Im getting a pet soon so what rodent should i get- a hamster a mouse a gerbil or a rat?

Question

Please base your answer on facts and not just cuteness factor-

Please consider smell, personality, cage size, needs, etc.

Thanks :)

Answer 1

I agree with most people, a rat is the probably the best rodent.

Most rats have wonderful personalities. They are very affectionate and are easy to look after. They are also very intelligent creatures (their the most intelligent out of the whole rodent family!) but do not have the best eye site and do not live very long (average life span is 1 1/2 - 3 years), which is sad.

Below I have includes most of the basic information for caring for rats. This was written by me, so allot of research and experience with rats has come from this knowledge. I will continue to update as my knowledge grows and I learn more.

A rats Life

Rats are cute, affectionate, loving, cuddly little creatures and are much easier to take care of than dogs. You may want to buy another rat (which I recommond you should) because they are very social and like a little friend to cuddle up to and groom them. But just remember to be a loving and caring owner by:

1. Giving them lots of cuddles and kisses.

2. Make sure they get their exercise (my little girls run around the house). Exercise should be about 30-60 mins a day!

3. Make sure they have a nice healthy diet and clean water.

4. Take them to the vet when they get sick and make sure you do everything you can to help them.

5. They dont live long so make sure you give them a happy life.

RATS LIFE

A cage: A decent sized cage (with NO wire floor, or if it does have one, take it out if you can) for the rat so she has enough space because remember rats get bigger!! Make sure you clean the cage once a week to stop it from smelling.

Food: Buy some food and bowl especially for rats at your nearest pet store and a couple of little treats so they will feel happy. Fresh vegetables and fruit are also very healthy treats for your rats. Make sure you clean out the rats food bowl every week!

There are a few types of foods you can feed your rat. The most popular type is lab blocks. Many people like to feed these as the rat`s staple diet as they will not pick out what they like unlike rat mixes. There are many different brand of blocks. A good quality one would have to be harlan Tekland and is used by many people and contains high quality ingredients. Rat blocks are not a very easy thing to find if you live somewhere other than america so rat mixes should be given. Alot of people think rat mixes are not nutrionally complete and balananced and that rats have a hard time digesting whats in it as some mixes contain corn or alfafa. Some people agree that rat mixes are good and that rats will get bored of having rat blocks and that you will have a hard time trying to get you rats to eat it. Some people also think that it is not a good idea to give rats rat blocks as they are tested on lab rats. Either one is good, I reccomend rat blocks but if they are not avalible where you live there are other options like rat mixes or even make your own homemade rat diet. I reccomend Sue bee`s ray diet or Debbie Ducommun rat diet.

Make sure that you supply fresh vegetables and fruit daily or every 2-3 days. This should make up 20% of their diet. Remember to always cook sweet potatoes and never give onions, green bananas, uncooked beans etc.

You may also like to feed other snacks like tofu, unsalted cracker, milk, a small amount of cheese, table scraps, cooked lean meats, museli, oats, dried fruit, whole grain bread, sunflower seeds, poridge, no added sugar cereals or baby food.

Water: All you need to do is buy a water bottle from your nearest pet shop and refill everyday with clean fresh water and wash with warm soapy water once a week. Rat bowls are not the best as rats will tend to tip it over, kick sawdust into and urinate in it. Also if you want to, in the summer time you can put a little bowl of water in the rats cage for them to cool down.

Bedding: You can buy sawdust/wood shavings as your bedding from a pet shop but just remember to see if it`s OK to use for rats. But I suggest that you use cat litter which is reccomended by my vet as it absorbs the rats urine and helps chest problems.

Toys: You can either make your rats some toys or you can buy some from a pet shop. The toys I would recommed to keep your rat happy would be; A large rat house from a pet shop, a hammock, chew toys so they can gnaw there teeth to help the teeth not to grow too long, a wheel, tubes and a ladder but its up to you what you do!

Games To Play Games With Your Rats:

Tickling: Lay your rat on it`s back and give him a good old tickle.

Hide And Seek: Put your rat in a room. Go count to 10-50. Then go and find them.

Bundeled Blanket: Bundle your rat in a blanket and let him explore and find his way out.

Rat Ride: Get into a position like a donkey(get on your hands and knees). Put your rats on your back and go around the house.

Tug Of War: Get a piece of rope or string. Put it near the rat and let him go to it and pull it. Grab the other end and pull it aswell. Only let your rat win sometimes!

There is also many other games!!

To find more on games go to these two websites:

http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm

http://members.aol.com/juliesrats/fun.ht...

They actually don`t really smell, I have heard mice are the smelly ones, but I could be wrong. They smell quite nice, though if you leave their cage uncleaned for too long it will start to smell.

This is just some basic information but I suggest that you buy a rat book or find imformation on the internet so you are prepared!!! Make sure you do this if you want a healthy rat.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your rats!!!!

I recommend this web site which will give you alot of information and stuff on rats.

http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/home/

http://www.dapper.com.au/

http://www.ratz.co.uk/ratbedding.html

http://www.ratfanclub.org/

A book that i would also reccomend is "The Proper Care Of Fancy Rats" by Nick Mays. It is an excellent book everything you need to know about rats, diet, cage, breeding, diseases/sickness and much more.

Hope this helps, good luck with your new rat!!

Answer 2

While growing up, my oldest son had a couple of pet rats. They made excellent pets, were easy to tame, were friendly and didn't bite. They were relatively clean and didn't smell much. The only bad thing is that they are prone to cancer tumors, so you will need to watch for that (they are visible from the outside). One of my son's rats developed a tumor under its chin. My youngest son has had a couple of hamsters, and they were harder to tame, were tempermental at times, and would often bite. They were also smellier and messier than the rats. As for gerbils, they used to be illegal in the state of California, but I don't know if that's still true or not. I had a pair (from what I understand they do better in pairs) of gerbils several years ago, and they were almost impossible to tame (or maybe I just didn't spend enough time with them), somewhat antisocial, and would bite often. But they were cleaner than the hamsters and didn't smell much. They were also alot of fun to watch because they would stand on their back legs facing each other, and attempt to box with each other, although they never seemed to hurt each other. That's about it as far as my personal experience with rodents. Hope this helped.

Answer 3

i cant speak for hamsters or gerbils, we dont have them in australia.

but we do have 2 mice and 2 rats, the mice are very cute but not very social. the rats are fun to watch play with each other but also love human interaction, they have their own adorable personalities, one of mine is an exploring extrovert and the other is oppisite.

Answer 4

Okay, well, i have had mice before. they are very cute and very tame. i never once got bit. if you are going to have mice tho, either only have one, or two of the same gender. i had over 3 litters with my mouse. it stunk and was hard to keep the cage clean. so i dont recomend over 3 mice.

i have a hamster right now. if youre going to get a hamster, dont get a dwarf hamster. they are more likely to bite. i think a teddy bear hamster would be the best. she loves to explore and is very nice. if youre going to have a hamster though, make sure to handle it alot. it will keep it tame and loveable!!!

rats...ive never had one of those, but i dont know, they just dont appeal to me. they might to you though!

hmm. gerbils are not really common anymore. but they bite!! be carefull. thats not one of my first choices.

good luck!! i hope you find something you like.

ps..i also have a mini rabbit... you should consider that too!! very loveable and tame. and cute! but you need a bigger cage.

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Answer 5

RATS!  We have two males.  They are friendly and love attention.

Answer 6

aaaa ik this isn't one of the choices but u should get a bunni they're so addicting and funn to play with i always go to mi frien's house and play with their bunnies and they're actually giving me them(:  and i will give u some reasons y u should get a bunni...(:

1: they're sweet and friendly

2: they're funn to play around with

3: not very hard to take care of

4: small

5: very funn to chase and observe

6: SO EXTREMELY CuTe!!!♥

7: Loveable(:

Answer 7

Rats are so smart  and sweet, I loved my pet rats but be prepared...they only live 2-3 years. I can't get another rat because my heart breaks(every 2 years)when thet die. And one died from a tumor which grew bigger than her...very sad.

Answer 8

A rat beacuse they follow you around and they are nice and loveable, hamsters and mice are.... um just out there.

Answer 9

I highly recommend pet rats.

If you're thinking about getting rodents, rats are the best choice. Rats are by far the smartest small animal you can have. You can train them to do tricks, come to you when you call their name, or even potty train them. Rats have much more personality than any other small rodent pet.

Rats are social animals, so don't buy just one, get at least two. I don't recommend buying them from a pet store however, they're generally not well socialized. Buy them from a breeder, take the time to play with them, make sure they're friendly, so on and so forth. When well socialized, pet rats are very fun to have.

When buying a cage, make sure there is enough room for all of them, about 2.5 square feet per rat. Get a big water bottle too, cuz they drink it fast. Buy them a little plastic house/igloo for their cage, they need a place to sleep and hide.

I buy my rat food at Wal-mart for about 2 dollars a box and one box usually lasts about a week or so. You can also get about 40lbs of bedding for $5-$6.

Rat's cages need to be cleaned once a week but if you keep up with it, it won't be a problem.

hope that helps :D

Answer 10

rats are well known to be best for first pets c:

they're very intelligent and loyal. they follow you around and enjoy your company! rather than mice and gerbils which run away. rats may be big but its no matter. finding a cage that's big enough is very easy. they need there cage cleaned about every week or more if the smell bothers you. also accessories to the cage (mostly ones that are wood) will soak up smells. changing these often are a good idea. however if you don't want to spend money, a rag will do fine for your rat to sleep in and bundle up. however they may chew on it and it might need to be replaced also. however rags are pretty easy to replace. just throw in a old shirt or something c: if you get a rat though, you might want to get two(although you don't HAVE too) rats are very social and love to have buddies. if you don't get it another buddy, then playing with it a lot will be fine c: rats are always fine and don't bite you (unlike hamster's and mice).

good luck finding a good rodent <3

Answer 11

get a dwarf hamster. they are actually obedient. get it used to  by holding it. feed it alot of crakers and provide it with tons of water. if you want to feed it , tell it to stay and go get it food.

P.S. get a lift open cage.

Answer 12

Though all rodents are cute and loveable, from experience I can safely say that rats are by far the best choice.  My reasons are:

1. Rats are much smarter and more sociable than other kinds of rodents.

2. Rats smell much less than mice, gerbils or hamsters provided that their cage is cleaned once a week. If you are concerned about smell, DO NOT get mice!

3.  Rats rarely if ever bite.  I have never been bitten by a rat (I've owned over 20 in my lifetime,) but I have been bitten multiple times by mice, gerbils and hamsters.  

4.  You can train rats to do amazing things like come to their names and play "fetch."  Some mice are able to learn tricks too, but no hamster or gerbil I have ever  known is smart enough to learn tricks.

5.  You will need to get a bigger cage for a rat and a second rat for it to play with (of the same s*x to prevent rampant breeding) because rats are VERY social animals and can become physically ill without a friend.  If you only want one animal, please don't get a rat.  Two rats are not much more work than one though, and are very much more fun to watch!  They are so cute when they play and snuggle with one another!

6. My main point for arguing that rats are the best pets is that rats are the only rodents I have owned that actually ENJOY my company.  Other rodents merely TOLERATE being held, but rats will run up to see you and beg for attention.  They snuggle and are not afraid of you, unlike hamsters, mice and gerbils.  Rats will not try to run away from you the first chance they get (though if they are feeling playful, they may want to play "tag") The downside of this is that rats require a little more time with you because they just love you so much.  If you don't have at least a half hour a day to spend with your pet, don't get a rat.  

In summary, rats are by far the most rewarding of the animals you listed, but they do need a little more special attention due to their intelligence and social nature.  I recommend reading a little bit about them on a website devoted to pet rats.  

Hopefully this helps!