Bringing a pet home is always a joyful incident. But when it comes to choosing the right pet for your kid, the thing becomes serious. Not all pets are kid friendly. This is not about their aggressive or docile nature, but also because some pets come with some health issues or the ability to spread disease. When selecting the right breed of hamster, you need to keep all these facts in mind.
Which hamster is best for the child?
Syrian hamsters are undoubtedly the best choice for house where there are young kids at home. These hamsters are also good to be adopted as first pets. The nature of Syrian hamsters is quite adequate for a household where there are children.
They are friendly and will not show aggression towards the kids. There is less chance of their attacking the kid, scratching, or hurting the kid in any way. Also, their temperament is quite happy. They do not screech or make a harsh sound that can bother or scare the kid.
The size of the Syrian hamsters is larger than that of other breeds of hamsters. Thus they are easily held by the kids. The smaller breed of hamsters may be cute and more attractive for adults, but for the kids, the larger ones are more comfortable to be handled. Training the larger ones is also easy and they are unable to hide in some farther corner of the house easily.
How hamsters can affect kids’ health?
Hamsters of any breed can carry the germs of salmonella. This disease is severe for kids who are aged below 5 years. This bacterium is one of the intestinal ones that is carried by the hamsters.
Another disease that can affect kids is lymphocytic choriomeningitis. This virus can be severe for kids when they get affected by the hamsters.
Are Syrian hamsters nice to kids?
Do not give the sole responsibility of looking after the hamster to a kid who is below six years. The kids aged from 10-13 would love to have hamsters as their pets. The taking care would not be done properly. For school-going children, hamsters can be proper pets. As they are friendly and curious in nature, they would be nice to the kids. Also, they are low maintenance and thus would not be much bothering regarding their health and grooming.
They are also much playful and thus, can keep the kid busy all the time. Their energetic nature and friendly behavior keep the kid happy.
Do Syrian hamsters bite?
Hamsters are not so aggressive to bite someone. But they can become scared and bite anyone. This is to prove that they are not offensive but can become defensive when it comes to biting. The hamsters usually have tiny teeth which do not do much harm to the kids even if they bite.
But before biting the temperament of the creature changes and it happens due to some odd change in their circumstance. If the hamster is irritated, annoyed, or scared off then only will it bite? So you have to keep an eye on the behavior of the hamster and the kid to see that nothing alarming takes place.
Sometimes the hamsters get offensive when they are newly brought home. If the kids in the house cuddle or handles them too much they can get afraid and can try to bite the hand of the kid. You have to make sure that the hamster is not handled too much by the kids and that the hamster is given some time to get adjusted to the new atmosphere. After a week or two, there would be no chance of the hamster biting the kid or other family members.
Which are the friendly breeds of hamsters for kids?
Apart from Syrian hamsters, there are other few hamster breeds that can mix well with kids. The dwarf hamsters and the Chinese hamsters also have calm nature and friendly temperaments to live happily with the kids.
Is it ok if your pet hamster bites the kid?
As a rodent, hamsters may bite but that will not be much difficult to take care of. Usually, hamsters do not make much effect when it comes to biting human skin. In any case, the cut mark has created a puncture on the soft skin of your kid; you should wash that area off with a good amount of liquid soap and water.
The washing should be done immediately so as to prevent the infection of any germs induced by the saliva of the guinea pig. Afterward, the area should be carefully watched over so it can be treated if any symptom of infection is found.
Are teddy bear hamsters good for the kids?
Teddy bear hamsters look very cute and if your kid asks for one such hamster to be adopted then you can get one for the kid. But remember, this is a smaller-sized hamster than the Syrian one. Thus this one should be always kept under watch. The elder kids may be able to get such a pet but not a child of below six years would be able to handle this pet.
These are very friendly-natured hamsters and can be ideal pets, but the kids should be responsible enough to take care of them and keep it healthy.
Is it okay for the kids to cuddle Syrian hamsters?
Hamsters always like to cuddle and thus, of course, your kids can cuddle with the Syrian hamsters. Hamsters love human company and after a few primary days, they happily cuddle with their owners. As kids love pets that can be handled and cuddled, Syrian hamsters can be perfect for this purpose.
However, when the kids cuddle the hamsters, you have to make sure that the kid does not have any tendency to get affected by allergies. The fur of the hamsters may shed and if the kid is allergenic, then it can affect the kid.
Other than that, the pet, as well as your kid, will be happy in each other’s company and they would enjoy their playing session a lot.
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