What's a good rodent for a beginner?

Question

I've always been interested in rodents because they look cool and thought they'd be a nice addition to my room. I want something I can pet, isn't aggressive, and is easy to care for because I'll be a novice at it. Please give me everything you know on your choice. Thank you!

Answer 1

Rats can be great companions. If they're properly socialized, you can pet them, hold them, let them ride on your shoulder & even teach them tricks. They're social creatures by nature, so get 2 of the same sex. In general, boy rats are calmer & more of a "lap pet" while girls tend to be more adventurous although 1 of our girls is a cuddly "lap pet." You can find rats in lots of different fur colors and textures (including hairless) and they can have either "dumbo" ears (on the sides of the head) or regular top of the head ears. Get the largest cage you can for them (a chinchilla or ferret cage, for example) and give your little friends toys & hammocks to enjoy. Pet stores aren't usually the best place to adopt rats or mice, as they're often poorly socialized & mare have health problems from overcrowding or intensive breeding. If you know a pet shop that only keeps a few rats @ a time, has rat-loving employees and lets you handle the rats before purchase, you might want to go ahead & adopt from that store. Even better, see if there's a small animal rescue near you & adopt from them. Our 2 boys are from a rescue & they're great companions. Our hairless girl is from a local breeder & she's also a wonderful pet. There is a lot of wonderful information about how to care for rats online, so you might want to do some research. Yahoo! has several great groups including ratlist that you can join. Mice can be good pets too but are usually more nervous & less social towards humans than rats are. Same with hamsters in general although I've had friendly hamsters & mice. Don't give any of these guys cedar or pine shavings, as it's not healthy for them. Aspen is ok but Carefresh or something similar is probably more comfortable. Good luck with your new companions.

Answer 2

My first rodent was a Guinea pig. She was sweet and easy to tame. She was calm though. My second rodent was a hamster. The hamster didn't want to be petted at all! It tried to bite me every time it had a chance. My rodent I have now are two rats. I say they are the best so far. Very social, very sweet, extremely intelligent, and very loving. Rats are like the dogs of the rodent world. The will lick your hand play with you and come to their names. I even give my rats baths. If you get a rat make sure you have time to spend with it and preferable get it a friend two are better then one.

Answer 3

I would reccomend a hamster. Dwarfs, Teddy Bears, and Goldens are the most calm (in my opinion). I had one teddy bear hamster that never bit me the entire two years that she was alive (even when I startled her). Hamsters are very tidy little animals that don't require much care. I cleaned my cage out once a week and that was enough. I fed and watered them once a day. They really aren't that much of a hassle. They are prefectly content to run on their wheel at night and sleep all day. They are nocturnal (like almost all rodents) so they aren't that active during the day. If you handle them consistantly, they can really be great pets. The only time I ever got bitten by my hamsters was when I startled them (like touched them while they were sleeping or something like that). They are loads of fun.

Good luck with whatever rodent you choose!

Answer 4

I have to agree with everyone else and say rats but I am prejudiced since I own three of them. I love my girls and would not trade them for anything. I even took them to the school where I work because the 8th graders were studying genetics and since I have 2 hairless it fit right in with recessive traits. My girls did great the kids held them and they didn't bite anyone. Plus you really don't have to buy a lot of special diet foods they can pretty much eat what you can with a few exceptions. You do need the block food and the seeded food which you can buy at the feed stores for cheaper than the pet stores. Rats are actually very clean animals. Like I said I love my girls.

Answer 5

Probably a hamster. Guinea pigs aren't good starter pets, they live for 5 to 7 years on average and have many specific needs that other rodents don't. Make sure you do your research before getting any type of pet, though.

Answer 6

All of the commonly kept species of rodent are easy to care for, it just depends how much space, time and money you have to devote to them!
Syrian Hamsters are a great beginners pet, they tame down very easily although are sometimes grumpy when woken up. They need a reasonably sized cage with an exercise wheel, tubes and chew toys to keep them entertained. Likewise Dwarf Hamsters (namely Roborovski, Chinese, Russian and Winter White) are easy to care for although being much smaller they can be a bit more difficult to handle and can be a little more nippy. They like to be kept in same sex pairs and need a largish cage that has small bar spacings otherwise they might squeeze out. Also a dwarf hamster wheel and chew toys for them is also essential.
Mice are another popular choice and also easy to care for. Like the Dwarf Hamsters they need to be kept in a cage with small bar spacings to prevent escapes, and a solid wheel is also appreciated. They should also be kept in pairs or more and are also easy to handle and tame. The only downside I find with these guys is that the males do have their own unique smell, which if the cage isn't kept thoroughly clean will mean your bedroom may smell a bit mouse-ish!
The next and the best in terms of handling are fancy rats - these make fantastic pets and are easy to care for but they do need to be kept in a large multi-levelled cage because they are large and active animals. Out of all the animals i've mentioned though they are the one that bonds the most closel y to it's owner and they do make all round fantastic pets.
They should be kept in pairs or more (never on their own) and have lots of toys in the shape of hammocks, tubes, shelves, ladders and other bits and pieces like that to keep them happy. Bedding is very important to them too, they have very sensitive respiratory tracts so shouldn't be kept on any dusty beddings, particularly wood shavings. Much better for them are paper based beddings such as Carefresh or chopped cardboard bedding. These guys live on average around 2.5 - 3 years.
You'll need to check before you buy any of the animals that you have the space to care for them correctly, and check with your vets that they will be happy to treat them should you encounter a problem.
Hope this helps :)

Answer 7

I would have to go with a rat. They are gentel, and very smart. I've seen people that can teach thier rats tricks.Thier not aggresive at all. I8 have had rats since my 5th birthday, and they have never bitten me unless I hurt them, or get them from Petco/Petsmart. They are the worst places to get a rat, when we got a rat from Petco he bit and wouldn't even let you pet him or give him a treat! But I would deffinetly have to go with a rat. Not hamsters because they bite a lot, well I'll have to admit Gineu pigs arent bad either. But personaly I like rats the best, plus they are smaller then Gineu pigs so you don't have to get a very big cage.

Answer 8

RATS! I have two right now, and they are amazing pets. I got females, and they don't smell as long as you clean the cage on a regular basis, and they are so social! My friend has hamsters and although they're cute they're just not real social. My rats, on the other hand, love to sit on my shoulder and snuggle up to me... and they'll also run to the door of their cage as soon as they hear my voice. They're really easy to care for too, they basically require food and water, and some interaction with you, that's it. Good luck!

Answer 9

my first "rodent" was a hamster. she was verrrry sweet and i could hold her and pet her whenever i wanted. they are really great pets!! also they are entertaining- such as when you can watch them crawl through the tubes, run in a ball, and run on their wheel. however, you have to make sure to keep there doors to their cages shut tight at all times or they will get out. mine got out a couple times but a simple solution to that is to put food out. to prevent this you can use bread ties on the door. they don't really take all that much maintenance. all you have to do is keep food & water in their cage and change the shavings. if you want, you can also buy spray bath for them so you dont have to go through the trouble of bathing! i hope this helps! best of luck to you! :]

Answer 10

well, i started with a pair of gerbs.. they ae really playful but very cute..
but if u want a pet just to make ur room look nicer, then what u r looking for is not a pet..its an acessory...u can get that anywhere..they dont need to be taken care of...but if ur sure ur ready for a pet then a pair of gerbs or a srian hamster would be good(syrians shld be kept one in a cage)