Hamster or gerbril?

janeen6789 · November 2014

today is my sons 5th birthday and for well over a month he's been asking for a hamster, but I'm not sure if a hamster or gerbril is better? I've never had either, any suggestions?

Unknown · November 2014

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janeen6789 · November 2014

Why? Is there anything you would recommend?

sister13 · November 2014

We always had gerbils when I was growing up. They always seemed to have a little more personality than hamsters, in my opinion. And I remember my friend's hamsters seemed more apt to bite than our gerbils.

I just googled and found this - seems like some good points in favor of gerbils, but I don't know any strong hamster advocates, so they may have another side of the story! I loved our gerbils.

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

I've had a hamster and he was an asshole who liked to bite (and that hurt like hell...they can draw blood), and he also liked to scrape his teeth against the plastic cage in the middle of the night which made the most horrible and loud sound.....plus they're a pain in the ass to clean up after.... so I have a negative view on them now, but ...of course that's not everyone's experience, just mine. I ended up giving him back to the pet store after a few months. I think I was in 7th grade at the time?

I think gerbils or the little dwarf hamsters are kind of cute.... but I was actually noticing I haven't seen gerbils in the pet stores lately... the PetSmart by me only had Hamsters, rats, mice or guinea pigs...not sure what that's about.

Unknown · November 2014

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SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

Lol

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

Cats are pretty much the only pets I can manage, I've discovered. Anything I have to clean a cage for, take extra care to keep the damn things alive (like fish), or that has to eat live bugs or rodents probably wont fare well... too much maintenance

Cats are so low maintenance ....except for the damn litter box. Why can't my cats just act right and use the toilet like civilized beings?

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

Chameleons are fun too... they have funny hands and googly eyes

My Mom's best guy friend while I was growing up had a couple of them and I loved letting it walk up my arm and chill on my shoulder.

They eat bugs though so.....

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

At least I didnt mention the cockroaches

Same friend of my Mom's..... and lots of them. Big, hissing cockroaches from Madagascar.

You're welcome

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

....and a millipede...and a centipede..

nanabanana06 · November 2014

Take your pick. Either way they will be smelly, bite, and live in a plastic death cage 3 times smaller than needed. They will then escape, eat your homework, and hide in the dryer. I'll get my kids a cat or a ferret when the time comes.

ppants · November 2014

We have a bunny that we got last year for Christmas when the kids were nearly 8. He's a pretty good bunny and uses a litter box that needs to be cleaned every few days. The bunny is kept in a cage, and he runs around while supervised in the laundry room or bathroom. He's soft and big enough to hold, but not worry about being dropped at my kids' age. Rabbits usually live for 5 yrs.

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

Yeah the uh...smell of the "turtle juice" that you could pour from the tank at my H's uncles house was a special kind of wrong.

Not that he was great about cleaning it or caring for it...but. Yeah.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

What about a ferret? It's like a hamster/cat. They poop in litter boxes, aren't small enough to drop, likes to sleep in hammocks, can still be put in those cute balls, but let to roam free and can be leash trained. They still are smellyish and need cage cleanings, but are much better than hamsters.

nattyncbride · November 2014

My BFF's DD (5) has 2 hamsters. They are actually kind of cute, but BFF and her DH do most of the cleaning/feeding/caring for, DD helps.

I know nothing of gerbils.

My SO's son (10) just got a hedgehog. You have to clean out their cage all the time, completely clean the cage every other week, but they don't smell too bad (we gave him his first bath a few weeks ago), and are cute. That said, SO waited until his DS was 10 so he would actually feed/clean/bathe/play with said hedgehog. I was against it and though it was smelly and dumb, but the thing grew on me.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

I dunno about being expensive. My aunt had ferrets as a kid. I loved those suckers. Like little furry hot dogs. They were silly and were really nice. Still have to clean hamster cages daily too. Bonus is that the ferret can come out to play. However, ferrets are just high maintenance cats.

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

I think ferrets are illegal in CA. I wonder why that is.

So are hedgehogs, which I am NOT happy about. I want a hedgie..

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

I MEAN LOOKIT IT

[Deleted User] · November 2014

nellybluthredux said:

I was really afraid of what the question was going to be.

I thought it was going to be about Richard Gere.

[Deleted User] · November 2014

I had a dream that I got a porcupine as a pet.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

Lol. Ok ferrets get no love. I love hedgies though. And dimestic skunks. However, you couldn't pay me to own something that is in a cage. I'll stick with cats and dogs... and goats, chickens, and pigs. And mini horses. I want a chicken.

[Deleted User] · November 2014

I really want a hedgehog, but I can't be that single girl who has a hedgie, a cat and a dog. It's a bit much.

nattyncbride · November 2014

SpaceGirlSpiff said:

I MEAN LOOKIT IT

Agreed. Hedgehogs are really cute. It took about 3 days for SO's DS's hedgehog to not stick it's quills out at us, and now all it wants to do is cuddle. It's sick.

They are way more expensive than gerbils or hamsters though. Worth their weight in quills, I guess.

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

In reality, the hedgie would probably be too much maintenance for me at this point anyway, but goddammit they are cute.

Guess I'll just stick with the damn cats. Boooooooorrrrrringggggg

nanabanana06 · November 2014

I want a hedgie now. So cuuuute.

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

Hold the phone...

Domestic skunks?....

Huh. Wasn't aware that was a thing

amieeyoung · November 2014

We were looking at hamsters and ended up with a guinea pig. Pet shop owner said they were more gentle and once they warmed up more loyal and loving. Hamsters are high strung and tend to bite. So far my son has enjoyed the guinea pig, but something to know is that the cage needs the poop cleaned out a lot....

nanabanana06 · November 2014

I still like ferrets, but hedgies are super cute. If it wasn't for SO I'd be the crazy animal lady, cats, dogs, ferrets, hedgies, goats, chickens galore!

nanabanana06 · November 2014

unheardof said:

nanabanana06 said:

Lol. Ok ferrets get no love. I love hedgies though. And dimestic skunks. However, you couldn't pay me to own something that is in a cage. I'll stick with cats and dogs... and goats, chickens, and pigs. And mini horses. I want a chicken.

Waitwut?

Domestic skunks. They are super cute and are essentially cats in skunk form. They don't spray though. That part is removed.

littlestjerry · November 2014

My hamster, Harriet, bit me when I was little and then I was afraid of her for the rest of her life. My mom loved her though.

Cool sorry, I know.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

I mean look at it! So cute!

nanabanana06 · November 2014

Or even better!

Baby skunk!

littlestjerry · November 2014

CeeBug said:

littlestjerry said:

My hamster, Harriet, bit me when I was little and then I was afraid of her for the rest of her life. My mom loved her though.

Cool sorry, I know.

That might be the best name for a hamster that I have ever heard. /contributing

Well, here's how weird I was at age 11. She was named after the Harriet Carter catalog because I f-ing loved that catalog.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

LOL I'm loving the hamster stories. I've had 3 hamsters. When I was 4 I got two hamsters. One had a cream stripe named Flower, after the skunk in Bambi, the other was black and was named Snowball. Flower loved to escape and liked hiding in our dryer, we had to surgically remove her from it more than once. Snowball was chill and loved the ball that left little rice grain poop everywhere. We ended up rehoming them when we had to move cross country. At 12 mom got me another hamster. She was named Tweek after the character from South Park, mom killed her and she ate my math homework. The end.

[Deleted User] · November 2014

Did no one get my Richard Gere joke?

I'm so disappointed.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

pobrecita said:

nanabanana06 said:

I mean look at it! So cute!

are you high?

At the moment, no.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

Oh. I never said I'd actually own one. I just find them cute.

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

It's a pretentious gerbil... pronounced "Jer-breel" I believe.

[Deleted User] · November 2014

I follow this Guinea Pig on Facebook. He is always dressing up.

[Deleted User] · November 2014

I ruined Santa Claus for a friend because of a hamster. To this day she still gives me shit for it.

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