Hamster or Gerbil ?

Question
I want to get my 9 year old daughter a hamster or gerbil.  She LOVES animals a lot with pleanty of hugs, kisses, and petting (gently of course).  She really is very good with animals and wants to be a vet when she grows up!

Which would you suggest for a little girl with so much desire to have a small furry animal to hold and play with...A LOT!  A hamster or gerbil? Or can neither have too much handling?

Thank you -

Answer
Hello Beverly

I reccomend a pair of guinea pigs(two males or two females), these make great pets and love to be petted and held once they are tame, they are less prone to biting then hamsters or gerbils and live longer also(4-6 years). They are larger then hamsters or gerbils however and therefore need larger cages, the cage for two guinea pigs should be at lest two feet wide and three feet long thou a foot or two more would be welcomed, also they should be let out of there cages at lest once daily in a "pig proofed" area. Guniea igs are very socil animals and seeing as the child will be at school during the day it would get lonly so if yuo get guinea pigs get at lest two. Let me know if you decide to go with guinea pigs as I know quite a bit about them and can answer most questions with ease.