What is the difference between guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils?

Question

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Answer 1

All right. First thing is that guinea pigs are the best! When people see my guinea pig, they are always saying that she is big. Guinea pigs are much bigger than hamsters and gerbils. They can reach 1 foot long when stretching out. They eat a bunch, and are awake in the day, which is great! They come in different colors and everything. They squeek and purr, so that's double trouble! They sit calmly in your lap and everything! They live about 5-8 years, Sheba is 4 and a half. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=h...

Hamsters are smaller and nocturnal, making them not the best as pets. THey don't live as long either. They stuff food in their mouths and save it there for later. I LOVE THIS PICTURE! http://scribalterror.blogs.com/scribal_t...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgbtPmLY6...

Gerbils are both nocturnal and day rodents. Gerbils are a bit more skinnier too. They are very sociable. Gerbils are more active than hamsters.

Answer 2

Hamsters and gerbils are pretty similar except hamsters can live alone, whereas gerbils must live in pairs. Hamsters are generally fluffier, and have a much shorter tail compared to gerbils. Gerbils chew EVERYTHING, but hamsters are moderate chewers. There are a lot of different types of hamsters, but they generally look like this: http://www.freewebs.com/worldofhamsters/... gerbils: http://www.arrowphotography.co.uk/images... and guinea pigs: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co... Also, from experience, gerbils have no odor at all: they are the least smelly rodent. Guinea pigs and hamsters tend to have a small odor. Also, hamsters are masters of escaping areas, and are more nocturnal than gerbils, and less friendly/active. Guinea pigs are a lot bigger than the two, but generally possess simialr qualities.

Answer 3

To add to Zelda's answer I know that Gerbils are awake during the day. Hamsters are nocturnal..idk about guinea pigs though..

Answer 4

Gerbils are playfull animals with long tails, and who love to chew. They are very active at night time because they are nocturnal. You can hand train them, and theyre very social. Its better to get them in pairs and they will be happier. They can run very fast, and jump high! They are probably more playful than hamsters (they dont just sleep all day) but I do not know!

Hamsters are fluffier, without the big long tails! Hamsters and Gerbils are about the same size, and you feed them the same food.

Guinea Pigs are much bigger, and would need bigger cages, and dont look much like hamsters or gerbils!

Answer 5

Ummm I saw a trick once with a gerbil, not pretty. But funny, poor gerbil.

Answer 6

aha sir, I am an expert on this subject.

Hamsters are quite small, and they have no tail, or a stub of a tail.

Gerbils are the exact same size as hamsters, but have long tails.

Guinea pigs are much much bigger than the two, and have no tails.

Answer 7

They all have their own specific scientific classification. If you look at their taxonomy you will see that they are similar as far as Order, they they separate into different family, genus, and ultimately species and they can not breed to produce fertile offspring. If you were able to successfully breed them.

If you are choosing one for a pet, I would choose the gerbils, as a former owner, they are quite active and do make very nice pets.

Answer 8

Guinea pigs make a "whistle" or purr sound and are about the size of a small rabbit. They come in shorthair, longhair, or ruffled breeds.

Hamsters are excellent diggers, tails up to 4 cm long and can be longhair or shorthair of a variety of different different colors.

Gerbils are usually six to twelve inches incuding their tail. Groups live well together.