I really want a pet. D:

[Gymnophoria]

I've had 7 pet fish in my life. 3 of them lived for years which was pretty impressive considering they were just little goldfish and all we had was a bowl with water and some colourful stones. One of them didn't even have any stones.

I'd really like a pet but I can't get a cat/dog/rabbit because my parents object. I can't get a hamster or guinea pig or anything like that because my mum is allergic to them. I can't get a snake/lizard/frog because I can't afford the heat tanks and stuff I'd need to take care of it.

I was thinking about a rat maybe, but I don't know. Does anyone have any ideas for a pet that wouldn't cost me a fortune to look after? I'm only at home 2 days a week apart from weekends so preferably not something that needs 24/7 attention. Any ideas and prices would be great!

Edit: I don't *really* want to get another fish because... to be honest they were a bit boring and I wasn't allowed to touch them.

[JKmadu619]

Honestly, a rat probably isn't a great idea. Rats can contract diease rather easily, which is more likely harmful to the rat than you, and have high amonia in their droppings. Although they can be taken care of, and be neat pets, they are high matenince.

Rabbits can be kept in the same size cage as a rat, (I had a full-size rabbit in a hutch roughly 2 feet by four foot cage. He lived for over eight years.) you could get a miniture rabbit which requires much less space and is probably on par with a rat cage, but they don't live nearly as long (4 years in my experience.)

Maybe a bird? A simple budgie bird could be ready to go for less than fifty dollars, and you can handle them, teach them tricks, have them on your shoulder, and even teach them to mimick voice or song. They are messy, and require a couple feet for a radius around their cage because droppings/birdseed will end up scattered. They can escape if your feeder/water isn't perfectly lined up, so this is something to consider. Any opening wider than the bars, and they will escape. You also need to close the blinds while handling them, because they will fly into windows and die if they see daylight while free. You will also need a large towel/blanket to cover the cage when you want him to be quiet, or else he'll sing all day and all night. I would recomend a small budgie, they're small, colourful, low matentince, you can buy toys and treats for them, they can be handled and taught tricks, and I've found they can live up to six years, really they're pretty cool. Also worth noting, they are good with food management. Meaning if you have to go away for a week, giving him a week's worth of food, he'd ration it only eating what he needed for survival. Large water containers can be bought if this is the case. Also, you only need to feed them every couple of days, so missing a day is no big deal.

Other birds are popular too, but I've only had experience with Budgies. You can also get more than one Budgie if you wanted, and they would play together, pick each other for bugs, and sing duets which is kinda neat.

- Justin

[BDF]

I was thinking a bird too. I have a friend abroad who's keeping something like 20 snakes in heat tanks... some really exotic ones, some quite big, like 2m.

[TheBabyEater]

Rats don't contract diseases any more easily than another pet. Your dog is more likely to get a disease because they're outside than a rat. They just have a bad reputation. I love rats, they're super smart and friendly, and can play with any household object, old baby toys are awesome. I have 7 mice myself, and they're awesome. They don't need 24 hour attention, but honestly if you can't play with something, not feed and water, but play with something every day, that crosses a LOT of things off your list. Plus if your parents won't let you get a hamster or gunia pig, would they really go for a RAT?

Birds require attention EVERY day, and are noisy usually. Mines obnoxious. =/ I have a Parrotlette, the smallest real parrot available.



I suggest some hermit crabs. They don't require much, you CAN play with them, but they don't require it every day. I have 6 right now, and they all have distinct personalities. They do require a good sized tank to be honest, the tiny travel cages the store tries to sell you is NOT good enough. Maybe you could keep one tiny crab in a huge travel cage, but still. I recommend just like, a 10 gallon tank. I have a 20. with 2 tiny crabs, 2 small, and 2 medium. Though I really want a Jumbo. =3 A lot of people are afraid of them pinching, but that's not always true. Get them from a good place, I got mine from a story called Earthbound that is growing rapidly here in St. Louis, and they're super friendly. They ONLY pinch when they feel like they're about to fall off. I'll quit rambling, but let me know if you need more info.


That's about all I can tell you I think. You could get a snail? Maybe try switching up the tank a little bit, you can get aquatic frogs, aquatic crabs, other cool stuff other than just fish.

[Nenya]

Hey Nat,

I agree with Marissa's suggestions of hermit crabs and aquatic frogs. You could also get some stick insects, I'm not sure how fun they are to play with but you can hold them and stuff and they're pretty simple to take care of.

I hope this helped

[Power Cosmic]

Also, there's crested geckos, they're not too pricey (as long as you get them from a breeder and not a high street shop). They don't need heating, just room temperature and don't eat insects either, eating either bits of fruit or a prepared-powder mix that you add water to make it's food.
Plus, they're great, interactive, clean and hypo allergic, being reptiles and stuff.