Any suggestions?

Question

I've been considering all kinds of rodents, and I still can't decide which kind I should have as a pet. I already have guinea pigs, so that doesn't count. I've been thinking about either rats, mice, or a hamster... which should I get?

Answer 1

I work with and have owned all three...

Hamsters...
-If you want an animal that you do not have to interact with
-they are perfectly happy being left alone as long as they have food and water
-they are very tempermental, if you wake them up, you'll probably get bit
-they can decied they just do not want to be held anymore and they will bite
-they are adorable and very easy to take care of
-they need to be cleaned often, they don't smell too bad, but still have a not pleasent smell
-they will not change their schedule...they sleep all day and are up all night...rather anoying...
-they have to be alone(you can sometimes put dwarfs together...but syrians have to be alone!!! )

Mice...
-Also perfectly happy all alone
-can be tamed but it takes lots of patients and work
-like to have cage mates...same sex
-can adjust to your schedule, not keeping you up so much
-can learn some simple tricks, but it's pretty hard to teach them
-THEY STINK!!!!! Mice have to be cleaned ALOT, they have one of the worst smells of any rodent...not as bad as ferrets but I would have to say worse than Guinea Pigs
-Easy to care for...
-Very cute
-Don't need much space

Rats...
(Actually have very soft fur, even Rex Rats, whos fur is kind of crimpy have soft fur and thier claws are better kept than any hamster or mouse...)
-Very easy to tame...very friendly and docile...
-Very smart...they learn tricks faster than any other rodent (faster than most birds and a lot of dogs, granted they're not going to learn sit, stay and roll over, but they will learn many othet things like potty training, obstical coarses and to come when you call their name...)
-They LOVE human attention and to a certain extent need and crave it.
-They do best with other rats...they are more active and they keep eachother clean....and keep eachother from getting lonely when you are not home.
-They do need more space than hamsters and mice
-They smell the LEAST out of any other small animal.
-They are easy to take care of (easier than guinea pigs)
-they live longer than mice and hamsters
-there are a lot of different types of rats (more than hamsters or mice ) it's fun to get different types...
-They have GREAT personalities...
-They learn to be on your schedule...if you play with them durring the day, and for the first few weeks you have them, take all the noisy toys out of the cage, they will learn to play durring the day and stay quiet at night...(which is wonderful!!!)

As you can probably tell, I would most definantly suggest some rats...atleast two...
They will cost more than a hamster or mice to get set up because they need more space, and more toys to keep them buisy, but they are well worth it.
I have been bit by more hamsters than I can keep track of, being as nice and as careful as I could be....
I have been bitten by 2 rats in the 13 years that I have owned them and worked with them...one was sick, the other was abused by people and scared.
I have been bit by mice...mostly because they were scared...
Rats, even if they are scared, they will usually not bite...
I'm sorry this is a novel..but I hope it helps!!!

For the Chinchilla suggestion: They are VERY sensitive and need an experienced owner to care for them. I would suggest waiting if you want a chinchilla...they are hard to take care of...
GOOD LUCK!!!!

Answer 2

I would get a syrian because they don't need much looking after. They only need to be tamed, given fresh food and water everyday. And they only need there cage cleaning once a week and they sleep most of the day, and then are active in the evening. They are ideal for people who have to go to school or work. If you want to get a syrian hamster then you must only get 1 because they are solitary animals and like to live on there own. Ive got 4 Syrians and they are all in separate cages. If you don't like the idear of having a syrian then get a dwarf hamster because they are social animals. You can get 2 of them from the same litter and they should get along together. Make sure the cage has not got any big gaps because with them being small they might escape.

Good Luck

Hope it heps.

Answer 3

I've had all three and I would definitely go with rats. Mice and hamsters are nippy any annoying because of it, you're seriously scared of them because they're always biting you.

On the other hand rats are sweet, laid back creatures. Unfortunately they only live to be a couple of years, mine usually died of tumours, and I was devastated each time... I finally stopped getting rodents as pets! =)

Answer 4

I think you should get either a hamster, chinchilla, or rabbit. Rabbits and guinea pigs live pretty well together, provided they have enough space. Rabbits, to me, are a little on the boring side, and don't bond to their owner as well as the others. I have a chinchilla, and she is bags of fun, so consider that. Chinchillas are slightly expensive, but they're sweet and are extremely smart. If you want a small rodent, get a hamster. They're cute, low maintanance, and stress relieving as you watch them run in their wheel.

Answer 5

Rats are truly affectionate animals. They are very smart and loving. Unfortunately there are very few breeders of rats and some tend to get cancer. Mice are okay but not really as affectionate as rats. Hamsters can be aggressive so be very careful about what breed of hamster you are looking at.

Good Luck

Answer 6

Well, mice are a little dumb sometimes but really cute to play around with, and don't leave as big of droppings (if ya know what I mean lol)
Rats are smart, but they like to wait until you're in bed to start making noise...it's annoying and plus they smell...mice do too, but not as bad.
Either one is pretty great, expecciall if you have kids that'll use their legos to make little runways for them to go through.

Answer 7

well, i wouldnt suggest a rat, they have very course hair and sharp claws.
mice are mini rats but a little bit cuter.
syrian short hair hamsters are cute, have soft fur and the nails arent sharp. the only problem with the syrian hamsters is that they have very different personalities. i have had 4 hamsters like that. this is what i got.

Pequena-very sweet, but liked to nibble fingers.
Marbles- evil, i never knew a hamster could scream.
Bella-sweet, never bit, but she only lived 5 days when she died of wet tail.
Nutmeg(current)-soo sweet. never bites, nibbles, screams. she just snuggles.

so yeah, they have a variety of personalities. i have had the majority of them being sweet, but the problem is, you never know what kind of personality you're getting.

dwarf hamster are social so you can have multiple in one cage. i hear they're sweet, but ive never had one myself.

so in closing, i suggest a hamster.

Answer 8

I have mice right now, but rats were fun too. Rats are far smarter, and longer lived than mice.

Answer 9

i used to have a hamster but be carefull if u get it from the pet store. ours was a 'boy' and it had babies 2 weeks later. it had 9 and 5 of them died we were able to keep all of them exept one which went to live with close friends. they made good pets but it was so sad to see the babies die so just be sure u get the type u want.

Answer 10

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