File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Dear /an/,
My roommate and I plan on getting a rodent in the near future. Question is....Gerbil or Hamster?
kthxbai.
(pic related)
>> Anonymous
i'd say that looks more like a gerbil than a hamster.
>> Anonymous
Dwarf Hampster or Gerbil. Do not get a golden/teddybear hampster those 2 are more dirty so you have to clean the cage like every week.

With a Gerbil you can go 2 weeks or more and you wont notice the cage needs cleaning pretty much the same with a dwarf hampster because those are so tiny and cute.
>> Anonymous
Also, Give your gerbil a lot of toilet paper rolls it will shred them all day, if you get a wheel for it to run in it may just shred it down if its non metal. If you get an aquarium be sure to get something to cover the top something like this you find in pet stores http://futurepet.com/images/ss/zmsc5.jpg .

Gerbils are also easier to pick up you just lift them up by the base of their tail
>> Anonymous
I only have exerience with gerbils, from Hamster pretty much all i know is that they are solitary and nocturnal.

If you wanna go gerbil, DO NOT get a single one! Get at least two, but make sure you can sex them properly. Whether two males/two females shouldnt make a difference, so make sure their private parts look the same.

An aquarium instead of a cage is highly recommended. In a cage they will continuously chew on the bars, and/or throw stuff out when digging. In an aquarium, put loads of woodchips/hay/straw, some toilet paper tubes, as they love to build tunnels.
If you have a gerbil proof area, let them out sometimes. Mine got so tame, they would run up my arm when i put it in the aquarium. I guess its because they knew they would be let outside.
I never had to pick them up by the tail anymore.
>> Anonymous
Seriously, get a rat. Way cooler, and the most intelligent rodent out there. If raised to be handled, they are GREAT pets
>> Anonymous
>>65759


Don't pick a gerbil up by its tail. You just need to stick your hand in the cage and the gerbil will hop right up on it. Picking it up by its tail can hurt it badly.

Gerbils are some of the coolest pets ever. They aren't high maintenance and are plenty friendly.
>> Anonymous
...But rats are superior.
>> Anonymous
>>65903
This is truth!
>> Anonymous
I've had normal and dwarf hamsters, gerbils, and rats.
My experience with hamsters...well they've always acted like tempermental cats. The stereotypical cats. And they sleep all day. Sadistic little buggers too. My dwarf liked ramming his ball into your leg as hard as he could.
Gerbils are friendlier, but spazzy. Don't get me wrong, I love them for their spazziness. I bought them over the dwarves for that reason. Keeping hold of them is a challenge. Put something new in their cage and their right there investigating it, like kids on christmas day.
If you want something to cuddle with, get a rat. They're like mini dogs. Smart, friendly, and obedient.
>> Anonymous
if you get a hamster do not get a dwarf. the regular syrians are much friendlier and cuter
>> Anonymous
gerbils > hamsters due to less wheel noise at 4am

rats > both though
>> Anonymous
Dwarf hamsters are very easy to handle and less likely to bite than their larger Syrian counterparts. The picture you have looks like a winter white dwarf. I have two females- a pair that live in the same aquarium. They can live singular or in a pair of the same sex, and most get along without any trouble. Be prepared to separate them if their play fighting gets too rough though (generally they're fine until you see blood). I would definitely recommend getting a ten gallon aquarium instead of a cage or plastic house, as they are much, much easier to clean every week. As for the annoying squeaking on the wheel, there is a brand of wheel that is safe for dwarfs called 'Silent Spinner' and does a pretty good job of being quiet while you're sleeping. The winter whites in particular don't mind if you hold them properly. (ie- reach under and pick them up carefully and put them in the palm of your other hand. Unlike Syrians, they are more likely to run away than bite. Dwarfs are also more high energy and generally smell less- (Syrian females get an awful odor when they're in heat).

hamsterific.com is where I got all my info before picking up my pair.
>> Anonymous
Rats are superior and way less likely to be high strung or bite you in a fit of irritation.

Re: aquariums as cages - they are okay cages, but will trap ammonia, so expect to be changing the cage a LOT if you want to keep your pet healthy. Most rodents do like to burrow though, so it can be fun for them, so long as you make sure to keep things fresh for them.

No matter what you get though, make sure you get pairs - most rodents need a bit of company, especially if you're not going to be able to take them out a lot. Generally, females are better, because they're less territorial. (I believe male gerbils shouldn't be kept together, but I don't remember where I heard that...) Either way, look for websites about the care of whatever rodent you decide to get. www.rmca.org is great for rats...dunno about gerbils or hamsters though.
>> Anonymous
Male gerbils are okay together as long as they're familiar with each other (like brothers or grew up together). I have two males together and they do fine.
That's a general rule for all rodents I think. Except rats. I was told you could introduce them with little aggression.
>> Anonymous
no hamsters, hamsters are MEAN.

gerbils are quite nice though.
>> Anonymous
a cute nice dwarf hamster is the cuter
>> Clepsydre
Have to say that my gerbil is dumb and bite by boyfriend so ill say an hamster
>> Anonymous
get a gerbil. hamsters are worthless. all you'll ever see them do is sleep.
>> sage Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
get a reptile.
>> Anonymous
>>66295

>No matter what you get though, make sure you get pairs

This is true for dwarf hamsters, most definitely NOT the bigger and more common Syrians. Though they may be fine with each other for a while, when they reach sexual maturity, they will fight and Syrians fight to the death. I've seen too many idiots lose one or both hamsters because they figured that because they hadn't fought before, they never would. Syrians are solidary animals and WILL kill each other at some time. Never, never try to keep them together.

Dwarves, on the other hand, are most often fine as long as you don't see blood or ecessive bullying (ie- one guarding the food or beating on the other constantly).
>> Anonymous
>>66295

Depends on where you get a rat. Definetly get a rat from a breeder. I made the mistake of getting mine from a pet store. Hes very temperamental and tries to bite me whenever he can. I'm just waiting for the fucker to die so I can get a better one. Sad but true.

oh and I love gerbils but they are teh ghey. Literally. My females will hump each other all day. Same thing with my males too.
>> Anonymous
>>66523

Can't you get rid of it? It's just a rat.

I still can't fathom having rodents as pets...I thought they were cool back when I was a little kid, but the older I got the more their hypersexual, cannibalistic behavior freaked me out...
>> Anonymous
Gerbil. They're very fun!

Also, do not pair up gerbils, they do not get along with others the way hamsters do.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>66483
thats a good idea cause if you get like a tegu you can have that and get rodents as well and love and petted those until you crush thier heads and feed them to your lizard beast which is in turn nourished
>> Anonymous
>>66753
That picture is too small, is that an alligator on a couch?
>> Anonymous
>>66710


Nah. I took the responsibility of having a pet and i'm not going to throw him out just because I don't like him. Hes a fucker but hes still a living being.
>> Anonymous
>>66750
Just for you:
Gerbils are the ones with the long hair tails.

For all others:
Do not take advice from that person.
>> Anonymous
I had two gerbils before, I think they were both males. Anyway one day I woke up to find one gerbil and a solitary gerbil tail in the cage. Never found out what happened there.

I've also mistakenly bred gerbils, in the past. One of my females had about 50 babies, all together. They were cute, I only really loved one though, and he died because he was tiny and retarded or something. That made me hate all the other gerbils slightly. Anyway they all died in the end, except for about 20 babies which I sold to a petshop.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
Just get a rat you fool.
>> Anonymous
>>66294
I had two male russian dwarf hamsters in middle school. One would pick on the other one every night, and I'd hear squealing from the cages. Then one day I went to look at the cage and found that one was dead, and the other appeared to be eating it or chewing on it. The other one died a few days to a week later. I haven't gotten another rodent pet since, the experience made me reluctant to do so again.
>> Anonymous
>>66898

See, I that's what I'm (66710) talking about. That shit freaks me out.
>> Anonymous
>>66904
66898 here. I wonder now if maybe there was something I should've done, put them in separate cages and such, but I was told when I got them that russian dwarf hamsters could be aggressive, so I thought it was normal or maybe that they were playing. I should've done more research, but then again I was like 12 years old. So, is there another kind of dwarf hamster that people in this thread have been talking about that aren't aggressive? Is it just russian dwarves that are aggressive?
>> Anonymous
>>66898

I noticed a lot of bullying in my pair too. They never fought to injure one another, but the bigger would guard the food bowl and the little one hid herself all day from her. I seperated them after a few days, now the little one is a LOT more lively. For safety's sake, I wouldn't ever consider getting a pair again. I went to school with only a couple hours of sleep for the first few days because I was so fucking worried I'd come home to a dead hamster.

So, if you want a hamster, even if they -can- live together, they can just as easily live happily alone. (Though some say the robo hamsters live longer with a partner, this may be the only exception.)
>> Anonymous
>>66914

Well, the least aggressive to humans at least are the winter white and roborovski dwarves. (Though the latter is very fast and small, so is hard to handle.) To each other though... well it just really depends on the hamsters. If you get a big enough tank (15 gal would be good) and house a couple robos, they'd probably be all right. They're normally not aggressive.