Decisions, decisions... (new pet rodent! :D )

khaag · Post by **khaag** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:27 pm

You're allergic to guinea pigs, cats, and birds? What makes you think you won't be allergic to hamsters as well?

Just my two cents...

Post by **Skyone** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:39 pm

khaag wrote: Just my two cents...

Dump it in the take a penny, leave a penny 'cause we don't want it.

(sorry, always wanted to use that)

Post by **CronoTriggerfan** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:47 pm

khaag wrote:You're allergic to guinea pigs, cats, and birds? What makes you think you won't be allergic to hamsters as well? Just my two cents...

Well, hamsters and dogs have been in my weekly vaccination shots for over 5 years now, so I'm pretty much immune; the other ones have only been in there for about 3, which sucks from an allergy standpoint. But I do hate those shots....

And Kurt_, I'll ask about the chinchilla. What's the benefit of a chinchilla over a hamster, I really haven't researched them much.

CTFan

khaag · Post by **khaag** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:50 pm

Wow, you have to take shots weekly

? Thats harsh.

Krepticor · Post by **Krepticor** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:58 pm

damn I think you need to just cool it for a while since you have those allergies

I have had experience with ferrets and they are just way too messy, just don't recommend tem

I don't know much about a chinchilla

Bunnies arenice, but I am pretty sure if you are deathly allergic to so many other things, then 10 to one your allergic to hem too (and personally, I prefer rabbit as a meal vs a pet, trust me rabbit = better than chicken)

My friend had a guinea pig and they were fun to have run around the house in his little ball for a while, I assume a hampster would be similar
oh yea and if you get a hampster, you must build a series of tunnels and boxes

Post by **Skyone** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:12 pm

Krepticor wrote:My friend had a guinea pig and they were fun to have run around the house in his little ball for a while, I assume a hampster would be similar
oh yea and if you get a hampster, you must build a series of tunnels and boxes

hamper (n) - a large basket, usually with a cover.
hamster (n) - a small Eurasian rodent of the subfamily Cricetinae, especially Mesocricetus auratus, having large cheek pouches and a short tail and often kept as a pet or used in laboratory research.
hampster (?) - of the hampsterdance?

For my hamster's house right now, I just have a Digikey cardboard box with a toilet paper roll attached. Works perfectly and really easy to clean!

teraflop122 · Post by **teraflop122** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:23 pm

I have owned many a small mammal, and I must say I enjoyed the hamsters the least.

I now and always will suggest gerbils over a hamster. Gerbils are awake when most people are around- in the morning and afternoon. Gerbils are significantly less prone to biting.

Then again...

If you want a friendly, intelligent, clean, litter-trainable, pet- a pet which will come when it hears its name, lick your hands and face, watch TV with you, eat your homework for you, play hide and seek with you, wrestle with you- if you want a dog or a cat in a small, sub-$13 package- get a Rat. (good luck persuading stubborn parents though.)

Lady Indecisive · Post by **Lady Indecisive** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:40 pm

I think you should get a mouse. They are nice pets. Plus, you can scare people with them! But if you get an unfriendly one your fingers are in jepoardy. I speak from experience......yow did that hurt......

Post by **Skyone** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:46 pm

Mice are cute and all, the only downside is their life-span of like, 6 months.

Metroid fan · Post by **Metroid fan** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:46 pm

CronoTriggerfan wrote:
Metroid, was your dwarf housed alone? And how long did he last?

CTFan

Mine was housed alone and he survived for 2 years and he only died because we had to move and he died from the shock... but come to think of it I think it was a chinese dwarf hamster.

Post by **Skyone** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:47 pm

He died from the shock?! How do you figure that?

Metroid fan · Post by **Metroid fan** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:50 pm

All of the movement from the car and from having to leave him in the car on a cold night because the hotel wouldn't let us put him in the room

Darth Fett · Post by **Darth Fett** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:59 pm

Skyone wrote:Mice are cute and all, the only downside is their life-span of like, 6 months.

I had one that lived for about 3 years.

I reccomend Siamese Fighting Fish. Those fish have some wierd personalitys (actually, those are the only fish I've had with ANY personality). Mine used to pout if I was eating something in the same room as him and didn't give him something to munch on.

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:01 pm

Metroid fan wrote:All of the movement from the car and from having to leave him in the car on a cold night because the hotel wouldn't let us put him in the room

Do you not have pockets? You could have put it in your pocket, grabbed the water bottle and some food, and put it in an empty suitcase or similar box. Theres always a way.

EDIT: At Siamese fish, we had one that would flare its gills at you sometimes, and would jump up and hit your finger if you held it just above the water. Those fish can live in anything, just look at those cups they come in!

Post by **CronoTriggerfan** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:08 pm

Well, a rat would be cool! They're really smart, and that'd be cool to own. I'd have to check the allergies, though. Is a rat smarter than a hamster? I just know that rats are very intelligent animals, my friend owned a pair for years and they were a blast. Can't believe I forgot about them! Oh, and I've also heard that rats have the same problem as dwarf hamsters when it comes to companionship, that they need another rat in the cage so as not to be depressed. Anyone kept a single rat in one cage before and had it be happy?

CTFan