Rodents as pets

The most common rodents kept as household pets are hamsters (golden hamsters and dwarf hamsters), gerbils (Mongolian jirds and duprasi gerbils), common degus, fancy mice,^[1] fancy rats,^[1] common chinchillas, and guinea pigs (cavies).^[a]

The domestication of small mammals is a relatively recent development, arising only after large-scale industrialization. Historically, Western society was more agrarian than today, with rodents as a whole seen as vermin that were carriers for disease and a threat to crops. Animals that hunted such pests (e.g. terriers and cats) were prized.

Some of these small rodents are prohibited from being kept as pets in certain areas for being invasive; California,^[3] Hawaii, Alberta and New Zealand have strict regulations to protect their native environments and agricultural operations. Gerbils, degus, and domesticated rats have various prohibitions on their ownership.

^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Morrone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Small And Furry Care". Petfinder. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
^ CDFW, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (2018). "Why can't I have a [...] in California?". www.wildlife.ca.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-11.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[Morrone-1] Cite error: The named reference Morrone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] "Small And Furry Care". Petfinder. Retrieved 2019-04-21.

[4] CDFW, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (2018). "Why can't I have a [...] in California?". www.wildlife.ca.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-11.

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