Good flat pets?

My landlord gave me permission to have a small pet for my flat so long as it was quiet, small, and would be kept in a cage when me and DH are at work.

I'm thinking of a pet along the hamster/gerbil variety.  I think a rabbit would be too big and need more space than we have at the moment.  Same for a chinchilla.  I've recently been interested in degus as they have a long lifespan and I've been told they are intelligent and can be very sociable with humans... however, they need to be kept with at least one other degu so I imagine a very large cage would be required to properly house them.  Maybe rats?  They're quite intelligent, but I don't know how sociable they can be...

Any suggestions?

In my expereince, small fancy rats can be really friendly and quite clean. They also enjoy swimming - which is really fun to watch!   I really like rats, but they can freak people out (for obvuious reasons..), but they are more intersting than hamsters since hamsters are nocturnal.

We considered degus before we wound up fostering for a rabbit rescue. They are really cute, and I find them very interesting! Didn't look much into care for them, because we decided on the buns. My friend (who owns the rabbit rescue) also has a hamster, and she loves him to bits.

On the rabbits, they are also best in pairs (fixed, of course!) because they are extremely sociable and can get depressed on their own all day. We wound up getting an extra bedroom when we were looking for a flat so that they could have the space they need! So thinking about the space is very sensible.

I hope you get a little furry friend soon! Pets can make such a difference to your mood/life!

Ferrets! You have to entertain them, but they sleep 20 hours a day.

Rats and mice are good and easy. I gave up on them after a while, though, because they don't live long and they tend to die in heartbreaking ways.

I find ferrets to be a bit stinky. 

I had a French professor in college and she had rats. They LOVED them! They'd even take them to the beach! They sounded quite sociable and were good with her kids.

I read your subject line and thought this:

http://www.google.com/search?q=earl+the+dead+cat&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=d7M&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=NiFZTrK3N-fj0QHUxPCYDA&ved=0CEQQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=642

What about guinea pigs? I love them.  They're bigger than hamsters so you can actually give them a bit of a cuddle and get into less trouble than bunnies*.

* based entirely on my own experiences with guinea pigs and hamsters and the breeder my mother got to scare me out of getting a rabbit when I was 8. Thanks, mom!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!  With space considerations, I'm currently leaning towards degus...  I've measured the free space in our flat, and we can accommodate a sufficient degu cage with a little planning and rearranging.  We also can have a little space inside to let them out when DH and I are home.  I've had hamsters almost most of my life, but their relatively short life span has always been a bit tough to lose them so soon after getting them.  DH isn't too keen on rats or ferrets.  I'm not sure I could provide the roaming garden space (and hutch space) for guinea pigs and rabbits.

 

I read your subject line and thought this:

http://www.google.com/search?q=earl+the+dead+cat&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=d7M&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=NiFZTrK3N-fj0QHUxPCYDA&ved=0CEQQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=642

I thought something similar!! 

Degus look really sweet, though I've never known any personally. Best of luck with them!

I read your subject line and thought this:

http://www.google.com/search?q=earl+the+dead+cat&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=d7M&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=NiFZTrK3N-fj0QHUxPCYDA&ved=0CEQQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=642

Eeeee!   

Just out of curiosity, why do you think a chinchilla would need too much space?  I've heard they're great pets, and I thought they were small 

Just out of curiosity, why do you think a chinchilla would need too much space?  I've heard they're great pets, and I thought they were small 

In college, a friend of mine had a chinchilla in her one bedroom apartment, and she kept saying she didn't have enough space for her chinchilla's exercise requirement.  I gathered that chinchillas are quite large?

They're not very big (about squirrel sized) but apparently they require lots of exercise and they can jump really high.

I had a chinchilla once. She was extremely cute to look at but my word, she wasn't a low maintenence pet!

They certainly aren't little, docile creatures....  A LOT of exercise needed and they are....FAST! I certainly got some exercise trying to tease her back into the cage.

Plus, the cage they sleep in/live in is usually quite large. If I had one again I would do a lot of planning before hand and make sure I handled him/her from a very early age to get pretty tame. And, with most rodents, they like to chew, anything/everything and yes, the jump VERY high. They can also live for up to 20 years...  

I would probably go for a gerbil to be honest and, if I didn't have the cat, would probably get one now 

What about guinea pigs? I love them.  They're bigger than hamsters so you can actually give them a bit of a cuddle and get into less trouble than bunnies*.

Apologies for the late addition but I second the guinea pig. We had one growing up called Squeaker and it was the sweetest thing. I plan on getting one when the girls are a bit older.