Rats actually make nice pets – Sentinel and Enterprise

Dear Pet Talk: I’m not allowed to have a cat or a dog but my parents will let me have a smaller pet, like a gerbil, hamster, or even a mouse. What do you recommend? Animal Lover

Dear Animal Lover: Those three are definitely popular pets, but don’t forget guinea pigs (cavies), rats, chinchillas, rabbits, and other exotics. And there’s a large category of reptiles that end up at a shelter. Joan McGivern, administrative assistant at Manchester (NH) Animal Shelter noted that guinea pigs and rats are the top adoptees from their shelter. “Rats definitely like to go together in pairs,” she said. “Guinea pigs can go alone, or with another one.”

Smaller animals have definitely been an increased presence in many rescues and shelters since the Pandemic, and many people are “incredibly dedicated” to adopting smaller creatures. “People love them for kids,” says McGivern. “Or they’ll come in and sit with the smaller animals for 30 or 40 minutes.”

Some animal loves the smaller size and find them “comforting. “They won’t run away like a cat or a dog and can be very cuddly, sweet, and amusing. Other than the cleaning, they’re pretty easy to take care of,” she explains. “Rats are very clean, and guinea pigs and rabbits can be litter box trained.”

We asked our Be PAWSitive Facebook community, and found many owners of larger pets, also made space for the little ones. Cap Corduan of Fitchburg is a fan of hooded rats and found them companionable. “If you make little hammocks for them, they tend to keep those clean, and only use a corner area for their bathroom,” she says.

Fitchburg’s Robin Wead is a very experienced owner of rats and notes enthusiastically that these pets are “Intelligent, affectionate, clean, social, empathetic, funny, and cuddly. Just like tiny puppies.”

According to the American Pet Products Association, small animals are kept by 6.7 million households in recent years (compared to 65M with dogs, 45M with cats, and 11M with fish). But that number is on the increase. Forbes Advisor for 2022 reports that 30 percent of Gen Z own a guinea pig or rabbit, which is double the number of Millennial small-pet owners (15 percent).

Currently, our family (Boomers and Gen Z) does not include any mammals smaller than Vinny, our orange cat-teen, but I’ve owned mice, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs through the years and can attest to the delight that being a small-pet parent can bring. Just remember, small pets all have relatives (or ancestors) in the wild. However, for thousands of generations they have been bred to be docile and friendly. Just give them gentle handling, consistent socialization, the proper food and a clean enclosure, and enjoy your little friends.

Sally Cragin is the director of Be PAWSitive: Therapy Pets and Community Education. Text questions to 978-320-1335 or email sallycragin@gmail.com.