What kind of rodent should I get?

Question

My dad won't let me get another dog. My choices for a dream animal are degus, rat, gerbil, mouse, chinchilla, guinea pig, rabbit, or hamster wich one is the best and why

Answer 1

first of all, I would say look at what kind of budget you are going to be given for the animal. Chinchillas, guinea pigs, rats and rabbits require large cages - the ones sold in pets stores are usually too small. On average, an adequate sized cage for a large rodent will cost about 100 dollars. Chinchilla cages are a bit higher because they need lots of room.
You need to consider a budget for vet visits as well. The more exotic the animal, the more costly the vet visit if needed.
I do not normally recommend an exotic pet like the degu or chinchilla to first time pocket-pet owners because of their exact requirements to live a happy life.
I do not recommend gerbils unless you like visual pets - they are not big on being held and they can live for 5-7 years if properly cared for. Some people love them, but they are generally not a pet to be handled a lot.
Hamsters, can and will bite if they are not hand tame. Depending on the species, they are either communal or solitary. They are nocturnal and quite frankly - are not demonstrative toward humans. Hamsters live approximately 2 years. This is an average of course.
Rabbits and Guinea pigs can both be very loving and fun pets. They both drink and eat almost nonstop which results in a dirty cage FAST. Rabbits can be litter box trained, and I have heard of guinea pigs who have learned too. Guinea pigs are not tremendously smart and like lounging around. Rabbits are more active. Both chew chew chew, so they must be watched while not in their cages. Be sure you purchase a tame one and that you purchase a male...to avoid taking home a pregnant one by mistake. Both live on average between 5-8 years with proper care.
The same goes with any small animal you take home. I wouldn't trust any pet store that says their females aren't pregnant.
Mice can be fun, but unless you get a tame one they can be aggressive. They are smart. I think they live about 2 years. That I am not totally sure on.
Rats, IMHO, are the best small animal you can get. I have everythign under the sun and I like them all in their own ways. However, rats are smart, they use a litter pan and they love being around humans. They return affection. Rats live 2-3 years with proper care.

Here are two sites you can check out about rats:
http://www.rmca.org/
http://ratguide.com/

and my own personal web site with my pet rats.
http://www.thezootribe.com

I have a link page to breeders that you can contact if you decide on a pet rat. There is also a link to the best place to purchase a cage for any animal -
Martin's Cages. For what you would spend there you get two to three times the size of cage you would elsewhere and it comes in about a week. Mice and Hamster cages (the Critter Trail kind) in petstores are adequate for those species.

Sorry, I do not adopt out to people without references.

Zoo

Answer 2

Well, I love all rodents and animals. But I'd go with the guinea pig they live alot longer then rats, mice, hamsters, and gerbils. Also they are bigger then the ones I just said. They can get use to the time you get up and learn when it's time for food, you have to keep it the same time each day though.

That stinks you can't get a dog though :(. Well what ever you choose, I hope ya have fun with that pet. Oh btw most of rodents love to have company so if ya get a rat get 2 same goes with guinea pigs. I'm not sure about the others since I've never had those before.

Answer 3

I've had all of those at some point in time. I had a huge colony of degus. They are super neat when you have more than one because of the way they interact. Chinchillas are the most expensive but make up for it in sweet cuddly strangeness. I've read that they have the softest fur of any animal. Guinea pigs and hamsters just stink. Rabbits are big time poop machines. Mice and rats are boring. Gerbils are cute and are the best small animal option. Chinchillas and guinea pigs are going to take up more space than the others but are both smarter than your average lab mouse.

Answer 4

Hamsters are pretty boring as they sleep all day. The only rats I've liked that I've had were white lab rats...the others bit. Rabbits can be litter trained but if you let them run around the house they chew everything (clothes, wires, etc). I've never had a guinea pig but if I was to get another rodent I'd get one of those...I especially like the hairless type that resemble a house hippo.

Answer 5

A guinea pig is one of the smartest rodents, but they require a fair amount of care to keep the odor down. Their cages are also fairly large. The hamster on the other hand is easy to care for and are extremely friendly. They also take up very little room.

Answer 6

easily rabbits fall under the type Lagamorph and rodents, rodentia. Am no longer making exciting of you. Yahoo solutions is for gaining information of. remarkable? My famous rodents are long-haired fancy mice. Very complicated to get the variety of colors as in short-haired version in spite of the undeniable fact that. have been breeding mice for exciting for 14 years and know plenty approximately their behaviors too.

Answer 7

Well it depends. Hamsters are cute but they are also nocturnal and they don't get along well with other hamsters.Gerbils are cute and very friendly and they are not nocturnal.Rats are the smartest of the rodent family and can it's name and some tricks.Their life span is also longer than hamsters or gerbils.But remember rats can be sweet but they can also bite hard!Mice can also learn tricks but their life span is shorter than a rats.

Answer 8

Rats are great pets. I've had 4 of them and they were the sweetest animals. I have never been bitten by any of them and they are super smart too!

Answer 9

I HATE GUINEA PIGS THEY MAKE SO MUCH NOISE I HAVE HAD THREE HAMPSTERS BE4 AND I LOVE THEM SO IF I WERE YOU I WOULD GET A HAMPSTER THEIR SO CUTE!!!