which rodent best for me?

[HamterDudette]

i've been trying to decide which rodent is best for me, besides syrian hamsters, because i already have one. i may be getting another rodent in the near future along with my current hamster, so i need some help. anyway, i'm fine with keeping more than one animal. i have a limited budget. i can't drive myself to the vet. i prefer the smaller animals. i really need something that is friendly, first of all, and not intimidating. by intimidating, i mean something that has a VERY hard bite. like rats. i know they are least likely to bite, but then every once in a blue moon when it does bite, i won't be prepared for the pain. if i get something that bites all the time, but not very hard, i will get used to it. anyway, the appearance to me doesn't matter very much. i need something that i can get away with cleaning the cage once a week, sometimes i might be late a day, i can't have the cage smelling really bad after only 8 or 9 days. i'd really like something that comes in more colors than it's natural color, like agouti. i need something that can fit in a cage the size of a 15 gallon tank at most, not necessarily an actual 15 gallon tank, but the size of one. and i think that's it, please reply, thanks.

[Amethystbelle]

I'd go for rats or mice as lots of variation in colours and out of all the rats and mice i have had i have never had one that bitten me and they are generally very friendly creatures. As with most social pets you would need a pair or more as they are miserable on there own well unless you can give a lot of time to them each day but even then its not the same as having fellow ratty or mouse to snuggle upto. Another thing with the rats is if you can and have time you should really let them have a run out of the cage once a day and this will help you bond with them even more as rats really bond with their owners! In a tank that size you could have a nice community of female mice or a pair of rats (i think as not sure how big it actually is as 15 gallon vary in shape and size!?). I personally prefer rats as they make the best pets and very loving and affectionate and very clever!

Goodluck with whatever you decide to get

[Purplebunny]

I agree with the above, mice or rats would make great pets, I personally would have more than one, so it had some company.. Good luck with whatever you get, keep us informed..

[Luciana Mottola]

hmmm if you don't want an animal who bites why doyou have a hamster? i have 7 rats and NONE of them bite,and my hamsters bites sometimes,so... hmmm if you don't like rats you should try guinea pigs! they are adorable and very friendly

[Padfoot]

I think that a 15 gal. is too small for a pair of rats or a pair of guinea pigs. But, as Amethystbelle said, since you are not stating that it's a tank and a 15g-sized cage can vary in shape, here is a webpage in which you can enter the cage's dimenssions and get how many rats can fit in there: http://www.kristinewickstrom.homeste...nelApplet.html

Mice can be smelly, even though I clean my mice cage once a with no problems, every person is different. But they rarely bite and when they do it doesn't really hurt cause they have really small teeth. Out of rodents, hamsters are the ones that are more prone to bite.
Gerbils is also a good option. You can have 3 males in a 15 gal. They come in a lot of different colors (you'll get more color variation if you get it from a breeder). They rarely bite, but I have to admit, when they do it hurts. I've been bitten twice by my gerbils and both times during introductions (introducing 2 gerbils that didn't knew each other) and breaking fights.
Also, dwarf hamsters, instead of syrians. Dwarfs are more prone to bite than syrians, but hurts less, they are about as smelly as a syrian, you can keep 2-3 same sex hamsters in that cage, as long as they are from the same litter or introduced at a really young age. Campbell's come in a few pretty colors.

If you want to read a bit more on each of the common small rodents, here are some FAQ for each:

Gerbils -> http://members.nanc.com/~mhaines/gerbil.html#section2.1
Hamsters -> http://basic1.easily.co.uk/03A050/04...amsterfaq.html
Rats -> http://www.altpet.net/rodents/rats/ratfaq.html
Mice -> http://www.horns.freeserve.co.uk/mouse.htm

[scottyc510]

Have you thought about possibly a Dwarf hamster, In a 15 gallon you could keep around 3 to 4, unlike syrians they wont fight, and come in as many if not more colours then the syrians. Or maybe a gerbil, just make sure nothing plastic! (my little beavers have chewed threw 2 water bottles then entire top of the one) you can also keep gerbils in pairs just not a female pair (females get more agressive toward each other) or mice, they are just cute!

[HamterDudette]

thanks for the replies, everyone. like i said, i'm fine with keeping 2 pets or 1. i like the smaller pets better like hamsters, gerbils, mice, you know.

[Amethystbelle]

Go for a small group of female mice of a pair of gerbils then, as not overly smelly and lots of variation in colours etc and both make equally good pets !

[Padfoot]

Quote: Originally Posted by Amethystbelle Go for a small group of female mice of a pair of gerbils then, as not overly smelly and lots of variation in colours etc and both make equally good pets !

I agree. Gerbils will be less smelly than female mice, but you can keep a bigger group of mice than gerbils. Both are social, so you need at least 2.

[HamterDudette]

which or more friendly, from your experience?

[Amethystbelle]

Well in my experience out of all the gerbils i have had i have been bitten once or twice by the same male but i was never bitten by any mouse i had but that could be more luck than judgement. So about same in friendliness terms depends on what you prefer lookswise and what sort of pet you would like. I like mice myself as lots of different colours and breeds my favourite has to be the siamese as love the markings and also mice require a much more simpler enclosure than a gerbil as gerbils love to dig and burrow so sometimes takes more thought and effort! Also with female mice you can always add to the number if you decide to get more which is a whoel lot harder with gerbils! The best thing for you to do now is to get some books on gerbils and mice and decide what you like the sounds of the best and what suits your needs and what you think you can best give a home too

[CritterLuver419]

Yea... I would say guinea piggers but they can really start to smell after about 3-5 days so that might not be good for you but they are really sweet and cuddly and ussually dont bite... depends on the guinea pig but they have big teeth. The only time i've ever been bit when i was holding a baby carrot and Kelly accidently bit my finger and when me and Kelly were sitting on the couch and my dog somehow got in the room and I guess she was scared so she bit me. Niether of them broke the skin. Hope this helps I've never had Rats so I couldn't help you there. The hamsters I had bit me all the time. Good luck!

[Luciana Mottola]

gerbils bite like hamsters! mine bited me last week and made my finger bleed very hard! the only who doesn't bite is the fancy rats,guinea pigs and rabbits

[crzy4piggers]

However one guinea pig should not live in the space she has listed. Guinea pigs need room to move. Here are cage sizes for guinea pigs cages since a 15 gallon tank is far to small, I would not reccomend a guinea pig.

[CritterLuver419]

the link is www.cavycages.com (she accidently misspelled it) but yea I have a C&C Cage of my own and I love it.