Hamster and parrots

[SunnyTheConure]

My little sister wants a hamster and the only room it can be kept in is the one with the ringneck and budgies. If I was to get a slient wheel would they be fine with it. As I understand hamsters are nocturnal. What about the noise from the birds would that disturb the hamster in the day.

 

[noodles123]

I would be worried about the woodchips and the (mildish) noise at night.
When they urinate on those chips, it can produce fumes--depending on the type of chips---and in a closed room with a bird, that could be problematic. The chips also are dusty and they have a scent of their own...
I am more worried about the hamster's movement in the night disturbing the birds, than the birds disturbing the hamster (a sudden shuffling etc could cause night frights and injury to the birds).

I had hamsters growing up...One lived to be quite old (6 years), but that is nothing compared to a parrot's lifespan. It would be a shame if anything happened because of co-housing plans.

Why can't she keep it in her room or in a living area separate from the birds? I had mine in the room next to the one my sister and I shared, but I had a guinea pig in my bedroom (also nocturnal--technically crepuscular). The guinea pig was WAY more obnoxious and noisy than the hamster at night, but the birds are very sensitive to small, unexpected sounds when sleeping. She could get some silicone earplugs if she is THAT worried about nocturnal hamster noises...I mean, her hearing is worse than a birds and if she thinks it will bother her, what about the parrots?

 

[SunnyTheConure]

I've decided that I'm gonna keep it in my bedroom as I'm gonna be the main care giver of the hamster. And my room is bigger so we can fit a big cage. Thanks for the advice much appreciated. As both animals would be uncomfortable in the situation as birds noise in the day will annoy the hamster and the noise at night like you said could cause injury to the birds.
6 years for a hamster is a very long time the maximum I've heard was 3 years.

 

[noodles123]

I've decided that I'm gonna keep it in my bedroom as I'm gonna be the main care giver of the hamster. And my room is bigger so we can fit a big cage. Thanks for the advice much appreciated. As both animals would be uncomfortable in the situation as birds noise in the day will annoy the hamster and the noise at night like you said could cause injury to the birds.
6 years for a hamster is a very long time the maximum I've heard was 3 years.

Apparently the old adage, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" worked, because he always had fresh fruit/veg/...and seeds etc.
He did live for that long! It was weird lol.

Google it-- you will find that I am not the only one (because I Googled it today after looking up their typical life expectancy and finding that mine was a Lazarus of hamsters)

 

[SunnyTheConure]

The oldest hamster in the world lived to 4.5 yours best that.

 

[noodles123]

The oldest hamster in the world lived to 4.5 yours best that.

that's cant be true lol! Teddy Bear Hampster, Cheerio: 1994-2000

You know kids don't report death dates of childhood pets to the record books, right? lol! I bet some have lived longer, but if I secretly beat a world record, then that is funny! haha

 

[noodles123]

my first Hamster drown in a sump pump when the neighbors agreed to watch him while we went out of town. My best friend's brother forgot to put a weight on the snap-top lid to the cage (Mr. Magoo was a Houdini of sorts). Anyway, I was really young (probably 6), and the morning it happened, I woke up and had a feeling something was wrong. I walked down to my grandparents' kitchen (feeling nervous already), and my mom said my name in a strange tone-- I replied, "he's dead isn't he?" Did the same thing with a fish I had--so odd because it sounds like a movie, but it really happened! --it's amazing my parents didn't just toss me out the window right then and there for being the creepiest kid ever lol!

It was very sad though-- so maybe Cheerio was like, "hey, I have a plan, I'll just live long enough to compensate "lol

reportedly, there are other ancient hamsters out there as well (based on reddit etc- which, while not the most reliable source, it seems unlikely that someone would randomly lie about the age of their hamster lol!) I doubt I beat a record, ha!

 

[noodles123]

I just looked this up. and apparently they are also called "Syrian hamsters" -- these are the exception to the rule and there have been rare cases of them living as long as mine did (although uncommon) . Interesting! I had no idea!

http://dwarfhamsterblog.com/long-oldest-hamster-live/

 

[SunnyTheConure]

Yeah although now many dont live as long due to genetics especially ones from petstore as they are mass bred so thier Gene's make them due young.

 

[SunnyTheConure]

I'm sorry about what happened to your hamster.

 

[noodles123]

it was a long time ago, but thank you, it was awful at the time!