Hamsters can be dangerous, Academy of Pediatrics report warns. Photograph: G.K. & Vikki Hart/Getty
Young children should not keep hamsters, baby chicks, lizards, turtles or hedgehogs as pets, according to the leading US paediatricians’ group, in a new report about dangers from exotic animals.
Besides evidence that they can carry dangerous and sometimes potentially deadly germs, exotic pets may be more prone than cats and dogs to bite, scratch or claw … putting children younger than five particularly at risk, the report says.
