which rodent best for me? - Page 2 - Paw Talk

Amethystbelle · #16 11-23-2004, 02:26 PM

Too true guinea pigs need as much space as you can give them and mine live in a two storey large hutch and it smells after a few days so i'm always cleaning them out!

crzy4piggers · #17 11-23-2004, 06:04 PM

ooooooooopsie, thanks for fixing that

HamterDudette · #18 11-23-2004, 06:15 PM

yeah, i haven't asked about cavies because they need a lot of space and you need to give them a lot of fresh veggies everyday for calcium(i think it's calcium. not sure). also, they need fresh hay. too much for me. does anybody have any info about dwarf hamsters?

Amethystbelle · #19 11-24-2004, 08:44 AM

Drawf Hamsters are pretty much like the syrian hamster except they are much more social and as they are smaller you can keep two or three of the same sex but they do tend to bite, pretty much the same as any hamster and in my experience much harder. I had russian hamsters a few years ago and one of them was always biting me and when she got hold she didn't let go and that was pretty painful, think they bite harder as they are smaller but saying that i would love to get a chinese hamster myself and will when time and space allows

It all depends really though on what sort of pet you want and the time you have for it? Also just because someones hamster or gerbil on here used to bite it doesn't mean they all will its just the pick of the bunch like anything and also the more time and effort you put into a pet the more you get out of it! If you don't have a lot of time for socialising with your pet apart from the basics of taking care of it then i personally think that you would be better off with something that lives in a group such as gerbils or mice as they will interact together and not need as much attention as say something like a rat or your hamster! Only other thing though is it a cage you are going to keep you new pet in? As mice, gerbils and even drawf hamsters (sometimes) can escape through the bars of wire cages unless they are very small gaps inbetween the bars?

Luciana Mottola · #20 11-24-2004, 09:50 AM

well the dwarfs bites like **** and they are too small! i've got 2 but when they die i won't buy again like the little mices!! can't you buy a bigger cage? because all the little ones bite!! sometimes, but they bite hard

HamterDudette · #21 11-24-2004, 03:48 PM

well, right now i'm keeping my hammy in a 10 gallon aquarium. i guess, if i really had to, i'd buy a bigger cage for something else. but while i was begging my parents to let me get a hamster, it seemed that it would help if i didn't have to spend too much, you know? if i bought a bigger cage, i would have had to spend about $20 more, since we already had the 10 gallon lying around with nothing in it. i know that all little critters have different personalities. and not all the little ones bite, lucy. my hammy doesn't bite at all. but he's very, very, very uninterested in everything, and lazy. so when i place my hand in the cage for him to climb on, he just lumbers over, sees if i have a snack, if i do, he takes it and lumbers(not runs, he's not scared) back to his "lair"(what i call the big pile of tissues, poo, and food in his house. he's like a little dragon, except with a lot less sense of value), and nibbles a little, then drops it like he has short term memory loss, and goes todo something else, like run on ihs wheel, or eat more, or sleep. if i don't have a snack, he goes back, and i swear i can hear him grumbling "waste of my time...*mumble, mumble*"....like i said, he's very laid back.

Padfoot · #22 11-24-2004, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HamterDudette


	my hammy doesn't bite at all. but he's very, very, very uninterested in everything, and lazy. so when i place my hand in the cage for him to climb on, he just lumbers over, sees if i have a snack, if i do, he takes it and lumbers(not runs, he's not scared) back to his "lair"(what i call the big pile of tissues, poo, and food in his house. he's like a little dragon, except with a lot less sense of value), and nibbles a little, then drops it like he has short term memory loss, and goes todo something else, like run on ihs wheel, or eat more, or sleep. if i don't have a snack, he goes back, and i swear i can hear him grumbling "waste of my time...mumble, mumble"....like i said, he's very laid back.

My God!!! That sounds so much like my last syrian, Frank (R.I.P.). He did exactly as your hammy does when I placed my hand in his tank (even the "mumble mumble"). I remember when I didn't had a treat and he was walking back to doing his own bussiness I used to touch his head with my finger and he would turn the front part of his body around and push back my finger then continue walking (and probably saying "don't touch me! I'm mad at you!")

Here is the only picture I have of him:

Luciana Mottola · #23 11-25-2004, 12:58 AM

my hamster Charlotte

don't bite too,but most of hamsters do!!

Eli · #24 11-25-2004, 01:12 AM

I have had rats and guinea pigs. I did have a rat that bit, but he had reason too. If you do decide on getting a rat, get a baby, an dstart out that way. The one that bit was a class pet at one time, and was terrorized by some of the kids. He got so bad that the only ones that could put there bare hands in the cage was me and the teacher. But if you get a rat, they are awesome pets.!!

HamterDudette · #25 11-26-2004, 03:43 PM

haha, frank looks just like pooky! he is cream colored with a white band around his tummy, too! and he's long-haired. well, yesterday my heart melted. i was able to hold pooky in my hands without him squirming or anything, and i was standing away from the cage!

but, of course, i had my oven mitts on. i don't trust his bowels....the other day he peed on the mitt....another good reason to always ask your parents before using something for your hammy because chances are you won't be using it for anything else ever again...

Amethystbelle · #26 11-26-2004, 05:57 PM

a lesson to be learnt there then

never had an hamster wee on me yet although my degus think its fun to do so!!!

HamterDudette · #27 11-27-2004, 10:59 PM

does anybody have experience on dwarf hamsters? i'd really like to know how many people have had dwarves that are actually unfriendly. usually, the only dwarf hamster owners that speak up are the ones with friendly ones because the other people are too embarassed that they didn't get what they hoped for...the ones in the petstore are so cute, i had to consider them!

by the way, i want to be able to take my hamster with me when i go traveling. the longest i will ever stay away from home is 2 weeks, at most. is this a good idea? i'd love to take my hamster with me to places. if so, what cage to you recommend? i can't carry around his 10 gallon tank.

oh yeah, i forgot. the main problem with pooky is his size....i can't pick him up!! he won't fit in one hand, so i have to cup my hands around him(if i used my hands), and i can't use the "walking from hand to hand" method to get him used to my hand. that's part of the reason why i use oven mitts. he's just too big for me!!! hmm...i guess i have to get him to sit in my lap like a guinea pig...but he's not tame or trained(bowels) enough...sigh, big dilemma...

Padfoot · #28 11-28-2004, 12:07 AM

I have dwarf hamsters... right now 3 are mine and 3 are up for adoption (I had another one mine, but she passed away earlier this month). Out of the 6 here, 1 is a biter... really really bad biter. I can't pick her up without gloves. The others are really really sweet. Specially the males. I also gave my nieces a male and he's really really sweet. My Apollo does a little dance when I go near his cage to be picked up.. hehe.

HamterDudette · #29 11-28-2004, 10:17 AM

but you had to work hard to tame them, right? and does anybody know about my other question? does anybody else have dwarves?

Amethystbelle · #30 11-28-2004, 06:50 PM

I had two dwarf russian hamsters one was nice and one was nasty and when she bite she didn't let go, i took them in as the person who had them wasn't looking after them right so i always put it down to maybe not being tamed at a young enough age and the fact that maybe one was just nasty full stop, long term pmt lol! But i have heard males make a lot better pets and a lot friendlier too! I used to take my hamsters on holiday with me, they went all over the UK with me and they used to love going as much as i did although i used to take them in a travelling hammy box and there cage seperate to take less space up but it never seemed to bother them so can't see you having a problem there!