Hamster vs Rat

[muggglewump]

My DD is 8 later this month. She wants a hamster and has for ages.
CM's son has a lovely hamster which is why DD wants one.
I know though, that they can be horrible, bitey and not good pets. I had two as a child, the first was great, the second not, and was really something in a cage that was fed and cleaned but not a pet.

I've heard rats make better pets.

DD will be doing the feeding and cleaning. I'm aware that she will lose interest but at her age she will be made to do it, I have told her this already.

I will pick up the slack if needed, the pet will be well looked after.

I've no experience of rats though.
Is it true that they are quite tame, and can be trained, and are friendly?

Will a rat make a better pet than a hamster?

oops! forgot the link!

www.erodent.co.uk/BuyingADegu.htm

Another vote for rats!

My DC have 2 boy rats and, it took a few weeks for them to allow us to handle them, but now they are friendly and very curious.

We think one of them has OCD because as soon as he gets out of the cage he runs around collecting anything left on the floor and taking it all under the chest of drawers. The place always looks tidier after he has had a run around

Gerbils are actually rats i think.
we just got 2.
very sociable, sweet, friendly critters.
go for gerbils.

We love rats here (still wouldn't like to meet a wild one close up though!) and have had 4.

They are clean and don't tend to smell (boys have a more obvious odour and wee more when out of cage though). Unlike mice which absolutely honk! (We have had those too!)

They are generally very friendly, although I would avoid purchasing any from a pet shop you felt uncomfortable in. If they are looked after they are lovely. Be careful they are not pregnant already as well. I bought our first 'male' rat from a local pet shop and a week later she had 8 little pink babies!! The pet shop did rehome the babies once they were weaned and even bought them from me though!

They are entertaining. Ours were very lively when young but have got a little fat and tired as they have aged. Our current rat is a male called Benny who is aged about 3. He came from Blue Cross rescue @ Pets at Home.

They are quite easy to clean out providing you don't buy a complicated cage! Although they do like quite a bit of room so a specialist rat cage is best. Don't place it too close to your curtains though. Our lovely curtains were pulled in and eaten in the night!

Sorry it's so long!

HTH

Rats are wonderful!

Please get from a breeder tho' and not a pet shop.

Our first three were from a pet shop, had to be trained not to bite and lasted just over a year - cue one hysterical DD and a lot more research into rats and rat breeders!

Current rats are from a breeder (fancy rat website is a mine of information) have never shown any signs of biting, beg to be lifted out of cage, travel around the house in peoples sleeves and are cute etc etc.

I think they are a better pet because they are that bit bigger than hammies, mice gerbils etc, well bred and looked after ones last two to three years aswell.

I'm currently tryng to talk DD into a pair of female rats, she's not looking too convinced, but I will work on her.

I do know hamsters can be lovely, I had a lovely one but the one after that was truly awful and could not be handled at all, plus there's the issue of them being nocturnal.

I was going to get them from the local Pet Shop, I didn't know there was such thing as a rat breeder, but I will look. It may not be possible as I don't drive though.

Thanks for all the help, I have chosen, just need to get DD onside now!

DD got a hamster from a breeder ( bred for temperment - handled alot as soon as poss) and she is the lovliest thing ever - seriously friendly, and likes being handled. She is even happy being woken up.

I have looked after rats too, and they were lovely as well.

SO - a hamsterif from a breeder, otherwise a rat

BTW, dd's is white, and HUGE!! kinda looks like a rat. She has also won a prize in a Hamster show.

my dwarf hamster was the scariest, most vicious pet I have ever had. My rats were very entertaining, I would def have them again if I had room. Gerbils are like mini rats, clever, entertaining and much more pleasant than the hamster. And need less space than rats. Have a look on youtube, there are some ace videos of gerbils doing assault courses. They need a glass tank tho, DO NOT put them in a rotastak, they will chew their way out as soon as you back is turned.

Gerbils are desert rats, they are lovely pets. Not as smelly as hamsters and nice to handle. Also need a glass tank.

I had both.

Hamsters boring, horrible, bitey and nocturnal.

Rats - friendly (and awake). Would go for rat.

purpleduck - our hamster who sadly passed away last year-was a pedigree and his great x6 grandfather won 2 prizes at the hamsters version of crufts for being the most glossiest coat and best temperment!!!

was from breeder

another rat vote here too! weve had both rats and hamsters and rats are much more intersting, like little dogs! lovely little things they were but they do need lots of attention and some toys (and a big cage) - they need a bit more entertaining because they are so inquisitive and intelligent, ours were out of their cage more than in it, but i think rats make a great pet for kids. we had a couple of girly rats. ive heard boy rats are lovely but lazy and slightly smellier than lady rats! (that figures eh!)

Rat, far more fun - I've had both mine was called star ( rats spelled backwards ) and she was lovely...

Much less smelly than the dog too...

Also cat was forever trying to open the hamsters cage, only tried it once with the rat

Lennied My friend once had 2 gerbils - one night one gerbil ate the other one!!! In the morning there was just bones, couldn't bring myself to have one after that

We had rats, hamsters and mice as children.

Rats definately made the best pets, I used to carry mine everywhere (on the bus, round town... my mum still tells the story of how the man in the supermarket screamed when she peeped out from under my coat when we were shopping). One of mine would also come to call and they can be persuaded to 'tightrope walk' and 'jump' if you are patient which is fun. Get one from a breeder though as they will be more likely to have been well handled.

Hamsters are cute, but they don't really seem to enjoy being handled like rats do. We used to breed ours which was FASCINATING (and my first introduction to colour genetics).

Mice are supposed to be like mini-rats but I always found them a bit small and quick for us children to enjoy handling.

I was always told that Dwarf/Russian hamsters - although cute - were bitey. I also heard this about gerbils, intersting to see on this thread that people find them friendly like rats.

Blondes I think we are seriously outvoted

kitkat - I forgot why I was against gerbils until you said that about one gerbil eating the other - ours did that when I was a child

indeed we are

i am hamster sitting at the moment- friend (breeder) has 7 of them

all came out for a play - tho seperately of course

I sometimes take dds out and play with her whilst dd is sleeping

Another vote for rats here - we have had a total of 5 over the past 3.5 yrs (two elderly ones left at present). They all have distinct personalities and there is definitely more of a 2-way interaction then I ever had with my hamster or gerbils when growing up.

However, there are some drawbacks to rats - they only live for 2-2.5 yrs and are prone to a number of different health problems which can end up being quite expensive. Also, it is much harder to find someone willing to look after them while you go on holiday.

Rats are defo best, my bert and and ernie (RIP) would come when called and would get excited when I walked over to them, they would also sit on my shoulder and nestle in it.

They love company and as long as they get handled everyday are a lot less likely to bit than hamsters.