# If only...



## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

I think I want to own every small rodent there is. I definitely prefer rats and mice to gerbils, guinea pigs, and hamsters (am I missing anything?) but I've been thinking that when my rat population starts to decrease instead of continually adding more and more I might start to keep a smaller number and expand a little to see how I feel about gerbils and different breeds of hamsters.... they're just so irresistibly cute! I don't know.... do any of you keep a large variety of rodents? What is it like? I know you get different things from each species (and most hamsters should be kept alone?) but I didn't know if anyone had experience with keeping a bunch of different species at the same time. I'd definitely need to make sure I had enough time to give them all the attention and care they needed, and this won't be any time soon because I plan on my gals having long, long lives (please?) but every time I read about/see gerbils and hamsters I think... man, one day it would be cool.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

I breed gerbils. I have 17 that are mine and that I will be keeping, but I have a total of 37 all together. I'd have to say that they are my favorite rodent. Most of mine are cuddly and will calmly lay in my hand while I pet them. I do have a few that are more hyper than the others and don't like sitting still for long. I love that they don't smell much (I freshen up their tanks once a month. I never fully clean the tank; I always leave a little bit of the old bedding in the tank to prevent any chances of declanning). They are very fun to watch. They recycle any cardboard that you have in your house. And the adults don't require daily attention. I play with my adults several times a week (the babies I play with daily to socialize and tame them). By the way, gerbils are like rats. They must be kept with their own kind. Males can live in groups of 2 to 8 or more (depending on how big of a tank you give them) and females can live in pairs or trios. Keeping a large group of females would be risky because the females are so territorial (they are the dominant gender with gerbils).

I also have 12 female mice. They come in as a second favorite to gerbils. 

I have 2 Syrian hamsters. One male and one female. They HAVE to be kept alone or they will kill each other. They are very cuddly, but you'll want to be very picky if you get one from a pet store. I got my male from Petsmart as a baby. He wasn't very tame, but since he was a baby it didn't take much effort to tame him. My female I got recently from a different pet store. When I was trying to pick out a hamster she wouldn't leave me alone. She kept coming up to me and crawling all over my hands and up my arms. If I put her back in the tank she'd just come back to me... so naturally I took her home with me. Hamsters are nice, but they are nocturnal so you can really only play with them in the evenings (unless you happen to get one that doesn't mind being woken up... luckily both of mine don't mind if I wake them up). I've never been bitten by either of them.. I have been nibbled on by the male though when I first got him.

I have one dwarf winter white hamster. He has a huge personality. He has more energy than the Syrian hamsters combined. He basically lives on his wheel. lol I've also never been bitten by him. He has nibbled me a few times though, but it was mostly when my hands smelled like food. 

I also have two degus. I really enjoy them and I love how much special care they require. They are very prone to diabetes, so they require low sugar or sugar free food. I "rescued" mine from a pet store that wasn't giving them proper care, so neither of them are fully tame but they're coming around. One of my boys actually comes up to me, but the other still runs away. I really enjoy them, and I like that they have such long lifespans.

And then of course I have my two rats.

I make time for my animals. I don't really find it to be much of an issue.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Gerbils are the species that ignited my passion for rodents and led to my love of rats. I would definitely explore other rodent species if you have the money and extra time that they will require.


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