Buying a pet on the bereavement rebound. Hamster or gerbils ?

[Helenluvsrob]

My last ( of a Pair of sisters - never convinced thry really got on ) died yesterday. Miss her little judgy looks.

Been rather overshadowed as my elderly dad died on Sunday.

Anyway. I can be a better let parent this time - the girls never got cuddly just functionally handlable and always scrabbly and stressed when held. I guess I didn't work hard enough when they were young :(

So girls or boys and hammy vs gerbils for a friendly pet ?

Do you really have to do a full cage change weekly with hammys ? Pet in the living room so low smell important ( as dh really just about to,rested thrm !)

Sorry the girls were gerbils. I'm not made enough to keep. Pair of Syrian hamsters !

You cannot get a pair of Syrian hamsters in one cage, they'll kill each other when they mature.

It does depend on the size of your cage but you can spot clean i.e in whatever corner they do their business

Sorry I'm not mad enough to keep a pair of Syrian hamsters. Blooming phone !

Hamsters need a cage with minimum floorspace of 80 x 50 cm. None of the cages in pets@home are big enough, with the exception of the hamster heaven which is online only. The Alaska cage from Zooplus is a good one at only £35 delivered or the Barney cage also from zooplus is a bit bigger for £50.

Get degus!!

I got a pair of boys and they are fantastic personalities, active in the day and really energetic.

Sorry for your loss OP I would definitely vote for gerbils. Lovely pets and not bitey!

I'm glad it's not just me, my dad also died last week, I've started looking at kittens today after being a year without one. I think we are looking for comfort. Sorry I can't offer any advice re hamster v gerbil but I hope you find a cuddly one

With the handling, they do need to be handled at least every day, but they come up and greet you once they recognise you (after all you're the one with the food!).

Definitely a Syrian hamster - boys smell much less than girls in my experience. Nice big cage, ideally with deep sawdust to burrow in. I've had some really affectionate ones.

Rats if you want small and cuddly, incredibly loving and intelligent, my boy loves play wrestling with me then snuggling up by my feet to go to sleep and running and hiding in my hair if anyone dare disturb him. He even gives kisses rats should be kept in pairs though my boy is a singleton for several reasons.