Apartment Pets

[BowandWalter]

I have sort of started missing having "fuzzy" pets, Walter and my fish are great, just not particularly cuddly. I've been thinking of looking into something else. The only problem is that one of my roommates is less then pleasant to live with, so it would have to be kept quiet for her, ergo, no noise, no exceptional mess, no weird smells, not something that needs to go outside at all hours to do its business (something that could be litter trained would be awesome). Anything suggestions?

 

[cherylim]

Depending on the space available, is a house rabbit a possibility? They're very easy to litter train, relatively quiet.

Ideally you'd set one of these up for them:

When you're not there to supervise them, you put them in and put the lid on. Keeps them safe, stops them destroying your cables, etc...

When you're in, just lift the lid and let them roam free. They can be trained to return to their cage to use a corner of it as a toilet, and they can go back whenever they want to relax or to sleep in a proper shelter, but they're generally happy to have the additional space and they behave a lot like cats but need less space to roam, don't need to go outside on their own regularly and are quieter and easier to contain.

 

[BowandWalter]

Though I do love bunnies,, there's just not enough room to house one properly. Plus none of the bunnies I've fostered have ever measured up to my old bunny. She was a 35 pound meat rabbit, with white angora hair, she was the best bunny in every way possible.

 

[pam]

Guinea pigs are Awesome and you can find alot on craigslist that need a home

 

[Itort]

For small mammal pets a rat can't be beat in my opinion. Friendly, intelligent, and clean. Easy to feed and house.

 

[shellysmom]

Well, if a spastic curtain-climbing kitten is out of the question, I vote for rat, too. They're wonderful.

 

[BowandWalter]

Well, if a spastic curtain-climbing kitten is out of the question, I vote for rat, too. They're wonderful.

Haha! I wish we could get kittens, there's so many kittens needing homes here.

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Guinea pigs are Awesome and you can find alot on craigslist that need a home

Guineas are not very common here, plus the squealing would count as noise. My school hood friend breeds fancy ones, their so cute as babies.

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For small mammal pets a rat can't be beat in my opinion. Friendly, intelligent, and clean. Easy to feed and house.

I've been leaning towards a rat or mouse. Do they smell? I've had mixed opinions. I'd probably try to rescue a young feeder, I hand raised a gerbil once upon a time and it was the sweetest.

 

[Itort]

You"ll find rats will use one area of cage as litter area keep this clean and no smell (like cats and rabbits).

 

[BowandWalter]

You"ll find rats will use one area of cage as litter area keep this clean and no smell (like cats and rabbits).

Is it particularly hard to litter train them?

 

[Itort]

No as a denning animal they do it naturally.

 

[BowandWalter]

No as a denning animal they do it naturally.

Sweet deal! Do males really pee as they walk?

 

[Edna]

I think the unpleasant roomie should go, and then you could have a ringneck dove. They are very cuddly once they're in love with you.

 

[BowandWalter]

I think the unpleasant roomie should go, and then you could have a ringneck dove. They are very cuddly once they're in love with you.

If I was going to get a bird I'd get Duki bird back from my Mom.

Technically pets other then Betta fish aren't allowed, but in for a penny...

She is literally the most unpleasant girl to live with, all three of us dislike her. It's like living with a human pig, except I like pigs and I feel like I'm discrediting them because they are probably WAY cleaner and more hygienic.

 

[mainey34]

Mice, rats they all smell. Get a hedge hog. They are the best cuddly. Quiet non smelling pet.

 

[bobbymoore]

You should probably go with a parrot or elephant

 

[BowandWalter]

You should probably go with a parrot or elephant

I have an elephant

 

[BowandWalter]

Mice, rats they all smell. Get a hedge hog. They are the best cuddly. Quiet non smelling pet.

The algerian black hedgehogs are ridiculously cute, I'll do more research into that one.

 

[RosieRedfoot]

Gerbils smell the least of small pets I've found. When I had a hedgehog, his morning wheel running would result in him filling his wheel with stinky cat-smelling poos. Male mice have a very smelly musk to them.
Least odor:
Female mice, gerbils (either sex), female rats, dwarf hamsters, and degus would all smell the least.

Some odor:
Male rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, syrian hamsters (although some smell less than others), and hedgehogs would be the next tier. Some say chinchillas would be in this class, others say they are less smelly but since I haven't owned them I'm not classifying for certain.

More odor:
Smellier than that would be ferrets and male mice.

Some male rats seem to think everything needs marking with pee, so in regards to rats the females are slightly cleaner and may smell less, but male rats are so chubby and a lot cuddlier. I'd chose a rat over a hedgehog if you want cuddly.

I used to own and had rescued over a hundred various critters (mice, rats, gerbils, dwarf hamsters, syrian hamsters, spiny mice, degus, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, rabbits) so I know which ones required the most cleaning and care.

 

[BowandWalter]

Awesome post!

I'm definitely looking for cuddly, I might look a bit into a degu, but rats are sounding pretty awesome. Plus easy to hand raise.

 

[cpk]

I say rabbits are good quiet pets. Plus, they smell good... i like to stick my face in my bunnies fur and sniff him sometimes...
All you have to do is let him run around in the house. You don't have to walk them. You could also litter train them.
Depending on the breed and the bunny's personality, some are cuddly and some aren't.