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	anonyrat 2007-07-06 10:23 pm UTC (link)
	Wow, you're lucky. I've never encountered a single hamster that was anything but a finger-maiming lunatic. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	evilsqueakers 2007-07-06 10:25 pm UTC (link)
	My hamster has only nipped me once. He likes to be out with me, and sits calmly in my hand. Heck, when I got him, he wasn't running around stupid. Just curious. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	anonyrat 2007-07-06 11:01 pm UTC (link)
	Awwwwwwww. Hamsters who aren't evil and guinea pigs who aren't scared shitless of humans...wow, this week has been full of pets that make me revise my opinions on their species :D (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	evilsqueakers 2007-07-06 11:05 pm UTC (link)
	My hammy's awesome. I'm glad I got him since I think he's the bestest thing ever. He was totally ignoring the lady getting him, too. He was more concerned with gnawing on the piece of toy. That was far more important, especially since he tried to take it with him. And wait, what guinea pig wasn't scared of humans? Guineas at least don't attack like bunnies. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	oar 2007-07-08 10:14 pm UTC (link)
	Number one reason why I have mice instead. They're livlier and the only time they've nipped me is when they mistake my finger for a piece of corn (not very bright, as you might imagine). Always wanted a guinea pig (as a pet, not for eating) ((I wonder if there's guinea-pig-eating wank?? goes to check)) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

anonyrat
2007-07-09 11:05 pm UTC (link)

My first pet was a guinea pig. It was cute, and it wasn't mean or anything, but it was really, really stupid and completely petrified of me no matter what I did. It was less of a pet than an animal that happened to live in a cage in my room. This has been the case with most of the guinea pigs I've known throughout my life, but the other day I saw a little boy at the pet store buying one and it seemed very friendly. It was even licking his hand like a little puppy dog. I guess they must have breed the fear out of them by now.

Mice are adorable. I kind of want a few, but I always got the impression that they were too small to really understand that you were another being as opposed to just mobile scenery.

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oar
2007-07-10 01:35 am UTC (link)

That is a problem with the mice, to a point. They really aren't all that smart, but they are hyper and curious, so as long as they get used to you you can still interact with them, even if they do see you as the Giant Moving Hand That Brings The Food.

Another problem (which may have been at the heart of your issue with the guinea pigs) is that animals in pet stores are usually mass-produced in breeder farms and rarely socialized with people. It took me a while to get my mice not to hide from me, since I doubt anyone had ever handled them before. If you raise a rodent from a baby I'm sure they can be the most sociable animals on the planet.

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