My kids have always wanted a dog, but my wife and I have resisted so far. In the meantime, we have relented on a whole menagerie of small animals including hermit crabs, gerbils, parakeets, goldfish and, the latest addition, dwarf hamsters.
We purchased a pair of dwarf hamsters for my youngest son as a Christmas present. They were a "twofer" - two for the price of one - and with tank, tank cover, water bottle, food dish, exercise wheel and food, they were a bargain at $40.00. Even though every reference advised us that hamsters are solitary animals, we still succumbed to the "Noah" mentality that the little critters would be miserably lonely unless there was a pair of them. The salesgirl assured us that we had two females and that they should be compatible since they were from the same litter.
The hamsters were hidden in our closet during the week before Christmas Eve. At one point, my son thought he heard mice in our bedroom. On Christmas morning, my son's look of surprise and joy was a shock since my wife and I were sure the boys had discovered the hamsters during the usual pre-Christmas snooping. The hamsters proved to be his favorite gift.
We didn't realize we had given him the gift that keeps giving. About a month later, two hamsters became seven when Danielle gave birth to a litter of five, really ugly tiny pups and Andrea was renamed Steven. We purchased a second tank, tank cover, water bottle and food dish, and moved Stephen out, leaving yet another fatherless family to fend for itself. But Stephen had the last laugh, having impregnated Danielle just before departing. In exactly eighteen days, as the book predicted, Danielle gave birth to a second litter of seven equally ugly pups.
By this time, Stephen was relocated to a third tank, without any amenities, because we no longer found his behavior amusing. The first litter, now almost three weeks old, was transferred to the second tank. Danielle remained in the original tank with her second family.
We managed to find homes for the first set of babies and have since given away three from the second litter. However, some desperation is creeping in. The second batch of babies is almost four weeks old. The book says they will be sexually mature at five weeks and so far the book is batting 1.000. At the very worse, we will separate them into shoeboxes, with empty snack cups for food dishes, until we can find adoptive homes for them. My wife refuses to spend any more money on these bargain pets that so far have cost us about one-third of a dog with a pedigree.
But, as a parent educator, I can find teachable moments in just about anything. Here's what I and my family have learned from our dwarf hamster saga.
Before buying a pet of any kind, do the research. In our case, we collected some good information, but than chose to ignore some of it.
Pets can teach a family so much about responsibility and caregiving. Both boys have assumed responsibility for taking care of their pets by cleaning the tanks and cages, feeding them and playing with them. Of course, we didn't need 14 dwarf hamsters to learn these lessons.
Pets can be a great source of fun and amusement. We have spent hours watching them play or taking them out of their cage and playing with them. We can hear the boys laughing energetically as they watch the hamsters or gerbils run through homemade obstacle courses.
Pets become members of the family. The kids name each one and take photos of them. They get included on the family tree and remembered during holidays. Family life and tradition are enriched because of the presence.
Moreover, the kids learned about reproduction, birth, nursing, etc. We all watched in amazement as the pups grew hair, began to walk, opened their eyes and ate solid food. We also practiced some good coping strategies as we decided how we were going to work together to reduce our hamster population.
It's been an interesting new year so far - the year of the dwarf hamster on our lunar calendar. Forget our other resolutions. At this time, we just hope that we can prevent a third generation and that no one gives our kids a rabbit for Easter.