ok, i have time and space and would like a non expensive pet, so i thought rodent!
LOVE rats, but unfourtunately, my mum hates them and thinks they are dirty etc etc, so any other ideas, or persuasion tips???

bump up....

Hamster?my mum was the same with other rodents she was scared of there tails lol.I have three and there cheap to keep,depending on how much you want to spend on there cage.x

Dont be thinking that the smaller the animal is the less expensive the care will be.

My friend spent over £150 when one of his rats had a fight with another rat leading to him being half castrated.

Animal it all depends on what you want from teh pet.

Do you want something you can just watch then maybe
Harvest Mice
African Pigmy Mice
Dormice.

Or do you want something that you can handle
Guinea Pigs
Mice
Rats
Degus...


What is you cash limit and space for the cage....

Syrian hamster, no contest!

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Photography

Do you know any rat owners who could err lend you a couple of their rats while they err shall we just say go on holiday, rats are very very good at charming people and Im sure if your mum met a couple of nice friendly rats for a week or two she would be converted. I have a friend who is literally terrified of rats and with the help of my cuddle rat Edd she now thinks hes cute and is wanting to touch him next time.

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gsds (Henrick and Bella), the cats (Syd, Lilly, Elvis and Dizzy), the gerbils (Honey, Lisa, crusty, Millhouse, Flanders, Bart and Homer), the rats (Valentine, Flower, Petal, Blossom, Koda, Cava, George), the mice (Minnie, Pop, Seudag, Caraid, Silver, Trouble, Athena, Pandora, Aphrodite, Meep, and Springtime)

Rats easily make the best rodent pets imo, but they are very expensive - these guys have standards!
It took my mum a handling session at an animal centre to realise domestic rats are absolutely adorable and not at all scary or dirty. They require soooo much attention and time though, as well as money, so I'd second the idea of harvest mice etc going by your OP

For an easy first rodent, i'd suggest a Syrian Hamster (the big ones). The dwarfs are cute but they're also not as easy to handle. They've very quick and in my experience are not as laid back as Syrians.

However... since it's my duty as a Gerbil owner, I must also reccommend Gerbils

They're GREAT fun to watch cos they make little tunnels and they're always busy 'doing' something.... burrowing, running, chewing, eating, digging, kicking shavings round... I could watch my Jill for hours plus, they are odourless. Before I got Jill I was like "yeah right there's gotta be a bit of a smell" but there really isn't. They are very clean and even when my friends come round, they say they can't smell her at all, whereas most rodents will have a 'rodenty smell' no matter how much you clean them. At least that's what i've found with mice and rats. Hamsters aren't so bad if you spot clean them every day or so

There's also the lesser known rodents such as Degus and Jirds. I've also found these to be very sweet animals, particularly Jirds although they're a little difficult to get hold of sometimes and maybe not for first timers lol

But for handling, i'd reccommend a Syrian Hamster and for fun and watchability i'd reccommend a Gerbil...although they're best kept in at least a pair, they can get lonely on their own!

Hope i've helped you, and good luck! Let us know when you decide

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R.I.P Buster - Causing mischief over the bridge, sleep tight soldier

Gerbils or hamsters. Got both, both are great easy and cheap pets! I got both syrian and dwarf, both are soppy and can train to be nice pets. Gerbils are fun, faster and ours are more friendly. Badger just comes to see if you have something to eat, where as gerbils will come to say hello! Gerbils you can have 2 of, they are sociable lil things, hamsters you can only have 1 of cause they fight!

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Mummy to.....

Rob-Human Hubby Alfie-Human baby Jacob-Human baby Chazz-Dachsy X Jack Russell Missy-Beagal X Jack Russell hamster Starsky, Ginger and Spice-Gerbils Hammy-Chinese dwarf hamster Huff & Puff-Western hognoses Suzy & James-Corn snakes Big Mumma-Yellow bellied slider Tweedle Dumb & Tweedle Dee-False map turtles Tank full of fish!

SHAWS JIRD!!!!!!!!!! lovely lovely, very handleable, love to have a daily sand bath, gorgeous gorgeous! dont bite half as much as hamsters and are that bit bigger so easier to tame, catch etc.

ps they are basically just big gerbils, only better imo. also persian jirds are another variation...