Just gonna throw another idea out there ---- have you ever thought about a bird? Budgies or cockateils are great pets, full of personality. Of course cockateils require a bigger cage ($$$) but Budgies are great and reasonably priced. Just a thought....
Rats or Hamsters?
- Thread starter Angie_xx_Angie
- Start date
I'll never understand what it is about a rats tail which bothers people. I find their prehensile tails to be an awesome appendage. Have a rat walk along your forearm and you'll see what I mean.
I certainly do agree that rats are MUCH more intelligent creatures, and definitely do recognize their owner. Hamsters really are a "decorative" pet... one which you appreciate mostly by just caring for and watching. (Kinda like fish... one doesn't usually expect good ol' nemo to be hanging out on their shoulder, unless of course its a stuffed-animal version) Most hamsters (not all) are actually quite vicious, as most are hamster-raised, not human-raised. Rats on the other hand, have a much higher likelihood of being human-raised than rat-raised, and off the bat are much easier to work with.
I myself find hamsters to smell much worse than rats, and I've had quite a bit of experience with both. IME, rats are more likely to deliver a "testing" nibble, which you can help correct; hamsters are more likely to just chomp down.
If you're worried about the cost of an enclosure, I'm sure you could find something on Craigslist. A used 55g tank would be perfect. All you'd need to do is make a screen cover, wash and dry out the tank, and get some bedding to toss down in the bottom. (along with a few hidey holes, chew blocks, and a couple other various toys) I do know that both cedar and pine bedding are harmful to rats, so you'll want to go for something more like recycled newspaper. I believe the product we used to use was called CareFresh... or something like that. The bottom of the bag can be kinda dusty, but the rest of it tends to be just fine.
Most people have issues with pet rats because of wild rats.....but, rats are very smart critters and adapt very well to their owner providing said owner spends time with them daily. If you don't handle it all of the time, they like almost all rodents will revert to a more wild type and they will bite.
My last furry pet was a rat, about 5 years ago. I adopted her from some acquaintances who couldn't take care of her. Before I got her, her last owners just let her sit in her little cage 24/7. She had a grumpy and mean personality. But after I adopted her, I started letting her out of her cage for play-time and interacting with her a lot, and she became one of the most personable pets I've owned, no exaggeration. Like a dog or cat, she loved to be petted and scratched behind her ears.
So I'd recommend a rat, with the qualification that you have to be prepared to spend time with it, give it toys to play with, and generally keep it stimulated. Because they are so smart, they get bored easily and can turn, like I said, grumpy and mean. It can be good to keep a pair of same-sex rats, and that way they have a constant source of social interaction.
So I'd recommend a rat, with the qualification that you have to be prepared to spend time with it, give it toys to play with, and generally keep it stimulated. Because they are so smart, they get bored easily and can turn, like I said, grumpy and mean. It can be good to keep a pair of same-sex rats, and that way they have a constant source of social interaction.
Snoopy, we must have been posting at the exact same time, and we gave almost the exact same advice. I couldn't agree more with what you just said.
FireDancer7905
I'm in love!
I had a bunny, a dwarf lop variety of some sort, for 9 years. She was the best pet I have ever had, next to my kitty who just passed. We had a large cage on the floor with all her food, water, bedding etc. The cage was left open all the time and she was litterbox trained. Flopsy (unoriginal, I know, my sis and I were 9 and 7 when we got her) came when called, loved to snuggle and would even chase balls across the floor! Cutest pet ever! I miss her still!
whenever im on craigs list, theres always somthing about a ferret cage, which would be great for a rat. mice are kinda stinky, hamsters are worse. i keep my mice on a screened in porch, protected from the elements. its fun to make things for them out of cardboard and watch their reactions to it
Neither. I vote gerbils!
I have owned a lot of rodents, and gerbils are my favs....here's why:
- They are cleanest and in my opinion they are the least smelly compared to every other rodent I have had or worked with.
- I find they drink significantly less water, and do not have very messy waste. Their cages are very easy to clean. They are desert animals, and this is how they behave naturally.
- They are not entirely nocturnal. They nap like domestic cats do....and will be active at all hours of the day.
- They are fun to watch- like fish! They are significantly more active then most other rodents. They like to redesign their cages. I give mine a variety of bedding, paper towel rolls, toys, blocks of wood, hay, etc....and they go to town shredding, mixing and relocating. I LOVE cleaning their cages because they do this!
- You can get one or two. They can be perfectly happy together or separately.
- While not as trainable as rats, they are widely considered easier to handle and tame than hamsters.
- Aren't as large as rats! I keep one of mine in a 10g, another in a 20g.
Anyway, that would be my choice!
I have owned a lot of rodents, and gerbils are my favs....here's why:
- They are cleanest and in my opinion they are the least smelly compared to every other rodent I have had or worked with.
- I find they drink significantly less water, and do not have very messy waste. Their cages are very easy to clean. They are desert animals, and this is how they behave naturally.
- They are not entirely nocturnal. They nap like domestic cats do....and will be active at all hours of the day.
- They are fun to watch- like fish! They are significantly more active then most other rodents. They like to redesign their cages. I give mine a variety of bedding, paper towel rolls, toys, blocks of wood, hay, etc....and they go to town shredding, mixing and relocating. I LOVE cleaning their cages because they do this!
- You can get one or two. They can be perfectly happy together or separately.
- While not as trainable as rats, they are widely considered easier to handle and tame than hamsters.
- Aren't as large as rats! I keep one of mine in a 10g, another in a 20g.
Anyway, that would be my choice!
