Pink Poogle Toy Forum

Well.
Heres something I never thought i'd be doing... searching for a small fuzzy animal that would make a good pet.
I'm away at Uni, and i'm trying to figure out a type of animal that would be a good pet. It doesn't necessarily have to be something that you can pick up and snuggle.
I've kinda been looking at spiny mice... but last night I did see a rather beautiful bunny rabbit. However, my problem with rabbits would be that they can be rather timid. And I don't want it dying from say shock when I have to take it home next summer and my dog sticks it's nose up there. At least with a smaller cage I can put it up a bit higher... but then, bunnies can also be super cuddly... and that would rock.
In this category as well i'll consider birds. However, birds can't be too large and expensive.
If you've got general ideas on costs of said pets that would be helpful too... and in costs I mean things like cages... bedding... *shrugs* that sort of thing.
When I do choose what I want, i'm going to research my butt off, but i'm looking for ideas thus far. Keep in mind please that rats are not appropriate pets, because rats are illegal to keep in Alberta.
So yes. Help me please. Pros/cons... yup. Whatever you've got, i'm willing to listen.

I've never been one for tiny rodents, so may I suggest guinea pigs.

Guinea Pig Pros

They're snuggly.
My book, at least, says that they squeal when they hear you coming if they associate you with food. Which would be an ego boost, I think.
They can live quite happily in a cardboard box.
Low maintence, easy to please pet.

And I really don't know any cons for them. Best ask Igg. Chinchillas, I've heard, are nice pets, too, but are pretty expensive. I don't like gerbils. Or mice. Or hamsters. Or anything else tiny and obnoxious. So I'd be biased if I went on about them. A rabbit seems like a good idea, though. There are lots of rabbits in shelters, which makes them people friendly (I would assume) and a lot cheaper.

Good luck with that.

Get a hedgehog! Okay I know nothing about it, if they get huge or what not, I just know that I saw that guy that those tons of those animal shows carry one on Leno or something...and it was cute so cute and little and awwww

lookie http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~kw6k/pic ... %20015.jpg

he has food that looks like kisses o_o...aww?

Well... one of my main concerns with rabbits is the vet care... and the spay/neutering thing. Unfortunately thats a fair bit of money for me to be shelling out. And I couldn't ever really own one that wasn't knowing that spaying/neutering would help it's life.
But nothing i've read on guinea pigs has said that they need to be spayed/neutered. So i'm wondering if they do or don't?

My interest in Spiny mice didn't lay in being hand held pets, it was more of a general interest thing. I think they're neat. I mean, come on, mice with spines!

But yeah...



I don't like hedgehogs. I've never liked them. I"m not sure why I don't... but they annoy me. And I think they're ugly.
And they're pretty expensive where I live. *shrug*

awww I think they are cute .

How would your roomies feel about having mice?

At least you aren't looking into Rats, if I was your roomate I wouldn't want to be there with a rat

Well Rats are illegal here. There's this whole thing in Alberta about rats. Basically the introduced ones (some are here as native species) are shot and killed on sight. We're very proud of this, we have a rat patrol that goes out on horseback, patrols the borders... and yeah. We keep them out. They are here, but compared to other provinces we have no where near the numbers.

I wouldn't mind mice-mice (not spiny mice) but I worry that if they ever got out that they'd breed or something gross.
I don't want pinkies on my floor!

Guinea pigs are wonderful pets. I have two--and I had one before that. They're adorably cuddly, though depending on what type of bedding you use it does tend to get on your shirt a lot. They do squeal--they squeal a /lot/. It's adorably cute, though. My dad has them on a feeding schedule, and he gives them parsley at night. If you rustle a plastic bag--they associate that with parsley--it sounds like they're going to fall out of the cage. XD It's so cute.

At first they're timid with people--I know mine were--but once you hold them and they get to know you, they stop being chickens so much. We have three dogs, and you can set the guinea pig on the floor and it'll just stare at the dog like "what're YOU looking at?" Granted, it's not the safest idea because the biggest dog tends to think it's a play toy and always tries to pick it up. XD

Guinea pigs are fairly low maitenence--but, they do need more than a cardboard box. They pee a lot (yes, on you, more than likely) and a cardboard box will be ruined within a day. I suggest a plastic cage--we had ours in a large bucket for a few years until they outgrew it--or something like what we have now; it's a dog cage, and the plastic bottom-liner can just come out for easy cleaning. If you do decide to get a guinea pig, make sure you have some sort of shelter for them. As much as they can get used to things, they do need somewhere to hide once in a while. (instinct: you see a shadow, you hide)

I love my two guinea pigs to death. They're cuddly little things, and they don't bite unless provoked. (a LOT. I've gotten nibbled on, but only once have I ever been bitten so hard I bled--that was, what, seven years ago? I've owned them for about nine)

Generally, they're good pets.

Goodness the whole rat thing reminds me of my coworker telling me of these huge rodents they had in New Orleans. At one point it got so bad and infested with them that people where coming up with ways to eat them.

Pinkies haha. I just hope that if you decide you don't want them, that you let them loose on the campus grounds. A guy did that here with his hamsters/mice thingies and we were all scared they were going to reproduce like mad and invade the neighborhood. Don't mice breed really fast? Maybe if you get them you should see if they can determine the genders and give you same sex ones to avoid having like 20 mice before the end of the school year.

How about parakeets? They aren't expensive here, they can be rather noisy. Downside to birds is the noise. Canaries I hear are nice pet birds, but I don't think birds deal very well with change and moving around will be hard for them.

I have budgies back in Edmonton, but i'm not sure if I want them here. They tend to be /VERY/ noisy. My room mate has two birds already, a love bird and a senegal parrot, and though they're nice, i'm not sure if i'm ready to own budgies here. The whole... "birds hate me and try to hurt me whenever i'm near them" thing comes into play.
I'd love to own a canary again... actually a canary was one of hte most tame birds i've ever owned. He used to sing and sing and sing. He had been my grandmothers and then when she passed away he became ours. He died when he was 12... he was beautiful. And again, i'm not sure if i'd be ready to own one. Too many memories, and it would never be "Pretty Boy". Plus, unfortunately they're rather expensive up here. Your average canary here now is 150 bucks... kinda crazy. They never used to be so pricey.

I say try getting a conure, specifically a Green Cheek. They are very cuddly. :) They can be nippers, but also can be very very sweet. Before we got Cinnamon (My GCC's "boyfriend") she snuggled with me a lot. She sometimes lets me hold her on her back. When she doesn't bite she lets me kiss her head/beak, pet her back, etc. A con though is that, atleast with her, before we got Cinnamon she seemed a bit bored. She used to eat a lot. I mean, she still does, they devour millet pretty quick, but before she'd just do it herself. They need the biggest cage you can afford, too. GCCs are like 300+ dollars. They squeal. But some *can* learn to talk. Mine doesn't yet,but she can do two kinds of whistles. They need regular check-ups, birds can easily hide illness. They need lots of toys and interaction. And they also cost a lot in the fruits/vegetable category. The more I think I assume a GCC, or any bird, might be too much trouble for University living. Hmm.

I used to have a Dwarf Hamster. They are low maintenace, really fun to watch, are super adorable. Their lifespan is only 2 to 3 years though, which is kind of sad because you get attached then it dies. Cons, though.. they are very tiny, I found it hard to find a cage that didn't seem like a prison. Once she slipped through the crack in the cage after climbing up on one of her houses or something. I found her perfectly safe though, waddling into my closet. Thats pretty much all I can think of. The cost of them isn't too bad. I got her a cardboard house she loved for like two dollars, so their stuff is cheap. They don't eat a lot, one bag of food lasts a while. Another con is that mine, atleast, slept a lot. They are active during the night. Mine usually woke up around three in the morning. I mean, they will come out occasionally for a snack/drink and to maybe run on their wheel, but.. meh.

Bunnies are cool too, especially dwarfs. Do not get an angora unless you are in love or don't mind their messy-ness. They need groomed all the time and they are, as mentioned, messy. :I Although they are quite pretty and squishy and fun to snuggle and kiss. So that counts as a pro. Ours has such a cute personally, too.. if you don't mind the mess and care (you might not since you have horses) they are pretty cute. Dwarfs are great too. They are small, portable, and their dropping are small and easy to clean. Totally a pro. They also have to have lots of their greens, not so much on the fruit. Like once or twice a week. In a really small ammount. They can't have iceburg lettuce, I think romaine is the best. I do not know if they can have any besides romaine. Carrots are high in sugar or something, so that would be a "sometimes food" as the former Cookie Monster would say. Bunnies are really soft though. Yeah. They are super fun to take outside on leashes. I also enjoy patting their little bodies. The Dwarfs require little grooming as far as I know, don't need bathing as often as angoras. A tip for socializing with them - buy a little fence and sit in it with them on a small stool or something. Maybe offer a treat.

Umm yeah. <3

The parrots you mentioned, though i'm sure lovely, are way out of my price range at the moment. Even if I got a job, i'd have a hard time justifying it. I also have a bit of an issue with birds... they hate me. And though I do love to look at parrots, the thought of owning one kind of terrifies me. The whole biting thing...
I saw dwarf hamsters at the store yesterday. They were indeed very waddly and cute. Heh. They were all round and little. Hmm. I'll have to look up on them some more.
I think unfortunately i've had to rule rabbits out due to costs. But we'll see...

Ooh... I have a rabbit and a guinea-pig, and they're both wonderful animals

I especially love rabbits, though (as you might have guessed!). None of the ones I've had so far have been very timid - in fact, one of them used to chase our next door neighbour's cat around the garden! In my experience, guinea-pigs have been a lot more timid than rabbits. My current guinea-pig still runs away from me, whereas my rabbit will cheerfully hop around my legs.

Regarding spaying/neutering, I think guinea-pigs would require it equally as much as rabbits? (edit: as in, probably not) They certainly breed fast... unless you're thinking about ovarian cysts rather than breeding (in which case you could get a male ). None of my rabbits or guinea-pigs have been spayed, and I haven't had any particular problems yet...

Edit: Something I forgot to mention... another good thing about rabbits is that they are toilet-trainable. I know a few people who've trained their rabbits to not "go" in the house, or to use litter boxes. In general, too, they tend to be a lot neater about it than guinea-pigs, for instance. My rabbit has one corner of the cage as his "toilet corner", whereas my guinea-pig just goes everywhere! It makes it a lot harder to clean!

Okies... I've raised 10 guinea pigs, one dwarf hamster, a degu and 2 little brothers. Avoid the little brother option. Too much work.

The dwarf hamster was inexpensive and is massively cute. Stitch lives in 2 habitrail cages, which is more then enough room for her. I use about 5-10 handfuls of bedding every 2-4 weeks to clean the cages, and a bag of hamster food and a bag of wiskas cat treats lasts forever. The habitrail cages come with silent wheels too. Stitch is active during the day when shes in the mood for attention, but otherwise she enjoys her sleep. She's only bitten once, and that was thhe first day we got her. We have an understanding... if she wants out, I open the door and she crawls out onto my hand.

The degu is a pain in the butt, but I love him anyway. He lives in a 2 story cage with some perches, a stuffed blumaroo, a kleenex box, some random bird toys and a plastic igloo secured upside down at the top of the cage. He makes a lot of noise, but not at night. They are extremely smart creatures and can chew through anything. He eats a mix of guinea pig and chinchilla food.

I've raised 10 guinea pigs and now have 4, one is 8, 2 are 6 and one is 18 months. These brats are spoiled. They need a fair amount of cage space, mine live in rabbit cages, but they can survive in normal pet store cages. http://www.cavycages.com has instructions on making cheap, but huge guinea pig cages.

My pigs all have their own little fleece doggy beds to lounge in, a small fleece blanket, and they share a doggy sofa that I found in walmart. The pigs are quiet at night, they don't smell, are not aggressive in anyway and easy to take care of.

You do not need to have them fixed. Surgery is very dangerous to them as they are so small. I lost a piggy to anestetic about 3 yrs ago. Their little bodies cant handle it. I have a male and 3 females and not once has the male ever tried to do anything to the girls. But I have raised this male since the second he was born, and have taught him how I want him to act. He is the watch pig and looks out for my girls. This is not to say he is unsupervised with girls around, but I can let him play with the girls and know nothing will happen.. (I watched him be born actually...)

They eat plain guinea pig pellets, a variety of fruit and veggis, and while mine hate hay, apparently normal guinea pigs love it. My pigs are the most affectionate things I have ever seen. They got mad when I left them for the summer, but they do get over it.

If you are worried about dogs, once your pig is used to people and not shy/scared anymore, it may have fun with the dog. One of my pigs bit a full grown lab in the face when it was bugging her. They can take care of themselves quite well.

Guinea Pigs don't need spaying/neutering.

My room mate (bless her) has worked in a pet store for quite awhile.
She mentioned that Guinea pigs have a smell. I'm not adverse to smelly pets (I work with horses, and dogs... they love to both do things that end up smelling, or produce smelly material) but I was just wondering if the reason that she feels they smell is because of improper care.
Just wondering...
And wow!

Thankyou for that site krisgp!

It looks like i'm probably going to do a bit more research... sell a few things (I have to come up with money other then food money to do so) and most likely buy myself a guinea pig. I'm fairly sure I can get these materials... though the sign materials a bit interesting but thats certainly a very good looking option! And quite frankly they just look so much nicer then most store bought cages. Yup.
Wow.
Thanks for the information. *impressed*