Um what? not starting a flame war or anything but have you personally inspected every rodent cage in the world?

http://www.nycanimalrights.com/Fox%20at%20fur%20Farm.jpg* cage is too small. http://www.ratpalace.com/images/rat-cage.jpg cage is fine. But yes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I am personally of the opinion that a caged animal can have a comfortable and happy life, if they aren't confined solely to the cage and providing that the cage is appropriate for the size, habitat and activity level of the animal. All my animals have always spent most of the day out of the cage, anyway, and were only in the cage when I was sleeping or away from home. Most of them would prefer spending time in the cage if they had the choice (= the cage was open on the floor/lawn/where ever and the animal was able to choose whether or not to stay outside of the cage or get into it), because to them the cage is home, not a cage.

Which shows, in my opinion at least, that they aren't exactly suffering in there.

* Don't worry, nothing shocking or bloody.

I like that statement.
I had two bunnies though. In winter they had a cage I left mostly open in a fenced in area and in summer they had quite a large strip to run around on outside, although one of them disagreed once and made a run for it, only to show up later and I could simply pick it up in the yard. I guess nature didn't live up to his expectations. :laugh:

By the way, OP, ever thought about a chinchilla or is that a no go where you live?

That is one of the reasons why I liked having Rats. You could let them run around the room.

Most rodents can be let out for playtime (my Guinea pis spend more time in the backyard or just running around the living room than caged) except hamsters, as they are close to blind and tend to run into thins

Other: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara :teehee:

EDIT: Ugh, rodents. A mouse died in my wall three weeks ago, I can still smell it.

I have had hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, mice and a pet rabbit.
I liked the rabbit the best. He was trained to use a litterbox, by his previous owner. He slept in bed with me like a cat.
Elvis, (the rabbit) required chew sticks or he would chew things we didn't want him to.

I am not a fan of the rodent, my children and siblings, however, were.
I occasionally am so impressed by the bravery or intelligence of a feeder mouse for the son's snake that I permit the son to keep it as a pet.
So far a Mousey Rourke, a Rattycakes, Mr McMousey, and a Rattrebus have been granted a temporary pardon.
Unfortuneatly for them, TEMPORARY doesn't mean permanent. They all ended up in the snake.
The son loves the snake more than small furry rodents.

That's sort of how I feel. I may have a house rabbit at some point if it would get on with the cats but since I believe in the following statement:



I doubt it.

We used to have pet bunny rabbits, a really, really long time ago.

They are very docile, but not very smart. I don't remember any clear displays of affection or loyalty. You pet them, maybe taken them outside and feed them clovers and grass. Make sure they don't poo and pee on the carpet. Have to be careful not to let them wander off, ours didn't respond to vocal commands.

bunnies also don't tend to live a very long time, though we did have a Harlequin Magpie that lived for 8 or 9 years.

If they break a bone (such as from trying to jump up on their wire cage and getting their leg caught), it's all over. They don't tend to be hearty creatures, and don't recover well from large injuries like that.

I like Ferrets. We have two and they have much more personality than any of the above mentioned. They are not technically rodents and are in the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, otters, and wolverines. They sleep up to 14-18 hours per day, and you have to let them out to play every day for 30 minutes to an hour, and Oh what hilarious fun! They romp and tumble and run around and get into everything so you have to "ferret proof" their play area because they are insanely curious....and very lovable and loving.....Illegal in many places but not here (Michigan), and I'm glad.

hehe


And a :slap: to all of us for not using :bunny: in this entire thread!

Also, thanks for the leads on the reclassification of guinea pigs :grad:

Huh? Last time I checked they're still caviform rodents.

Ya, I didn't look up th order; they are still rodentia.

Somone in this thread said that they weren't rodents, so I did a bit of digging and found two articles from the early 90's that said that they weren't. It'd been long ago since I learned about g-pigs, so that was new info to me

Here's the abstract for one:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v381/n6583/abs/381597a0.html

:( That cage is a death trap for rats. Rats should never be kept in a cage with wire mesh ramps and platforms like that. Their feet get caught in the wire and they can and do break their legs trying to free themselves. Rats should only be kept in cages with solid surface bottoms, ramps and platforms like http://www.ratsratsrats.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/rat-cage-petsmart1-300x300.jpg.

I've seen the panic on a rat's face when it can't free itself from it's cage. It's something you'll only allow yourself to see once.

Unfortunately ferrets would not handle the heat here in Cairns

@ above post, most rodents are too fragile to handle a fall from ramps so a multistory cage is a no-go, as if they even get a tiny cut from falling they usually get infected and die

I had a pet rabbit that ran free in the house and was housebroke. I've also had a pet rat. The rat was by far more enjoyable and social

I was more referring to the size of the cage, not the actual construct of it.

All of them. In a nice soup.

They are all cute in their own way, but I do not want to keep them as a pet.

I would want Hamtaro as a pet, but seeing as real Hamsters are boring, and not as cute, I wouldn't want a rodent pet.
EDIT:
I mean really, how is any real hamster http://immoz.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/hamtaro.jpg They aren't.

Definitely a rat or a guinea pig (rat would be my first choice). Rats are very sociable, friendly, and affectionate, and quite smart as well. Guinea pigs are also fairly friendly and also quite cute. Mice and gerbils simply tend to be too small to make good pets, IMO. Rabbits stink; unless for some strange reason you like the smell of rabbit piss steer clear of them. And hamsters can be [censored] vicious; I've had several take serious bites out of me- I'll never handle one of those things again.

Yeah, um, Hamsters are like fish, look but don't touch

Ferrets and chinchillas are both cute, but they have no sweat glands so they would die in the heat here in Cairns

I've had a hamster and a rat. I preferred the rat.

http://www.news.com.au/weird-true-freaky/british-cops-swoop-in-drug-raid-find-only-find-guinea-pigs/story-e6frflri-1225986346179 seems appropriate for this thread

Here are a couple of pics of our first ferret. She died away on 7/16/08. I still miss her.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25411109@N05/3484635010/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25411109@N05/2614794364/in/photostream/