any advice? should I do it? my seven year old really wants one.

Liz

Tell him/her to get a guinea pig instead. Easier to handle, bigger, not nocturnal. Even if he/she still wants a hamster I would still go for it. I think all rodents make great pets. Personally I have four guinea pigs. I've had hamsters, gerbils, mice, etc in the past. One thing I would caution is to make sure your kid is ready for the responsibility of food, water, and cleaning the cage and if not are you prepared to take it on. Good luck and I'd like to hear what you decide!

id definitly say guinea pig as well. only real fault with them is some of them like to squeak..alot. but a much more child friendly pet. i had hamsters and a guinea pig before age 10..guinea pig was defintly more enjoyable. they like to be held, where as a hamster can be a pain to hold alot of the time.

just lie and say its a giant mutant hamster

Thanks so much.

Liz

You're going to think I'm nuts, but a rat will make a much better pet than a hamster (I know hamster owners may disagree). They're the perfect pet for anyone who would love to have a dog or cat, but doesn't have the time or space for them (or an apartment that allows them).

Their biggest disadvantage (other than an image problem) is that they generally only live about 2 years (though can live to 4 or more). Although to some that can also be an advantage, as they are a shorter commitment than pets with longer lifespans.

I was a psychology major in college, or I probably wouldn't think of them as pets, but hamsters and gerbils really aren't much more than fancy rats anyway. I have had two pet rats for pets (not including the rats I worked with in college). I also had a hamster when I was younger, and my cousin had a gerbil. Rats have several advantages over either.

They're larger and sturdier, so a chid still has to be careful, but they're easier to handle than smaller rodents. They also "take" to handling more quickly and tame more quickly/easily.

Rats, are only semi-nocturnal (They will sleep during the day if they have nothing to do, but will gladly play during the day). Hamsters tend to be much more nocturnal, and grumpier when disturbed (and more likely to bite).

Though hamsters can be tamed, rats are more social and rarely bite, even when frightened (though if you startle them or pick them up roughly, they will sometimes pee on you - though so will hamsters). Most rats, love interacting with people and most even like being petted and handled once they get to know you. Male rats have a reputation for being little couch potatoes, that will sit in your lap and be petted, although one of my females loved to sit in a pocket and be petted while I watched tv. The other would sit still only if allowed to perch on my shoulder. The females fur tends to stay silky, while the males tend to get a little terrier like.

Rats groom themselves like cats (sometimes even more often) but have very dog-like personalities and can even learn tricks. When they're happy they make little noises with their teeth. They're very social, and it really is best to keep two females or two males (males should be littermates), so they always have someone to play with (they will sleep in a little pile together).

They're usually very inexpensive (because they're mostly being sold as snake food) and come in an amazing assortment of colors, patterns (spotted, solids, siamese like a cat, husky and dalmation like a dog), and coats (long hair and curly, even hairless). There are even varieties without tails and with large low ears called Dumbos (they look like cartoon mice). Petstore rats will be cheapest and will be just as friendly (and you'll probably be saving a life), but you want it to be a good petstore or breeder so they're healthy (rats like many rodents are susceptible to breathing problems). Even animal shelters often have abandoned rats (and often they will even donate the cage, which is the most expensive part of rodent ownership).

It's also not as strange as you think. My husband's 85 year old grandfather raised pet rats as a boy, and you can find tons of books and websites devoted to raising and training pet rats (check those out and you'll see a lot of pictures, advice, and stories about pet rats).

Colleen

rats do make nice pets...mine were always so sweet and loving

keep the opinions coming..........thanks so much.

Liz

I'm bringing home my first-ever pair of pet rats on Friday, so I agree with Colleen (and everyone else).

If your son wants a small pet, a hamster is probably the worst possible type to get (especially for a child). They are BY FAR the least friendly small pet you can own. And they bite. A lot. And not just when they're scared, like other rodents. By the way, this stuff isn't my opinion, it's info taken directly from my small animal care textbook and lecture notes from 2 different companion animal care/management classes.

- Gerbils are MUCH friendlier and social.
- Guinea pigs very rarely bite -- plus they kinda "talk" to you, which is cute.
- Rats are highly intelligent, social, trainable, and bond strongly to humans.
- Rabbits have very stinky pee (so I wouldn't get one), but they rarely bite.
- Turtles are AWESOME pets (I've had 2)

I'd pass on the hamster, I really would. There are plenty of other small animals that are just as cute and cuddly-looking that are ACTUALLY cuddly .

You could look into ferrets, sugar-gliders, chinchillas, a de-scented skunk...

(BTW, I also wouldn't get a mouse. They're "biters" and can get fairly stinky.)

I had a rat in college and she was wonderful! So sweet and sociable! She would actually run next door to visit our neighbors (and always came back). Someone told me you may need to buy them in pairs to have some constant company.

Oh, and Liz...if you live anywhere near Worcester, Massachusetts, I know 2 guinea pigs and several rats that need homes by this Friday afternoon -- otherwise they're going to the Big Hamster Wheel in the Sky .

I can definitely testify to the stinkiness of rabbit pee. I had a white rabbit as a child (kept in an outdoor hutch in the summer, and in an indoor porch or the basement during the winter). I was talking to an elderly neighbor with my rabbit on my lap as I petted her (the rabbit! LOL). She started wriggling, but I didn't get the hint, and she peed all over my jeans (you wouldn't think so much liquid could come out of such a small animal).

I don't think I even said goodbye, I just ran for the house, barely got the rabbit in the cage and myself inside before peeling off my jeans, and throwing them right in the washer and myself in the shower. Don't remember ever running anywhere that fast.

She was a fun pet too, but definitely higher maintenance than a rat.

The rat topic (and a previous rat thread) got me thinking about my pet rats,
so last night I got out my book "Training Your Pet Rat" (really a rat owners manual covering everything from buying, feeding, and housing your rat to games you can play and tricks you can teach your rat.) Actually, if you're patient you can teach them fancier tricks than are in the book, as I taught my college lab rat to jump back into his cage on his own by tapping on it (they unfortunately were very small, like little shoe boxes that slid into a tray, too small and lonely for the rat's well-being).

Ooh, I wish our apartment was just a little bigger, and didn't have an absolutely no pets except fish policy.

Just a few years ago, I persuaded a mother to buy a pet rat for her son (couldn't get her to agree to two off the bat, but she did get a female so it would be easier to introduce a second rat later). The boy was a little skeptical at first, because I think he didn't know anyone with a pet rat, and was afraid his dad would be mad, but he and his mom changed their minds when they saw how the rats were willing to be handled and even came up to be petted (they either had been handled quite a bit before, or were just very friendly).

That's something you might consider. Going to a petstore and asking to "meet" the little pets, although most stores won't let you handle the hamsters or gerbils, many will let you handle the rats, and you can see for yourself if they're for you.

I think rats make the best first pet for a child. Because they are an intelligent and interactive pet that the child can actually play and bond with, they don't get bored with them as with caged animals they can't take out of the cage. And unlike many small pets if you keep more than one, they still will bond to you, and not just to each other. To a rat, the more the merrier. A woman at the animal shelter I volunteered at was addicted to the little buggers. It was really hard for her to see them go unadopted (especially if they didn't have a cagemate), so she would often end up taking them home (I think she had like six or seven of them when I knew her).

Ok, I'm going to stop now. I'm sounding a little freaky even to myself. It's just hard not to go to bat for the little buggers, knowing that they make such good pets and are mostly destined for something's dinner.

Colleen

Colleen - you don't sound "freaky" . LOL, I've had my rats' new home (a 3-level "high rise") set up and ready for a month now. And I plan/hope to clicker train them, too . I'll post some pics on Friday -- they are just SO darn cute! And thanks again for all your advice/tips on the rat thread I started awhile back...your enthusiasm is a big reason why I decided to take them home!

Thanks Kate,

I have to admit, I'm smitten with the little critters. Oh by the way, I remember you asking about lab blocks, and I did read in my Training Your Pet Rat Book (it's the one on Amazon.com with the photo of a rat sitting on a rubik's cube) that lab blocks and seed mixes have similar nutritional values, but that rats are prone to picking out their favorite (and not necessarily healthiest) bits out first and leaving what they don't like. With lab blocks they can't do that. The lab blocks are big and bulky, so they can't scatter them out of the cage, either, so they're not as messy. Though when I have rats again, I'll probably use both.

Colleen

Let's see, I've had:
Hamsters
Rats
Mice
Gerbils
Dwarf Hamsters (very cute)
and Guinea pigs.


All of them need a lot of attention (feeding, watering, cleaning handling), but I think the most child-friendly pets were the Guinea Pigs. The usually go to the bathroom in the same corner of their box, and the don't bite, and they're a little bigger (not so easy to squish). However, rats are ok too. I never had a problem with them, and the kids thought they were fun.

I admit I am overly partial to the rats, because they just seem to me so much like pocket-sized little dogs. Were as I've kind of thought of mice, hamsters, and gerbils as only one step up from fish (look, but don't touch pets), and guinea pigs and rabbits as a step or two further.

Even though I wanted almost every animal on the planet when I was a kid, I was never all that fond of guinea pigs. My best friend in third or fourth grade had a guinea pig that was beautiful, but was a terrible biter (I have heard that guinea pigs don't bite, but this little guy apparently didn't know that), and at the time my parents were showing signs of caving in to my brother and my pleadings for a puppy, so I remeber being very comtemptuous of the guinea pig as it didn't "DO" anything.

Colleen