Our Small Rodents

We usually have a good selection of hamsters, rats, gerbils and mice, some of which we breed ourselves.

Housing Your Small Rodent

Rodents have teeth that continously grow, and must therefore be worn down through chewing and gnawing, so the inclusion of safe chewing material is essential. Natural leafy branches or wooden blocks cut from fruit or willow trees is ideal, along with cardboard chews, commercially available chew sticks as well as bedding that can be shredded, such as hay, will provide great chewing material for them.

All small rodents are wonderful escape artists and will squeeze through the smallest gaps, so it is essential to provide a secure home and to check regularly for damage. 

Most are diurnal (active dusk and dawn) or nocturnal (active at night), so make sure that they have plenty to do; platforms, ropes, branches, tubes, different bedding material / substrates and hammocks are enjoyed by mice and rats, whereas hamsters, who enjoy digging, are not as good at climbing and will enjoy the same enrichment but more at ground level. Gerbils love digging and will spend most of their waking hours doing so, so a secure, glass-tank full of peat-free compost and branches, twigs and hay will not only keep them busy but is also a lot of fun to watch as they continuously change their tunnel system.

Wire cages with plastic bases are still bought by many people and still readily available, but they do encourage bar-gnawing especially in hamsters, so do consider buying one of the larger, plastic homes that already have platforms and sleeping quarters. Modular homes with several platform layers and tunnels are also ideal, but do check regularly for chewing.

Which rodents can live together?

Syrian Hamsters are solitary, and neither male nor females will tolerate the company of another, so they should always be housed singly. Rats and mice are highly social and can be kept in same-sex pairs or groups, ideally introduced when young or siblings, as can gerbils. Some Dwarf hamsters such as Roborovskis can live in same sex pairs or small groups if introduced when young or when littermates. If you are keeping a group of animals together, always ensure that there is plenty of room to get away from each other if they wish, and plenty of resources (food, water, enrichment, bedding, nesting / sleeping areas, hides). You will need to observe your animals closely for any signs of aggression, even with animals that have previously got along fine, as their tolerance of others may change as they sexually mature, if the opposite sex is nearby, seasonal changes or resources become limited.