean out the cage every week end.

 

I knew nothing about looking after hedgehogs when we got them. Searching the Internet made it sound very complicated, but got it all sorted now and they seem quite happy.

 

I made them a cage from a large translucent plastic storage box, cut some holes in the top and sides covered with mosquito netting so they get air circulation. 

 

They are fed on a mixture of dried puppy and kitten food with an occasional dollop of meat from the dogs tin food. 

 

They seem happy enough.

 

Oh! - The kids have been bitten, but after the first bite they learned to keep their fingers out of the hogs mouth. Also one time they took them to school for "show and tell" one of the kids at school did get a nip but no blood so no problem. Just kids being kids.

 

Go for it.

[Cadbury]

16 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

You wrote above "Just go buy a hamster for your little girl. She will love it and take care of it."

How do you know she will love it and take care of it?

Unfortunately there are many many animals all over the word which the owners don't care about.

Some of them end up in animal shelters and maybe some other people will take care of them.

Others are released to "nature" to die there because they never experienced nature in their caged lifes.

And some just die because humans give them unsuitable food.

 

Don't just buy a hamster or any other animal! Learn about them before you buy one and if you are willing to take care of them for the rest of their lives then buy one. If you are not willing to so that or if you are not sure then don't buy one.

I am after a pet crocodile myself. Minimum length 3.5 metres, above average aggression, fast mover and able to exist on a diet of soi dogs. 

Do you have any tips for me for taking care of my new pet? Should I let my daughter play with it and allow her to clean it's cage?

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, orang37 said:

 

That's two bites too many.

 

~o:37;

Hamsters bite. They bite us and they bite each other.

I had much experience with hamsters in LOS.

They look so cute when little babies that I bought 4 along with cage and everything. Unfortunately it doesn't pay to give them a bowl of water big enough to get wet in.

Next 4 were fine till they got mature and started killing each other, so that was 3 more tanks ( I had graduated to fish tanks ).

I never found that they liked playing with me or letting me stroke them like a cat, and gloves essential.

I took in a pair that a little girl got bored with, but a couple, so many babies. Ever seen a male hamster on the job? Enthusiasm plus plus. Must be very fit as keep it up for ages. I considered calling him John Holmes.

Actually very interesting seeing the little babies from birth till they start fighting.

Eventually I gave the couple to the guy at the night market as a breeding pair.

When they got old ( 3 years ) got problems like monstrous growths and such.

Every time they died my wife cried for hours, so I never got more after the last lot. Sadly they don't know when well off in a gilded cage, and the last escaped out the door, where it would have starved or been snake supper.

Really cheap to look after, once the tanks and bits had been bought. Not much work other than changing the litter when dirty. I used wood shavings. They enjoy sheets of paper hand towels to tear up and make nests out of.

When it gets really hot, put a bottle of frozen water in with them.

Enjoyed seeing them in the wheel. BTW, there are some great U Tube VDOs of hamsters in wheels.

Would have preferred something that liked being petted and didn't bite.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, Cadbury said:

I am after a pet crocodile myself. Minimum length 3.5 metres, above average aggression, fast mover and able to exist on a diet of soi dogs. 

Do you have any tips for me for taking care of my new pet? Should I let my daughter play with it and allow her to clean it's cage?

You obviously don't even know the basics about crocodiles. They need space and no cage.

Maybe ask the crocodile if he wants to play with your daughter. If he clearly says yes then that's ok. Otherwise I suggest you better keep them separated while you play with your pet. Enjoy! 

[thaibeachlovers]

Here's a few photos of mine. They liked climbing the bars of a cage, but a fish tank sorts that. Even hamsters can't climb glass to escape.

[bluweyze]

Thanks for all the advice solicited and unsolicited