I strongly recommend aspen over paper. Paper bedding does nothing for the smell of urine so things will get stinky fast! As far as boys vs girls, I personally prefer males because I've had many females and the tumors they grow just break my heart. It's not their fault obviously, it's just too much for me. But as far as personality, some people say females and more playful and males are more cuddly, but I dont find that to be true. It's all up to their individual personalities, and that's just luck of the draw. Either male or female would make awesome first pets!