How about a Chimpanzee? The initial outlay is quite expensive, but after that you can train them to do odd jobs around the hours, do the cleaning up etc.

Sometime you can evern train them to get a job and bring in some additional income to pay their way.

I saw some on the telly once that had been trained as piano removal men. Only problem is they drink a tremendous lot of tea.

Yes they can wonder around the kitchen but they will find any small nocks. Best thing is make a small fence for them, we made one from some old kids plastic railway track, around 9" high should be plenty. You will need around 10 sq ft for one pig or around 15 sq ft for two. Then throw an old towel on the floor and throw some old boxes, tubes, what ever for toys and watch them run around going crazy.

This reminds me of yet another classic thread from last year. Here it is

If you want a pet that you don't have to spend money on and don't have to handle or clean out, then you're not in a position to give a pet a home. All pets need time, attention and money spent on them.

I have a friend who has a rabbit which lives in doors. It's house trained and uses a litter tray. She loves it!

OMG I am your first post in 3 years...

Yes I used to have one or rather my son and a litter tray...she was lovely but when bigger used to wee and poo all the time and when she jumped into litter tray they would fly everwhere. Even though I cleaned it out daily.

No that was patsy's join date, she posted on 20/09

Quoted for truth!

I agreee with totally -just wanting a pet because it looks cute and fluffy is not the whole story and is not fair on the pet TBH -all pets need looking after and if you don't want to put that time in maybe owing a pet is not for you

I know that all pets need time and care...I have had lots of pets in the past I just wanted a smaller type for indoors when I say fluffy and cute I have had a goldfish and don't want anything reptilian or arachnids, so I was asking for posters opinions on their little fluffy indoor pets...I have been weighing up all the answers and appreciate all comments. Except a few.

When I meant cheaper and easier I meant like not in a dog or cat for instance as I know they can be costly and very time consuming.(less for a cat)

Let's just dispel the myth that Goldfish are cheap to maintain. They are not. They require huge tanks, expensive filtration & regular water testing. Properly looked after they will live for 20+ years.

Or you could just cram one in a bowl on the windowsill & get about 3-6 months out of it.

I am still her first post since join date which I appreciate...

If you have'nt got anything decent to write in your posts then I suggest you butt out!!

whatever..

I know the OP isn't considering rats, but not only can they be expensive where vet bills are concerned (mammary tumours, respiratory infections, etc) but they should also be kept in pairs or groups, so can be costly and time consuming. I'm speaking as someone who has kept rats, on and off, for 16 years, and currently have 7 of the little darlings


I totally agree. Small fluffy pets aren't necessarily cheaper and easier to keep than cats or dogs.

we've had rats , hamsters , dwarf rats , dogs , ferrets , snakes and i can say hand on heart the cheapest and easiest pet to keep by far is a corn snake

cheap to buy as a baby , very easy to keep as far as cleaning tanks , etc and cheap to feed , once a week/fortnight , top pets


cheers

goldfish...cheap and easy since when if done properly? as said, huge tanks, massive filtration, but if doen properly very rewarding and they even get to know their owners i have 8 fancy (smaller variety) goldfish in a 6ftx2ftx2ft tank and they are awesome so interactive which is not seen often with fish, and always fun to watch. my biggest ones are now about 9" long

i also have gerbils, easy to care for, dont smell, pretty good for handling. very cute and alwasy awake during the day. they do need a decent size tank though, i keep my pair in a 4ft glass tank with around 8" of bedding as they love to dig.

i personally wouldnt recommend guinea pigs as indoor pets, they can smell a bit if not cleaned out daily, they cant really be litter trained as rabbits can be, and need a large amount of room so shouldnt be housed in a small cage. i hate those small indoor cages as they dont allow for a run to be on all the time, certainly arent big enough, although saying that they do allow a lot of interaction with the piggies. a very large 4ftx2ft or larger hutch will do a pair of piggies, with a run for them to stratch their legs for at least a couple of hours every day.

hamsters are ok, though we have had some very stroppy ones who didnt like people, others have been really tame. i prefer the syrians to the smaller types as they seem more placid. they do need large cages though with a lot of toys etc to play in and on.

giant african land snails are a great cheap pet. they need a tank of at least 2ft when full grown, can be kept on compost, or sphagnum moss, very cheap to set-up and very cheap to buy. they need fresh veggies to eat, and cuttlebone at all times. as long as they are kept in a warm room with regualr daily misting with water they will do just fine.

i do have to say though, if you arent prepared to pay out on buying or keeping a pet, maybe you shouldnt have one. a vet trip can be needed at any time, whether you have the money or transport or not. all pets will need time and money to keep and house properly. make sure you research any pet a lot before buying one.

kelly - i've often had guinea pigs in my house, in my bedroom infact and never found them to smell
when inside they are kept on fleece, over towels with a box of wood shavings at one end of the cage - they can;t be perfectly litter trained, but every pig i've brought in like this has taken to mostly urinating in this box on the shavings. the poo... well that's hopeless, but it takes a couple of minutes a day to "poover" or sweep them out of the cage.

males can be a bit musty, but if you keep their grease glands in check they're fine
a 4x2 cage though is a minimum for a pair of pigs - they may get on in something smaller, however the more space they have the better. ESPECIALLY with boars. sows have their moments, but that's nothing compared.

i gave the ones in my room free reign of my floor for a couple of hours every night, thought i have laminate down so it is easy to wipe up any accidents.

ah see my friend had a pair of boars who lived inside but they were on woodshavings and hay, it did pong, it was a musty smell.

''poover'' oh my god did i crack up at that their little pellets have very little odour though do they, so ye if you can position a tray or something with shavings in where they pee most often i can see it being ok.

ive had sows in before that were pregnant, and they peed everywhere in their cages. even so the smell wasnt terrible but i cant say id like to live with it in the house for long.

agreed on the more space the better, and i have never kept my pigs caged up in less than a large indoor rabbit cage, even then they had regular hours of freedom in an enclosed room. when they were outside they had a 6x4 shed, with permanent access to a fully enclosed run of approx 8ft x12ft. i hate to see piggies shut in cages sadly as a child i was allowed to keep a single piggy in a 3ft x1ft hutch. he must have lived such a sad life

I've 16 at the moment, their poo has very very little smell, unless it's a bit softer than it should be!

they're all in hutches of 4x2ft outside in pairs, bar a couple of single boars (one has never gotten on with any other boars, the other's cagemate passed away last week)
luckily this year i haven't had to bring any in due to illness despite the snow

they all get to exercise in the garden, two separate areas of grass and pavement built just for them the girls all together, but the boars a pair at a time swapped about during the day
both lots joined by one rabbit each

some boars though, just absolutely reek despite whatever you do to help it, i have one, haribo, he's such a boy, disgraceful stink, but he's in perfect health so i just leave him to it

i was once given two boars, fully grown, living in a 3x1 hutch
poor wee guys

i had no space for them though so i had to move them on... not sure what happened to them in the end

eek, you put rabbits in the same enclosure as your piggies, not good. not sure if you know, not about the obvious part of the possible injury a bouncing bunny can do, but also that there is an illness which is relatively fine in buns, hardly noticable from what ive heard, that if passed to piggies can kill them. something to do with their respiritory systems if i remember rightly. if only i could remember where i heard/read about it. hmm....

Fish are no good nyway, you said easy, it's a PITA changing the water.
My mate lives in a flat & has a ferret.

You mean people actually want to pick up dog poo, clean out cages, change fish water, etc etc etc? Of course we want pets because they're cute! LOL

they're netherland dwarves and have grown up together, i wouldn't do it if there was any danger to either party

they've been running together for 4 years at least and there's never been any problems with them
i would never house them together in a hutch, but i don't see a problem when they're used to each other and only together in very large runs

i'n not saying everyone should go out and do it here, mind. just that this is what i've foud and what works for me

- i wouldn't dream of putting my english doe out with the guineas for example as she's a lot bigger and wasn't raised around piggies

Did I overlook? Nobody mentioned little tortoise. I have a few friends having this animal as pets.

You have to clothe them too don't forget.