Need advice from small pet experts...

First off, there *are* reputable small pet breeders, but they're few and far between- rabbits from reputable breeders will be the easiest to find. Any of those four will be easy enough to find in rescues if you do some networking, though.

Mice are the least interactive of the four you've mentioned- well-socialized mice will climb on you, but they don't really interact with you all that much. They're nice, low-maintenance pets if you like having something that's active and fun to watch run around. Check out the MidwestMouseClub.org if you're anywhere in the midwestern US.
I'll leave the others for folks who know more about them than I.

Pwca

Don't get a hamster, get a rat!!!

My own personal prejudice, of course. But there are definitely responsible breeders of pet rats who do the same things as responsible breeders of pet dogs - health screening, socialization, pre-adoption screening... rats are also incredibly intelligent, and can be housebroken and taught tricks. Plus they're social animals (if you get one, you have to get two, otherwise they get depressed) so they like hanging out with you. Hamsters are more solitary animals, so must of them are more like, "Get away and give me my space!" Not quite as much fun.

There actually are small pet rescues, though if it's your first pet of that type I'd maybe recommend a breeder first, since small pets from shelters can carry as much baggage as dogs from shelters. You can search petfinder for "small & furry" if you're curious.

Here's more info about pet rats: [linkhttp://www.ratfanclub.org/]http://www.ratfanclub.org/[/link]

How could you resist such a sweet face? []


Okay, rat plug over. But I do hope you'll consider them along with the other small furries!

I love guinea pigs!  They were my first pets.  I even had an accidental breeding, so I got to see babies (luckily they only have 1-2 for their first litter and they were easy to rehome).  Guinea pigs are so cute and charming and relatively easy to care for.  The really enjoy interacting with people and are very smart. 

My housemate raised hamsters, but I never liked them because they hated people and bit you any chance they got.  They seemed more like a wild animal than an animal that enjoyed being part of a human home.

She now has two rabbits because all of her hamsters ended up hating her.  The rabbits are great.  They both got neutered/spayed and are now housebroken.  I like them OK, but they do still bite sometimes and kick really hard.  I still prefer guinea pigs because they will talk to you and a rabbit is silent.  I find rabbits too difficult to read, as far as their emotions and reactions.

I've always wanted to try a rat, but everyone in my house didn't like them.  I think Ratsicles breeds good rats.  You could ask her where to get a good one.

Fisrt you have to decide what kind of animal you want.  I have rabbits, and I have had hamsters, and a piggy but that is it on the small pets side.  Rabbits may be considered a small pet, but they have huge personalities.  My male rabbit gets offened if I don't say hi when I go outside. But if he is allowed to run around the yard then he wants to be right next to you, but if you try to pet him he moved away. He also has this interesting thing going with my dog.  He has figured out that she isn't going to hurt him so he tried to get her to chase him or hee sees how close he can get to her without he noticing.
Sky is really sweet and unlike a lot of rabbits, doesn't mind being picked up.  A lot of the time I will have her on the computer desk and she will rest her head on the keyboard as I pet her.  She is a fuzzy lop which seem to be one of the most loving type of rabbit.
They are also the most curios animals I have ever had.

For reputable breeding there is the ARBA and I know of several rabbit reascues.  Now that I have two I don't think I would really call them small pets like hamsters or girbils.  They can live for 10 years and need to be spayed/nutered if you arn't breeding and they can be litter trained.

We had a guinea pig when I was little.   It was sorta nice for her to 'talk' but I can't imagine having another one. I guess the one we got was from a pet store so it wasn't very friendly.  I know someone who has some that are rather outgoing, so that was cool.  I don't really remember the requirements for them because it was a long time ago.


Hamsters are pretty easy pets.  Food, water, and toys are what they like and a nice cage.  Mine were probably taken out every day and let run around.  They also have personalities and are cute.  I don't know of any reputable breeders for them.

Rabbit for sure!!!! I have litter trained them and it's very simple. They are so fun to watch play. Mine have toys like balls, paper towel rolls, stuffed bunnies and they love love love to play. Mine will even hop on your lap and lick you. One will cuddle up right under my neck. They are sweat and very easy to care for. Their personalities are just wonderful. Very loving, and want attention.

Ditto: Rabbits for sure!

I breed on a very limited basis, American Fuzzy Lops. I breed for show, those that aren't cut out for the show table go to select pet homes. They are a small (4 pounds max), lop eared rabbit with 2" long fur. Aina is right that there are breeds that tend to be more laid back than others, and Fuzzy Lops are one of them. I also have Checkered Giants, which are total opposite on both the size and personality spectrum. Not a good breed for the first-time rabbit owner.

Here's a picture of one of my recent babies, they are a little over 6 weeks old right now, but these pictures were taken at 6 weeks. Say hi to Mokey!

Definitely gotta reccomend rats. Like Liesje mentioned, I did breed rats for 6 years, and I also did rescue.
 
Cita gave you some wonderful info on rats, and I'd like to add some links to the one she gave you:
 
[linkhttp://www.ratsahoy.com]www.ratsahoy.com[/link] - My pet rat forum, not huge, but definitely lots of knowledgeable members.
[linkhttp://www.ratsrule.com]www.ratsrule.com[/link]-  There's a link there to [linkhttp://www.goosemoose.com]www.goosemoose.com[/link], which has a HUGE and active pet rat forum. The members there can be a bit...blunt, but they know what they're talking about. She also has a link to her Suebee's rat diet, which is probably *the* most popular diet among rat owners.
[linkhttp://www.ratpalace.com]www.ratpalace.com[/link] is formerly, IMO, the greatest rat forum out there. Christy closed down RP last year for personal reasons, but the archives are still there and provide great reading. I actually started Rats Ahoy when RP closed so the members would have a place to move to...so most of the former RP members now frequent my forum.
 
[linkhttp://www.ratguide.com]www.ratguide.com[/link] is the BIBLE when it comes to rat health info. It's great to just go there and read and learn about various illnesses and issues- which is important, because good rat vets are few and far between, and its good if YOU know plenty about rat illnesses and the medications and methods used to treat them....because your vet probably wont, and youll need to be able to say "NONONO!!!" when the vet tries to give a shot of Baytril to your 8 week old rat or tells you "rats can't be put under anaesthesia" or something similarly dangerous.
 
 
I highly reccomend joing one (or all) of the forums above and learning about everything rat related before deciding to get some. (Obviously, research research research. []) Once you get everything down, they're pretty easy to care for. Probably the only area where you'll really have to study is when it comes to nutrition...since there are NO good producers of rat food out there and you *will* have to learn to formulate your own diet. There are a few standard diets out there that can help you though with that, so you're not on your own by any means.  
 
Rats are definitely the friendliest and most social of the small pets. They're very, VERY doglike...and I actually no some people (who don't have predatory pets) who don't even use cages for their, but give them the run of the house. They'll snuggle with you while you watch TV, wrestle with your hand, chase you, play tug of war, ride on your shoulder...they can actually be taught to do most tricks a dog can do, and they can also be litter trained (or barring that, trained not to go outside of their cage.)
 
They DO have to be kept in same sex pairs or groups, so you would have to get at least two, but two rats are actually *easier* to care for than one...because they'll be much more social and much less defensive towards you if they have a friend, and rats who are kept with friends have less health problems and live longer...saving you vet bills and alot of heartache. []
 
I've kept every manner of small pets...and found rats to be the most rewarding. I've been involved with rats for the past 11 years, and don't plan on quitting...ever.[]
 
As for where to get one...I'm not sure where you're located, but I could probably put you in contact with a reputable breeder who is within a couple of hours of you. If not, you can try rescues...rat overpopulation (loads of irresponsible BYB'S out there [:@]) is just as big of a problem as dog overpopulation, so there are rescues and shelters that are quite literally overrun. Petfinder is definitely a good place to look.
 
While I'm no longer an "official" breeder, I am having a litter in the next couple of months....right now I'm planning on breeding one a year or so just to keep my lines going...since I honestly don't know if I'd want to stay into rats if I lost my lines completely. So I guess I *am* still a breeder in a sense- but I no longer will adopt out babies on a regular basis and don't have any real breeding goals. I'm just keeping my lines going for myself, because they're unusually healthy, and because I absolutely love my rats.
 
But, I mention this because I *have* shipped before....and I will ship rats via the airline of my choice and to adopters who are just so incredibly fantastic that I really want them to have some of my rats. Shipping is expensive, stressful, and time consuming,. so I usually only do it under very special circumstances...so if you did decide you want rats...well, I'll have a litter this summer, and from your posts, you sund like a great pet owner. My rattery website is HORRIBLY out of date, I no longer update it since I'm no longer a breeder...but you can go there ([linkhttp://www.ratsiclesrattery.bravehost.com]www.ratsiclesrattery.bravehost.com[/link]) to get an idea of what my adoption process is like, and get an idea of what other reputable breeder's processes would be like too. [] 
 
 

I didn't think there was any such thing as small animal rescues in my area until for the fun of it I tried a www.petfinder.com search for guinea pigs and found a rescue not very far away from me. I also found info on their website about what to look for when buying an piggy and advice on how to care for one.

I had a little piggy when I was younger and they really are fun pets to have. I would read up on them first before brining one into your home, there are some really cool sites about how to make custom cages for guinea pigs.
This site here I really enjoy:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/

My piggy was kept in the same cage with a mini rex rabbit and they did fine together. I would not suggest keeping a guinea pig with a full sized rabbit because of how powerful those hind legs can be but the mini rabbit was the same size as the piggy so it worked out fine.
Here is my piggy from when I was younger, her name was speck.

My local shelter ALWAYS has small critters and bunnies that need good homes. I'm personally a guinea pig fan - large enough I don't feel like they will break and interactive.  They are also longer lived than the small rodents since the average is about 5 to 7 years.  Both of my pigs made it past five, one died at 6.5 and the other at 7.5 yo.
 
GPs do need about 2 sq. ft. per pig and like having companions.  A search for homemade cages using neat ideas cube panels wil net you some amazing ideas.  My pigs lived in a 2ft by 2ft pen on a table w/ a plastic tray lined with paper and covered in carefresh or aspen bedding - pine and cedar are dangerous due to the oils - they loved their veggies and hay (I highly recommend Oxbow hay and feed btw).
 
The Guinea Pig Compendium and Seagull's Caviary are both great online resources for GPs.

I've always wanted a rabbit (seriously, my entire life), but my Mom is ridiculously allergic, to the point where to hug her, or be within 20 feet of her, I'd seriously have to shower and wear clothes that weren't in the same house as the rabbit. So no rabbits for me.
 
I've never had a rat, but when I was 10-12 I lived with my cousin who had one. He was named Stinky, and my cousin was a slob, so that was the perfect name, because he was VERY stinky. I realize they're not if you take proper care of them, but I just don't think I could ever get a rat after living with him.
 
I've had hamsters and a mouse. I adore hamsters. The only one I ever had that bit and wasn't cuddly and friendly (after a couple weeks of taming, of course) was a dwarf hamster. I don't think I'll ever get one of them again, but teddy bear hamsters are lovely. The mouse died after like two weeks (I was 10 or 11), and after that, I never felt like trying one out again.
 
Hamsters are my buddies. They're pretty easy to take care of as long as you don't mind doing a whole cage wash-down at least once a week, with litter changes in between. I much prefer males (I've only ever had one female, my last hamster, and she never quite tamed like the boys, plus was ready for mating every 3 or 4 days, so when I touched her, she stopped and pointed her butt up [8|]). They tame easily, and then are very friendly. I've always gotten those plastic run around balls for them, and while they seem slightly cruel, my hamsters always loved them, plus, bonus, it made the cats and dog afraid of it. []

My female hamster was sweeter then I have heard a lot of female hamsters are, but I also perfer male hammies. I found them to not smell as much because the female went into heat and had a horrible odor while she was in heat.

i can only repeat what everyone else has already some in some form or fashion. i've owned guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, rats, mice, even parakeets.
hamsters arent all that bad if you stick with males. the females are always kinda ... snotty..mean. they spent most of their time trying to escape. The males are usually content to sleep the day away, and just tolerate your existence when you pick them up.
rats are neat because you can teach them to lick instead of bite. when they're babies they dont the strength to apply enough jaw pressure to puncture your skin. they can only manage a pinch, and it doesnt even hurt. just put some yogurt on the tip of your finger, and dont get scared or nervous. i didnt believe it either until i tried it myself. they'll bite first.. then bite and grab your fingertip and try to run away with it.... but then realise they cant so they just sit there and lick the yogurt off.
you have to keep this up almost every day for it to really sink in. i had five rats, three boys, two girls. the only ones that didnt learn not to bite was one of the girls. she was a hairless that i got when she was full grown.

i dont know if you can do the same thing with other rodent types, mice and hammies, but it would seem like you could.... they're built about the same.

by the way, i have another site - [linkhttp://www.ratballs.com]http://www.ratballs.com[/link] ...thats where i learned the no biting trick and some other stuff.

right now i have my own rat problem..... my cousin adopted one from the animal shelter.there were five and i agreed to take a couple when we got our house.... well... it took ages to do that. all of the rats died except one and she didnt teach him the bite inhibition. she keeps bugging me about taking him and i'm honestly afraid to since i have a toddler that sticks his fingers in places they dont belong. i dont want him to lose a finger because of an unsocial rat.

A good place for gp info is [linkhttp://www.guinealynx.com/]http://www.guinealynx.com/[/link]

They require a friend and rather large cages (about 7.5sq ft minimum for a pair) [linkhttp://www.guineapigcages.com/]http://www.guineapigcages.com/[/link]

Wow the last I heard GPs needed a min of 2 sq. ft. each - 7.5 is quite a jump from that! I wonder how that figure was arrived upon...