Convincing The 'Rents

"Let me get this straight?! You wanna' bring a RAT into this house young lady/man?!?!" Ah, haven't we all heard that line? I know I have! When I first told my mom I wanted a hamster I thought I would never hear the end of it. Many kids and teens ask their parents if they can adopt a hamster, but their parents say no because of ridiculous reasons or because they are misinformed.

Misconceptions about hamsters:
-There rats
-There dirty and they stink
-There way too expensive
-They bite and there mean
-There boring, they sleep in a cage all the time

Truths about hamsters:
-While they are rodents, they are not rats
-They are actually very clean animals and as long as you clean their cage they do not stink.
-While starting up (buying cage and starting supplies) can get a bit pricey, upkeep is relatively cheap
-Most hamsters are easy to tame and while they may nibble, the won't draw blood unless threatened
-They very active, and there are other activities you can do with them

First of all, show them your interested in a hamster! You can't just ask for a hamster out of the blue and expect them to say yes. Bring it up one night at dinner. "Mom, dad, you know hamsters? They can store food in their cheeks! Cool, huh?" Showing them that your interested will get them interested too.

Many parents will say no to the idea of a pet, because they feel the child or teen is not responsible enough to properly take care of it. If you are responsible enough then show them! This may sound silly but get a practice pet. It can be a bean bag or small stuffed animal or anything and place it in a shoe box. Put a bottle of water and a small bowel next to or in the box and let your parents see that your changing it's food and water every day (well pretending to at least). Doing this will help show how serious you are about hamster adoption too.

When you ask them for permission to adopt a hamster, you should try not to ask "Can you get me a hamster?" This implys that you want them to buy it and supply it with everything for it's needs and they most likely won't like the idea of that. Instead ask "Can I get a hamster?"

The biggest thing: RESEARCH!!!! You need to educate yourself on any pet before you adopt! Find out everything there is to know about hamsters, and don't be afraid to share your knowledge! The more your parents know, there more likely they are to agree. You have to show them you know what your getting into.

Personally I think hamsters are too underrated as pets. They are small, easy to handle, quiet, don't smell, and they are clean. Hamsters are smart too! You can train them to do tricks and respond to their name! Who wouldn't want to share their home with that? In short, if you feel you are responsible enough t care for a ham ham properly, then go for it! I wish you the best of luck! And remember, you can find everything you need to know in this blog!

-Tracy