What makes a species an ok pet?

[tonysingh]

Stick Insects?

Reckon I could hold my own until help arrived.

Not that uncommon in the "exotic pet community". They are fascinating, if not very cuddly.

View attachment 303613

Look up Nua Chui stick insects. When a male mates with a female he attaches himself and never lets go, much like a parasite. Once she's laid eggs, the male n female slowly consume each other.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

not sure i've ever had much to do with hamsters, but at the idea of them being scary

i'd assumed they were like guinea pigs only smaller

 

[moose]

Yeah, the way they keep dogs in the US is really disturbing. There’s none of this ’must have x amount of exercise a day, can’t be left alone for more than 4 hours’ thing that dogs in the U.K. have.

Then again, around 50 kids die from being left in hot cars every year in the US

Not to mention declawing cats so they don't trash the furniture

I'm sure some of the Urban ferret fans will be along shortly to extol the virtues of their friends. Knotted

 

[WouldBe]

Nope. I reckon ferrets would mess my lot up.

How would the hamsters fare?

 

[existentialist]

That's possibly a pet-keeping rule for me. Don't keep pets that are stronger than you.

Or have teeth like scimitars. Dunno what I was thinking of with the rabbits, really...

 

[tonysingh]

not sure i've ever had much to do with hamsters, but at the idea of them being scary

i'd assumed they were like guinea pigs only smaller

When I was 14, I was seeing a girl who had a pet hamster. The fucking thing bit me and held on. I sort of shrieked in pain and that was both the start of my fear of hamsters and the end of that relationship with the girl.

 

[existentialist]

When I was 14, I was seeing a girl who had a pet hamster. The fucking thing bit me and held on. I sort of shrieked in pain and that was both the start of my fear of hamsters and the end of that relationship with the girl.

I'd say that's pretty much Standard Hamster

 

[hegley]

I up

Look up Nua Chui stick insects. When a male mates with a female he attaches himself and never lets go, much like a parasite. Once she's laid eggs, the male n female slowly consume each other.

Who said romance is dead?

 

[SpookyFrank]

Only ever encountered one pet ferret and it was a vicious, horrible little bastard.

I understand they're popular in Yorkshire. Go figure.

 

[JimW]

I remember reading advocates of crating dogs on a mainly US-based forum. think the claim was it served as a sort of comfort zone/ safe space that reduced anxiety if owner was absent, which sounded like a really duff argument at the time - I take it that is self-serving bollocks?

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Nope. I reckon ferrets would mess my lot up.

*notes Singh’s abominable collection is a mere two counties away, orders a ferret.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Crating dogs is becoming a thing in this country too, a number of people round here have got dogs in the past two or three years and routinely crate them when at home. What’s the point in having a dog you can’t snuggle up with?

 

[tonysingh]

Stupid shitcunt downstairs boasts about about crating one dog, an American bulldog x rottweiler but lets her Jack Russel roam.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Or have teeth like scimitars. Dunno what I was thinking of with the rabbits, really...

View attachment 303617

That's pretty much all rodents, isn't it? They need to gnaw.

When I was a kid, my neighbour had a rabbit. It seemed a particularly pointless pet. It didn't do anything.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Only ever encountered one pet ferret and it was a vicious, horrible little bastard.

I understand they're popular in Yorkshire. Go figure.

Did its owner only have one? Ferrets, like rats, should never be kept on their own.

 

[danny la rouge]

I'd say that's pretty much Standard Hamster

Yup, always breaking up relationships.

 

[Reno]

Look up Nua Chui stick insects. When a male mates with a female he attaches himself and never lets go, much like a parasite. Once she's laid eggs, the male n female slowly consume each other.

...that’s amore !

 

[Knotted]

Not to mention declawing cats so they don't trash the furniture

I'm sure some of the Urban ferret fans will be along shortly to extol the virtues of their friends. Knotted

Well OK then.

Firstly I will say that all my ferrets are rescues. There's a big problem with unwanted or abandoned pet ferrets, unwanted ex-workers, ferrets breeders can't sell (supply tends to outstrip demand) and lost ferrets. Contrary to popular belief, ferrets are domesticated animals and do not survive in the wild so the next best thing to giving these animals a home is euthanise them. I'm really not a big fan of breeding them. If you want one, go to a rescue and they will give you a ferret that's already used to being handled. Young kits will need to be nip trained and are not suitable for beginners, there is no good reason to go to a breeder and drive up demand.

As pets...

They are social animals and generally are happier with a buddy or two at least (though you do get loners). You don't really want them running about your house because they aren't very good at using litter trays. So ferrets are usually kept caged. This isn't so bad as they will naturally sleep about 18 hours a day, but they will require several hours of out time so that they can have a play and a sniff about. They're a small, vulnerable and therefore insecure animal and feeling safe is essential to their happiness and willingness to play. They get on well with non-cruel humans because those humans will make them feel safe and some will happily snuggle up on your lap. Generally they aren't bitey and if they're neutered they aren't that smelly (you will need to do something about the jills as they will get aplastic anemia if you don't neuter them). They're good natured, they tend to relax when you pick them up, they won't avoid you (except some with a large percentage of polecat in them) and they're a lot fun. They won't be your best buddy, but they will quietly respect a friendly giant who feeds them and keeps them safe. You can leave them caged up and go to work all day. If they've had their exercise they'll just be sleeping anyway. Overall it isn't difficult to make a happy home for a small group of ferrets though they're not for everyone.

To give you an idea of how easy it is to keep ferrets, I have a friend who runs a rescue (just her and her husband and the occasional volunteer helper in their garden) of about 200 ferrets. She's both nuts and hyper organised/capable (you need to be both of those things to do this), but managing that number of ferrets on your own (while working part time) is something doable.

 

[trashpony]

I remember reading advocates of crating dogs on a mainly US-based forum. think the claim was it served as a sort of comfort zone/ safe space that reduced anxiety if owner was absent, which sounded like a really duff argument at the time - I take it that is self-serving bollocks?

My dog has a crate. He slept in it as a puppy but the door was always open except at night.

I use it when we go away in the van as it‘s the safest way for him to travel. The moment I put it up, he gets into it and curls up.

For him it’s a safe space but I know some people use them in a really horrible way. I wouldn’t even shut him in one room though. If dogs are destructive when you’re out, they’re bored or distressed. The way to resolve that is not to lock them in a crate

 

[IC3D]

Aside from the chronic health issues of domestic dogs the fact you have to castrate them makes them inappropriate pets, the loving bond appears one sided and wierd.

 

[tonysingh]

Aside from the chronic health issues of domestic dogs the fact you have to castrate them makes them inappropriate pets, the loving bond appears one sided and wierd.

Aside from the fact you don't have to castrate them that is.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I'm not so distressed by the idea of neutering animals as pets tbh. Lots of neutered pets appear totally fine with their sex-free lives. And more than that, it can help avoid behaviour and urges that would potentially make their domesticated lives less happy.

 

[pinkmonkey]

Yeah breeding animals with health problems is shite.

US seems to have a weird relationship with pets. They routinely de-scent gland ferrets as well, which is illegal here. Like they want some sanitised designer animal.

Not just pets, I follow someone on Tik Tok who critiques child rehoming groups on Facebook, tends to be white fundies, adopting brown kids from abroad, then realising they come with a whole load of baggage that they don't want to deal with. World is so fucked up.

 

[IC3D]

Aside from the fact you don't have to castrate them that is.

Aside from the fact you don't have to castrate them that is.

I stand corrected. The effect is still the same. A mutant animal with no sexual function that adores you for feeding it. Maybe when they bite you it's a lost memory coming back of what they would be like naturally

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I stand corrected. The effect is still the same. A mutant animal with no sexual function that adores you for feeding it. Maybe when they bite you it's a lost memory coming back of what they would be like naturally

Nah. Dogs are domestic animals, and all the evidence suggests that they domesticated themselves as much as we domesticated them. And also that they domesticated us in the process - it wasn't a one-way thing. To a domestic dog, being with a human and being loyal to that human is what they are like naturally.

I agree with you about the health issues of certain breeds. That's fucked up. But it's not all domestic dogs that have those issues.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Aside from the fact you don't have to castrate them that is.

And the fact many dogs are free of chronic health problems. Our dog is eight and has been to the vet all of once since he was a puppy, and that only because he went to investigate my dad's beehive and had an allergic reaction to the many stings he got for his trouble

 

[IC3D]

Nah. Dogs are domestic animals, and all the evidence suggests that they domesticated themselves as much as we domesticated them. And also that they domesticated us in the process - it wasn't a one-way thing. To a domestic dog, being with a human and being loyal to that human is what they are like naturally.

I agree with you about the health issues of certain breeds. That's fucked up. But it's not all domestic dogs that have those issues.

Ok leave their sexual organs intact and see how that relationship goes.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Ok leave their sexual organs intact and see how that relationship goes.

Dogs can have perfectly fine relationships with humans without being neutered.

 

[trashpony]

My sister has never neutered any of her dogs. I neutered mine because it reduces likelihood of cancer and prostate disease.

I think it’s anthropomorphism to suggest pets care one way or the other.

 

[JimW]

Our dog is a mongrel former stray who was never neutered and she's fine with people, was a bit nervous about how she'd deal with a new baby but she tolerates fat Stan tweaking and prodding. You never really know what's going on of course and as she's ageing that can bring mental changes but we do seem to make each other happy. Despite having the ideal place for a dog (country courtyard house) I wouldn't have got one due to worries about perhaps having to go away but the bloke who rescued her moved to a place that wouldn't have pets so we took her in and she's adapted brilliantly and we've been able to arrange proper care the few times none of us are at home.