When you hear the word rodent the first thing that comes to your mind are rats. Those rodents that most of us just don’t appreciate and that we have learned to loathe. But a group of mammals that also belong to the rodent family are commonly known as pets. These are the hamsters and guinea pigs. They are very good house pets. That they are all rodents does not mean that they have the same needs and requirements when it comes to their living spaces and their social interactions. If you do decide to get a rodent as a pet then it will do you well to be aware of these differences. If you want to find the best rodent pet for your kids then here are some of the better choices:
Hamsters
There are two types of hamsters that are commonly kept as pets today. There is the Syrian hamster and then there is the dwarf hamster which is fast gaining in popularity. They usually live up to 2 to 3 years. Hamsters are very solitary animals and they should be kept alone in their cages. The average size is up to 6 inches and so their cage should be about 12 by 18 inches, but if you can make the cages bigger then that is better since hamsters are very active and you should allow them some free run of your room to rather than just keep them caged up.
Syrian hamsters should be handled when they are young since they can be quite temperamental when older if they have never been handled before. They are also nocturnal and do not like being disturbed when sleeping during the day. Hamsters make good pets because they are readily available and they can be kept alone.
Gerbils
Gerbils have an average life span of about 2 to 3 years but there have been reports of gerbils living up to 5 years. They have an average length of 4 inches and tails that are almost as long. Unlike hamsters gerbils love being in a group or as a pair. You have to be careful though in keeping male and female gerbils as they might start to breed out of hand. With the right amount of training and handling gerbils can be very tame and interesting to watch when interacting with each other.
Mice
Although mice are considered to be pests by a lot of people they can also make very goo pets. They are very easy to keep and they can live in groups although you might want to think about that since they can breed out of control if you have males and females together. They are very tame but since they are very small they are not a good candidate for interacting with humans as they can be hurt quite easily with rough handling. They only need small cages.
Guinea Pigs
Of all the rodents that we have listed here, guinea pigs have the longest average life span. They can live for up to 5 to 7 years. They are also the largest with adults growing up to 10 inches in length. They are very sociable and rarely do they bite. The only problem with guinea pigs is that since they are quite large they need larger cages or living spaces, but since they do not have a tendency to escape you can make fun and interesting living spaces for them and allow them some free roaming in your bedroom too.