I want another animal...

[ItchRinse]

Here's the deal. I'm a total animal nut, and [currently] have a cat and 2 fish (they're dying of Ick and i can't do anything else for them so basically soon i'll just have a cat). I'm 15 and have also had rats in the past, my last one died about a week ago.

I've bugged my parents for other animals in the past, the only success was the fish *sigh*. Here's what i've annoyed them with: Hamster (which the pet store people convinced me to get rats instead, which i did), rats (success!), fish (success!), budgie/cockatiel (unsuccessful), and bunny (unsuccessful. Actually, i convinced my 'rents to let me visit the pet store and dad said we could either gets rats then or i could wait awhile and get a bunny later. Me not being as patient as i could be, i said rats.) So, i've done my research on rats, fish, budgies/cockatiels, and bunnies. I don't really want rats again, i want something bigger that i can play with more. I don't really want to get more fish after this (not for awhile, anyway, because ) i'm thinking they're kinda boring (sorry to everyone that thinks otherwise)). So its basically come down to a bird (budgie, cockatiel, or lovebird. I've taken care of a lovebird before, FYI everyone), and a bunny. My parents complain that the birds are too noisy, and the bunnies are too smelly. Of course, neither is true (well, not to that extent. You can sorta train the bird to be quiet, and if you get the bunny fixed & a litter box then there's hardly a smell). So, what do you guys think?

I'd want to keep it (whatever i try to get) in my room, but Dad says its not healthy. Something about always breathing in the smell or such *shrugz* which is why he doesn't want my cat to sleep with me, either. The rats were kept downstairs, btw, with the door to the stairs closed (my dad has a workshop downstairs in another room with wood chips and saws so we don't want the cat down there)

And then you have to consider the whole college/university thing which'll come up in like 3 years...... So do i wait until after i get out (which i don't want to do), get an animal with a shorter life span (e.g. rats, but i don't really want them again right now...), or just get it anyways and when in university live somewhere that allows animals.

sorry about the uber long post, but i just felt like givin' ya the complete 411. Now, please reply...!

 

[wuvmybetta]

I say go for the bunny, you can take it to University with you, they're just like a cat and will be happy with a large cage that houses his litter & food as "home" and content with wandering the house & laying in a window. We have a house bunny and he's a dreamboat , sooooo very sweet, loves to follow us through the house and hops up in our laps when we sit down. We have a large backyard so he goes out to play a few times a week, more now than ever since the weather is cooling down (he didn't like the heat). Litter box training was a chore, but as soon as we got him fixed he never went on the floor again , just be patient with it & never ever yell about accidents...make a scene about them to the bunny but don't freak him out, pick it up and throw it in his box & he'll catch on. You'll most certainly have to "bunny proof" your house, they LOOOVE wires (lost a couple filters that way ) & pick up house plants etc..
Rabbies cage is sacred, the only rule is tht we NEVER take him out of his cage, we leave the door open 24/7 and he comes out on his own free will, that makes it his "safe haven" and NEVER put him in his cage that makes it a jail, if he needs to go in his cage because we're leaving or something we persuade him into it (cabbage always works for that). I used to clean his cage once a week but he really didn't like that, so now I do it every other week, he would panic when I would take his cage outside & sit in the empty spot where his cage usually is so I try to save him the stress (I'm actually waiting for him to come out of it right now because todays cleaning day ). By the way he's odorless (cats smell ) but I use that paper litter that absorbs everything
Hope that helps you make up your mind

 

[ItchRinse]

so what cage size do you have? and do you just have the one bunny, or...?

and i'm not sure how much my parents'd want it out of the cage cuz of our cat , so......

i believe thats all of my questions for now, i may end up PMing you later.. *shrugz*

 

[Alien Anna]

I can't stand bunnies. Mine was like that one in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". I should have called it "Killer" or something like that.

I vote guinea pigs. Get a same-sex pair (brothers or sisters) and an indoor cage and you're set for life. They're dead easy, they're easy to tame, they're cuddly and they almost never bite. What's more, neighbour's etc. rarely complain about looking after them and they can be neglected with impunity, provided they're fed and watered. They're also not nocturnal, unlike most pet rodents.

Only get a hamster if you aren't scared of being bitten and aren't easily woken at night (they're very noisy).

 

[Ron]

Get a rabit!!! I have a new zeland or sumtin with the baggy ears...he's so awsome!!! Or a bird, or a bearded dragon!! My best friend has a bearded dragon. It was in his engagement pictures with he and his fience. They're attached at the hip!!!!
Ron

 

[ItchRinse]

thanks for replying, guys.

I just talked to my mom (cuz Dad said yesterday i wouldn't be getting any more pets for awhile because he keeps worrying about 'em) and i asked her what her problems were with Rabbits. She said they smell too much. Her friend's daughter had (or has, not sure) a rabbit and it smell(s/ed) a LOT. So i'm assuming that it wasn't fixed. Can anyone back me up in saying that they Don't smell? She (my mom) also said that if i got one, it'd have to be outside 24/7. I'd rather not get a rabbit than have to keep it outside and subject it to the elements/neighbourhood animals.

And as for the birds, she says they're not very interact-it-ive (or whatever) and that they poop outside the cage and their feathers go everywhere... and stuff. so i'm gonna push for the bunny.

As for Alien Anna's suggestion of guinea pigs... well, i just don't really like guinea pigs. *shrugz* and hamster, yeuch, i don't want a hampster.

& ron, my parents are against me getting a reptile.

 

[wuvmybetta]

well, I can back you up as far as our bunny is concerned, he does NOT smell,not at all,but it depends on what kind of littler you use (and if they're fixed or not as you said)

and to answer your earlier question, his cage is about 4 feet long, 2 levels, about 3 1/2 feet high

But I don't think a bun would want to be outside 24/7 either , especially in Canada ...brrrr

 

[Alien Anna]

Get a rabit!!! I have a new zeland or sumtin with the baggy ears...he's so awsome!!! Or a bird, or a bearded dragon!! My best friend has a bearded dragon. It was in his engagement pictures with he and his fience. They're attached at the hip!!!!
Ron

I'd never suggest anyone get a reptile unless they were prepared for some major committment (of money and time). I have a friend who rescues reptiles for the RSPCA and the stories he tells me (bearded dragon in a 20 gallon aquarium, no heater and fed on cat food pellets, suffering from rickets and arthritis and no longer able to open his jaw... ) would make you lose sleep for a week.

 

[BettaBoyz]

might i suggest a Ferret? they're small, cute, and funny little things that anyone can like, even if they smell.

but be prepared; Ferrets can cost a LOT. the weasel itself is 200$, a good-sized cage is another 200$- Ferts need lots of space to roam, meaning rather than getting a monster-big hutch most people buy a tall cage will balconies and ramps- toys and hammocks and things can total 50$, though most good owners sustitute Ferret-toys for safe cat toys, hammocks for bandannas, and blankies for sweaters and pillowcases. vet bills (which will definately happen) can cost 50$ upwards, not including the first rabies and both distemper shots. they need a mix of three good quality cat foods like Iams Kitten, Actrium Kitten or the Wal-mart brand Kitten chow. they can be litter trained!

they're 9 years of fun and excitement; little question mark shaped bodies bouncing along, running is really a matter of stretching the front legs out and letting the butt bounce off the floor. they smell a bit strong, oils in the fur, but they are darling critters; if you have time, patience and money.

but really, they're more interesting than Rabbits =)

 

[Alien Anna]

No one mentioned rats - they're intelligent, as interactive as a cat, they don't smell, they can be house-trained and they don't take up much room. I can't have them any more because I developed an allergy to them and I had to give mine away but they are wonderful animals.

 

[SneakBetta]

I think you should convince your dad for a rabbit. I've had 4 rabbits. Now, I only have one. All of them have been liter box trained. As long as you change liter, they don't smell. To liter box train them (this might have been said in a post above) you just put their poop in it everytime they go outside of the liter box. They learn! I say a rabbit. Plus, you don't need a huge cage.

 

[SneakBetta]

oh! i just thought of something. A rabbit might not be good because when you go to college and take it with you, if it gets sick you're going to have a find a vet. With like a rat you prob. wouldnt' take it to the vet. I don't know...do rats go to the vet??

 

[Alien Anna]

oh! i just thought of something. A rabbit might not be good because when you go to college and take it with you, if it gets sick you're going to have a find a vet. With like a rat you prob. wouldnt' take it to the vet. I don't know...do rats go to the vet??

Only if they're sick

But thankfully they are usually pretty healthy creatures. The only problem mine ever had was red mite, which is a horrible parasite (kind of like red fleas). They caught it from an old, rolled-up carpet they were playing in. I was able to treat them with some kitten flea shampoo.

 

[ItchRinse]

woohoo! lots of replies

my mom doesn't really believe that i can take a bunny with me to university... *sigh*. Is it only for the USA then, or something? 'cuz i am CANADIAN! XD

anywho... anyone have any convincing arguements for bunnies? i've already found a vet in the yellow pages (haven't called 'em tho, since i don't have the bunny yet...), i've found someone to take care of the bunny for when i go to the cottage, and i (think i have) convinced Mom that they don't smell, from the dragging to the pet store. When asked what was wrong with bunnies now, she said "its too soon". Soon after what, i don't know

Any tips would be greatly appreciated

 

[Dreaded]

If you're living in a college dorm, you usually can't have animals. Sometimes you can have fish, but more often than not, you just Can't Have Animals. So, I wouldn't worry about taking an animal with you. And I wouldn't let the allowance or non allowance of animals choose where you go to college, either. Get an education, a nice job, and some money, THEN get your own place that allows you to have all the animals you want!