Why should you get a gerbil instead of mice hamsters or rats?

Answer 1

* Hamsters: The most common hamster kept as a pet is the Syrian or Golden Hamster. They are larger than the Mongolian Gerbil, with a very short tail, and small eyes. There are both short- and long-haired varieties, that most people find quite attractive. The space, food, and bedding requirements for a hamster are essentially indentical to those for a pair of gerbils. The main difference comes from the hamster's solitary nature. These animals live alone in the wild, and must be kept alone as a pet. A pair of hamsters, even raised together from infancy, still runs a risk of growing up to fight and perhaps kill each other. This solitary nature can make them a bit tricky for people to bond with on occassion. They dislike being woken up from a sound sleep (especially during the day, as they have an almost completely noctural nature -- as opposed to the gerbils, which has several sleep/wake periods throughout the day) and it is advisable to tickle the critter awake and let him get that sleepy look off his face before picking him up, in case he decides to take his grumpiness out on your fingers. The various species of Dwarf Hamsters (becoming quite popular as pets) all have different temperments and different social needs, so I will leave that for the hamster people to explain. * Mice: Mice are smaller than gerbils, with a different shape to the head and ear, smaller eyes, and a sparsely haired tail. Again, space and bedding requirements for a pair of mice are very similar to the requirements for a pair of gerbils. Food requirements are very similar, although some meat protein added occassionally to the diet isn't a bad idea. Mice are also very social critters, although adult male mice should not be kept together. Male mice will produce a rather strong odor, so keeping a pair of female mice is probably the best way to go. Mice are generally considered to be the least intelligent of the small rodents. Rats: Rats are bigger than gerbils, with round and slightly bulging eyes and a bald, partially prehensial tail. They require the most space of the small rodents, a ten-gallon aquarium being the ABSOLUTE minimum for one rat. Food requirements are quite different, requiring a different mix of seeds, grains, and meat -- as rats are omnivours. Many people feed their rats lab blocks and supplement this diet with various treats. I personally feed my rats (yes, this particular gerbil person also has rats) a mix of bird pellets and bird seed with a touch of dog food thrown in and leftovers from whatever we happened to have for dinner and didn't eat. Bedding requirements are again the same, although because of the odor of rats is somewhat stronger than that of gerbils and hamsters, it is often a good idea to throw in a little bit of cat litter to help absorb the smell. : Again, rats are very social creatures and quite intelligent. They should be kept in at least a pair, with lots of love and attention from their owners. Their intelligence ranks up there with that of a small dog, and they generally form strong attachments to their people. This would not be a wonderful pet for a child who likes the idea of a pet, but spends most of his or her time ignoring it. Gerbils are happy with their gerbil companions in general, but the rats would be lonely and not as happy. Many people are put off by the unsavory repuatation of a rat, and relatives may react in Horror at the thought of you owning one. From http://members.nanc.com/~mhaines/gerbil.html#section2.1 , A great gerbil website.