One of them does indeed project a stream of urine when she’s really peeved. She coated my leg when I (a “stranger”) needed to get into her cage.
One of the chinnies is very affectionate and you can scratch him and pet him through his cage. He likes to be held.
The other male is more wary in his cage but bolder and more outgoing when you hold him.
The (peeing) female is pretty wary but seems happier now that she has a cagemate.
They’re very interesting to watch, cute, non-smelly, and pretty easy to care for. They have fairly long lifespans, so you will need to find a local vet that can provide health care as needed. Their cages are very large, as they need room to exercise. Out of the cage, they can run very fast and they like to nibble, so they need a lot of supervision.
I say get a bird. They can be paper-trained very easily and a cockatiel will not require the amount of attention a grey would - they live to 10-15 yrs (20 if you’re lucky). They’re social, chirpy but not piercingly loud, and easy to care for.
Guinea pigs are great, but do take the time to make a nice big cage for them. If you think about how much space the smaller rodents get relative to their body size in a commercial cage you start to realise yeah, pig cages really do need to be that big. They’re very cute and personable and they talk to you! Just don’t buy them from pet stores.
Whatever pet you wind up with, check carefully to find an “exotics” vet who sees a lot of that species. Your garden-variety cats-n-dogs vet won’t necessarily have much experience with other furbabies and may not know how to treat some conditions. We contacted the local guinea pig rescue group to find out the name of a good local vet. (then we wound up adopting 2 additional piggies from the rescue group).
Speaking of which, rescue groups are a good way to find pets that need good homes. Though the two we got there aren’t nearly as friendly and personable as the one we got from PetCo (Sorry, FRM, we didn’t know any better!).
:::turned on::: ??? Oh dear. I have two lesbian guinea pigs then (and evidently a gay male, as he never purrs for me, or perhaps he’s too narrow-minded and only likes his own species).
Actually the male’s “strut rumble” does sound a lot like the girls’ purring. He just struts around the cage and rumbles, saying “Girls, come and get me!”. Fortunately they’re uninterested, as he would be totally unable to satisfy them due to a li’l operation he had…
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But hey, it turns out skunks are legal with a permit, here in Florida. Anyone ever have one of those?
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I had a pet skunk when I was in my early teens. Chanel was a great pet - I got him when he was just weaned and he really bonded with me. He didn’t ever like anyone else, but would tolerate them. He ate cat food and used a litter box. It did take a while to train him out of sleeping all day and staying up all night.
However, if you are allergic to cats I see a potential problem. I don’t know for sure if skunks produce dander, but they do have a bit of a musky odor.
I applaud your desire to socialize any caged pet – most of them thrive on out-of-cage time.
We have a chinchilla, five birds, and a doggie (unless my wife has rescued something else since I left the house).
Birds are plain messy in addition to pooping – ours throw food on the floor to entertain themselves, chew up paper, and investigate any openings as potential nests. And they definitely need out-of-cage time (cockatiels and budgies). Making and keeping a bird-safe environment is a constant challenge.
The chin poops a lot. I mean, for an animal from arid, sparse conditions who gets sick if you feed him too rich a diet, he puts out an impressive stream of pellets. But they’re dry and inoffensive generally. We let him out each night but keep him in one room for safety and ease of vacuuming.
The dog is walked 4 times a day minimum. My wife comes home on her lunch hour (she works nearby), so it’s morning, lunchtime, first-human-home-in-the-evening time, and bedtime walks, and occasional romps, trips, and supplemental outdoor time. And we carry baggies for the dirty deed.
We HAD an aquarium some time back, it’s in storage at the moment. We’ve also housed rescued cats for a few months and fostered a house rabbit.
The thing that stands out to me most from having had all these critters is that there is a LOT to learn about each type of animal. In the case of birds, there’s an enormous amount of misinformation we all “know” that could stand correction.
The more you put into it the more you’ll get out of it.
(and evidently a gay male, as he never purrs for me, or perhaps he’s too narrow-minded and only likes his own species).