Pets - Any opinions

[Otta]

We're considering getting a pet, our girls (especially our older girl who has ASD) would love it.

Dog is out of the question due to space and our availability to care for it.

Cats are evil so they're out.

Basically we're looking at rodents, hamsters, rats, guinea pig...

Any pros / cons to any of these.

Personally I'd like to go for the longest life span because I don't want to deal with death, but that's just me being selfish really.

[Mustard]

Rat or guinea pig. Rats are super intelligent. Hamsters live about 2 years and they don't do much, sleep a lot in the day and use their wheel at night.

You can't lose a pig down a small hole either. They are cuddly, but need to live with another one in my opinion.

[Otta]

Yeah I think my wife would like two of whatever.

Thanks

[Mustard]

Meant to say pigs live longer than rats. Rats have a 2-3 year life expectancy, pigs about 7 years.

[enjoy]

Have a look at pets at home in catford, they are very helpful there and gi e good advice.

I'd go for a pair of Degu.

Very active and beautiful.

[sjw]

cats are not evil I have had various cats over the last 40 years and never had an evil one. It is the owners who are evil!

[Mustard]

I wouldn't go to a pet store for a small furry, better to find a reputable breeder.

[enjoy]

Mustard, I agree with you.

But the store is great to get an overview about possible pets and

if you find somebody with knowledge, you get good advice too

And not only the pets: food, cage, toys = costs as well.

[Medusa]

I have three children with ASD. We have had rabbits, guineapigs and hamsters, as well as cats and a dog. The dog was a nightmare. The cats are best by far.

Re rodents: AS boy no 2 had a hamster whom he adored but he is still mourning it after its death months ago. Their lifespan is so short for children and their waking hours not conducive to getting kids to bed on time!

Rats rock, but need to be cleaned out an awful lot if you don't want eau de ratbum everywhere.

Guineapigs are okay if they are handled enough to make them very tame but not as engaging as rabbits, I don't think.

Rabbits. Well. We've had a few. Foxes got one. One escaped. They need to be handled a lot or they become feral and antsy. Some are brilliant, others dull.

If you go down the rabbit route, let me know. I have a huge two-storey rabbit hutch in need of minor repair to the floor (but used uo until a fortnight ago) with an all-weather cover, bottle, food bowl, etc.

Ps Rabbits are easy to litter train if you bring them inside. Mine went from 0-95% litter-trained within a week or so.

[Otta]

sjw Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> cats are not evil I have had various cats over the

> last 40 years and never had an evil one. It is the

> owners who are evil!

Heh heh, knew someone would bite.

Worth mentioning that we are in a first floor flat, so no garden, only a little balcony. So animal would probably live indoors unless the cage/hutch went outside in the warmer months.

[sjw]

mission accomplished xxx

[Mustard]

enjoy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Mustard, I agree with you.

> But the store is great to get an overview about

> possible pets and

> if you find somebody with knowledge, you get good

> advice too

> And not only the pets: food, cage, toys = costs as

> well.

Oh, good , yes it's a good place to visit for things like that.

You know quite a lot about the pigs don't you!

[Mustard]

I have had rabbits, if you bring them inside and let them roam they like to chew wires.

[ernesto]

i have a spare rabbit hutch- big with a bedroom - if you go down the lepus or guinea pig route

[ernesto]

rabbits can last up to about 8 years but they ned to be paired and neutered and need to be handled regular to get them happy with the kids

[BeccaL]

Re dogs, I got my husband a subscription to www.borrowmydoggy.com for Christmas - it is kind of a "pet dating" site for people who have dogs who could do with more walks and people who would like to have dogs but can't. Was only ?9.99 for the year, so not a massive outlay.

So far we've met a lovely Border Collie who my husband took out for a walk earlier this week. It's not the same as having your own dog but is a good compromise for those who would like dogs. Might be worth considering for your daughter Otta? There are lots of dogs locally who might appreciate some more walks/company!

[Otta]

Funnily enough my wife stumbled across that site last night, and it does look good.

I like the idea of guinea pigs, but think she who must be obeyed has heart set on rats. Which is cool.

[Saffron]

I love rats, but if you've never had one be aware that thay do have a sort of doggie odor.

Siamese cats can be easily trained to walk on a lead (long shot but I had to mention it, for laughs if nothing else).

Gerbils, mice and hamsters can be a bit bitey. Guinea pigs can be v tame, but deffo need a companion (ditto rats).

Never been bitten by a rat or Gpig. Bitten several times by mice, very painful.

xx

[aquarius moon]

Sorry Otta, only just seen this (never been in the family room before)

I've kept hamsters, indoor rabbits and guinea pigs.

I don't think hamsters are suitable because they only live a couple of years and spend most of their time sleeping. You can only keep one Syrian at a time because they fight.

You can keep rabbits indoors but again if you keep 2 males, it's risky keeping them together. I had two in separate indoor cages & used to let them out for a couple of hours. You have to provide grass if they don't go outdoors so will have to grow indoor pet grass. Also, rabbits take ages to tame and even after handling every day may still hate being picked up & have a nasty bite if they're in a bad mood.

Guinea pigs are gorgeous. Again it's best to pick girls. They are docile, rarely bite and love being picked up. They are noisy though, especially when foods due plus they do best when they can go outside in a run in the summer to eat grass. You could grow indoor grass though if you choose to go for them.

I've never kept rats but I think your wife is right and they will be a good choice for you. They can happily live in a flat, can become very tame and like being handled. They don't need to go outside and are so intelligent they can be trained to do things.

[Lolamaxx]

I had a pet rat, and well as 2 rabbits over the course of my childhood... Can say that the rat was great; easy to litter train, train to do tricks... He was friendly and eager to please, and slept in a hammock made out of a handkerchief in his cage. Cons: they can be stinky, and - sorry - the male ones have pendulous tackle *ahem* that makes them a bit less 'cute' when they reach maturity. Rabbits: it's difficult, because it's quite personality-dependent. We had an amazing large rabbit (maybe a Chinchilla/Rex?), a mature male we adopted, and he was friendly, easy to train and loved snoozing with you and being held. Only con was that he engaged in the occasional arm/cushion hump. We had another, but a dwarf bunny, that my sister picked because she was 'sassy', and she was a biting, running-away, wire-chomping, litter-kicking nightmare. From my experience (and this is still pretty limited), males can be less aggressive, and the big ones can be calmer and quieter than the little ones, a bit like some dogs! I'd go for a rat to start out, perhaps!

Good luck!

[newboots]

Guinea pigs are the business and will steal your heart. They also don't smell!

[yeknomyeknom]

We bought a Dwarf rabbit which was apparently well handled by humans as a baby (important). Turns out she wasn't a dwarf and wasn't friendly. She bit if you went anywhere near her and her teeth were very sharp. She used to chase us round the house and bite our ankles. We loved the vicious monster but I would never get another.

[2degreesfrommadness]

Just a warning on the rabbit front - our eldest is around 15 years old; very friendly though!

[Peckhamrye]

Guinea pigs are ideal - friendly, very easy to handle, rarely bite (we had 20 at one time!), clean, make the most adorable noises when they are happy, and live for around five years.

[cornelia]

At my work we had a secondee once who admitted to having a pet chinchilla - Andean rodent which has the densest fur of any animal in the world. They live about 15 years - could be as long as 20.

Fascinating creatures by all accounts though I don't know how you would get hold of one!