I've never actually owned a hamster or a gerbil, but my teacher in the 3rd grade used to raise and breed them. She had a pretty big cage with a wheel and a few tunnels, and in her class, we would rotate each day on who would change the water, food, things like that. Anyway, I would love to have a hamster or a gerbil of my own, but I don't think that will happen for a while.