Any Hamster owners???

My daughter has announced she would like a Hamster and although i am not against the idea i would like to find out....

1. What sort of Hamster would be the most suitable?
2. What type of cage is the best?
3. What sort of initial cost am i looking at?

I will obviously be taking most of the responsibility of looking after it as my daughter is only 6 but i would like this to be a good learning curve for her on how to take care of her own animal.

any suggestions welcome

The kids have a Syrian Hamster, he is very friendly loves to play. He was a pressie from MIL , but I have got used to him now. We have bought him a much bigger cage than PAH suggested and he has a playpen, and a ball that he can run around on.

Syrian hamsters are more friendly I think and like to live alone,he is very sociable, but does not see much of the kids during the week , he often wakes up as they are going to bed, so that is something to think about.

He doesn't cost much to keep really, I change his bedding and shavings regulary, he has lots of toys inside his cage , two houses and a tunnel and a wheel. He loves Hmaster Museli, and some fruit, nuts, seeds, plain popcorn

This is Fudge

Hamsters can be quite quick and can nip so maybe a pair of guinea pigs will be better, they are calmer, larger and just as easy to care for as a hammy but talk beautifully to you and of course can be kept in the house and aren't as smelly!
Becky

Thanks Moonstone, i have told her it would probably be asleep most of the day but she is still insisting she wants one, we've had gerbils before so, she doesnt want them again, mice are too small and she doesnt want a rat because they grow too big

Fudge is lovely

Not sure a guinea pig is a good idea with Ruby and space would be an issue, i would love one though, have never had a guinea pig although i have never had a hamster either

What about Gerbils, far friendlier than Hamsters and they are awake during the day time. Fascinating to watch they are always so busy, except when they have little naps. Also you can keep them in pairs as long as you keep the same sex, otherwise inevitably you would end up with more than two gerbils. In fact, they are supposed to be kept in pairs otherwise they would get lonely, they snuggle up to one another and clean each other. Quite sweet little things.

We've had gerbils before, so she doesnt want them again, they would be my choice too as i also had some when i was young but you know what kids are like

Oh yes, I had russian hamsters when I was younger. Nip? They could slice through skin like a knife through warm butter!! I was wary of them for a long time then my younger sister got a hamster, not sure what type, he was adorable and never once savaged me!

Syrian's are the nicest, I've had several, my current girl is called Ernie (don't ask ). A lot of the cages places like Pets at Home do are too small. If you have a Wilkinsons near you, their rat cage is EXCELLENT for hamsters, a huge wheel and lots of space.

syrians are best for children i would not recommend russians or robo's
ive had and bred hamsters for years and with proper handling they are great with kids i would recommend a male though as female can sometimes get moody, a cage with loads of room and tubes etc for hamster to play with are great my kids are 2 and 3 and we have a hamster and my kids with supervision can pick him up and play with him and he has never nipped