Gerbils or hamster??

[Sometimeswinning]

I've always been against this type of pet but as dd4 is asking for one I thought I would do some research. Apparently Gerbils are more family friendly than Hamsters. Anyone with advice?

Gerbils are great fun to watch- tunnelling and building dens. Hamsters have very different personalities: I’ve had really friendly ones who get used to getting up earlier to come out for a chat and others who hate people and scream. A hamster scream is a shocking sound.
Guinea pigs! 😍 Gorgeous, wheeky and curious little bundles of greediness!

If it's only your 4 yo who doesn't want rats, I'd definitely overrule - my own DD wasn't keen at first, but now she's smitten! Unlike many small pets, they really want to interact with us; they're great!

Maybe a Ty baby?! My 3yo v Impressed with hers x

I had a rat called Tulip. She used to ride on my shoulder and share anything I ate. Lovely animals.

If you get a gerbil please get two! They’re very sociable creatures and hate to be alone. Hamsters are the opposite and will fight if more than one.
We’ve had both. As another poster said, hamsters really differ in their personalities. We’ve had lovely, friendly ones and ones who bite.
Gerbils are better pets imo. But they are fast and like to run everywhere. Be prepared for them to climb up your arms, over your shoulders and even on to your head! When I owned them (over a decade ago so the advice might have changed), the advice was to buy a glass aquarium rather than a metal or plastic cage. Fill it with sawdust so they can burrow.
To socialise ours we would put them in the bath and sit in with them (without water!). They would love climbing all over us and we knew they couldn’t escape.

My DS has gerbils. They are very characterful but will look for any and all means of escape! They are jumpers and climbers but very rarely buyers unless they think you are a carrot. Ours will sit to be petted occasionally but won’t sit and sleep in your hands. They are always on the go and can be a bit noisy at night due to chewing so a cage that can be moved into a spare room or downstairs is ideal.

Biters not buyers

@Feetupteashot are you posting in the right place??? Ty as in the bean toys?

@bathorshower not just her. It was 3 to 2 of us.

@Sunshineskies dont worry I've just read they need company. Will be getting 2.

@OoohTheStatsDontLie

Guinea pigs. Ours lived about 8 years. Friendly, squeaky, funny, not nocturnal (not sure of the word!), not aggressive like some rabbits

Diurnal

I remember my brother coming home with a 'gerbil' once. It was really big and my mum took one look at it and said "that's a rat" she was absolutely mortified and told him to get rid of it. She kept it in the end though and it was a lovely pet.

Guinea pigs. We have 3 and they have grown on me. All you need to do is feed them and clean the cage. Get them out (multiple times a day) for cuddles. They are very cuddly. If my son needs a wee he puts them down and they don’t move!

Hate it when people say hamsters bite. I think I’ve had maybe 5 hamsters. 2 growing up and then 3 for my own kids and none of us have ever been bitten. They are so friendly and sociable, just unfortunately nocturnal.
As long as you take them early on and never trap them in your hands you shouldn’t be bitten.

Why the veto on rats?
They are a far superior pet to a hamster.
They can be trained to fetch, come to call and be litter trained.

Hamsters! More ploddy than F1 speed gerbils. And they don't smell as bad and you keep them as single pets whereas gerbils prefer to get in groups.

Gerbils are sometimes still referred to as desert rats. I’ve had gerbils and hamsters. Gerbils by far made the better pet (my hamsters all had anger issues), I even managed to train one of my gerbils (I still miss him now). I currently have the coolest rat, he’s very intelligent and I love having rat cuddles (he literally presses his little body hard against mine), the previous owners tried to keep him with other rats but he got bullied so has to live alone (he’s out with us for at least 3 hours a day). He comes when called and research suggests they are as intelligent as dogs. This won’t help you op but like several pp’s rats would be amazing (I have 7&4 year old dds too).

We’ve had both. Hamsters are naturally nocturnal, though some will come out to see you in the day. Ours rarely did, and the kids found the hamsters wanted to play right around their bedtimes! We have gerbils currently, and they’re awesome.

The best pets for children are mice they rarely bite they are good combo between low maintenance and interactive and can be very tame.
The next best are rats, they are the best pets in the world but you do need to spend time with them so not always great for kids.
Degu’s, chinchillas and rabbits need an adult to take the lead and aren’t as robust as rats and mice and can be nervous and/or stand offish.
Guinea pigs and hamsters are a bit boring IMO and hamsters can be really aggressive.
Gerbils are a bit fast for young kids to handle.

Hamsters nocturnal
Gerbils burrow and too fast to handle.
Rats.
But tell child they’re one of the above.

I agree that guineas are perfect for small children as they are friendly and comparatively easy to handle.

Rats are fantastic, but need lots of space and stimulation.

If you are dead set on a tiny rodent, then pet mice are lovely, they are much easier to tame and are friendlier than either hamsters of gerbils in my experience. They are fragile because of their small size though.

I've had many small furry animals and I dont think I would reccomend any 🤣🤣

The gerbils were great and didnt smell like other animals BUT not great for kids, they are FAST and they can jump and climb quite high and are generally difficult to hold.

Hamster they are ok but always bite, I had a robovoski? Hamster and he was lovely but way too small for kids and they arent animals that like to be handled... more something to watch.

Guinea pigs... pain in the ass if I'm honest. They smell, need to be cleaned out a couple times a week and you have to have alot of patience with them, they take AGES to get used to you and can be quite difficult to catch.

Rats... they are the only thing I've ever rehomed. I was always recommended rats but my god do they reek. Cleaned them out pretty much everyday and they stank so fucking badly. They did not like to be held at all, they escaped from their RAT cage and chewed loads of wires, they bit BADLY and were literally horrendous.

Rabbits, love em but alot of work and not great for kids despite what people say.

I think gerbils were definitely the best small fury I had. Just do not get rats 🤣

Oh can I hyjack thread? Do people think rats smell more than hamsters? We have experience with hamsters but wondering about getting a rat

If you go for gerbils then I heartily recommend keeping them in a fish tank. They are fun. They are curious and also love reorganising their sawdust. a fish tank will stop the sawdust ending up everywhere.

Oh can I hyjack thread? Do people think rats smell more than hamsters? We have experience with hamsters but wondering about getting a rat

In honesty, yes. They smell more, but they arent really sticky. But they make lovely pets.

@Areyousureted yes 100%. The rats I had stank, honestly unbearable. I cleaned them out fully almost everyday and they had a large 6ft cage. The hamster didnt smell half as bad.