What pets suited to apartments?

future_plans

Hi all! I am looking for ideas for a pet suitable for apartment living. We live in a reasonablly sized 2-bed apartment and have a 9 year old child. I would like a pet suited to this type of urban living. Considering that there is nobody at home between 8am and 5pm five days a week, can I get suggestions on suitable pets? I would be particularly interested in hearing from people with similar circumstances. All ideas are welcome!

Rabies

A reptile, fish, mouse/rat or maybe a bird.
Don't get a dog or a cat if no one will be around to give the attention needed.
I'm pretty sure mice, rats and some birds are social animal, bear that in mind if you go that route.

I was in similar situation over a year ago. Gone from the house from about 6am-7pm for 6 or 7 days a week with work. Sometimes for a few days at a time. Really wanted a dog, but it wasn't the right choice. Decided to take a trip to Reptile Haven after hearing about it so much here. Chatted to Ben and walked away with a leopard gecko. Called him Mojo

tallus

Most birds are social so if you're getting a bird, get it a mate.

Nala

A hamster, they are nocturnal so you being away from 8-5 won't bother them at all. Their cage needn't take up that much room either. Or a tank of tropical fish would be good.

Remember whatever animal you decide to get do do a lot of research before getting it so you can give it the best possible home.

FranknFurter

Nala wrote:

A hamster, they are nocturnal so you being away from 8-5 won't bother them at all. Their cage needn't take up that much room either. Or a tank of tropical fish would be good.

Remember whatever animal you decide to get do do a lot of research before getting it so you can give it the best possible home.

But also remember, if you decide on a hamster or a gerbil, do not site the cage in a bedroom. They will keep you awake all night with the hyper scratching etc.

B

Liam90

FranknFurter wrote:

But also remember, if you decide on a hamster or a gerbil, do not site the cage in a bedroom. They will keep you awake all night with the hyper scratching etc.

B

that is very very true, when people said that they will keep you up all night i wasn't expecting them to be as load as they were.

Sigma Force

Keep in mind a hamster or gerbil will need a large cage not some dinky thing you can stick in a corner. 3 foot long tank for a pair of gerbils or linked up habitrail/FOP or similar housing for a hamster (ie syrians..they must live alone on the plus side unless already preg. from the pet shop you will have no accidents).

Another alternative would be a pair of guinea pigs, however they do need a large amount of space as do rabbits, you would need to have large housing and then a room for them to run about in.

Fish are another option, if short on space a smaller tank (not bowl) with a pair of goldfish. Not a teeny tank mind otherwise they woudln't have enough room.

Birds are another option but you will have to put up with the singing all day, a pair of budgies are great fun but may not want to know you when they have each other for company, a lone budgie would need a lot of time and attention.

It all depends on what type of animals you like, how much space you have, how much mess you are willing to clean up per day etc. Things can be worked out eg shape of housing can be modified to fit an awkward shaped room etc.
Apartments can be ideal for lots of small animals and birds, less risk of escape if you are careful etc.

FranknFurter

Just one thing to note about habitrail.
Dunno if you found this the same or not GPR, when I had one cleaning it was a beotch! So many little bits to dismantle and wash, was a royal PITA.
Personally, I always prefered the 3 foot (or more) fishtank as housing for small furries. Plenty of scope for toys and easy to get at for playing and taming

B

Sigma Force

Lots of people don't seem to like the habitrail, I still have parts of the old version which is way way better than the small new ones. If the cage is cleaned regularly the tubes only need cleaning now and then and you can do it in stages, speaking of which need to clean my little fellas one out.
Lots seem to hate the habitrail but I thought the old version was fab, I'm missing parts off it and I don't think they sell them anymore :-(
It was the carnival one, the wheel was the only wheel at the time I could get that was large enough for a syrian. I had more but my oul lad chucked them in a skip :eek:

Tanks are great have used them with timber/wire lids but the syrian seems a lot happier in his habitrail think I'm the only one that loves them lol.

josephine20

I also live in an apartment with my boyfriend and we have two cats. We got two so they would have company while we are at work. There are no major problems with having cats as indoor pets. The only thing I would say is you have to keep the place clean as they molt a lot. And because they never go outside they molt all year round. Lovely! Plus you will have to maintain a litter tray but that's no hassle. The kittens are quiet enough so they do not disturb anyone else that lives around us - they spend their time playing, eating and sleeping. We have a lot of things to keep them amused - toys, scratching posts, things to climb up so they don't get into trouble. You also don't have to worry about them getting lost or killed. We got them treated for worms, etc when they were younger and as they are indoor cats they don't have to get it anymore as there is no threat of him getting them.

myjugsarehuge

Finches are nice birds to keep as pets indoors, they are fairly quiet and don't need massive cages like a parrot say. They are small so you could have 3 or 4to interact together.

I used to breed Bengalese finches and a friend of mine had Zebra finches, none of them were any trouble. Canaries are lovely too but the males do sing very loudly.

FranknFurter

myjugsarehuge wrote:

Finches are nice birds to keep as pets indoors, they are fairly quiet and don't need massive cages like a parrot say. They are small so you could have 3 or 4to interact together.

I used to breed Bengalese finches and a friend of mine had Zebra finches, none of them were any trouble. Canaries are lovely too but the males do sing very loudly.

I bred zebra finches for a while many years ago, and by god.... *honk, honk, honk, honk, honk..." morning noon and night.
It got to the stage where my mother banned them from the house, they kept the entire house awake as soon as it got light, they make this really irritating "honk" noise constantly as long as there is light.

b

Nala

Ah you get used to the noise of zebras. When I got mine the noise drove me mad but now it doesn't bother me, it blends in with the constant chatter of the budgie and cockatiel (two very opinionated creatures).

Sigma Force

True you do get used to it, when some of the budgies were out in the aviary over the summer it was deadly quiet here, very weird.
Although visitors tend to complain, the louder they try to speak the louder the birds become lol.

prospect

FranknFurter wrote:

I bred zebra finches for a while many years ago, and by god.... *honk, honk, honk, honk, honk..." morning noon and night.
It got to the stage where my mother banned them from the house, they kept the entire house awake as soon as it got light, they make this really irritating "honk" noise constantly as long as there is light.

b

I love that noise. Its so,,, emmm, ,, tame?
Our guys obviously associate the beeping of our alarm keypad with us coming home. So if you press any button on the keypad, it sets them off big time, its quitw funny.

Demonique

A reptile of some description.

A cornsnake, milksnake, kingsnake, small boa constrictor species, small python species, garter snake, lizards: bearded dragon or leopard gecko

A pair of cats.


Don't get a dog or a parrot - they can be noisy and definately will disturb the neighbours

Schlemm

Go for a hamster as some ppl have been saying.

They're nocturnal so you don't have to worry about being out all day.

They don't make noise and won't imprint like some birds tend to do.

Handle them lots when they're young and they become very sociable.

They are soiltary so 1 hamster is good on its own, but small groups formed after weaning tend to be stable.

Make sure tho that you have somewhere to put the cage other than near a washing machine or dishwasher cos they don't like ultrasound noise.

Nala

Schlemm wrote:

They are soiltary so 1 hamster is good on its own, but small groups formed after weaning tend to be stable.

No. Syrian hamsters can never be kept together or they will kill each other.

Jimkel

Demonique wrote:

A reptile of some description.

A cornsnake, milksnake, kingsnake, small boa constrictor species, small python species, garter snake, lizards: bearded dragon or leopard gecko

A pair of cats.


Don't get a dog or a parrot - they can be noisy and definately will disturb the neighbours

I would'nt say a bearded dragon as these lizards require at least a 4 foot by two enclosure as adults, And they grow very fast, anything up to 22 inches. So bearded dragons are not good if you dont have the space for a large enclosure.

Also Water dragons are a no no, these are even bigger and require more space.

some animals that require the less space are spiders , scorpions, small gecko's, dwarf hamsters, some species of snake, Small amphibians and very small fish like white cloud mountain Minnows, or neon tetras etc

Goldfish contrary to popular belief cannot live a full healthy life in a small tank or bowl.