Top ten pets (without fur)

TerrapinStation

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Definitely fish tank- whether it be a couple of feeder fish or a 200 gallon saltwater, it is a very rewarding hobby. We have a 55 gallon freshwater community, and i find myself watching that more than the TV......
Frogs, toads, newts, salamanders
turtles, tortoises, chameleons, geckos,

Heck, start an indoor garden! I love cactus and succulents, carnivorous plants, fruit trees, herbs, anything! and that is a nice cheap hobby. You learn a lot about the sun, seasons and life cycles too.

Best of luck!
 
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Maggie Cummings

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1. Plecostomus
2. Dalmation Mollie fry, they are just now getting spots
3. I have 5 parakeets....just a couple of ideas

you could get a Sulcata, they love to cuddle....DSCN0211.JPG DSCN0018.JPG PC030207.JPG
 

Tom

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But especially birds can be kept in an open cage without problems, they don't have to be supervised. I don't even know anyone who's ever kept a bird locked in a cage, that seems to be unusual here (since they can see my budgies at the window, everyone tends to tell me their budgiestories :D

I don't agree at all. Parrots especially will destroy your house and everything in it as well as find a way to get themselves killed. They should be contained in a safe area when not supervised.
 

Tom

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Tom. How do you train your birds to fly around the room. We have 2 budgies, we leave the cage open and they are just not bothered about coming out. I got them out once, they flew around the room in a panic, landed back on the cage and went straight back inside. How do I go about training them to come out? Also I didn't realise how much they love to eat greens, we give them a piece of romaine from time to time. The other week I moved one of my large indoor palm trees too close to their cage, they ate every bit that was within reach.

I used to have one as a child called Joey and that flew about all the time. No training was needed.

Long story…

You have several problems to over come:
1. They are a pair. They have each other 24/7 and they don't need you or anyone else. I would never have two birds living together if I wanted to have any sort of bond with them myself.
2. They eat their food out of a bowl in their cage. Why come out? Everything they need and want is inside. I feed mine out of my hand outside the cage. When they are working ALL of their food every day comes from my hand.
3. They are fat and happy. Caged, free-fed parrots weigh 20-30% more than their wild counter parts that fly around all day looking for enough food to eat and dodging predators. Get a scale, slowly drop their weight about 10% and have them start coming to you for all their food. They can start by just walking a foot or two to your hand, and flying can happen later. You can also attach a bowl to a perch and fly them to that.

Its a lot of concepts to understand and explain, but this is the short version.

To do all this would change their life and your relationship with them into something totally different. I think it would be better, but its up to you if you want to go to all that trouble.
 

tortoise5643

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Agree with Tom on the axolotls. I have 2 and they are some of my favorite pets!
 

Big Charlie

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I love birds, especially parakeets and cockatiels. You have to put in a lot of work in the beginning to get them tame, but once they are, they are so loving and fun.
 

DutchieAmanda

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As some may know, I am allergic to dogs, cats, rabbits and all fur in general. Some may like music, art or dance but I like animals. Everything I do and want to be (vet) is with animals.

I don't want to discourage you, but it is really hard to become a vet if you're allergic to animals. I have been to vet school and have seen a few students who had to drop out because of their allergies...

Maybe you can look into treatment for allergies (desentisize)?

About your question: I've owned goldfish (not really exciting), leopard gekko's (they are quit cool) and of course my redfoot. I also like chameleons!
 

Anyfoot

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As some may know, I am allergic to dogs, cats, rabbits and all fur in general. Some may like music, art or dance but I like animals. Everything I do and want to be (vet) is with animals. What (in your opinion) are the top ten animals without fur? As I would love to have some more pets but UNFORTUNTELY I just cant wear a mask every time I stroke my cat or pick him up. Because it's very distracting and horrible.
Sturgeons can get really tame and interactive. My friend had one and it loved been stroked, it also liked being lifted slightly out of the water and thrown away with its snout, it swam back to her straight away for more, the fish never get bored first. I couldn't beleive the interaction between the sturgeon and my friend the first time I saw it. If she puts both hands in the water like in a cradle, the sturgeon would swim into her hands. I've seen her literally cuddling the fish. Soon as it saw my friend it followed her around the pond as though it was trying to get out to her.
You need a big pond though.

It died about a year ago after many many years with my friend, she was heartbroken for months when it passed.

Oh and they look amazing. :D
 
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Maggie Cummings

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I don't agree at all. Parrots especially will destroy your house and everything in it as well as find a way to get themselves killed. They should be contained in a safe area when not supervised.
Or 5 loose birds will be eaten/chased by 2 loose cats. As long as the birds are in the cage they are fine, door open or not, cats don't care. But a bird out of the cage makes it fair game.
Start small in your bathroom, close the toilet.
 

Big Charlie

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I doubt birds should be considered as pets for the OP. Bird dander and dust is quite an allergen.
You can be allergic to pet fur and not to birds. I'm allergic to a bunch of things, including trees, grass and dust, but surprisingly I'm not allergic to animals.
 

Randi

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I feel you in regards to allergies and having a career with animals. I worked as a vet assistant for years and always battled against my allergies. It was worth it. My allergies just started to get so bad that there wasn't any relief to be had when away from animals. I ended up having to leave years later as I started having many problems with health. I am the type that would let the animals lick me and I'd engage with them as if I had no allergies, even though I'd be really sick after. Working with animals is very rewarding and at times, very sad. Lots of disappointment - people don't value them and feel that the animal can be replaced and that really offended me.

I now work in a doctors office. They do have allergy shots that can be given to help prevent a reaction but it needs to be injected weekly. I guess if you were really adamant about working with animals you're allergic to, this is an option. I have chosen to own a dog and I don't react to him whatsoever. I have a rescued Shih Tzu.

As per animals you can own, I'd say the majority of reptiles would be suitable. I really adore chameleons, leopard geckos, monitors and all snakes (and of course tortoises). Fish would be amazing and are quite interactive. I love fish so much. Just get a laser pointer and you can move tanks. Hahaha. Or if you have food, the fish will swim crazily at the front of the tank, almost as if they are begging. Sometimes they just swim crazily when they see you. Hahah. Fish babies are also super cute!! Fish are just interesting to me. I can agree with watching the tank rather then TV. I also love fully planted, natural looking tanks. It is a great hobby. And to watch the fish you take care of enjoying the tank and feeling safe, it's very rewarding.

I'd avoid birds personally. You can have allergy testing done to see exactly how you react to different animals. You'll need to get referred to an allergist by a physician - the allergist may be able to help you figure out exactly what animals cause you to react. May help. Best of luck to you and whatever you choose. And please post lots of pictures if you do end up getting something! :):<3::tort:
 
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Tom

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Sturgeons can get really tame and interactive. My friend had one and it loved been stroked, it also liked being lifted slightly out of the water and thrown away with its snout, it swam back to her straight away for more, the fish never get bored first. I couldn't beleive the interaction between the sturgeon and my friend the first time I saw it. If she puts both hands in the water like in a cradle, the sturgeon would swim into her hands. I've seen her literally cuddling the fish. Soon as it saw my friend it followed her around the pond as though it was trying to get out to her.
You need a big pond though.

It died about a year ago after many many years with my friend, she was heartbroken for months when it passed.

Oh and they look amazing. :D

I had a Red-Tailed Catfish that was like that.

I also had an electric catfish that wanted to be like that, but I had to decline as he got bigger. Ouch.
 

Anyfoot

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As some may know, I am allergic to dogs, cats, rabbits and all fur in general. Some may like music, art or dance but I like animals. Everything I do and want to be (vet) is with animals. What (in your opinion) are the top ten animals without fur? As I would love to have some more pets but UNFORTUNTELY I just cant wear a mask every time I stroke my cat or pick him up. Because it's very distracting and horrible.
Try a different species of Tortoise. They all require different needs.

Also maybe aquatic turtles.

The box turtle and redeared slider caught my eye when I joined here on the forum.
 

dmmj

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when my brother and I was little we had a pet crayfish. an unusual pet for sure but a very interesting one no doubt it lived for quite a while so we enjoyed it for a long time.
 

dmmj

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I also had a pacman frog grew as big as a dinner plate. Another interesting pet. I guess gerbils and hamsters are out of the question.
 

hingeback

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What about leopard geckos (or other types)? We have two and they are quite nice. ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1452178320.218142.jpg
 

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