Choose Hamster or Gerbil

Hamsters and gerbils both are well-liked little pets. Both are rodents and have equally short life spans which is a couple of years. Both have teeth that never cease to grow. With so many similarities, they have many differences also that put a hobbyist into confusion. He finds himself in dilemma, whether he should choose hamster or gerbil. If you are also among such hobbyists and find it difficult to decide that who shall be your pet among the two, you can take help of the following account and decide.

Gerbils

Gerbils are such attractive little rodents that they won an award a few years ago as a perfect pet. They seem to have gone somewhat out of favor recently and this is because they are generally kept in a sterile, boring cage with a hamster wheel, where their potential cannot be appreciated. Various color variations now exist and the black ones are especially appealing. If you prefer not to breed from your gerbils you can keep two females, as long as they were brought up together. Gerbils make strong bonds and caring parents. Their care level is quite easy. Gerbils are the best choice to be a child’s pet.

Hamsters

Hamsters are little rodents of burrowing tendency. They are solitary animals thus, it is required that one should be kept in a cage. Being nocturnal by nature, their liveliness is missed. You have to be very careful while handling them as they can give you a painful bite if they feel defensive. Hamsters are omnivorous creatures. Thus, you can feed them a variety of diet.

Hamster v/s Gerbil

The differences between hamster and gerbil are drawn below which may help you in choosing one of them.

Appearance

Gerbils are characterized by strong hind legs and long furry tails with a tuft. Hamsters are normally characterized by large cheek pouches and a short, stubby tail.

Temperament

Gerbils are very lively and social creatures. A mated pair will live happily together but any offspring should be removed when they are weaned. If handled properly, you can easily tame them. It is interesting to watch them as they play and interact very well with their cage mates. They have diurnal nature. Throughout the day, they keep playing and napping. Tamed gerbils nip in rare cases.

Hamsters are happy in waddling around and running the wheel. If you try to wake them up during the day, they will be cantankerous. If you keep them alone in a cage, they are good pets. These are active creatures but are nocturnal at the same time. They have a tendency to fight and most probably cannibalize their young. They get alarmed easily and their immediate reaction is to nip.

Housing

You should never keep your gerbils in plastic homes, even if the product claims to be good for gerbils. They will chew out of any plastic home whereas hamsters do not have a tendency to chew on. They like to burrow.

Cleanliness

Being a desert dweller, a gerbil drinks little and therefore urinates little and produces dry feces with the result that its cage is almost odor free.

Tanks of hamsters stink very quickly, so frequent cleaning is required.

Most of the times, the war of hamster and gerbil for being chosen as a pet is won by gerbil. However, everyone does not take this decision. Hamster is also favored by many. After going through the account above, much of your confusion must have been cleared that you would like to choose hamster or gerbil as your pet. It will be easy for you to decide now. So, go ahead and get your dear pet home.