Anyone keep mice?

Sorry about your hamster!

Mice can be sweet and loving pets. Start young with them on taming, and preferably buy from a breeder who works on tameness. Mice are more prone to biting than many rodents, and they also tend to have an odor (males especially) that many find unpleasant. They tend to be similar to hamsters as far as level of bonding goes. Females can live together, but they need adequate space. Males can too, but mice are much more prone to fighting than some other rodents, and they can and do kill each other when fighting. Hamster cages tend to be small and best suited for solitary animals. Mice will nest in most anything you give them.

Gerbils have been much sweeter and cleaner pets for me. They are desert animals so the waste they produce when fed a proper diet is very minimal in amount and odor. They can suffer from epilepsy. Food marketed towards hamsters also tends to be marketed towards gerbils. Whether most commercial food out there is actually healthy for the pet it is marketed to is an issue worth looking into.

Rats are incredibly loving and sweet pets. I had one who would come running like a little dog when you called her name. They tend to actually seek out human affection too rather than just tolerate it. They will need a larger enclosure than a hamster cage, and also need a well-ventilated cage. They can eat a lot of what people eat, so they are great for people who like to give their pets people food as treats.

There are other options too for small pets, like soft-coated 'rats', squirrels such as flying squirrels, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, degus, small birds, reptiles, fish, etc.

 

I don't have a ton of experience with mice but my room mate in college had them and they were VERY stinky. She used to keep them in her room and I could smell them in the rest of the apartment. I think if you clean them often it wouldn't smell as bad, but she would go sometimes two weeks without cleaning the cage. They definitely have a distinctive smell to them though, even if the cage is kept clean.

They are somewhat friendly, but not as friendly as I find rats to be. They are fun to watch, but I would probably never have them again.