[Simon Rodgers]

Has anyone had a pet which didn't do a lot, or were just nasty to you?

I've had a few rabbits which were like that. I know a few people who have had crap dogs which were boring or just stupidly aggresive, when all you try and do is look after them or make a fuss of them.

Anyone had this sort of problem?

No matter what you do, if a pet decides it wants to be crap it will be and there doesn't seem to be anything you can do, or is there?

[InkyPinky]

An ant I kept in a matchbox. He didn't do much an eventually escaped.

[phepia]

My guinea pig we have at home right now is a bit crap.
He is so moody, grinds his teeth down your ears while cuddling up to your neck when he's being held.
Such a moany piggy too, constantly complains when you are slow with his greens, and basically snatches grass out of your fingers each morning.
Every other piggy we have owned was such pleasant creatures, squeaking at you in the morning, plenty of cuddles. I love piggies

[Millie Muppet]

I've got a very antisocial little Syrian hamster boy, but I wouldn't call him crap. He's just a little oddity and I love him very much despite the fact he hates me.

[ShaunIOW]

I had a Black Rat Snake that was the spawn of satan who used to strike at anything that moved even if just walking by his viv.

[guernseysnail]

I bought my children a black rabbit which I was assured would be a lovely bunny, ideal for children.

Firstly he grew to be the fattest ugliest beast you ever saw..He had the nature of a wild dog and was as cunning as a snake..I still bare the scars on my hand where I had to have a couple of stitches after he clamped down on me when I tried to feed him. I took him to the vet for a solution to his anger, the vet told me he couldn't be that bad, put her hand into the carrier whereupon he bit her finger so badly she cried!

Anyway VB (vicious b*st*rd) as he was renamed managed to get out of his run and we never saw him again.. thank God!

[Normandie]

Originally Posted by guernseysnail

I bought my children a black rabbit which I was assured would be a lovely bunny, ideal for children.

Very few bunnies are ideal for young children. They're prey animals - hate being picked up unless acclimatised to handling at an early age - because to them, feet leaving ground = predator carrying them off as a nice, fresh takeaway meal. And what do kids want to do? Cuddle their pet.

They need to be neutered (the rabbits, not the kids ) and once that's done, it's kind to give them a companion rabbit as they're social creatures and will often bond very strongly to another rabbit - to the extent that they will grieve when the other dies. If there's a problem with one rabbit it's common for both to go to the vet because it's less stressful to keep them together. And some breeds are prone to tooth problems necessitating a 3 or 4x a year visit to the vet to have their teeth burred. If this doesn't happen the animal is in pain and poor teeth can lead to jaw abcesses which equals more pain.

Rabbits are a very easy pet to inadvertently neglect and to give an absolutely crap life to (even if they are being cleaned out, fed and watered) and if I were recommending a pet for a child, I'd always say a cat simply because they're pretty independent and the quality of their life isn't subject to the whim of a child.

Aggression in the cage - particularly with non neutered or spayed rabbits is not unusual because they can be very territorial - particularly unspayed females. They are often fine when on neutral territory, though - in a run or loose in the house.

But as far as crap pets are concerned... I know one or two people who have African land snails - big things, size of the palm of a hand.

Why? What satisfactory interaction is there with a bleddy snail?

Those from Guernsey excepted, of course.

[xdow]

Got a rabbit at the moment who bloody hates me. fine with my mum, hates me.

found her roaming the streets and took her in. all i can say now is - there's no bloody wonder her ex owners didn't bother to catch her.
when we had the spell of really good weather she was out every day for hours on end. the 2nd day she started lunging for my feet, on the 4th day i made the mistake of going near her with bare legs and flip flops on. at the end of that i had 6" long and rather sore scratch marks down my bloody ankle

i can honestly say i don't enjoy rabbits as pets any more. i have a pair of does, who get along brilliantly, they're absolutely gorgeous to watch interacting with each other. also have a pair of buck brothers the same.
other than for health checks, claw clipping and grooming they get left to their own devices as they just don;t enjoy being fussed.

[Pete Callan]

It took a long time for me to bond with my bunny Jacob. He's such a grumpy old sod, he always growls at me, hates cuddles or being touched at all really. But I've grown to accept him as he is, and love him for it, even if he may not be very fond of me I had a hamster who didn't like any fuss either, she finally let me pick her up for the last few months of her life, whether it was the illness setting in I don't know, but I loved that time.

Oh, and I have a couple of apple snails. First day I got them, they ate my baby plec alive, stupid things. They've outlived all my fish too, seriously I don't think they ever die!

[far2cool]

My younger brothers had bought two (I think they were russian) hamsters,

After about a week they got into a massive fight and killed each other (The hamsters, not my brothers)

[Normandie]

Are any of these rabbits from hell neutered or spayed? It makes a hell of a difference with their behaviour. And if they are spayed / neutered, have you tried bonding them with another (spayed or neutered) rabbit to give them a happier life?

There are about 30,000 rabbits in rescues most of whom have already been neutered and a lot of rescues will do the bonding for you.

[snowy ghost]

I dont think it is nice to refer to them as "crap" pets

[Welsh-lad]

My aunt had a horrid rabbit..... enormous and belligerent like the evil rabbits in Watership Down.

It used to be let out of its hutch to 'play' with me and my cousins, and it would basically end up chasing us and biting!

It died in the end - a 5 litre bottle of domestos fell on it!!

[RAINBOWGIRL22]

I know I shouldn't but this thread has made me laugh

All my pets have been pretty good fun, my hamsters were pretty nasty but only too each other - they were fine when separated!

[O'Neill]

Originally Posted by snowy ghost

I dont think it is nice to refer to them as "crap" pets

I agree. As far as uncooperative Animals though, one of my garter snakes is very aggressive, and will often strike at its viv when I walk past, and will attempt to bite when I handle it, which I limit to when I clean out its housing.

It has an amazing feeding response though, and will quickly eat anything I offer it.

[TheSword]

A friend of mine bought a fish, which ate all the others in the tank, but I understand that this isn't that uncommon.

[Mrs Mackintosh]

I had a female cat who used to lie in wait for my husband on the top of the kitchen door and jump down on his head, embedding all her claws in his scalp. He'd run round screaming with what looked like an animated Davy Crocket hat on. I found it hilarious but him, less so.

[kitty86]

My cat hates my uncle with a passion, the 2 of them are often at war with each other over who gets the best seat in the house. She will lie at the back of the chair and as soon as he sits down drop her bum and tail onto his shoulder and when that doesnt work gives him evils and kick him in the back of the head. It is the funniest thing to watch.

[Shadow70]

When I was a kid my parents wouldn't let me have a pet (they caved in eventually) so I kept pet snails in an ice cream tub. They all had their names written on their shells in felt tip. One day they got out of the tub and crawled all over the bed room.

They were boring pets.

[Bex_123]

I had stick insects as a child.

[StressMonkey]

We (my siblings and I) had some sort of land hermit crab as pets.

Despite following the care instructions to the letter, my sister's one died within days. Shortly followed by my brothers.

By dumb luck, mine survived for several boring, do nothing, months. Only to latch onto me with its pincers in a steel like grip. Every attempt to remove him ended in excruciating pain - including mommy dearest's much protested attempt at drowning. Once escaping my parents, just sitting quietly for a couple of hours made crabby relax enough for me to whip him off.

There were few tears shed a couple of months later when he died.

To be fair, I was a little sad. Might have been a crap pet but he should never have been a pet in the first place. Domestcated animals (dogs, cats), adaptive animals (rats, goats,) or animals where we can provide an approximation of their natural living environment (rabbits, some lizards & snakes, some rodents, some fish, some birds) then OK. But very many 'crap' pets need highly specialist, knowledgable, experienced 'handlers' - parrots, monkey, F1 to F4 cat hybrids and yes. Crabs.

And some animals should never ever be kept in captivity. Unless you have a safari park. Big cats, Monkey troops, Rhinos.

And some should never ever be captive. Dolphins, Whales.

Those who can recall my previous pet posts know I had a seriously mental Cocker Spaniel as a child which attacked me - I punched it to stop it attacking me. Attacked my grandma, attacked a child my mother looked after and attacked my sister. I still wouldn't say he was crap. He was ill (Rage Syndrome), badly bred and in the wrong home.

But I would say those crabs were utter crap.

[O'Neill]

I kept a Rainbow Crab, which was a fairly huge adult when I bought it, for ten years before it eventually died, I have no idea how old it was when it died. Land Hermit Crabs can make interesting pets, most "crabitat" type housing is set up incorrectly though, as is most products marketed towards them, in a kind of goldfish bowl sort of way. They also need access to both fresh and saltwater, made up of a marine salt mixture usually used for marine fish.

This for example, very inappropriate.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2753044

I've also bred a species of crab in captivity, Geosesarma sp. Vampire, if cared for properly, which isn't that difficult with a little research, they can make very interesting pets for those that find them interesting.

[phylo_roadking]

My aunt had a horrid rabbit..... enormous and belligerent like the evil rabbits in Watership Down.

It used to be let out of its hutch to 'play' with me and my cousins, and it would basically end up chasing us and biting!

It died in the end - a 5 litre bottle of domestos fell on it!!

That's not dyed in the end - that's bleached in the end!

[crazychris12]

We had a mongrel Heinz '57 dog as kids, bought from a pet shop on 5th November and called Sparky. He was totally wild even though we got him as a pup and did our best to train him. He'd crap during the night and never got the message that he had to go outside.He was fine with us 4 but hated anyone else with a passion. None of our relatives or friends dare come as he wouldn't let them in, went mad. Mind you both of our neighbours were burgled but we never were. Finally, at 3 years old he bit the postman badly and the cops told us to have him put down.

[crazychris12]

Also had a gerbil that we tried our best to tame by handling him but he constantly bit us. So we gave it to my school. Not a wise move. They gave us it back after he'd bitten half the kids. I took it to the RSPCA to be put down.