mouse? rat? hampster? gerbil? guinea pig? what's the best pet?

Oh good! What a pleasant surprise. Sometimes I think my ranting is (a little) annoying. LOL

I'm sure that the babies at the shelter will really appreciate it. I go there as often as I can. I never drive by without stopping and playing with all the kitties. The dogs are a lot more work because they like to be walked and then they are so excited to be outside they drag you everwhere. You never know, at your shelter they may have a play area for dogs. Ours does for cats.

Well, I'm sure you'll be good to whatever animal you get. i really couldn't make a suggestion about what pet is right for you. Hamsters only live a few years max so that might be kind of hard depending on you and your kid (and how old your son is). Mice are the same. I had pet mice and found them to have a lot of caracter! I didn't expect such individual personalities from them. I don't know why.

I've had hedghogs, iguanas, mice, hamsters, rabbits, cats dogs, horses, and fish. (and my sister had a chinchilla) So if you want to know about any of those feel free to ask.

Saje

 

get a rat! they make perfect pets! They're the most intelligent rodent, they don't bite, and become very attached to their owners. if you do get a rat, however, get two- they need company to stay happy.

 

What great advice!

As far as animals living in cages, I agree to an extent. I have a Sun Conure (it is a type of bird) that lives in a cage, but he loves his home, and is free to roam the house whenever he wants. I don't clip his wings so he can follow us in the house wherever we want to go. But he still needs his home.

I also have a tarantula that stays in his cage (terrarium) almost 80% of the time, but that's what they like, the aren't so giddy about being bothered all the time. But he isn't an animal, so that doesn't really count

But I know what you mean by your post, a just because an animal's home is in a cage doesn't mean that it shouldn't be out with you as much as any other house pet.

That being said, rats make really great pets. They learn their names, can learn tricks, rarely (if ever) bite, can junk out on the couch with you, and are pretty smart. Your rat will be your best buddy if you let it.

 

I have two male Guiena Pigs. I only clean there cage once a week, and I have no problem what so ever with smell. In fact back in July I went on vatcation for 2 weeks. I had someone come in and feed and water them everyday, but did not trust them to clean the cage, so I just did it right before we left. I expected it to smell pertty bad when we got back. But you had to be hovering right over the cage to smell anything. I don't have an overly large cage. It is bigger than a store bought one (the guiena pig cages you buy in stores are always to small) I bilt it my self for about 25 dollar.
The only thing with guiena pigs is that if you only have one, they need lost of love and attention. Guiena Pigs are very social animals, and it's always better to have a same sex pair.

 

If I were you I would get a midget, they are kinda messy and eat alot, but they make great pets.

 

Guinea pigs rock. I have just the one, a male peruvian/abbysinian (i can't spell that for beans lol) and he's awesome. He's cheerful, funny, even-tempered, very patient, and guinea pigs are great pets for little kids. They're big (or can be - mine weighs three pounds lol he's huge) so they're harder for kids to squish... and they're really good with being picked up, poked at, etc. http://piggy.egstudios.ca
I agree about the cage thing... let them out as much as you can. And guinea pigs are attention whores lol they need constant companionship. So if you plan to get just one, make sure there's going to be someone around alot.

 

gerbils are almost stink proof, the only time i clean the cage is when the bedding gets old and starts to gather dust and the used bedding works as pretty good fertilizer ive learned, i put it behind my garage and now grass is growing realllly tall over it, sordove like instant mulch... pretty social friendly creatures, might not be when you get them but you can change that with a little taming and attention, and putting your hand in with food on it and stuff like that... if i got more i would get 2 males or 2 females, their population is already too big for the lack of attention/loving owners, and they get really lonely and die a quicker sad death if they dont have a friend and get very bitter and hateful to you, but even if they do have a friend they usually like you more and will push each other over to climb up your arm first, which is one of the coolest things about them probably when they take little vacations on your shoulders and you just sit their on the ground, its a weird relaxation sordove thing, though it .. they dont like being pet automatically usually since they have been neglected at stores or by owners but they will adjust and start to like it after a while, and may even start to vibrate almost like their purring cuz their just happy to be in your hand, very cute little things...

hell mine just had 3 babies and i already have 7, if they survive i could probably give them to you though they would haaate the ride probably, but you gotta go through hell to get to heaven i guess. oh but they can get really fuckin noisy, they love to chew cardboard and dig, and if you dont put enough bedding in for them to burrow tunnells(which is also pretty cool) in they will scratch at the corners and make a lot of noise probably depending on the tank you have, mine are in a spare room though now so they can have some peace and quiet...

 

well, still havent decided on which rodents to have as pets, but i did talk to the people at the shelter, and we can be kitten cuddlers! and we made a bird feeder today.

 

ps, maybe i'll start a small rodent zoo...they all sound so nice.

 

rat all the way. they are too cute