What is the best rodent?

Question

I want to get a rodent that's:

-REALLY quiet at night
-friendly
-clean
-requires a small cage
-cheap

I want to put it in my room, so I need to know these things. Which would you recommend? Please add pros and cons!
Also, tell me how much it would cost a month for food, bedding, etc.

(No big rodents, like guinea pigs, chichillas and ferrets!)

Thanks! Best answer goes to whoever helps me the most!

Answer 1

Everyone had a different opinion on these types of questions. Personally, I like all rodents, so its difficult to say which one is the best.
- I'm sorry, but you are NOT going to find a rodent thats really quiet at night, unless its sick. Its the truth that these little critters LOVE to chew, and need to do so in order to keep their teeth at the right length. Most rodents are nocturnal and most of their activity is during the night. The daytime is the only time a rodent will be quiet, sorry. But I know how to make things a tiny bit quieter : oil the rodents wheel regularly to avoid squeaking.
- Freindly? Any rodent will do. Although all of them take a bit of time to settle down, all of them eventually will enjoy being played with and petted. If you want a super friendly and playful creature with a huge personality, get a rat.
- The cleanest of rodents is a rat, which can be litter trained very easily with little effort on your part. However, it is possible to litter train a gerbil! I've done it! It was very hard but it is possible.
- Requires a small cage - a small rodent requires a smaller cage. The smallest would probably be a mouse. Even though you can get away with a small cage, the bigger the better. Also make sure that, with every rodent, you give them a wheel for their cage and a ball to run around in to keep them fit and healthy.
- Almost all rodents are cheap and easy to maintain. So, choose whichever one you fancy.
I think that the best for you would be a rat!
Good things:
a rat is clean and easily litter trained
a rat is probably the most playful of any rodent
a rat will get used to you and actually love you back
a rat does not have a huge vetrinary bill
a rat doesn't require that much money to maintain
a rat is seriously up there with the dog and the cat! Its that great of a pet!
Bad things:
some people think rats are duisgusting pets. (Don't listen to them, they do not know what they're talking about)

Monthly costs:
I am canadian, so I did these in canadian dollars. If you are american or another country, email me at katrina_649 for an accurate translation.
Food: ($10 /month)
Bedding: ($20 /month)
Toys: ($2/month) Most toys can be homemade or used over and over again!
Love: FREE xxx
Vetrinary Care: Take your rat atleast twice a year please. (will amount to $5/month)
Total: 37 dollars a month, which is not bad.

Answer 2

Not many "rodents" are quiet at night seeing they sleep during the day and are lively at night. - I would say a mouse is probably your best bet, if you get a wheel make sure that it doesn't squeak. If it does put a salad dressing like Italian or Balsamic Vinegret to stop the sqeaking. A glass cage would contain noise more, however a wire cage is usually a better bet.

I personally have a hampster because i find them the friendliest and they're not very messy. I just set my cage in the living room everynight before I go to bed so I can't hear him. So depending what things you value higher on your list will play a role.

Food and bedding is about $15 - $20 a month not a lot at all depending on what brands. It's good to get a mix of foods too, get 2 different brands with different nutrients and mix them together. For bedding go with a corn pellet bedding (its the cheapest) in the warmer weather - it also helps the cage smell cleaner, and a fabricated bedding during the winter. make sure you have about a 1 inch - 2 inches of bedding.

The initial cost will be higher at first - cages run from about $30 - $80. It's also good to get a wheel - exersize is a key for small rodents and run only about 5 dollars, and chew sticks because hampsters teeth keep growing - and will help keep them down and give them other nutrients. One last thing, if you get a ball for your animal to run around in, it makes cleaning easy and gives them extra exersize.

I hope that I helped out some, good luck!

Answer 3

Really quiet at night: Most small rodents are generally quiet, but if you get a rodent that enjoys running on wheels (hamster, mouse, etc), then the noise could keep you up at night. Some stores sell wheels designed to make as little noise as possible (these usually have a solid wheel rather than one with wires, so you could look for that.
Friendly: Hamsters tolerate being held, but they don't love it, so I wouldn't say they're very friendly. Gerbils and mice can become pretty friendly and tame, though. Rats are probably the most friendly of all small rodents.
Clean: Rats are usually litter trainable, but not all of them can learn to be litter trained. I've heard that you can train hamsters and gerbils, but I can't confirm this. Mouse owners have told me that mice are very messy and even smelly.
Small cage: Hamsters and mice require less space than all other rodents. Next up would be gerbils, and finally rats, who are happiest in a large cage.
Cheap: I'd say that hamsters are the cheapest, as they don't need a large cage, don't need as many toys and things as other rodents (although they do need some), and the hamster itself is very cheap.

Answer 4

Mice.

they are very friendly, you can keep a pair of females in a small cage (think 10 gallon tank), they are clean (you should clean the cage once a week), they are cheap (cage, mice, and all supplies will cost around $50-$75.00). As long as you get an exersise wheel that doesn't squeek (good luck with that), you will not have to deal with much noise at night.

Just warning you that all small rodents are up at night and will make some noise. You cannot remove their exersise wheels or they will go insane!! If you cannot handle at least a little noise, get a betta...rodents are not for you.

A hamster would be my second choice...but they are not always the most friendly and run in their wheel for hours and hours all night long.

gerbils would be my third choice, but they are happier in same sex pairs and need larger cages (think 20 gallon tank)

rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets would not work for you at all!!! They are great pets, but do not meet your requirements.

check out the ASPCA's website for small animal info
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pets_mousecare

Good luck

Answer 5

I would have to say a rat.

-Rats are pretty quiet at night. Most rats I've had do not enjoy running on wheels, but if you have this problem you can always fix a squeeky wheel with a little vegtable oil.
-Rats are very, very friendly. They are much more likely to cuddle with you, play games with you, eat meals with you and fall in love with you than any other rodent.
-My rat is quite clean. They wash themselves like cats. They don't smell too foul, and there cage will only need to be cleaned once a week for one rat, or more for more rats.
-A mediem sized aquarium or wire cage works. They're fairly small and inexpensive.
-Rats from pet stores range from about 4-10 dollars. Food and bedding is about $30 a mounth or so.
Pros: Friendly, nice, clean, smart, can be trained, inexpensive, love companians, energetic, great with kids, rarley bite.
Cons: Require at least two hours a day out of the cage, like to chew things up, some will "mark" things, don't live very long, you will be very sad when they die :(.
I really hope this helps. I love them to death! Rats are the best rodent, and seem to fit your requirments.

Answer 6

All rodents sleep in the day and wake up at night. The best rodent would be a rat cause they love to be handled and they are very smart and very very clean!! they don't stink they actually smell nice. I know that females smell like grape soda. You have to get two cause one will get lonely. They need a big cage though. they cost more than hamsters but they are worth it!!!The other rodent would be a hamster. a hamster is cheap but not very friendly and stinks. I have had two hamsters and both smelled bad and bit hard!! The other pet for you would be a fish but you can't hold it so it gets boring!!

Answer 7

well no rodent is really quiet during the night lets just say quiet. the best rodent would problably be a rat because there pretty much quiet sometime u may hear them in there cage like when they play. rats are friendly pets and are good with people if there well treated and not abused. They're verry clean rodent they clean them everyday but if u dont want them to smell bad your going to need to chage his litter at lest 1st a week and they need a friend to play with so if u buy a rat be sure to get it a friend for it !! a rat czn live in a rabbit cage it can also live in a small cage but the bigger it is the happier your rats will be! a rat does coats a bit of money for the beding is food and his cage for fond a rat can live on vegies like cataloupe, babanas , grapes, peas, carrots, melon of any kind ,avacodo ( WATCH OUT THERE HIGHT IN FAT) green beans, apple, lettuce and more they also need rat food to live ! but am not sure how much it will cost in a month sorry if you dont want a big rodent you would be better with a female rat there smaller then male rats. male rats can get pretty big in size!! femaleare more playful and love to explore thing. males are more of a lap pet there more relaxed then females. a 5 to 6 week old rat is problably the best age to get it. Oh ya and they also need toys maybe buy a few at pet store you can also make your own toys make them they don care http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm

hope this works i tryed my best even if u dont pick me has best answer it was my pleasure to help u with your desision

mandy m :o)

Answer 8

Really, the only rodents that meet your criteria are...
MICE
Pros- Mice are small and you can keep them in groups and still be able to manage them, as long as they are all-girl groups. (Boy and girl: you want 2 mice, you get 2 million. Boy and boy: you want to mice, you get 2 dead mice.
Cons- Mice have the long, icky tail... and they have a pretty short lifespan. Also they poop all over you when held. They get tumors really easily and die.
Other- Mice are SO cute. I have 2 sisters, so at one point we all had one (3 mice) and later on one of my sisters got 3 mice. So really I've had 6 mice.
HAMSTERS
Pros- Hamsters are soft, small, and longer lived than most small rodents. There are many different varieties. Hamsters are really fun to play with.
Cons- Most hamsters are bitey.
Other- I have a Siberian Dwarf Hamster right now, and he's perfect. I used to have a Syrian Hamster (Teddy Bear Hamster) and I loved him to death too. I prefer hamsters to mice.
RATS
Pros- Rats are like dogs. You can let them run around all over the house. They have to be out of the cage often. They can sit on your shoulder and you can walk around with them. =)
Cons- Lots of people hate rats. Also if you're busy a lot you might not have enough time for rats.
Other- I've never had a rat but I think they're AWESOME.

So it's really up to you. But in my opinion, the best ones are the ones you ruled out- guinea pigs, chinchillas and ferrets. Oh well. Good luck with your new pet!

Answer 9

Okay,the best rodent for you is definitely . . .

A dwarf hamster!

They are quiet at night if you keep the wheel oiled or vaselined, are very friendly, small, clean, cheap, and don't require much more space than a ten gallon tank.

Pros

Quiet
Friendly
Clean (for the most part)
Cute!

Cons

Territorial
Very smart and fast (regular houdinis if not well caged [a glass tank is best] )
Possible biters (this comes with any rodent)

Monthly Care price:

1 bag bedding a month - $10.00

Half bag food per month - $3.50

1 large fruit or vegetable a month - $0.50

1 box yogurt treats or such - $5.00

Hope you have a good time with your new pet, whatever it may be.

Good Luck!

-S

Answer 10

a dwarf hamster sounds best for you. they are small, and make very little noise at night. you can get bedding and food at Walmart, the bedding should last three or four months, and it is between 2 and 10 dollars (sorry, it's been awhile) the food is about 3 dollars, and that should last two or three months. you can also give him some peanut butter every couple of days. they love it. Dwarf hamsters must be played with a couple of times a day, because if they don't know you, they may bite. go to a pet store and find the smallest dwarf hamster they have, do not get an adult, you are going to want a baby because he will be more willing to accept you in his space. GOOD LUCK!!!!