I want to give a little pet a home......
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Hiya everyone,
I am looking into getting a little pet (Hamster, or Gerbil maybe) I haven't had a little one since childhood and have fallen out of tune on how to care for them. I want to give a little dude the perfect home - so I am asking for experienced advice
I adore all animals (Have a dog who I love very much) so would the smell of my dog be okay for a small animal, would her barking scare them?
How big does their house need to be? Do they prefer a big spacious place, or n activity centre house?
Any advice would be great
I am looking into getting a little pet (Hamster, or Gerbil maybe) I haven't had a little one since childhood and have fallen out of tune on how to care for them. I want to give a little dude the perfect home - so I am asking for experienced advice
I adore all animals (Have a dog who I love very much) so would the smell of my dog be okay for a small animal, would her barking scare them?How big does their house need to be? Do they prefer a big spacious place, or n activity centre house?
Any advice would be great
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Breeder will be able to give sound advice on housing and feeding etc as well. But as a rule get the largest home you can, they'll be depending most of their time in there. Then fill it with fun things they'll like. I'd get a book first if I wre u, it will also give advice on diet that u can refer back to if something new crops up. Or there are good guides on the internet especially if u find a good enthusiasts site.
Btw if u by any chance live in the north west and want to consider two rabbits as pets, let me know!
Depending on what u get, the cage requirements will differ.
Totally agree with the above about pet shops (big chains anyway)
What do you want from a small pet? Are you after something fairly cuddly ,or something that is fun to watch on a more hands off approach?
Do you want something that is awake in the daytime, evening or nighttime?
How much do you want to pay for the animal itself, and how much do you want to spend on housing and basic vet fees?
How big a space do you have for the housing?
Do you want something that will like company of its own kind, or a pet that is happy with just your attention?
How big/long a commitment do you want, something that will on average live to 2 years, 5 years, 8 years or even 15-20 years?
If you answer these, it will help you decide not only which pet you want, but which is suitable for your requirements. As to your dog, I've kept dogs with all my small pets with no problem. Provided you introduce them carefully from behind a container, not directly, and never leave them within reaching distance, they should be fine. The smell of a dog, and a dog barking won't scare a well socialised, confidently reared small pet ( provided of course that it is not looming over it barking away!). What breed is your dog? Most dogs learn to accept small animals into the home, but terriers do need extra caution because of their natural tendencies to kill small furries, as do some hounds due to the hunting instinct. That doesn't mean you can't have small pets if your dog falls under these breeds though, so don't worry about that, it just meant that it requires a bit more vigilance and caution on your part:).
I agree with this, although my lil hamster came from a pet shop & didn't have any behavioural problems (well... Not the kind you're referring to anyway!) & lived to the ripe old age of 3.
I was in the shop originally eyeing up some rat cages, as they had a few good deals on. I have always believed in buying animals from breeders & not pet shops but you need to get your equipment somewhere. Anyway, this lovely boxer dog was sniffing for my attention so I knelt down to give him a fuss. Glanced to my left & the biggest hamster I had ever seen was squaring up to him, totally ready to take him down. We looked at each other & that was that - 20 minutes later he was in a box on his way home.
So not all pet shops churn out unsociable, inbred babies. But do be careful & make sure they can tell you exactly where the animals come from.
Agree with you here, a certain well known big green shop gets its small animals from rodent farms ( the small furry equivalent to a puppy farm). These animals are bred in tupperware type tubs, bred back to back to fill the endless demand to fill the shop, with little to no regard to the health and wellbeing of the mother or babies. They are not socialised or handled ( which is why their not usually tame when you get them) and their is no careful thought put into selecting healthy stock or clear lines, with many being inbred, and having genetic problems, which is why they generally don't live as long or stay as healthy as proper bred ones. They won't be able to tell you where exactly their pets come from, if you ask they just say 'oh a local breeder we have who supplies us', which is rubbish. A lot of people are told this and believe their pet really has come from a loving breeder in the nearest town, but ask yourself, how does someone have enough baby animals to stock over 800 shops nationwide on a constant basis?;-) A good breeder could and would never do that, they only breed to further their own lines, or produce one or two litters, and a decent proper breeder would never sell their babies to a pet shop as they would want to know where exactly their charges were going to end up. Not all pet shops are bad though, small independent ones that source their stock carefully from one or two breeders, who can give you the exact contact details for the breeder of your pet are fine, as are ones who carefully breed their own stock:).
Back when I was 16 I worked for said shop (although it was called a different name back then) and I am still terrified of hamsters now! I have more scars from them than enough, they were nasty critters. What made it worse was that if they had health issues or didn't sell past a certain point, they were sent back to the breeder, the next weeks frozen food delivery nearly always included the same animals!
I remember when it was called a different name, unfortunately I was young and didn't know any better so I bought a few hamsters from there:(. I remember reading an appallingly revolting article in a newspaper on how unsold pets there were 'disposed of', I've never read anything that upset me so much and I never went in the shop again. Not long after that article they changed the shop to what it is now, and at least they have the adoption section, even if most of the residents are the baby animals they can't sell because they've passed the 'cute' stage. Not ideal, but much more preferable to how they supposedly ended up in the old shop:(.
Pet shop hamsters and breeder hamsters are worlds apart, their like a totally different animal:p. My current Syrian hammy came from a wonderful breeder, handled practically from birth and reared in a loving home environment, and it shows. He's so calm and friendly, actually seeks out human company as he loves being picked up and is so tame that he will lie on the sofa by me like a little dog while I watch tv:D. Pet shop hamsters on the other hand, are usually skittish, shy, un-handleable, take ages to tame up and bite like furry piranha fish:p. They don't usually live as long either as their health is given so little consideration:(.
He was a brilliant wee soul! I handled him the moment I got him home although they usually advise not to!
He used to come when you rubbed your fingers together and climb up your legs for a cuddle!
I still miss him! He lived till 2 and unfortunately developed a tumour and was put to sleep.
I don't do this but you can even train them to do little agility courses. Its a great way to bond.
I'd agree. The great thing about gerbils is that they are awake during the day (unlike, say, hamsters) and are insatiably curious and fun to watch. They don't wee much either (being desert animals) so are easy to keep clean and odour-free. But as has been said: it depends on the OP's requirements
Was about to suggest this - plenty of hamsters, rats and gerbils that need new homes in various rescue centres. Google should turn up infor local to you. Also the big green pet store previously referred to on her in the bigger stores have an adoption centre for smaller animals although I wouldnt be surprised if quite a few of these are animals they haven't sold but you def do get some genuine rescue cases in there. I slightly fell in love just before xmas with a one eyed russian dwarf hamster in one of these stores, he'd been adopted by the new year (otherwise I would have him !) Best of luck with your new pet x