Please give me the honest low down on gerbils (for a nine year old) or suggest a suitable alternative consideration!

[mummabubs]

Right folks!
Previous context: I had hamsters as a child and have grown up around rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, stick insects, a snake and now farm animals... So feel I'm relatively experienced in caring for animals and understanding the commitment they entail.

Current context: We lost our family dog four years ago. My son misses him greatly and often talks about wanting another dog and/or a pet of his own. I would love a dog long term, but feel it's too much of a commitment right now and also being brutally honest I carried 99% of the dog 'mental load' and two children later I'm honestly not sure I'd cope with that right now and have no belief that a second dog would be any different in terms of this.

My son would like an animal he can talk to and interact with, so I've ruled out fish and selfishly anything that lives more than ~4-5 years as again I suspect I'll be heavily involved in caring for them. I've read that gerbils are a good starter pet when bought in twos as they are quite friendly and not too bitey (unlike my beloved hamsters who were a tad vicious even with regular gentle handling!) I think literally the only thing makinge question gerbils is apparently they're quite speedy so don't really sit still in your lap much, not sure if DS would be a bit nervy around this.

Just wondering if other people have found them to be relatively easy going first pets and if not are there any options I'm not thinking of? (Also ruling out cats before anyone suggests them, they're just not for me!) Thank you for any replies 😊

2 or 3 fancy rats in a BIG cage with lots of toys, girls are smaller and often livelier and boys are usually slower and a bit lazy! They are intelligent and if handled nicely can be very affectionate and can be trained to ‘do tricks’. Unfortunately their lifespan is usually only up to 3 years. They prefer to be very clean and can be litter-tray trained.

I think they’re a great first pet. They don’t mind being handled and are curious little creatures. The only thing to consider is that if you are keeping them in his bedroom they are nocturnal so will be active at night and may keep you awake scurrying about.

Gerbils dont live very long. I 2nd rats, we had two!!!! They were so intelligent and friendly.

Any cage you can buy in Pets at Home is far too small. Personally I would go rats every time. Again, they need a huge cage and you should get them from a breeder, not a pet shop but they genuinely love people and want to interact with us and have fab personalities. Keep a small single-sex group and you will love them. FB has some good rat care groups with cage inspiration.

My kids always loved guinea pigs! They’re pretty easy to handle, rarely bite.

We had gerbils, didn’t like being handled at all no matter how we tried.

Definitely rats! They genuinely seem to like human company - unlike hamsters, gerbils and many guinea pigs. They are smart and funny and very interactive.

Rats are known to be like the dogs of the rodent world - in terms of loving human company and interaction. Speedy girls or cuddly boys.

We've had 3x pairs of gerbils at various points. None have particularly liked being handled, but they all had their own personalities and came to see us, took food etc. They're fun to watch, they make elaborate tunnel systems. You need a large glass tank to keep them properly e.g. see gerbilcare.co.uk/housing-which-tank/
They're not nocturnal, they go through lots of active then rest periods over a day.

I third (fourth?) rats. They are affectionate, trainable, and just plain fun. Basically, tiny dogs.

Gerbils are lovely 😍
Had them as a child and my dd had 2 when she was 8. Very friendly and you can hold them, cone running for treats.

Having got through, three rabbits, four hamsters and a pair of gerbils during my 3 DCs childhood I would not bother with rodents. Cats are much easier to look after and more rewarding.

Guinea pigs are highly recommended a pet for children. Gerbils can get lost easily!

Thank you all! Would definitely be open to rats, will do some reading! Interesting the hear the girl/boy behaviour split!

And just to reassure I'm also of the belief that any cage sold at Pets at Home is likely too small so would definitely source the largest one we are able to fit in our room.

To the person who suggested a cat, as per my OP they're really not for me and given they live so long at that point I'd rather just commit to a dog again!

Gerbils are amazing. We started off because we had the same advice re hamsters. Gerbils are not nocturnal. They are up at all different times of the day. You need to have a gerbilarium with a topper (google it) I lose so much time watching my (dd’s) boys tunnel, run in the wheel (these need to be large and wooden).

They come when I call them. Love to be handled, I have advice on how we got to this point. I could go on all day about them.

We got gerbils for similar reasons from a fantastic breeder and they lived 5 years! They were brothers and adored each other. They'd clearly been loved and handled a lot and were fun but they didn't scratch the dog itch so we gave in and got a puppy about 18 months later. She's 6 now and has really benefited us in a way gerbils just couldn't. I thought about rats too but we don't have the right space for the cage they'd need and I didn't want to keep getting pets to fill a dog shaped gap!

I decided on gerbils for similar reasons when the DCs were younger. They were very popular. Be careful though (depending on where you get them from) as I was told we had 2 males - all fine. Then as I (yes I, as they won’t get involved in the cleaning out) was changing their bedding one day DD commented that she could see something moving elsewhere in the cage. I ignored the comment as I was busy. 3 days later we had 6 gerbils.

Then it got really complicated as I had no idea which ones were male and female. I split them up into 2 different cages but still they went on to have more. I temporarily became a gerbil sanctuary.

We did enjoy watching them all run around with a fence type thing that I bought so they could leave the cage.

I would say go for it!

Mine lived about two years. I think it’s too sad for young DC.

Just get another dog! 😆

We had small furry animals because it would be easier than a dog, however we still ended up with a dog, nothing else compares! I wish we hadn’t bothered with the caged animals, they are more effort than pleasure tbh.

Your family will still be sad at not having a dog but with the added pressure of looking after small creatures. And going away is so difficult because we had a huge cage meaning someone has to come to the house to care for them (ie you can’t drop them off with a friend).

We had gerbils as kids and they all lived for ages. Our record was over 7 years. Lovely wee things.

We got 2 x male gerbils 6 months ago. They are lovely little things, one a bit more comfortable with humans than the other. They don’t seem to be in the mood for handling until about 8pm but then they come running to meet my DD for a treat. One loves to be handled and the other more cautious. However they are quick/scatty things so won’t sit and be petted and prefer to run around.
Ours were in my DD’s room until recently as they are making much more noise at night now (not sure if due to the hot weather they are sleeping more in the day so more active at night?) and were disturbing my daughter.
We love them but I do think my DD wishes they were a bit more cuddly/affectionate!

Guinea pigs live 5-7 years and if kept indoors and handled daily are extremely affectionate. We lost our lovely elderly boy in the last heatwave and miss him terribly. They need to be kept in pairs as a minimum though. They’re extremely funny characters and will talk to you in squeaks to let you know what they want, it’s food, always food :D and will snuggle into you for cuddles when tame. Rats sound interesting too though as they seem interested in their owners too unlike other rodents.

Honestly thank you so much everyone for your replies. Having done more reading based on all of your experiences I think rats are currently looking like the best fit for us as a family. Would never have considered them before but feel the most confident about them. We do definitely want a dog again long term and I really connect with those saying they ended up getting a dog anyway, equally I just know I would be doing 99% of the load with a dog and I just don't have the mental capacity to hold that right now. Definitely one day though.

Rats are amazing, you're making a great choice! I currently have 11 baby boys and 2 adult males in my cage. Only 6 of the boys are staying with me and we will find homes for the others.

I highly recommend Rat Care UK on facebook, the group is full of advice and amazing breeders.