What can you tell me about gerbils and hamsters?

[snlmama]

Dh and ds want to get one. Of course, we all know who will ultimately gain responsibility for making sure it's taken care of so I want to find out more about their care, etc. before I say yea or nay. ;)
Do you have a hamster/gerbil or have you had one?
Are they good w/ young children?
How much work is involved in taking care of them, cleaning cages, etc?
How common is it for them to get loose?
Anything else I need to know?

[jammomy]

Sooo...you want to get a rodent as a pet! ;) Truthfully, domestic rats are better than gerbils or hamsters. Some people have trouble getting past the look and feel of their tails, though. Rats enjoy people and like being handled. Gerbils and hamsters are more skiddish and tend to bite (therefore, not recommended for young children). Rats rarely bite. Hamsters and gerbils are nocturnal, so they are most active at night and may keep family members awake; they sleep during the day, so they don't like to be bothered.

I had pet rats when I was younger, and I would like to get one for my ds who will be 4 in July. He is usually gentle with animals, so he will probably be ok with a rat. As you already know, the cleaning and care of the rat will fall on mommy! Although, I will have him help me so he can eventually take over the responsibility. Rats can live for 5 or 6 years.

Anyway, I am not trying to discourage your choice of a pet - well, ok, just a little bit. Mainly since gerbils and hamsters tend to bite, they are not the best choice for young children. Another good option would be a guinea pig. At least that's what I was told by a PetSmart associate.

The care for any of these animals is probably very similar. A relatively large cage is recommended so the critters will have plenty of room. You would need to change their litter once or twice a week; give them fresh food and water daily; and play with them alot!

You can do a search on the internet (I prefer Google) and find more info.

Janice

[Ali]

This question is right up my alley. Janice gave some good info (ditto on the nocturnal thing - we put ours in the garage at night). Rats are great too! I was a rodent *freak* as a child. I still am the proud mommy of my dear geriatric guinea pig! I'll tell you some of the pros and cons of both you asked about, in my personal opinion:

Hampsters in generally are messier and can be smellier, if you don't clean them out frequently. You have to clean their cage much more often than gerbils. But I think they are a little more entertaining. They are acrobats and climb around, and love all those tubes to climb through, etc. I can remember watching our hampsters for ever climbing and falling and doing daring trapeze tricks. They can also stuff food and things in their cheeks like chipmunks, which is really cute. I think they can be a little more "tame" in general, or at least easier to tame. They are incredibly smart and great escape artists. We eventually had to put luggage locks on our hampsters cages since they invariably would figure out how to open cage doors.

Gerbils are great work-wise since they are very clean (they do not pee). You do not have to clean their cage nearly as often. They are also quite fun and are diggers rather than climbers. They make amazing little nests with tunnels and doors with just some pine shavings and soft bedding. They will also run around in those little tubes, but are not good climbers. They are much less likely to escape. My favorites were the gerbils, and I spent so much time with them, all mine were very tame. In high school, I had one that would ride around in my pocket. I also understand they are generally healthier.

As far as with kids, yes, they sometimes do bite, but I had rodents since I was about 4 and rarely was bitten and never seriously. I think it broke the skin maybe twice. I usually got bit if I accidentally wasn't handling them gently. They are also more likely to bite a hand that smells unfamiliar. They need to get used to the way your hands smell, before just picking them up or handing them to someone.

So, either kind can make great pets, IMO. My personal favorite was the gerbil, since they are less work, and I had just as much fun with them. If DS ever wants a rodent, that'll be the kind we get. If you do get one, I recommend actually getting two, so they have company, unless you think DH and DS can give one plenty of attention each day. If you get two, be sure they are the same sex, or you'll have more than two really soon! And it's best to get littermates, so they are less likely to fight. My guinea pig is also wonderful, but a lot of work (nail care, baths, large cage to clean twice weekly, more vet bills than the average gerbil!). Also, try to get young ones, so you can start taming them early.

Whew! Sorry that is so long. Good luck and have fun!

[Abinsmom]

I 'third' the recommendation for a rat! We had a gerbil once (that bit me, mind you!) and a hamster once (and every time we held him he would poop in our hands -- something about squeezing them to pick them up that let's them go loose!). I got my first rat when I was 10 and fell madly in love! She was so sweet and smart! I never had to worry about her running away when out of her cage -- her favorite place to be was on my shoulder licking my earlobe! And rats don't just poop on the fly -- they generally poop when they're NOT being held (at least that was always my experience).

I later had a male rat that got quite a bit bigger than my female and he had a bit of an aggressive personality. He never bit me, but he just didn't want to be held much. I would recommend a female rat over a male just due to the experience I had with mine.

When I was in college, I studied rats as a requirement for my undergraduate psychology degree. Again, I had a female rat for the duration of the class and I ran experiments on her (behavioral, and nothing unethical!). She was soooo sweet! I often had her at my house on weekends and I just let her run around on the floor to explore. When they're exploring, they don't chew, but have a great time chewing on toilet paper tubes or other cardboard you would otherwise recycle while in their cages.

Finally, the rats you buy from a pet store aren't the same type you see rummaging through your trash. The black and white rats are Long-Evans breed, not your typical dumpster variety.

I hope you'll explore the idea of adopting a rat! They're so sweet and less small and squishy as a gerbil or hamster!

Good luck!

[kiloyd]

I had hamsters when I was young, I think maybe about 7 when I had my first one. Back then we had a plastic cage and our cat would sometimes knock the cage over! I found the most secure cage was a 10 gallon glass aquarium with a wire lid. I always had fun with my hamsters, we had one at a time, they only live 2-3 yrs. I don't remember ever being bitten by one of my hamsters.

I also had two gerbils a friend gave me. I never did like them much, they were VERY jumpy and fast and I didn't really like their tails. I don't know how long gerbils live.

I had a friend in college that had two pet rats and they were so nice! Playing with her rats helped me get passed that long tail thing, that used to freak me out. I would love to get a pet rat, but don't think DH will allow it, I haven't brought the subject up in awhile. It would be one more thing for me to clean! We already have a cat and dog and our horse is boarded with a friend until we find land and move. There was also another girl in some of my college classes that would sometimes bring her rat to class with her! :) It stayed on her neck or shoulders under her hair, we thought it was funny.

In high school I was in a vet aid class and we cleaned the hamsters, mice, etc. cages twice a week. I think you get by with once a week though, but no less than that. And pine shavings are better for them.

If I had to choose between hamster or gerbil, I would pick a hamster. But that is from my own experience.

Oh, I had a metal wheel in my hamsters cage and to make it stop squeaking when my hamster ran on it at night I put a little vasaline on it. The hamster never bothered me at night but sometimes would bother guests.

Good luck with your decision!
Katherine