Anyone else addicted to pets?

[flagrl]

by the way are how are gerbails for pets never had one but intrested in them.

 

[Ape337]

Yep, I can relate! When I lived at home as a teenager-early 20's I had a menagerie in my room. I love animals-I had tons of reptiles: 2iguanas, 2 golden Tegus, 2 nile monitors, a five lined skink, 1 basilisk, a baby spotted turtle, 2 cockateils, 1 dwarf bunny, 1 cat. When I moved out on my own w/hubby I had my cat, and 3 hermit crabs. The rest had all died or been rehomed (my mother had just about had it with my zoo). Sooo i ended up with a second cat soon after I moved out. These 2 lived their entire lives with me. 16 and 14 years. I also had a rotti for 8.5 years, he died in August from cancer. I've had parakeets, finches, mice, hamsters, a snake, 2 more bunnies, tried to get companions for my dog 3 times but that didn't work out, nobody seemed to get along with him.

But now I just have 2 bunnies and 2 hermit crabs. I must admit I'm very burned out with massive vet bills that are all paid off thank goodness. My pets had their own credit card! I called my dog my $20,000 dog. And that is the truth! My 16 year old cat ended up around the $5,000 range before she had to be put down. I swear, i even neglected my own health just to provide the best medical care i could for my pets. My dog and one of my cats had their own board certified orthopaedic surgeons! I would love to have another dog or cat but i'm done going into that kind of debt. I'm considering possibly trying to get insurance for these new bunnies, but we will see. Whew! I don't know how anyone manages anymore with multiple cats and dogs, but my hat is off to you guys. Anytime i took one of mine to the vet i never got out for less than $150. And those were just routine visits! Don't even ask about an emergency! :shock:
It's really a shame because I love animals so much but pet ownership has become such a profitable business that the typical dog or cat has priced itself right out of my range. Normal vet visits and shots are manageable but I can't risk that dislocated knee or torn cruciate ligament. Those surgeries are in the thousands! Well hopefully my bunnies will not eventually need massive surgeries or I'll be firing up that card again. Oh well, I gotta have some animals, right??

 

[flagrl]

so all this talk about animals i got a hamster 2 days ago. he is soooo cute. he is a dwarf i love him.

 

[MiniLopHop]

flagrl wrote:

by the way are how are gerbails for pets never had one but intrested in them.

I adore my gerbils! I raised mice when I was a kid. I had some guinea pigs and hamsters too. Of the small and furry the gerbils are by far my favorite. I love them because they are desert based, so they don't drink as much, so much less stinky. Plus, they are very social so it's fun to see the boys all cuddled up in a nest together or playing. They sleep for a few hours and then play for a few hours so you are more likely to see them at play. They also are much less likely to bite since they wake up easily (unlike hamsters).

I do have to say that I now know what it takes to push a gerbil to the dark side. My boys are Barnum and Baily. They are brothers and 3+ years old. Baily is a bit on the round side from their evening pumpkin seed and he doesn't use his wheel much. Well, Thanksgiving evening I was sitting next to their house reading. I heard him struggling and discovered he got himself stuck in his climbing toy! Pooh bear style, half in, half out. Apparently his butt had grown too big. I picked up the toy and put my hand under him. He was in a blind panic and bit me twice. I was able to get him unstuck and now he's fine. I guess he thought I was going to eat him since he couldn't move. Poor little guy was terrified. He's back to his sweet personality now though. Don't worry, I took the toy out so it can't happen again.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

It would appear that I'm addicted to petting Mabel and Maximus while squealing "You're so soffffft!" because I do it several times each day. They're Mini Rexes and we've had them since July but apparently the novelty of their fur hasn't worn off yet

 

[LaylaLop]

flagrl, Gerbils are my favorite small animal. As said by Brandy, they are very clean and quiet. My boy gerbils are architects and dig tunnels like a giant ant farm. The girls have slightly less bedding so they can be tamed some first and not go "feral" which can happen if gerbils aren't handled with some frequency. They rarey, if ever, bite, and the only downside is sometimes they can be too jumpy to handle, especially for younger kids. The tuft of their tail can be accidentally pulled off too which happened to me when I was younger on accident and I felt so bad for the poor gerbil. I've had gerbils since I was 8 and seeing that I'm 23 now, I'd say I like them a lot. I bred, rescued, and fostered gerbils. At one point I had over 100 gerbils, but my pet room never smelled as much as it did when I had just 1 male mouse or 3 hamsters in it.

Sooo I'd say they are a very good pet if you are sensitive to odors, are lazy about cage cleanings and sometimes too busy, like watching an active animal that you can interact with and hold as well, annnd want more than one pet since they're social. Plus they're cheap to own and a pair of gerbils does best in a 10 or even 20 gallon aquarium with reptile mesh lid. I prefer the 20 gallon tanks for them so they have a bit more burrowing room.

They are prolific chewers, so you will never have to throw away another toilet paper/paper towel tube again! Just beware if you decide to keep one in a plastic cage.. it might not be there the next time you look!

As for all small critters, I know many of you know this, but don't use pine/cedar as it is more detrimental to their respiratory systems. Gerbils are prone to getting red-noses from wood beddings, so only use aspen if you are choosing a wood based.

 

[LaylaLop]

Oh, and if anyone with hamsters/gerbils is interested, I also make my own rodent food from scratch from the bulk grain section of the human food store. I can advise on it, or even tell what types of things I put in it. It is much cheaper and better for them than the pet-store brands, I've found. And you can adapt it for their dietary needs to keep them healthy and in shape.

 

[Krissa]

If it wasn't for my hubby I would be overrun with animals. We have a dog, 3 cats, a bird and a rabbit. The cats are rescues. We are picking up a new flemish on Saturday. My bird is getting up there in years so I don't think she will be around much longer, but she may surprise me. I recently lost my pet frogs of 10 years to old age - they were rescues also.

If I had my way I would get a third rabbit - one of the tiny dwarf breeds to go along with my other two. I think the Polish is so cute. And if I ever saw a thrianta for sale I would buy it and beg for hubby forgiveness later.

All my pets are indoor and have crazy amounts of toys and the best food.

 

[Kizza]

If I had my own place (living with mum while I save for a house) I would have a ton of little furry critters!

I would love a set up in my yard so that I could take in some rescues. I have 2 dogs and a bunny at the moment but when I was little we had a lot of rabbits, chickens, finches, love birds, ducks, a cockatiel and other random animals I took in until they were well enough to go back to the wild.

That was a long time ago! I would definitely like more bunnies. My boyfriend has 5 geckos, 2 snakes and a pigmy bearded dragon, they are all Australian native. I would like a gecko too. Oh! and more bunnies! Did I mention that? lol

 

[AnimalLover]

I am so glad that I am not alone! Two years ago I had 3 cats and one collie mix German Shepard. Now I have 4 parakeets and A male cat. After I got my birds, I wanted a cockatoo! (I know I will get one soon!!) I was thinking about getting a chihuahua but instead I am going to get a rabbit. I will wait to get the dog next year since they are expensive! I love all animals. My husband told me that our house is going to look like a zoo!