Which pet for me!?!

K8T.21

Hi!

I'm 23 and ive never had a pet So ive recently moved out of my parents house and my flatmates said we could get a small pet if it was easy to look after!

The problem is we dont know what to get, Any suggestions??? Cats have been voted out unfortunately and we cant get a dog cos there is nobody there during the day. We were thinking of a turtle? Does anyone know if they are easy to look after?!?

dudara

How about a pair of small hamsters - dwarf hamsters maybe?

Fish are another good option.

From what I've heard, turtles can grow quite big.

biko

Ask in the shop for an animals that would be ok by itself as some animals will get stressed without company.
Fishes maybe? Or do you want to be able to pick it up?
Couple hamsters or similar?

edit, same suggestions as dudara :-)

K8T.21

hey, thanks for your suggestions. Yeah i defo wanna be able to pick it up! Fish dont do much!

I like the hamster idea though! Ill have to look into these dwarf hamsters, they could work.

Although one of the girls is afraid of mice...hamsters are quite similar!

A guine pig maybe?!?

dudara

K8T.21 wrote: »

Although one of the girls is afraid of mice...hamsters are quite similar!

Dwarf hamsters are quite cute. They small and round, with no tail, just a little scut (compared to thin long mice).

This is what I'm talking about

K8T.21

Awh thats so cute!!! Nothing like a mouse, she'd love him! Thanks!

Whispered

AWWWWWWWW I had hamsters when i was younger, havent thought about them in ages. Now I want one after looking at that pic!

Jimkel

K8T.21 wrote: »

Hi!

I'm 23 and ive never had a pet So ive recently moved out of my parents house and my flatmates said we could get a small pet if it was easy to look after!

The problem is we dont know what to get, Any suggestions??? Cats have been voted out unfortunately and we cant get a dog cos there is nobody there during the day. We were thinking of a turtle? Does anyone know if they are easy to look after?!?

Please, please dont get a turtle, Someone who has never had a pet before should stay away from reptiles entirely! Trust me there are enough Turtles getting neglected, rehomed, sold off because people dont realise what they are getting into when they buy them, Turtles grow quite large, are messy, HATE being handled and would love nothing more then to eat you if they could! They require a diet which can be expensive and also require several electrical accessories which will throw a few bob on your Electricity bill. Dont buy a turtle unless you have the space for a small pond, because they will need it one day.

The only reptile I would consider safe and easy enough to look after is a corn snake, but There is allot of research and study required in order to begin to understand how to keep reptiles, and if your looking for a social pet then cold blooded is not for you. For someone with no experience keeping an animal understanding Reptiles, and how they differ from Mammals and birds, would be difficult.

How about a Budgie! They rock, their gas, they talk, and are very easy to keep and tame. And if they get too noisey and your trying to watch tv or something you can just put a towel over the cage and they shut up! I have two a cock and a younger one who cant seem to make up its mind wheter its male or female yet, the males are very social and amusing, I let mine fly around the room (with windows closed, curtains pulled and no pots on the boil of course!) and they get up to all sorts of mischief.

You might even consider a different type of small Parrot...

One thing to consider, you live with friends so I assume parties and smoking is common place?? sorry if im judging but if this is the case bare in mind that animals passive smoke too, and dont like parties!

Jimkel

K8T.21 wrote: »

Yeah i defo wanna be able to pick it up! Fish dont do much!


A guine pig maybe?!?

Then turtles are definatly a No No! Guine pigs like rabbits, require space and like to be outside in an enclosure in the summer, so if your in an apartment then I think they might be a bit large, unless you want to give them a decent sized enclosure indoors. A few feet ( 3 x 2 min) would be needed, unless you plan on letting it run around the flat regurlarly. and you must clean up the poo every day, change the litter very regularly, and then there is the smell....

Bare in mind that Hamsters are NOISEY f$%*ers at night! That Hamster wheel will drive ya mad!

Im not trying to put you off, just trying to let ya know whats really involved so you dont end up buying an animal and then trying to get rid of it afterwards.

Seriously a budgie or small parrot would be a great pet in an apartment/flat! Also have yo considered a rat?? they make wonderful pets.

Although in saying all of the above I have 2 fishtanks, a 4 foot and a 2 foot, 2 turtles in another four foot tank, 3 bearded dragons in a 7 foot vivarium, and 2 budgies all in a 2 bedroom apartment! but My Girlfriends studying to be a vet nurse, and Ive been keeping all kinds of animals since I was a child, so this is the way we like it! Not for everyone though.

LuckyStar

just bear in mind guinea pigs need to be kept in pairs if not groups.

Be ver careful buying hamsters- the dwarfs can live together but Syrians (the regular ones) will kill each other and must be kept apart.

Demonique

Guinea Pigs are great, if you get a pair, bear in mind that you'll need to get either two males or two females, otherwise you'll end up with guinea piglets!

An ideal pet for an apartment? A cornsnake, but you'll need to get a book on them before you buy one or research them on the internet. I feed baby corns twice per week and the adults get fed once per week. They normally poo about two days after they eat, so this means around two poos a week for babies and one poo per week for adults

Alfasudcrazy

I think its really sad your parents never got you a pet as a child - its the best time to own one.

But at least you can now get one but be aware before you start that all pets require plenty of care which can take a lot of time and effort and sometimes heavy expense if they get sick etc.

SCI

Jimkel wrote: »

Please, please dont get a turtle, Someone who has never had a pet before should stay away from reptiles entirely! Trust me there are enough Turtles getting neglected, rehomed, sold off because people dont realise what they are getting into when they buy them, Turtles grow quite large, are messy, HATE being handled and would love nothing more then to eat you if they could! They require a diet which can be expensive and also require several electrical accessories which will throw a few bob on your Electricity bill. Dont buy a turtle unless you have the space for a small pond, because they will need it one day.

The only reptile I would consider safe and easy enough to look after is a corn snake, but There is allot of research and study required in order to begin to understand how to keep reptiles, and if your looking for a social pet then cold blooded is not for you. For someone with no experience keeping an animal understanding Reptiles, and how they differ from Mammals and birds, would be difficult.

How about a Budgie! They rock, their gas, they talk, and are very easy to keep and tame. And if they get too noisey and your trying to watch tv or something you can just put a towel over the cage and they shut up! I have two a cock and a younger one who cant seem to make up its mind wheter its male or female yet, the males are very social and amusing, I let mine fly around the room (with windows closed, curtains pulled and no pots on the boil of course!) and they get up to all sorts of mischief.

You might even consider a different type of small Parrot...

One thing to consider, you live with friends so I assume parties and smoking is common place?? sorry if im judging but if this is the case bare in mind that animals passive smoke too, and dont like parties!

I agree defiantly not a Turtle,you really have know idea how big a
tank this will need as an adult.I would also recommend a corn-snake,
they only need a 3ft viv as an adults and fed nce a week.If you handle
them as a hatchling they are usually very tame.If snake are not
yourthing and you can spare a little more room ,bearded dragons are
also very friendly and like all animals with a little research easy to
keep.

Jimkel

True if you do consider a bearded dragon check out my Caresheet on the sticky on this forum.

goodforsomethin

take on everyone's advice about turtle's why does everybody imagine a turtle as an ideal pet for a family that's not home a lot, i used to have an everglade rat snake it was a great pet it loved being handled and are a very good animal to keep you interested in them i used to look forward to feeding it, it was amazing, plus i'd recomend a pair of budgies or similar type bird even e conure type parrot you get hours of entertainment from them and they occupy themselves while your at work they even get excited when you come home although it's important you handle them from a young age, i used to keep my sun conure's wings clipped not all people will agree but it worked for me goo luck