Home
>
Pet
>
Hamsters; The Perfect Starter Pet

Hamsters; The Perfect Starter Pet

As a parent, you want to be able to give your kids everything that they want in life.

Unfortunately, giving your child everything he or she wants is not always in your child's best interest and caving in at your child's every whim is almost certainly a bad idea. You don't want to deprive your child though, so what do you do when your little boy or girl comes up to you with those adorable little brown eyes and asks you for a puppy or a kitty (or a ferret, parrot, snake, alligator, etc.)? With a household pet comes many responsibilities, and you as a parent are likely the one to decide who takes those responsibilities initially. Will you refuse your child telling them about the inherent duties of having a pet? Do you point out that having a puppy requires you to pick up after the dog, take it for walks, feed it twice a day and so on? This will probably be your initial reaction sure, and the child's initial reaction will be to assure you that he/she will take care of those duties, they'll feed it, walk it, play with it, give it all the attention it needs and love it like no puppy or kitty has ever been loved before. Well, you, being a loving parent rather than a heartless gargoyle, can't keep up that wall of resolution indefinitely, so, whether it is the next day, the next week or the next month, eventually you are going to cave and adopt that pet for your child (though hopefully not the alligator). Then you begin to notice a couple weeks have gone by and the amount of care given the pet by your child seems to be waning while you suddenly seem to be doing all those things your diabolically cute offspring promised you to do. You can't nag the child forever though, or perhaps you can, but in the meantime you'll have a scrawny little pet two days away from starvation and a backyard lined wall to wall with pet doodie.

So now YOU are the primary caregiver and you silently curse the adorable brown eyes of your devil spawned young. So the answer is to not adopt a pet right? Not necessarily. There can be a compromise for you and your child. And the compromise isn't to share a dog with two other families so that you have it on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the third Sunday of every month. No, you can get your child a real life actual pet. And what pet can you get your little bundle of joy? Consider getting him or her a hamster (either one syrian or two dwarf hamsters). Why hamsters? Hamsters are a fantastic pet for kids depending on the type you adopt (Chinese Hamsters tend to be jumpy and are thus not a good idea for small children). Hamsters are small and furry and never lose that degree of cuteness that a child covets, secondly, they are so easy to take care of they are practically automated (notice that I said practically). Hamsters don't smell that strongly either, they may smell stronger than a cat (unless your cat frequently pees on your bed or on the living room carpet) but they aren't nearly as stinky as a dog can be. What's more, they are almost like a toy in that they can be played with and cuddled and handled and then when the child is done with the pet they can be put back in their cage where they can play and entertain themselves (the hamsters not your children). Of course a hamster is not free of responsibilities, the cage needs to be cleaned weekly or it will begin to smell, of course hamsters need to be fed, and they should get adequate attention if you expect them to be friendly and tame to your family and friends. But the amount of energy (and money) you and your child MUST expend to take care of a hamster is far smaller than that of a larger animal such as a dog, and they don't shed like cats, they are quiet (though their exercise wheels may not be), and they are just a joy to handle and have around. So when your little boy or girl comes up to you and begs you for that cute little puppy in the pet shop tell them maybe later, but for now, let's start a little smaller.

Andy Markison is an illustrator, graphic designer, animal lover and pet owner living in Germany. His website, zapgraphix.com, sells fun and humorous pet related merchandise.

cleaning team near Mundelein ..

In The News:

Chattee Chat and GiMe Chat exposed intimate conversations and photos, revealing users spent up to $18,000 on AI companions before the breach.

New Instagram parental controls allow families to manage teen screen time and content limits through the Family Center with stricter safety settings.

Third-party security breach at Discord exposes sensitive user information including government IDs, highlighting cybersecurity risks from external service providers.

Survey of 1,000 students shows teens using AI for personal relationships while two-thirds of parents remain unaware of their children's AI usage.

Cybersecurity experts warn about a ShadowLeak vulnerability that weaponized ChatGPT's Deep Research agent to steal personal data from Gmail accounts through hidden commands.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving system faces federal investigation following 58 reports of crashes, with six vehicles running red lights before colliding with other cars.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest developments on artificial intelligence, with news on OpenAI moving to soon allow erotica for adult users.

Eric Schmidt alerts that hackers can reverse-engineer AI models to bypass safety measures, citing examples like the jailbroken ChatGPT variant called DAN.

Cybercriminals exploit Microsoft Teams through impersonation, malicious links and fake profiles to gather intel and deliver ransomware to personal and work devices.

Google, Dior, Allianz and dozens of other companies lost sensitive customer data in Salesforce-related breaches affecting millions of records across multiple sectors.

Apple launches iOS 26 with new Preview app that combines document editing, PDF annotation and scanning features into one streamlined iPhone experience.

New AI road monitoring system uses sensor-embedded fabric to predict infrastructure problems, potentially reducing maintenance costs and traffic disruptions for cities.

Holiday charity scams target retirees through lookalike organization names, untraceable payment requests, and data broker information to steal donations.

The Federal Trade Commission says criminals are posing as IRS agents, law enforcement officers or other officials, often over the phone or online, to steal thousands of dollars at a time.

AI phishing scams now use voice cloning and deepfake technology to trick victims, but Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals warning signs to watch for.

Inversion Space unveils Arc, a reusable reentry vehicle that can deliver up to 500 pounds of cargo from orbit to anywhere on Earth in under an hour.

Red flags like processing fees, urgent countdowns and requests for full Social Security numbers expose fraudulent settlement sites targeting consumers.

Comprehensive analysis of Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps examines usability, routing accuracy, data handling and features across the top navigation platforms.

Expert analysis reveals whether wired Ethernet or wireless Wi-Fi connections are safer for home internet use, plus practical steps to secure your network from attackers.

Australian construction robot Charlotte uses sand, crushed brick and recycled glass to 3D print fireproof, floodproof homes with reduced carbon footprint.

Cybercriminals are using fake invitation emails to trick recipients into downloading malware and stealing personal information and data.

Flying drones could help retailers fight a 93% increase in theft rates as Flock Safety promotes airborne security systems to track suspects and deter crime.

The Fox News Artificial Intelligence Newsletter brings you the latest news on the emerging technology every Saturday, highlighting top stories.

Hacker group Radiant stole data from 8,000 children at Kido nursery chain, demanding ransom and directly contacting parents with intimidation tactics.

As 18 states implement bell-to-bell cell phone bans, creative students use Google Docs, iMessage on MacBooks and Post-It notes to stay connected in class.