They totally fucking freak me out.

i don't know what you're talking about man. I'm a guy much smaller than you and I'm not afraid at all. Maybe you should go watch the movie Ratatouille, those fuckers are adorable.

I also grew up with gerbils as pets. I highly recommend them. Low maintenance, fun to hold, very soft, and fun to watch them roll around in balls and wheels and shit.

The rodent kingdom has a lot of different players in it. I consider gerbils to be among the most refined of the bunch. Then you got your hamsters, mice, guinea pigs, etc. Rats are a bit more unpleasant because they can bite real bad and spread disease I'm pretty sure, so I'd rather have the other rodents as pets, but still, those guys are just looking for food and a cozy place to run around and sleep.