# Thinking of getting a new pet. Ideas wanted



## rachel001

Hi,

I'm thinking about getting a new pet and was looking for ideas of what to get. Myself and my OH are in the process of building our first house and will be looking to get a pet after we have moved in. We both work full time although come home for lunch. We will have a small/medium garden. We dont really mind how much the pet and cage (if needed) costs within reason. We are looking for something that is friendly and can be handled and cuddled etc! It doesn't have to be a small furry! Ideally I would like something a little unusual or exotic that doesnt need a cage! I have had rats before and although I love them I was after something a bit bigger and that has a longer life span. We were thinking maybe ferrets, chinchillas or something really different like a fennec fox! Any ideas?


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## God

What about skunks? :thumbup:


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## simplysardonic

Personally I think going down the wild animal route isn't a good idea, they can be difficult to provide the ideal environment for
I was going to say rat but you have already stated you'd like something that lives longer
Chinchillas are lovely & live about 20 years


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## rachel001

Yep I have been looking into chinchillas recently but I was after something a little more unusual and would ideally prefer something that doesn't need a cage but they are a definite possibility. I'm hoping to find someone local that has some that I can visit to see what they are like as pets. I find its always nice to meet someone's pets in real life before deciding if they are right for you!

Thanks for the ideas so far. Has anyone else got any thoughts?


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## Emmiiee

tortoise? lol tho they need cages and lights at first, or a cat?


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## flufffluff39

rachel001 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm thinking about getting a new pet and was looking for ideas of what to get. Myself and my OH are in the process of building our first house and will be looking to get a pet after we have moved in. We both work full time although come home for lunch. We will have a small/medium garden. We dont really mind how much the pet and cage (if needed) costs within reason. We are looking for something that is friendly and can be handled and cuddled etc! It doesn't have to be a small furry! Ideally I would like something a little unusual or exotic that doesnt need a cage! I have had rats before and although I love them I was after something a bit bigger and that has a longer life span. We were thinking maybe ferrets, chinchillas or something really different like a fennec fox! Any ideas?


A fennec fox?? Can you get one of those as a pet?? Ferrets make good pets


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## dee o gee

What about chipmunks? Im not sure how suitable they are as pets but I have heard of a few people keeping them as pets. You would need a cage for them however. Or some sort of bird? Some of them can be pretty exotic looking. Not exactly exotic but rabbits do make wonderful pets, so long as your garden is well fenced in a rabbit could roam around, supervised of course, they also make good house pets, are easily litter trained, and are easy to handle once they are use to it from an early age. 
Just out of interest why does it have to be exotic or unusual?


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## rachel001

dee o gee said:


> What about chipmunks? Im not sure how suitable they are as pets but I have heard of a few people keeping them as pets. You would need a cage for them however. Or some sort of bird? Some of them can be pretty exotic looking. Not exactly exotic but rabbits do make wonderful pets, so long as your garden is well fenced in a rabbit could roam around, supervised of course, they also make good house pets, are easily litter trained, and are easy to handle once they are use to it from an early age.
> Just out of interest why does it have to be exotic or unusual?


Well it doesn't have to be unusual or exotic but I would like something a bit different and those kind of pets do appeal to me. I have had rabbits before that I adopted from someone else but they weren't very friendly and it has kinda put me off of them a little. Plus my friends rabbit was really poorly and ended up having to be put to sleep at an early age and again this has put me off rabbits.


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## rachel001

Emmiiee said:


> tortoise? lol tho they need cages and lights at first, or a cat?


I have thought of cats but when I spoke to my local rescue they said I can't adopt one as I live too near a busy road so thats out of the question.

I'm not sure about a tortoise as I was after something a bit more cuddly!


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## rachel001

flufffluff39 said:


> A fennec fox?? Can you get one of those as a pet?? Ferrets make good pets


Yes you can have them as pets but they are rare, expensive and quite difficult to keep apparently. I would really love one but as this is going to be our first house I'm not sure we can afford one yet as most of our money will be going on furniture etc! Maybe in a few years tho


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## SEVEN_PETS

you can get sugar gliders, chipmunks, pygmy hedgehogs, ferrets. these are quite unusual. they can all make good pets, but i'd say if you want to handle them often, get a ferret or hedgehog.


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## Zaros

God said:


> What about skunks? :thumbup:


Now there's a thought. How about 'Stinky' for a name. Or if you had two they could be called 'Scratch and Sniff'? :thumbup:


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## rachel001

SEVEN_PETS said:


> you can get sugar gliders, chipmunks, pygmy hedgehogs, ferrets. these are quite unusual. they can all make good pets, but i'd say if you want to handle them often, get a ferret or hedgehog.


Yea ferrets sound like the best bet so far. Am just worried as I've never had one and only ever met one that was nasty! Will try to find someone local that has some and wouldn't mind showing me them so I can see what I think!


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## emzybabe

get one thats a little bit older and spend plenty of time with it before you decide to get it, view a couple of breeders and rescues and get to know what they're like before going ahead. I'm sure the breeders and rescues will appreciate your interest and wont think your time wasting.


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## dee o gee

rachel001 said:


> Well it doesn't have to be unusual or exotic but I would like something a bit different and those kind of pets do appeal to me. I have had rabbits before that I adopted from someone else but they weren't very friendly and it has kinda put me off of them a little. Plus my friends rabbit was really poorly and ended up having to be put to sleep at an early age and again this has put me off rabbits.


If you get them young and handle them plenty they are usually very friendly. My fella was in the house the whole time except at night when he used to sleep outside in a hutch, and turned out to be the biggest cuddle monster, it was like owning a dog, he went for walks on a lead and used to pan out in front of the fire every evening. He never bit us once. However I know somebody else that bought one and stuck it in the garden with no attention whatsoever and then wondered why it bit her every time she went near him, he left her with some pretty nasty scars on her fingers too. So it just goes to show you its all in the upbringing. 
Like any animal really theres always the chance that it can get sick at an early age and die, but this chance is greatly reduced when you do your research, buy off a reponsible breeder and provide it with a suitable lifestyle (proper food, housing etc..).

One thing you do have to consider if you decide to go for something exotic is are there any vets near you that actually treat exotics? I don't know what its like over in england but here in ireland its very difficult to find a good vet that knows what they are doing with exotics, most will say 'go ahead and bring him in' but very few actually know what they are doing. Just something you might need to take into account.


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