# A Bit of Help Choosing a Pet? :P



## zlip (Feb 12, 2014)

It's been rather lonely around here lately so I've been looking for a new pet for the past couple of months. I just can't seem to find the right one. Help me out? 

What I'm looking for in a pet:

- It must be comfortable with being held. 
- I like animals with a lot of personality. :3
- I like cooking for, making stuff for, and building for my pets. 
- No birds, due to noise. 
- No snakes, due to mother's preferences. =/
- Reptiles are preferred. 
- $500 total is my budget. ^_^
- A ten year minimum average lifespan is preferred. 
- Bonus points if I can take them outside for a while each day like a tortoise! 

Don't comment for me to get a tortoise please, I'm looking for other options!


Thank you


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## Jacqui (Feb 12, 2014)

While my top choices would be a cat or a dog, if you want a reptile I would say a bearded dragon or a skink.


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## Arizona Sulcata (Feb 12, 2014)

A goldfish! Jk it's the TORTOISE forum silly...


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## lisa127 (Feb 12, 2014)

A blue tongued skink.


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## tort_luv_5055 (Feb 12, 2014)

A hedge hog. They are relatively cheap and the basically most adorable thing ever in the world.


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## Tom (Feb 12, 2014)

lisa127 said:


> A blue tongued skink.



Ditto! They meet all of the criteria and are really excellent pets.

Check it out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-30188.html


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## zlip (Feb 12, 2014)

Arizona Sulcata said:


> A goldfish! Jk it's the TORTOISE forum silly...



I posted this is the "other pets" sub forum xP


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## kimber_lee_314 (Feb 12, 2014)

A big rescue kitty that will sit on your lap.


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## Tiff (May 11, 2014)

zlip said:


> It's been rather lonely around here lately so I've been looking for a new pet for the past couple of months. I just can't seem to find the right one. Help me out?
> 
> What I'm looking for in a pet:
> 
> ...


Try a bearded dragon. If you start young he may like being held. They naturally social. I had one but found out they are illegal were I live, so I rehomed him.


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## Maggie Cummings (May 11, 2014)

Sugar Glider...


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## wellington (May 11, 2014)

Bearded dragon or a rat. Both are great pets. Oops, I don't think rats live that long though


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## T33's Torts (May 11, 2014)

I would say rat. Short life span full of love.


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## mike taylor (May 11, 2014)

I had a pet rat once . Very cool dude . I got him to feed a snake . The snake would not eat him so he grew on me . He was an awesome rat but they don't live long at all .


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## T33's Torts (May 11, 2014)

Rat Snakes are cool too!


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## happyjoyjoy (May 11, 2014)

I agree a bearded dragon would be great...... also a rat is a GREAT pet I can't even describe the bond I had with a pet rat when I was younger. goodluck!


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## Tiff (May 13, 2014)

happyjoyjoy said:


> I agree a bearded dragon would be great...... also a rat is a GREAT pet I can't even describe the bond I had with a pet rat when I was younger. goodluck!


I never knew that they bond with you like that. How cool!


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## Floof (May 16, 2014)

Rats are such great pets! You guys have me missing my ratties again. I had a big fattie dumbo male a couple years ago that would come out and snuggle by my feet while I watched TV. My girls didn't like to hold still so much, but they were still so sweet and affectionate. Between my roommate and I, we had 2 males and a half dozen females.

If you ever do go with a rat, always get 2 or more! They are super, ridiculously social. It's one of the things that makes them a great bonding pet, but it can be detrimental to their mental and physical well-being if kept alone.


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## Tom (May 16, 2014)

Blue Tongue Skink.


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## Kathy Coles (May 16, 2014)

Tortoise is out of the question with a budget limit of $500. Come on everyone, fessup how much your tortoise has set you back.


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## CourtneyG (May 17, 2014)

Kathy Coles said:


> Tortoise is out of the question with a budget limit of $500. Come on everyone, fessup how much your tortoise has set you back.


I got a pancake for a $150 once, if you look around you can get a cheap tort that is healthy. Light bulbs and enclosures are the expensive thing really, but that is about $300 total if you get and already made tort table. Custom can be cheaper. Beardys have great personalities, but if I am correct 10years is long for their life span. I personally say Leopard Gecko, I have a female still laying eggs and she is 28 years old, or a tarantula, love the Brachypelma and the peocilotheria species.


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## Yvonne G (May 17, 2014)

I don't think a tortoise fits your situation. A tortoise isn't a "pet." You can't hold it or have interaction with it. Its just something to look at and care for. And the initial cost of the animal is the least amount of money you'll spend setting it up.


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## johnsonnboswell (May 17, 2014)

Electric bill for lights (& filters & heater) replace bulbs yearly, grocery greens when the world is covered with snow & there's no grazing or foraging or gardening ... Been at this 38 years & do not want to add it up.


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## Floof (May 17, 2014)

johnsonnboswell said:


> Electric bill for lights (& filters & heater) replace bulbs yearly, grocery greens when the world is covered with snow & there's no grazing or foraging or gardening ... Been at this 38 years & do not want to add it up.



Ha, that's about my conclusion. Would really rather not add up how much I'm in the hole with reptiles in general! And I've only been at it for going on 7 years... (I'd be so broke if my rent weren't oh so cheap.)


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## Tom (May 17, 2014)

Tom said:


> Blue Tongue Skink.



Very easy to set up, care for, and feed. Super good, inquisitive, friendly personality. They can live 30+ years. I have a Northern that is over 20 right now.


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## Turtlepete (May 18, 2014)

I think that really depends on the commitment you are willing to make to a pet. If you want a personable reptile, that isn't TO expensive (in the initial purchase cost, at least. No animal is going to cost you less then $500, in a long-term sense), then I recommend iguana's. They CAN be great pets, to the right owner, with lots of socialization and interaction. You also have to get used to having bloody scratches often. There are some great monitor's that stay relatively small as well. If you live in a warm climate and are able to provide an outdoor enclosure, both are great. As others have suggested, BTS's can be pretty awesome pets as well, and stay smaller.

Rats are great pets too. The oldest I ever had was 3 1/2 years. I had one taught to ride around on my shoulder while we did animal chores. Very amazing, intelligent, and full of life and personality. They really are great pets, but you have to be able to let them go within a couple of years....
Have you ever considered a squirrel as a pet? They are actually similar to rats, in some aspects, but live much longer. They really are amazing pets. I had a rehab squirrel we raised from a baby when I was really young. Coolest pet ever, very interesting to interact with, and very friendly. They can live much longer with rats. They do need larger enclosures, though.

The expensive aspect of reptiles is the heating and lighting costs. Where-as rats/squirrels can be kept at pretty much ambient room temperature, you have to have a myriad of heat lamps/UV lamps for monitor's/iguanas/any lizard really.


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## erdavis (May 18, 2014)

Turtlepete said:


> I think that really depends on the commitment you are willing to make to a pet. If you want a personable reptile, that isn't TO expensive (in the initial purchase cost, at least. No animal is going to cost you less then $500, in a long-term sense), then I recommend iguana's. They CAN be great pets, to the right owner, with lots of socialization and interaction. You also have to get used to having bloody scratches often. There are some great monitor's that stay relatively small as well. If you live in a warm climate and are able to provide an outdoor enclosure, both are great. As others have suggested, BTS's can be pretty awesome pets as well, and stay smaller.
> 
> Rats are great pets too. The oldest I ever had was 3 1/2 years. I had one taught to ride around on my shoulder while we did animal chores. Very amazing, intelligent, and full of life and personality. They really are great pets, but you have to be able to let them go within a couple of years....
> Have you ever considered a squirrel as a pet? They are actually similar to rats, in some aspects, but live much longer. They really are amazing pets. I had a rehab squirrel we raised from a baby when I was really young. Coolest pet ever, very interesting to interact with, and very friendly. They can live much longer with rats. They do need larger enclosures, though.
> ...


I agree. Squirrels are really great pets. They do bond with you especially if raised from a baby. And the actually squirrel is free too if you rescue it usually. We used to get babies that have fallen out of their nest and let them go when they're older if their healthy enough. Even years later they would still come to our back door and wait for us to open it to come in the house or get peanuts, a few would even bring their families. One of my favorite memories is when I was probably 8 y/o one year during a real bad hurricane season and my whole family rode bikes around looking for babies and we'd put them in a lunch box and bring them home. Brought home easily 30 babies. Now I miss raising squirrels...


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