Need advice re: small animals/hamsters

[chippewastud79]

Mice or hamsters, don't over analyze what you need too much. Both my experience with either one required nothing more than a glass aquarium with a snap on screen lid, cedar shavings, a wheel, wood chews and paper towel or toilet paper tubes for them to run thru/chew. I haven't had a rodent pet in years though, just my

Originally Posted by Tenor CS

Thanks guys, but we're not at all interested in ferrets. Too expensive, too big, need too big of a cage, and yes, they smell. One of my best friends in school had a ferret and it always smelled like ass.

I had a tenant that had a ferret in my rental, which they weren't allowed to have, and it stunk like the dickens. Had to rip out the carpet in her room because of it when they left.

Originally Posted by chippewastud79

I had a tenant that had a ferret in my rental, which they weren't allowed to have, and it stunk like the dickens. Had to rip out the carpet in her room because of it when they left.

thats will have been down down to the people not looking after it propley not the ferret its self tho

yeh thay are out side animals tbh thay only cost about 5 pounds here tho .the smell is down to bad diet most of the time alot of people give them raw meat and that makes them stink

the thing about mice is that thay dont live very long like 2 sometimes 3 years at most how about a chinchila thay live alot longer than mice

[hotreds]

Didja ever consider a skunk? You remove those glands and they apparently make great pets and can be litter trained.

Originally Posted by hotreds

Didja ever consider a skunk? You remove those glands and they apparently make great pets and can be litter trained.

alot bigger than a ferret tho lol how about a pigmy hedgehog ?
http://www.mrtoffee.com/CloseupHedgehog.jpg

[RGD.]

Although they are all just rodents to me - I'd vote for guinea pigs. After growing up with my brothers and sister - and then my girls keeping a variety of rodents - I think guinea pigs are about the easiest to keep - and they very rarely bite. They also like to be held - they don't normally try to escape, run off and hide causing extended searches for them. The are night dwellers - so they will be active when you are both home then. They like the exercise wheels and balls - not so much the tube things from what I have noticed. Keep is cheap with the food and bedding (buy the really large bales).

Any small animal will smell if you don't keep the cage clean. For guinea pigs make sure to add extra chips, shavings, bedding whatever so they have a place to make their nest and one end for their business. As noted an inexpensive aquarium works the best and keeps the mess confined - although it does keep the smells from dissipating.

How about turtles? I've got a pair here looking for a good home -


Ron

[AD720]

Originally Posted by Tenor CS

Hi guys,

I have a hankering for a fluffy pet...She's allergic to cats...

If you are looking for the companionship of a large(r) animal there are several breeds of hypoallergenic cats. Siberian, Russian Blue (some say Siamese as well). Plus the Sphinx, a/k/a "Mr Bigglesworth" cats but they don't meet the "fluffy" requirement.

FWIW I have an allergy to some cats, certain longhairs really mess up my eyes but our cats are domestic short hairs and I have had not one problem with them. Even a friend who has sever dander allergies is not affected as bad as he usually is by our cats. My fiancé also has a slight allergy but she cured herself by rubbing them in her face for the first couple weeks we had them.

[tsolomon]

I have kept hamsters, mice and Guinea Pigs and the Guinea pig would be my first choice. A little more maintenance, but more of a pet that you can handle. We use to take them outside in the yard to eat grass and sniff around and they do have a little personality. The cage was a little bulky to handle, but it came apart easily. They are easy to keep and feed, we had 3 of them, all females. Hamsters bite, mice just didn't work for me until I had snakes. I think Bearded Dragons make great pets and they are pretty clean.

[Whee]

Originally Posted by AD720

If you are looking for the companionship of a large(r) animal there are several breeds of hypoallergenic cats. Siberian, Russian Blue (some say Siamese as well). Plus the Sphinx, a/k/a "Mr Bigglesworth" cats but they don't meet the "fluffy" requirement.

FWIW I have an allergy to some cats, certain longhairs really mess up my eyes but our cats are domestic short hairs and I have had not one problem with them. Even a friend who has sever dander allergies is not affected as bad as he usually is by our cats. My fiancé also has a slight allergy but she cured herself by rubbing them in her face for the first couple weeks we had them.

This put an unfortunate picture in my head...a nice one, but unfortunate...

[lightning9191]

Originally Posted by AD720

If you are looking for the companionship of a large(r) animal there are several breeds of hypoallergenic cats. Siberian, Russian Blue (some say Siamese as well). Plus the Sphinx, a/k/a "Mr Bigglesworth" cats but they don't meet the "fluffy" requirement.

FWIW I have an allergy to some cats, certain longhairs really mess up my eyes but our cats are domestic short hairs and I have had not one problem with them. Even a friend who has sever dander allergies is not affected as bad as he usually is by our cats. My fiancé also has a slight allergy but she cured herself by rubbing them in her face for the first couple weeks we had them.

I'd like to thank you for putting the strangest image in my head so far today.

[smokeyandthebandit05]

Originally Posted by AD720

My fiancé also has a slight allergy but she cured herself by rubbing them in her face for the first couple weeks we had them.

[AD720]

Originally Posted by illinoishoosier

[/b]

This put an unfortunate picture in my head...a nice one, but unfortunate...

Originally Posted by lightning9191

I'd like to thank you for putting the strangest image in my head so far today.

Originally Posted by smokeyandthebandit05

Can't argue with results though!

[WhoDeySchenk]

how about a cute cuddly Sugarglider. They make great pets, very affectionate. I believe they're better off in pairs, so you'll need 2.

Originally Posted by WhoDeySchenk

how about a cute cuddly Sugarglider. They make great pets, very affectionate. I believe they're better off in pairs, so you'll need 2.

My old roommates had about 6 sugar gliders after the initial pair mated. They are very affectionate and a lot of fun. The little noise they make sounds pretty cool, almost like a wind up toy.

That being said, they smell. Bad. I couldn't ever go into my old roommate's bedroom. Also, to properly care for a sugar glider they require a very large habitat. The habitat my old roommates built was about 6 feet long by 6 feet high, and 4 feet deep. It was considered small in the sugar glider world apparently. They need room to glide in their habitat.

[WhoDeySchenk]

This photo rocks!

[Lucky_Hippo]

I've looked into the sugargliders in the past and although I really liked the animals themselves (check your local laws on these) I found a lot of the breeders to be total nut jobs. Several of them required a home visit to check out the living area before the sale. Several requested interview processes and follow up surveys/check ups.

For a rat with wings? Really? Whatever. If I'm jumping through those kind of hoops I'm getting a pet that can at least roll over on comand.

We've had gerbils, mice, hamsters, and guinea pigs. I liked our guinea pig the best. She would curl up under my wife's chin and chatter away contently.

Now if you're looking for easy in the way of pets, and fun to watch I'd go with hermit crabs. I've had them on and off since I was a kid and they are very easy to take care of. They don't require a lot of attention, and mainly like to come out at night to explore and knock around.

Neat to watch.

[Sr Mike]

Small animal, get a rat. They are smarter than mice and hamsters, also less bitey, and far more social. I breed rodents to feed my snakes, I have learned that rats are the better of the three species. Yes I do socialize my rats and give them attention, even if they are snake food.

I've had a number of small fuzzy animals over the years...and they were really easy to clean up about a week after i introduce them to my snakes

Speaking of reptiles, leopard gecko's are the bomb!

Originally Posted by LordOfWu

Speaking of reptiles, leopard gecko's are the bomb!

I'd like to get a Chinese water dragon.