What are your favorite real life rodent pets?

[ShawnFuzz]

Have you ever loved one of the above amazing animals?

I grew up with most kinds of pets at some point, including the obvious, cats a dogs, and to a lesser degree birds and fish (I could start an entire discussion about them as well!) But I want to know if anyone has ever fallen in love with the "rodent" pets. I quote "rodent" because it seems like a bad word for small animals that win our hearts, even for a short couple of years sometimes. Most people don't know they can have very loving and dependable personalities too, and are very social and in need of lots of attention!

 

[nightglow]

My favorite are hamsters due to less health issues and not needing climbing space. I've had the Russian dwarf, the Campbell (not much of a fan but maybe I just didn't get a good natured one), and the Syrian. I love the idea of having a group of robos in a big tank but never got around to it.
Aside from health and space, my favorite are rats due to their intelligence and large personalities.
Both are fun. I've had these two many times.

The only other rodent I've had are guinea pigs and they are ok. I had two and one (the adopted one) was aggressive.
I'm allergic to rodents now, so I don't see myself ever having any more in the future.

 

[ShawnFuzz]

I am sorry to hear you are allergic! I had one hamster when I was young and I loved it, but I agree with you about rats. They are basically tiny dogs. They actually get depressed without social interaction, and you can train them! So smart!

I didn't know hamsters had less health issues! That is a problem with rats

 

[danmokun]

I think chinchillas and squirrels are awfully cute. They're fuzzy, have big beady eyes and fluffy tails that twitch and wave. The thing with rodents is that they poop everywhere, don't they? As cute as they are, I'd rather not have to deal with that chore. Oh and capybaras are another rodent I find charming. They... are kinda ugly, I'll be honest, but I did say charming, not precious.

 

[ShawnFuzz]

Are capybaras kept as pets?

 

[nightglow]

Are capybaras kept as pets?

Yes but I think you need a license like you do with skunks. Capybaras have to have a dedicated back yard because they need water.
--
But yeah I think the reason why the rats are less healthy is due to poor breeding. The rats you get as pets are domesticated and are called the fancy rat. Most of the time they are bred as feeders to larger reptiles. To find a rat with good genetics you would have to find a breeder with the passion of improving the fancy rat genetics. Also the food chosen for your rat will help too. There is information on good rat food in rat forums.
Hamsters on the other hand are bred more as pets rather than as a food source. But it also helps that there are multiple breeds of hamsters. The dwarf hamsters ( robos, Campbell's, Russian which is also called the winter white because of color change depending on room temperature, and Campbell Russian hybrid) aren't exactly wild but aren't exactly domesticated. They are a gray area. So they tend to have some pretty good genes. And because they are in a gray area of wild vs domesticated they can be a little tricker to tame. Also you may see them in zoos while not seeing a Syrian hamsters unless it is a petting zoo section that houses domesticated and livestock animals.
The Syrian hamsters, also sometimes called the fancy hamster or golden hamster or teddy bear hamsters, are larger and are domesticated and come in many colors and patterns. But they are still healthier than rats from what I can tell. There is more care in keeping track of lineages.
But the dwarfs are healthier than the Syrians. Their small size is due to being a different type of hamster rather than man's selective breeding programs like you see with some dogs.

I totally forgot Chinese hamsters exist. I don't know anything about them but a friend had one and loved it. They have more of a tail.

 

[Kitsuragi]

rats are so, so adorable and loving. my partner used to have a bunch of rats and they're the sweetest little things. and they love to drive cars, apparently

 

[daisyflowers]

from watching the urban rescue ranch on youtube, i really like capybaras and nutreas. their colours and the yellow teeth of nutreas are adorable but i won't end up getting one. i love to see them mooch and eat stuff though

 

[Xara]

I’ve never had a rodent as a pet, only cats, but I think they’re all adorable! They can absolutely be just as affectionate, intelligent, fun, cute etc as cats, dogs, rabbits etc imo!! I’ve never understood anyone who thinks they’re “dirty“, or who disregards the bonds they have with their owners just because they’re rodents. They’re as deserving of love and kindness as all other animals are!

All pet rodents are precious, but I’m especially fond of guinea pigs because of the 2 that my best friend had!! Their names were Bandit and Crowley, and they were the sweetest, cutest, goofiest little dudes. Crowley was lowkey my fave because every single pic my friend took of him was so silly, and he was just constantly doing silly little guy things, but they were both angels.

 

[LadyDestani]

I love rodents of all kinds!

When I was a child, we had Russian hamsters. They were so adorable. My parents got one each for my brother and myself. Unfortunately, my sweet girl had a birth defect and didn't live long. My dad wanted to return her and exchange her for a healthy one when we found out she was sick, but I wouldn't let him. I made her as comfortable as possible and let her know that she was loved before she passed away.

I also had rats as a young adult. Mine were not classified as fancy rats. They were true feeders who had never been handled and had been kept in a small tank with dozens of other rats. Therefore, they weren't particularly affectionate, but I loved them all the same.

I voted for rats in the poll because I think they are underappreciated and they had the biggest personalities of all the ones I've known.

 

[Seastar]

I love chinchillas! I wouldn't actually have one though because that's too much responsibility for me.

 

[oak]

Me and my partner had a pair of rats many years ago and they were so sweet. They loved each other so much. They both had quite the personalities for just 2 little rats.

 

[Snek]

My favourite rodents are the size you can fit in a snake's mouth

 

[Saylor]

I had a pet hamster six or seven years ago and I loved her so much. She was a black bear (Syrian) hamster who I was gonna name Hamlet but went with Ophelia after finding out she was a girl. I did not tell my mom I was getting her and she wasn't happy when I walked through the door with her because she never liked rodents, but after a little while she got totally attached to her. She was so cute and playful and had such a big personality. I was really torn up about it when she passed away but I'd like to have another one sometime in the future when there's the space for them.

 

[Yoshi155]

Definitely hamsters or guinea pigs. They’re so adorable! But if they were rodents, I would have picked rabbits. I can’t confirm whether any of these are good pets since I’ve never had one, but based on what I’ve seen, they look like good ones.

 

[LittleMissPanda]

I voted for hamsters but if multiple votes were allowed, I would have also chosen rats, squirrels and chipmunks because I think they are all great and when I say rats, I'm mainly referring to fancy rats, not the dirty city rats. Those are just pests!

I had a pet Teddy Bear hamster when I was younger. I bought him on my birthday, along with his cage and food and toys, using the birthday money I was gifted by my brother. I loved that little ham-ham so much. I had never kept a small cage animal as a pet up until then and was pretty nervous because I had no experience, and thought it would bite me constantly. But the more I handled him the more I got used to it. I'm sure he loved me as much as I loved him! how do I know? Because he would respond to his name and look up at me endearingly, and he would have fun sliding down my back! His scratchy nails felt so good! He loved cooked macaroni as a snack, plain and unseasoned of course! He's no longer around, as a harsh lesson I learned is that hamsters have short lifespans... RIP my little Perky.

Little furry mammals are just so precious. Believe it or not, fancy rats are very intelligent! And social, too. They do better with a partner, and you can even teach them tricks.

Guinea pigs are my least favorite...

 

[ShawnFuzz]

Believe it or not, fancy rats are very intelligent! And social, too. They do better with a partner, and you can even teach them tricks.

Guinea pigs are my least favorite...

It's true about rats! I have had many over the years (always two or three at a time so the don't get lonely when I am away) and they really are social and intelligent!

I am also not a huge fan of guinea pigs, but I do love the sounds they make. When I was young, my Aunt always had lots of guinea pigs, and one of them would actually play fetch!

 

[SkyKnight03]

We had a pet hamster when I was a little kid. She lived a couple of years and that our only instance of ever owning a rodent.

We have a very unique and clever pet cat who would likely find her way at getting any rodent we keep. My mom always said that we would adopt a guinea pig otherwise.

Speaking of said kitty, she turns 15 years old in a few months. Still going strong as ever.

.

 

[.: Meri :.]

There's not a lot of animals I don't like so I really like pretty much everything on this list, but I love rats!! I genuinely think they're super cute little fellas, and I've heard plenty about how sweet and clever they are as pets. I've never had a rodent pet though and I don't see myself ever getting one—most of them have very short lifespans and I just don't think that's a good fit for me personally. I always enjoy other people's pictures and videos of them though!

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I love rats, they are so cute!! Love their lil paws and how smart they are. Considering getting some rats some day but I dont like how brutally short their lifespans are, and also how they apparently pee on everything But rats are really underrated!

Also love chinchillas, they are the softest things in existence. I don't think its legal to have one as pet where I live though.