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I want a new pet any ideas? info inside the thread

Bearded dragons are awesome! They are very "chill" animals, I kind of think of them as the ball pythons of lizards. They don't require a lot of time or money after the initial investment, and come in a myriad on colors. My boyfriend has a very pretty "leucitic" one that's white with a bit of green on his head. He'll ride around on our shoulders - he's so calm we can even take him out of the apartment without any worry.

I also am very partial to rats, and I like my long-haired hamster, too, although I recognize they're probably not for everyone. Very cute but do not socialize as well as rats. He prefers to sleep all day and then run on his wheel at night.
 
Ha ha funny im working on that to but man girls are way to much work. You cant throw them in a cage when they make you mad. well I guess you can but I am not gona be the one to try it
 
Fatman608 said:
Girlfriend will cost too much. He is better off with a pet rat.

Love the Fatman
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This is very true, I cost a lot. ;)

Also, to be honest one of my FAVOURITE pets is my green spotted puffer fish.
I love fish, but... I don't even care how lame this sounds my puffer fish is awesome. This fish has a personality better then most people. Plays games (like chase, or he sprays water out of the tank when he's hungry or wants attention)... He eats snails and eats out of my hand, he also will let you pet him.
But this isn't for everyone, plus you can't take him out to play (obviously) and he's a pain in the butt to clean. :p

Other then ferrets (since they're one of the BEST pets) but they do have an ordor I'm not sure what else to suggest. I've never had rats, and when I had hamsters when I was a kid they were not fun. IMO.

How about a bunny, they're cute and some really like to be held.
I'm tempted to get a bunny since they're adorable, specially the lion head ones... But I really have no free space for a cage like that. All caged animals like that have a slight smell from the shavings and such, but their poo are just little pellets.

I also like the beardie idea, since I want one of those too.
Next reptile expo I will be looking at those :X I'm just not telling my boyfriend that before we go (Like fatman said, we're expensive)
 
Rats are a 100 times better than hamsters, and both mice & gerbils from what I've heard, although I only have experience with hamsters & rats. We bred hamsters for a number of years & their only mission in life was to escape. I also thought of a rabbit, they can be lots of fun too. We had a rabbit but it died when I was 5, so I don't remember much about them from personal experience. I did have a friend with one & from what I saw it was quite smart & interactive.
 
The thing about rabbits is projectile pee. I used to raise the little guys for shows and food. They are pretty cool, just keep it in a place you do not mind smelling like pee... though I have heard you can litter train them.
 
Beardies are great, but babies can be expensive. My female ate 150 crickets a day for 4 months straight. Even buying in bulk, that was $70/mo for her food.

Most beardie babies average between 50-100 crickets a day when they're in their major growth spurt phase. I'm not sure how much that would be in roaches, but somehow I doubt your mom would be keen on roaches as feeders.
 
Bearded dragons are friendly, interactive pets. A great choice for your criteria, except three things...

1.) Their poo smells, BAD. Granted, the smell only lasts as long as it takes for you to clean it up.

2.)They have pretty decent lifespans--10-15 years. As someone mentioned before, you do have to think about college, etc in the future. Keeping up such a high-maintenance lizard can be nigh impossible on a college-life budget, even more so if you have difficulty finding a rental that even allows pets.

3.) To the contrary of what's been said here, they are NOT low maintenance animals. Though easy to care for once you're accustomed to the routine, they are extremely expensive and time-consuming animals to maintain when compared to snakes and rodents.

They need lots of space... The bare minimum enclosure size is a 40 gallon Breeder (3x1.5x1.5 feet), but you need at least a 4 ft enclosure to keep the average adult Beardie happy... My very small, not especially active male is absolutely miserable when kept in anything smaller than 75 gallons, and any beardie will enjoy much larger space than that.

They need fresh and live prey. Fresh greens and veggies daily (just preparing a salad can be quite a bit of work), and live insect prey at least every other day (adults) or even a couple times a day (babies).

Then is lighting and heating--UVB lighting is absolutely essential to the health of bearded dragons, but UVB bulbs are expensive and must be replaced regularly (every 6 mo for fluorescents, every 8-12 mo for mercury vapor). As for heat requirements, they need a basking spot of 100-110*F, a cool end in the 70s/80s, and night temps no lower than 65*F.

...And bearded dragons are one of the easiest diurnal lizards to care for.

If you're up to the challenge and expense, bearded dragons are fantastic pets. Just make sure you do all your research, as they have much more specific care and are much more prone to succumbing to improper husbandry than corn snakes or rodents are. http://beardeddragon.org and http://beautifuldragons.com are two excellent places to start for care info.

Now, with all of that said, I would recommend a pair of rats for your situation. They're excellent pets, don't smell TOO bad as long as you keep the cage clean (I've heard a little bit of vanilla extract in the drinking water can help the smell, too), and their lifespan is short... A couple years, maybe a little more. They'll pass away of old age before you have to worry too much about what to do with them during college.
 
I say rats. Mind you, if you don't take proper care of ANY animal it will stink.

I'm not sure I recommend a beardie. I see a lot of "Help! My bearded dragon has gotten mean!" type things. Granted, this might not be as common as I am thinking, but I'd hate to get such a high maintenance pet only to have it get mean on me.
 
ShenziSixaxis said:
I'm not sure I recommend a beardie. I see a lot of "Help! My bearded dragon has gotten mean!" type things. Granted, this might not be as common as I am thinking, but I'd hate to get such a high maintenance pet only to have it get mean on me.
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Bearded dragons are actually exceptionally docile. Like any animal, they can become aggressive if raised wrong, but they usually stay quite docile even through considerable abuse/neglect. Kind of like ball pythons in that sense.. Wait, I think someone already made that comparison, lol.
 
Teddy Roosevelt said:
Pushing the leopard geckos. They are very active and alert, without being as large or high-maintenance as a beardie.
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Forgot all about leos!!! Definitely DITTO this suggestion, if you're leaning toward a reptile. Neat little buggers, and SOOO much simpler to care for than a bearded dragon (or any other given diurnal lizard). African Fat Tail Geckos have similar care and are neat, too.

On the same note, Crested Geckos are interesting and easy to care for. They're easier to feed than insectivores (prepared "Crested Gecko Diet"; basically add water and go), but a bit more complicated to care for due to high humidity requirements and being very sensitive to heat (temps over 80F can make them ill).
 
Teddy Roosevelt said:
Pushing the leopard geckos. They are very active and alert, without being as large or high-maintenance as a beardie.
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The one leo I had was the most boring thing ever. :shrugs: She might have been uber lazy, but all she ever did was sleep unless I had tossed in a bunch of crickets. Then maybe if I was lucky she went and ate a few. Very rarely did she bother to try to escape, even. I dunno, maybe she was one of the rare lazy animals of the species. I never see ANY leos in pet stores doing anything. My corns do more in a single night than she ever did in a month.
 
Irish Eyes (Mrs.Z) said:
If you're 16, someday you're going to grow up and move on. Will you take your pet with you? Depends on where you live--a lot of rentals won't allow pets of any sort.
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That was my first concern when I read the OP's age, since this is how SO many pets end up in shelters. :( Most caged animals are fine in any rental, but college dorms are another story... I actually passed up living in a dorm my freshman year (rented an apartment instead), just because I had a cat I wasn't willing to give up.

I was going to recommend a guinea pig, but they can easily live 5-7 years. I've owned a few of them, and they do make great pets! Kind of high-maintenance, especially compared to most reptiles... but the smell is minimal if you clean regularly, and they are highly entertaining & sociable. FYI: Definitely get a (same-sex) pair if you choose guinea pigs, as they enjoy the company of another cavy - or two or three, LOL.
 
No one told me guinea pigs made noise, and made so much of it at night.
They never made noise at the pet store, and the employees never told us that.

I do not like guinea pigs and will not ever own one again.
From what I remember it was very loud every night.
 
GSDlover said:
No one told me guinea pigs made noise, and made so much of it at night.
They never made noise at the pet store, and the employees never told us that.

I do not like guinea pigs and will not ever own one again.
From what I remember it was very loud every night.
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I know that they're loud when you're not on schedule to feed them... ours would whistle until we showed up for meal time and then they'd squeal about getting their food. LOL. If you were early, they were quiet with the occasional "chatter" but if you were late, be prepared for an EARFUL!

The did smell... but that may have been because the teen who was supposed to take care of them wasn't as dilligent as she probably should have been.
 
LOL maybe that is why it made so much noise, but from what I remember it always had food available.

This was years ago when I was like 12, so who knows.
 
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