Need pet-related advice.

[IllumInaTIma]

Hey there Escapists. So, I'm a student and, hopefully, pretty soon I'll finally move to my own apartment that will allow me to fulfill my longtime wish-to have a pet. But the problem is, well, that I'm a student and I'll spend a lot of time out of the house. And here comes my question, what kind of pet would be perfect for me? I thought of cats, but I'm allergic and hypoallergenic cats cost like $850. Then there are dogs, but they pretty much require attention all the time and not really fitting for apartments. Then there are ferrets, but they also need very good care and lot of attention. So... I'm kinda stuck. Any advice?

 

[arber man]

Let me ask you three questions 1. do you like reptiles 2. does it need to be fuzzy and cute 3. how much time are you willing to spend taking care of it

 

[IllumInaTIma]

Let me ask you three questions 1. do you like reptiles 2. does it need to be fuzzy and cute 3. how much time are you willing to spend taking care of it

I'm ok with reptiles as long as I don't have to feed it another living creatures.
Basically my whole weekends and any free-time after classes, so evenings.

 

[AWAR]

What about hamsters?
They are relatively low maintenance and cute. They are also nocturnal so they will be up at evenings when you don't have classes. Only problem is the short lifespan ~3 years.

 

[Albino Boo]

Depends on the level of interaction you are looking for, but fish are a low maintenance pet.

 

[Bellvedere]

We actually looked at getting a ferret for quite a while. They sleep most hours of the day (18-20 hours) and are super active and affectionate for the rest of the time. They adjust to your time schedule so it could work out well if you're regularly home for particular hours and will be able to engage with your pet at that time.

They still need to be toilet trained (like cats and dogs) and bite inhibition trained (also like dogs). There's also ferret proofing the house which can be a massive job depending on your place, but probably not that difficult to maintain once it's done. They're social animals and do better in a pair (or group), but it might even be wiser to get one initially to bond with and train, then picking up a second a little later.

What kind of relationship do you want with a pet? The ones you suggested are all relatively intelligent and enjoy playing with their people. And how much time can you regularly to commit to spending time with your pet each day?

 

[IllumInaTIma]

We actually looked at getting a ferret for quite a while. They sleep most hours of the day (18-20 hours) and are super active and affectionate for the rest of the time. They adjust to your time schedule so it could work out well if you're regularly home for particular hours and will be able to engage with your pet at that time.

They still need to be toilet trained (like cats and dogs) and bite inhibition trained (also like dogs). There's also ferret proofing the house which can be a massive job depending on your place, but probably not that difficult to maintain once it's done. They're social animals and do better in a pair (or group), but it might even be wiser to get one initially to bond with and train, then picking up a second a little later.

What kind of relationship do you want with a pet? The ones you suggested are all relatively intelligent and enjoy playing with their people. And how much time can you regularly to commit to spending time with your pet each day?

I want a kind of pet I can bond with and what you said about ferrets actually really convincing. I'm willing to spend a lot of time with my pet, I wanted to have one for as long as I can remember.

 

[sanquin]

Look into pet rats. They come in all kinds of different races/ Plus you're looking for a pet you can bond with. And a rat is perfect for that. They're very social creatures, and if you take them out of their cage often enough (like, once a day for half an hour or so) will become very attached to you. Plus they're pretty intelligent so you can even teach them things if you want to. Or take them with you in a shoulder bag. (Not all rats like travelling with you, but a lot of them do.)

On top of that their cage only needs cleaning like once a week or two weeks, depending on how much they poop. And water and food only needs to be refreshed every 2~3 days. In other words they're very low maintenance, are easy to bond with, small so easy to take some place else, and don't cost a lot of money.

Mind you, it's recommended to get 2 rats then. As I said they're social creatures. And with 2, they can keep each other company when you're not around for most of the day. Don't worry about extra work or costs though, it only makes a bit of difference in food expenses. But with my 3 rats I maybe pay...10~12 euro's a month for their food.