Pet for a tiny flat?

RubyXI

Hey. I live alone in a very small flat. At home we always had pets and i kindof miss that. But the flat is small and i'm out at work all day. So that rules out dogs. I hate cats. Alot of things need large cages or have a very short life-span. Anyone have any suggestions of something that would suit?

Annika30

A goldfish?

jameshayes

A rat is a great pet - if you can get over the stigma

RubyXI

I actually like rats but what kind of housing do they need? I'm not a huge fan of fish. I'd like something that would actually remember me when i get home lol.

jameshayes

have a look here - all the info you will need; http://www.quite.co.uk/rats/

Alun

I don't really know too much about them myself, but what about a ferret? From what I've seen they're quite fun animals and quite playful.

MsFifers

I heard ferrets can be a bit smelly.

A hamster? Would sleep all day when you are out and then you could let it out for a run and some craic when you come home.

RubyXI

MsFifers wrote: »

I heard ferrets can be a bit smelly.

A hamster? Would sleep all day when you are out and then you could let it out for a run and some craic when you come home.

I had a hamster before and was devestated when she died after a year and a half.

stevoman

MsFifers wrote: »

I heard ferrets can be a bit smelly.

i have two ferrets and they make fantastic pets. i had one great one last summer, a male, and everywhere i went he would follow me around real faithfully. he was a real pet. I would advice a female as they are smaller. when they are spayed the dont smell whatsoever.

Id definitly recomend one of these for a small flat etc as they are great fun, really socialable and extremly clean little pets.

RubyXI

do ferrets mind being left alone though??

Bainne2

Rats are great pets:D Never had them myself but did some research on them when I was thinking of them as a pet a while back. Some can even be taught how to do agility. :rolleyes: They are very intelligent and loving and wouldn't smell as much as ferrets (or get into as much mischief)

Just be very carefull getting them from a petstore as most are very badly bred. It is important to get females spayed as otherwise they are highly prone to mammary cancer :eek:

Do some research though before you get anything

I think rabbits are great, they can be littertrained, are very affectionate, don't have a costly food bill and are interesting to watch. Though again these should be neutered to prevant cancer and terretorial problems.

missbusy

Terrapins are a great pet i think!

Small , easy to Keep, & unusual

stevoman

phi3 wrote: »

do ferrets mind being left alone though??

No phi they contently sleep up to 14 hours a day so you need not worry about that. plus if you rare them from kits it is amazing how cute they become. id really reccomend a nice white albino one for you.

cowzerp

missbusy wrote: »

Terrapins are a great pet i think!

Small , easy to Keep, & unusual

Terrapins are not easy to keep and grow to the size of a plate, they would need a huge tank then, and yes they are a little unusual! not reccommended without knowledge of them..

RubyXI

stevoman wrote: »

No phi they contently sleep up to 14 hours a day so you need not worry about that. plus if you rare them from kits it is amazing how cute they become. id really reccomend a nice white albino one for you.

Sorry for all the questions! What kind of housing do ferrets need? and would you need two or are they happy alone.

Bainne2

http://www.cottagerescue.ie/page5.html

Gives alot of ferret info. Or else google ferret care and look at soem of the info there. They can be kept in cages but alot of the pet store cages are too small and they prefer if they have the run of a room (apparently)

Glowing

missbusy wrote: »

Terrapins are a great pet i think!

Small , easy to Keep, & unusual

Ha! These are certainly not small!!! They might be tiny when you buy them, but 10 years down the line, you'd be hard pushed to find a tank big enough....

Not a good option for an apartment. They also stink!

Jimkel

missbusy wrote: »

Terrapins are a great pet i think!

Small , easy to Keep, & unusual

HAHA, Small??? have you ever seen a fully grown femal slider/Map/Diamondback turtle??

lets just say they require an indoor pond

missbusy

cowzerp wrote: »

Terrapins are not easy to keep and grow to the size of a plate, they would need a huge tank then, and yes they are a little unusual! not reccommended without knowledge of them..

Had them for years and they never grew much....

But still, i guess ya should look into them anyway to be sure to be sure!

Demonique

*Guinea pig
*Rabbit
*Gerbil
*Rat
*Leopard gecko
*Bearded dragon (you'll love these guys, very placid and friendly)
*Corn snake (very placid)
*Royal python (small python, rarely gets to 6ft, a little shy, it will hide its head and curl into a ball when it feels threatened instead of biting)
*Most of the smaller boa constrictors (hogg islands, rainbow boas, rosy boas, rubber boas are all docile) with the exception of tree boas (they're not very friendly)
*Mexican Black kingsnake

dbrock

what about an african pygmy hedghog,,,,

there small
solitary
sleep most the day when your not there
easy enough to care for
dont smell
actually make good pets,, had no intrest when my g/f got one but actually like them now,,,,

the only thing is i recomend you give them a decent size enclosure ,,, and a wheel to run in at night as usually in the wild the walk for miles,,,

Run_to_da_hills

What about a pony or a horse, they got away with these for years in Ballymun.

Traumadoc

Tortoise

EGAR

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

What about a pony or a horse, they got away with these for years in Ballymun.

I thought one has to have a balcony to keep any of these :D

Our man in Havana

missbusy wrote: »

Terrapins are a great pet i think!

Small , easy to Keep, & unusual

NO NO NO NO NO NO! Turtles grow big - need huge tanks & stink - do loads of research before you choose a turtle!

I have hamsters, rats, gerbils, sugar gliders, ferrets, snakes, lizards, spiders, snails, hermit crabs, amongst other pets - do lots of research! Sugar gliders are fab but need a large tall cage - & need to be kept in pairs or small groups - they can live to 15 years or longer but need a lot of love & time & food.

Pick a few animals you like & do some research - google is your friend in these matters - then create a short list & visit some good pet shops where you will get proper advice.

Lauragoesmad

Bond-007 wrote: »

I have hamsters, rats, gerbils, sugar gliders, ferrets, snakes, lizards, spiders, snails, hermit crabs, amongst other pets

You actually have a zoo!!:eek:

Run_to_da_hills

Bond-007 wrote: »

I have hamsters, rats, gerbils, sugar gliders, ferrets, snakes, lizards, spiders, snails, hermit crabs, amongst other pets
.

Did they ever escape!!! :eek::eek::eek:

stevoman

phi3 wrote: »

Sorry for all the questions! What kind of housing do ferrets need? and would you need two or are they happy alone.

you need very little so you do. you can have a small open cage in the house with a little shoe box in it with a hole in it and the ferret will let itself in and out no probs. also a small tray of kiten litter next to it and the ferret will go to the toilet there in an extremly clean manner.

as regards company, it depends on the nature of why you have the pet.

if you kept ferrets outside in a pen then more than one is a good idea for company, but if like you are, keeping the ferret as a companion then you are all the company the ferret will need. they are extremly rewarding.

Vinnie K

stevoman wrote: »

you need very little so you do. you can have a small open cage in the house with a little shoe box in it with a hole in it and the ferret will let itself in and out no probs. also a small tray of kiten litter next to it and the ferret will go to the toilet there in an extremly clean manner.

as regards company, it depends on the nature of why you have the pet.

if you kept ferrets outside in a pen then more than one is a good idea for company, but if like you are, keeping the ferret as a companion then you are all the company the ferret will need. they are extremly rewarding.

Ive always wanted a ferret, there such a beautiful little creature, the girlfriend has a phobia against mice and thinks they look similar so goes into convultions when ever she seens them, so no ferret for me.

Whatever you get make sure to do alot of research and dont just go by what the pet shop says!!!

Interceptor

I have two rats and they are great pets. Both my kids (4 and 8) play with them and they wander about the house in the evening but come back when they are called.

'cptr

Loobz

Vinnie K wrote: »

Ive always wanted a ferret, there such a beautiful little creature...

:eek:

kerrysgold

I think Degus and Chinchillas are gorgeous but don't know much about them care-wise! Degus are only about the size of your hand but I don't know if they grow larger than that. It's a shame you don't like cats, they are supposed to be perfect apartment pets lol. Rats do sound like nice pets to have, supposed to be very intelligent! I don't know why people are scared of rats or mice, wild ones or pets, when they are so small anyway lol.

summer_ina_bowl

Rats really are great pets, i had my honey Flick, a small (runty!) female albino for about three years but she died just before christmas she was really clever, i've had alot of species of small pet and she definately ranked as my all time fave! You could just watch her for ages, and she was really easy to train. She acted so human sometimes, you'd put her back in the cage and she'd perch on the edge of her bath, dip in her paws and then scrub her face, i always imagined she had an OCD and was thinkin (gotta get the human off, gotta get the human off) as she washed herself!
TBH, i'd advise against spiders/snakes/terrapins, i've kept them all and if you're lookin for a companion pet, they leave alot to be desired!

paulkorky1

As a man ahem.. I find a cat is handy to have as a pet and clean, no walking and you can keep them indoors, and if you want to go away just put them in a good cattery in the country.. a holiday for them, and the girls will go mad for them (in my experience):cool:

Our man in Havana

Serious suggestions please. If you want to joke go to After Hours or Humour. Last warning. I have deleted the last 4 posts in this thread so cop on folks.

Edit: The clowns are awake late tonight, another post deleted. Do not try my patience.

Ah i hate when i see post deleted , then i wonder what was said :rolleyes:

Again just reading this thread is it wise giving this person advice on what animal to get for a small flat when they dont really know what they want ? I wouldnt mind if they said i was thinking about getting some sort of reptile, or some sort of furry.
Maybe if you dont know what you want, its not the right time ?

The Artist

i dont know if this is any good i dont know the breed.Its one of those small monkeys.i think theres squirrel & capuchin monkeys?

carwash_2006

Please tell me you are not being serious. Does anyone else feel this thread is starting to get thoroughly ridiculous and a little annoying?

The Artist

carwash_2006 wrote: »

Please tell me you are not being serious. Does anyone else feel this thread is starting to get thoroughly ridiculous and a little annoying?

these posts are only suggestions i dont find any problem with these posts????

Demonique

davey180 wrote: »

these posts are only suggestions i dont find any problem with these posts????

Seeing as the poster who suggested a caiman as being suitable also suggested a caiman as being a suitable pet for a toddler in another post and in yet another suggested markets as being good places to buy pets then I'd say yes

Demonique

davey180 wrote: »

i dont know if this is any good i dont know the breed.Its one of those small monkeys.i think theres squirrel & capuchin monkeys?

Yes a perfect apartment pet if you fancy cleaning poo off the walls after they throw it. Methinks you've been watching too much Friends

javaboy

davey180 wrote: »

i dont know if this is any good i dont know the breed.Its one of those small monkeys.i think theres squirrel & capuchin monkeys?

You could get a Capuchin monk(ey) and call him Pio!


As far as serious suggestions go, a rat seems to be a good bet or better yet two rats.

You're obviously looking for a companion pet that will live a bit longer than two years so the stick insects in my sig are probably out the window :D I would also avoid spiders/snakes/scorpions/terrapins/fish if you want a lot of interaction.

carwash_2006

davey180 wrote: »

these posts are only suggestions i dont find any problem with these posts????

You may think there is no harm in these suggestions, but you never know who might be reading this and what they might take from it, when you are talking about living creatures and there care it is not a joking topic.

Plus I imagine the OP would prefer serious suggestions and I hope that they are sensible enough to know that suggestions like that are thoroughly ridiculous.

Lauragoesmad

Demonique wrote: »

Yes a perfect apartment pet if you fancy cleaning poo off the walls after they throw it. Methinks you've been watching too much Friends

People shouldn't have monkeys as pets anyway. They should be sitting in trees and not sitting on the back of a couch with flowery wall paper in the background.