Expert: Sheila Adby - 10/26/2009

Question
Hello - I am looking to purchase a hamster or gerbil for my daughter (age 7) for Christmas.  Do you have any thoughts about which makes a better pet?  Pros and cons of both?  Thanks for any help!  Stephanie

Answer
Hi Stephanie

I would suggest that if you decide on getting a hamster you choose a Syrian. These are the largest of the hamsters and must live on their own.  

Male Syrians can be quite placid.  They are often a bit fast as babies, but once they have settled in they tend to enjoy sleeping a lot.  One downside of this is that some don’t particularly want to wake up during the day.  Hamsters are nocturnal, but it is possible to train them to wake up in the afternoon/early evening.  Female Syrians can be a bit faster than males, but in some ways they are more interesting because they wake up on and off during the day to investigate any sounds or smells.  I personally like female Syrians because they often have a more interesting personality to the males but in the early days they can take a little longer to tame.  Having said that, both make great pets.  If you opt for a Syrian hamster, make sure it has been well handled – the best place to get a Syrian is a pet rescue as often they will have handled them and they should be tame.  They may also be able to tell you about their personality.  Some pet shops buy hamsters from big breeding centres and the hamsters have never been handled before arriving in the shop. This can mean that you have your work cut out for you over the coming weeks to try and tame them.  It isn’t impossible – I have found that the majority of Syrians will tame quite well – some better and quicker than others.  Smaller pet shops might sell hamsters that have been raised by families who accidentally ended up with a litter – again these should be well handled and tame.  A wire cage is preferred for a Syrian as they love climbing.  Also it needs to be big – not one of the small ‘starter’ homes you can buy.  Syrian hamsters can grow quite large and you need to make sure the cage will be big enough to house one of the large wheels as the majority of wheels that are supplied in the cage are too small for an adult Syrian.  If the cage is tall enough you can attach various rope ladders to the roof of it which they seem to love climbing.

Gerbils are great fun – but ideally you should get more than one.  Of course they can fight and you must make sure they are the same sex.  If they fight (seriously) they would need to be separated.  However, providing they are related and have never been separated most times they get along and they do seem to enjoy the company of another gerbil.  It isn’t essential – I’ve had several single gerbils and they are OK too – it is just that if you are starting from scratch it would be good to get two.  Gerbils need to live in a tank (glass or a strong plastic).  The tank needs to be large with good ventilation in the top and must not be placed in direct sunlight as they will over-heat.  Gerbils chew everything so anything plastic in the tank will be chewed through.  Any toys need to be wood, other natural materials such as coconut shells or there is a house/toy called a snack shack.  They need loads to chew on a daily basis so it is a good idea to ask friends and neighbours to save their toilet rolls so that you keep the gerbils busy.  They like to burrow in amongst their shredded cardboard.

I love both gerbils and hamsters and it is difficult to choose one type – they are very different little creatures.  Gerbils can be very fast and difficult to handle and therefore for a child I would wonder if this is the best option.  They are great fun to watch in their tank however and very entertaining as they are often busy on and off all day.  Again, I think if you were opting for a gerbil(s) it would be worth asking the pet shop/rescue if they can be handled.  It is important to handle them daily to get them used to you.  

Does this help you at all, or does it make the situation more confusing???

If you have any other questions, please get back to me.

Regards