I’m tired of being petless. I’m a pet person, I was raised with dogs. But I work alot, and I don’t have a yard. So that rules out any dog worth having, and I’m allergic to cats. So I’m looking for doper pet recommendations. Price isn’t really an object, but here are some restrictions:
I like my house at a nice 65-75 F. I’m not opposed to heaters, but the chilly environment is something to keep in mind.
No pets that girls will find too icky. Snakes might be okay, but obviously I’m not looking to have a rat move in, nor do I wish to start a lamprey farm, or anything too freaky.
I have no aquarium experience. I’m willing to learn, it’s just that I don’t have any to speak of right now. So if it goes in a tank, a beginner pet might be best.
Large amounts of animal shit will annoy me. I’d prefer not to have to encounter it more than once or twice a week, like during a cage cleaning or something. Likewise, an animal with a strong odor isn’t likely to do well on the GB scene.
It’s a plus if the animal can leave its area and socialize. Not a necessity though.
So please share, especially if you’ve got a cool pet that you love having. Hedgehogs? Sugar gliders? Octopi? Ferrets? Turtles? Hamsters? King snakes? If you’ve a neat & low maintenance pet, I’d like to hear about it.
I just wanted to say that I’m female, and I’d love it if a guy had rats. Two rats (males) can keep each otehr company, they’re smart, cuddly, funny, lively. Lots of advantages, including that you can take them with you easily if you want to visit a (future) GF.
A friend of mine is allergic to cats as well, but she has befriended a neughborhood cat. He knows when she comes home and always greets her, and somtimes keeps her company in the evenings as well, but he sleeps at his own home. So the total time he spends in her apartment, shedding allergens, is kept to a minimum.
I’ve lived with ferrets hedgehogs and sugar gliders. I think that ferrets and hedgehogs are out because they’d require more litterbox/cage clean up than you want to do. Sugar gliders should have a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables provided daily, which can be a pain. My friend carried hers in her shirt pocket all the time to help it bond, but I’m not sure if this is something that has to be done.
What about a chinchilla? They’re odorless, with small pellet type poop. Some of them like being held, and interacting with people. You’d need a large cage with levels so it can jump around, a special kind of dust for it to bathe in, and things for it to chew to control the length of its teeth.
You should get a high-end parrot. Don’t slum with a budgie or a 'keet or anything.
I really wanted a parrot (whom I was going to name DeepBuck Choprafeather) but my parents threw down and pointed out if I bring him home on vacations he would have ended up as lunch. I’ve wanted a parrot since I read Harry’s Mad.
Sounds to me like you want a house rabbit. They can handle the cool temperature, girls LOVE em, they don’t live in an aquarium, they can be litterbox trained (and rather easily) and aren’t overly stinky or anything, and a house rabbit will get out and socialize plenty. Not sure about allergies, but I think you should look into bunnies. I think they totally fit your criterion.
What about a bird? We’ve had both budgies and a cockatiel, but pared down on the number of animals in the house when we were expecting our human baby. They don’t smell at all, and their cages are very easy to clean: pull out a tray and dump it into a trash can. Re-line with paper. Viola. Plus, their singing is very nice. If you want a bird that you don’t have to socialize with, get 2-3 finches. They are better off without much interaction.
Perhaps a guinea pig? They like having people around. They don’ t climb, so you can have an open-top cage, which is convenient for interaction, feeding, etc. They are very vocal and greet your arrival with loud whistles for food etc. www.cavycages.com has instructions on how to build a good-sized cage for not much money. www.guinealynx.com has good info on care, feeding etc.
They purr. I never knew this until we got our first pig a couple of years ago. Not like a cat purr, more of a shuddery full-body vibration that is quite audible.
Allergies: If you spent a lot of time right by their cage, perhaps the allergies would be an issue. I’m quite allergic to fur-bearing critters (hideously allergic to cats which sucks because I love cats) and the pigs don’t bother me. Though I wouldn’t put 'em in the bedroom.
Smell: If you clean the cage every week it’s minimal-to-nonexistent.
You can’t leave them alone for any length of time - by that, I mean you can’t load their cage up with food and leave town for a long weekend. When we had 1, we left her for 48 hours, once, with a very full food bin and 2 full water bottles, but that’s pushing it. So you’d need to get a petsitter.
A bird could be cool, but a real parroty parrot is not low maintenance. It’s sort of like having a kid-- you’re, like, cooking for them and you have to converse with them and leave the TV on so they can watch cartoons while you’re out and if they want attention they go “hey, mom. Hey, mom, hi mom!” endlessly (mine actually does this. I don’t know where he picked it up), they’re emotionally needy and some of your visitors will be afraid of them. Anything bigger than a cockateil is going to be demanding. Finches could be cool, though.
I second the Guinea pig vote. Easy maintenance, very personable, as good as a cat when it comes to interaction/personality. Can leave it alone for a day or two, or if you have to be gone for a while, vey easy to pick up cage, and bring it to someone’s house to pet sit. They’re also big enough to not be fragile.
Oh, but Mama Zappa? When they do the full body purr? (which is really cool, by the way.) It means that not only do they think you are great, but they’re also turned on. I never knew that.
When selecting a guinea pig, try to find one that is very vocal and personable.
Whistle-pigs are great, but I’m terribly allergic to our long-hair - I break out in hives, itchy eyes, etc. but not our short hair. They outtashould let you play with it before you buy so you can find out for yourself.
Wheet-wheet-wheet at dinner time, the popcorn-bounce when they’re playful. Yeah, they be fun.
I’ve had every kind of pet!
Here are some of my notes on those that have been mentioned so far:
Rats are GREAT. Females don’t smell as bad as males (true for most rodents). Pet stores sell tiny ones - barely weaned - mostly for snake food, but they make great pets because they bond well if you get them very young. I had a rat when I was in college that was as smart, social and entertaining as a dog. Everybody loved my rat, Maggie.
Guinea pigs: Not as smart as rats but I love the whistling and squeaking. A co-worker of mine talked me into getting some for our office because, as she said, “We have too much stress around here. We need companions that are warm and furry, not very smart, and give us unconditional support.” It was always nice to have a guinea pig on your lap while at the computer. The best set up for them is a large Tupperware bin on the floor, and for cheap, easy to change substrate, you can use the pellets sold for wood burning stoves (Home Depot). I think there is a spray you can get for them to reduce allergic reactions.
I would say parrots are out. As others have said, they need a LOT of attention and some are neurotic as hell and there’s not much you can do about it.
Snakes are nice because you don’t have to feed them often. Corn snakes and king snakes are usually docile and pretty.
I have a bearded dragon now. It’s a truly wonderful reptile. Friendly and curious and they don’t jump off your hand. You do need a very large, very warm tank for them as they are desert creatures (we’re talking 105 F) that reach about two feet long. I got mine as a baby about a month ago and the thing has doubled in size and eats voraciously. Gotta feed it every day (crickets and greens/veges).
I haven’t had a house rabbit, but I would think allergies would be a problem if you’re allergic to cats. My outdoor rabbit was an incredible shitting machine. It did nothing but eat and shit.
My friend has 2 budgies and they are great pets for her. She can leave them alone for a weekend, but has a series of pet sitters for longer absences, or she just cages them up and takes them with her. One of the birds is older and better socialised to humans than the other, he talks a bit (mostly his own name, and “cookie”) and pretty much follows her around the house. Once they hit a certain age, she stopped clipping their wings and lets them fly around unless she knows they’ll be in the way. They are very cute and quite cuddly, for such small birds! They often just sit on her shoulders as she goes around the house.
One disadvantage of bunnies is the chewing. On everything. If you leave them out of their cage, expect to say goodby to your telephone cords and powercables. Also, take a good last look at your wooden furniture; it’s legs will never look the same again.
As JillGat said, you need a rat. Many girls might eek out at a rat, but that doesn’t mean they don’t find them interesting.
Not necessarily. My housebunny chews very little - of course, power and phone cords are all up, taped to walls or behind furniture, as a nibble on them is possibly fatal. She’s very neat, only ever uses her litter box, and very good company.
Curiously, allergen-wise, guinea pigs make me sneeze. Nothing else with fur does that - cats, dogs, horses, bunnies, mice, rats, antechinus, brush-tailed phascogales*, spinifex hopping mice, etc.
Another vote for a bunny from me!
[sub]*Phassies are great pets, but I don’t think commercially available.[/sub]
Another vote for a pair of rats. (They really prefer to have a buddy.)
I am also a fan of bearded dragons. We used to let ours roam the house during the summer. (It was too cool during the winter.)
The downside of rats is that they rarely live to be three years old, and are rather susceptible to respiratory ailments and, occasionally, tumors. It can be tough to lose them (or to have to put them down).
The downside of dragons is that if they get sick, you may not see it until it is too late to save them.
Current girlfriend nixed the rats and snakes ideas last night. Birds remain a possibility, but their long lifespans (an african grey would outlive me), need for constant attention and tendency to shit on everything including people makes them unlikely.
But hey, it turns out skunks are legal with a permit, here in Florida. Anyone ever have one of those?
Also, does anyone know about importing a mongoose? My research suggests that they’re illegal in the mainland US, but I’ve seen some stuff suggesting that some breeds may be okay. I’d love a mongoose.
Guinea pig is the current frontrunner though. Chinchillas also look neat, especially if they really can rear up and pee at people like the wiki says.
