ProudGrandma Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 GOOD GRIEF...another dead hamster...this time my daughters. If it wasnt; for the fact that my older son's hamster has lived over 2 years, I would think this is something we are doing....but this 2 year old hamster has the exact same environent as the others have had. The average time our last 4 hamsters lives has been 4 months....(3 months, 4 months, 2 months and 8 months)....the hamsters that lived the longest were our first 3 that we got from friends...(the 2 year old is one of those 3, one of the 3 ran away and other one lived over a year.) ANYWAY...I am seriously considering another type of pet. We can't get an uncaged pet as our home is not our home..it belongs to the church where my husband is pastor. Plus my husband has allergies to cats and some dogs. We don't want to spend too much money for a different pet or the upkeep of a different pet. We want a pet that the kids can hold and play with, Does that leave us with many options?? thanks for you opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Rats. If you google this board you will find several conversations about rats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 hermit crabs. easy to keep, rarely needs cage cleaning, and they don't stink as long as you set them up right the first time. Stick to the larger crabs. They have a tendency to be more calm. I've never had my hermies pinch me or my kids, but I taught them to hold them properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 let me add one more piece of information...if I were to go with a larger, more expensive critter, we would only get one, so it would have to be a crittere that doesn't need to be in a group. And also what kind of vet expenses would we encounter with any other critter. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Our family prefers gerbils and guinea pigs to hamsters and rats. Try to get the youngest you can find and handle, handle, handle (my daughter just came and gave me a hug, read the title of your post, pointed at the screen, and said, "Gerbils!"). We've had wonderful experiences with long-lived sister gerbils. Guinea pigs are also very, very sweet, and we have one, but my husband is allergic to her. He just doesn't hold her. He's fine with gerbils. I'm curious, is your hamster cage in a drafty area? I've heard they can get sick and die from drafts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 rabbit guinea pig gerbil rat turtle eta: I had hamsters (and one gerbil) growing up. My kids had gerbils. they're alot smarter than hamsters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm379 Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Water dragon. My brother had one growing up and he would sit on his shoulder and could play with it. Sort of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 We are planning on getting a couple of sugar gliders after the holiday season is over. They are long lived but are also somewhat expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Another vote for rats. We've had several over the years, and they're wonderful pets. Sort of like dogs, but travel-sized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vettechmomof2 Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 We are planning on getting a couple of sugar gliders after the holiday season is over. They are long lived but are also somewhat expensive. Sugar gliders need a lot more care than hamsters though. They also are social creatures and really need companionship, if you are taking them out a few times a day then it might be fine though. I would not recommend sugar gliders for the op. mice, gerbils are great. g. pigs and rats but then you need much more space for caging. degus but again with life span and size of cage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Bearded dragons if you don't mind feeding insects-they're easy to hold and fairly easy to care for and quite cute. The live crickets/mealworms can be tough, though. Snakes that eat frozen mice are pretty easy, too-they only eat/poop about once a week, so it's really a matter of setting up the habitat. Ball Pythons and Sand boas are often a little more "cuddily" than corns, but can be harder to set up and keep happy since they're used to a different climate (Corn snakes are happy in most of the USA as is-so really, indoor temperatures are about like a nice vacation for them). All snakes and lizards are going to want a bigger tank, though-they'd be fine in a 5 gallon with lid as babies, but by the time they're full-grown want more like a 20 gal, and a full grown corn or ball is likely to be happier with a 40. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 hermit crabs. easy to keep, rarely needs cage cleaning, and they don't stink as long as you set them up right the first time. Stick to the larger crabs. They have a tendency to be more calm. I've never had my hermies pinch me or my kids, but I taught them to hold them properly. :iagree: Hermies are so much fun to watch that even if you can't bring yourself to handle them, it's ok. :-) And if you get to be there when they change shells...that's way kewl. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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