shape
carat
color
clarity

suggestions for new pet

partgypsy

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Messages
6,622
Right now we have a dog and a cat, a goldfish, and one remaining hermit crab. I accidently killed the other 2 hermit crabs in unrelated incidents the past 6 months, the largest when the heating pad was not plugged in during a very cold patch (the biggest one died), and the smallest, when I was cleaning out the cage (it really needed to be cleaned) I uncovered the smallest who was moulting. I put her in a smaller container with sand while finishing out the cleaning, but she didn't have the strength to rebury herself in the main tank, and ended up dying : (.
My last hermit crab is very healthy, but they are actually very social creatures. We even checked out getting a couple new hermit crabs, but they just had very small ones, which I don't think would give him what he needed. I have a possible opportunity to adopt him out to a better situation (much larger cage, experienced owners, with 10 other crabs).

My kids want to get another pet. My oldest is into almost anything (lizards or snakes) and also aquarium. My youngest of course, wants to get something she can hold and cuddle, like a guinae pig or hamster.

My concerns is that our dog has already searched out and killed 2 rats, and pretty much goes crazy if smells say an opposum, in the vicinity.

Do you think a small fuzzy pet is out of the question? We have a 1 story house, so not sure we could keep the pet completely separated. I wish I could find out how he would respond.
2nd if a small mammal is out of the question, is there a pet that would be both interesting, and youngest daughter could hold? My oldest wants a snake, but I really don't want to go down that rout. I personally would love to get a kitten, but my husband is moderately allergic. He can handle 1 cat, but thinks 2 would be too much.
any brilliant ideas?
 

momhappy

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 3, 2013
Messages
4,660
Personally, I wouldn't get any pet that would be of interest to the dog.
We went through the same process of trying to find a pet for my daughter (like me, she adores animals and she desperately wanted an animal of her own to love & care for). We thought of lizards, birds, rodents of all kinds, etc., but in the end, we determined that our two dogs would likely kill any of those if given the opportunity. Of course the dogs would mean no harm, but it is only natural for them to hunt... We certainly couldn't risk having the dogs kill a helpless creature, so no more pets (except maybe fish, praying mantis, or hermit crabs).
You know that you could not say with 100% certainty that your dog would never have access to a pet (especially with kids - doors, cages, etc. get left open). Even with adults, accidents happen - read the thread by distracts about her bunny :cry: It's just not worth the risk IMO.
A friend of our has a bearded dragon and he's not at all what I expected. Although they are not "cuddly" they do allow regular handling (my friend said that their dragon likes to be carried around the house quite a bit), they are a good beginner lizard, and they eat a wide variety of food. My next suggestion would be to investigate a kitten - maybe have your husband spend some time around one before adopting to determine the extent of his allergies?
Good luck on your search!
 

partgypsy

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Messages
6,622
Thanks. We have not yet completed the process of adopting out our hermit crab. Ironically they do fulfill a lot of the criteria we want in a pet, in that they are of no interest to the dog, are non allergic (also carry no diseases to humans) and can be held (though they can pinch!). My daughter went crazy over the hamsters, but yeah, that is an accident waiting to happen.
Penelope is open to a lizard, and they don't live as long as snakes do, so that is another possibility, but one that does not interest the youngest at all, so that may cause a problem.

I would love to have a kitten. In my life I only had one time I was able to have a cat and raise from a kitten. Neither of our daughters have had that experience. Our current cat is an outdoor/indoor cat and I don't know exactly how old she is probably around 15 years old, but still doing well. She was rescued from the street after she was a kitten. She will let us pet her, but if picked up will immediately jump down (never been a cuddler).

A dog is another possibility, but I don't know if our elderlyish cat would like that.
 

OreoRosies86

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 25, 2012
Messages
3,463
Have you looked into local reptile rescues? Lots of nice turtles and lizards out there desperately need a safe loving home. It can be hard to compete against a cute kitten this time of year!
 

momhappy

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 3, 2013
Messages
4,660
part gypsy|1408374792|3734812 said:
Thanks. We have not yet completed the process of adopting out our hermit crab. Ironically they do fulfill a lot of the criteria we want in a pet, in that they are of no interest to the dog, are non allergic (also carry no diseases to humans) and can be held (though they can pinch!). My daughter went crazy over the hamsters, but yeah, that is an accident waiting to happen.
Penelope is open to a lizard, and they don't live as long as snakes do, so that is another possibility, but one that does not interest the youngest at all, so that may cause a problem.

I would love to have a kitten. In my life I only had one time I was able to have a cat and raise from a kitten. Neither of our daughters have had that experience. Our current cat is an outdoor/indoor cat and I don't know exactly how old she is probably around 15 years old, but still doing well. She was rescued from the street after she was a kitten. She will let us pet her, but if picked up will immediately jump down (never been a cuddler).

A dog is another possibility, but I don't know if our elderlyish cat would like that.

Yes, my daughter went crazy over hamsters too. After doing some research, we decided that guinea pigs would be the top choice - they are very social, smart, interactive, cuddly, etc. Then it dawned on me that we would come home one day to a guinea pig massacre :shock: The dogs would find the guinea pig just as interesting as the squirrels that they chase through the yard several times a day. I know that we couldn't possibly expect to keep rodent & dogs separate, so it was not worth the risk (and heartache) of losing a rodent to the dogs. I think that even lizards would be at risk in our home (my younger dog chases the small, wild lizards that roam our back patio in the summer time). It's hard because I know that my daughter is so wonderful with animals. This summer she's caught several frogs & toads, a couple of lizards, a rhinoceros beetle, a few leopard slugs, and a sick bird that we tried to nurse back to health. We have a good-sized plastic terrarium that we keep the critters in for a day or two before releasing them back into the wild. She has even learned how to hold the dragonflies that sit around our garden fence:)
 

distracts

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 11, 2011
Messages
6,131
My brother is a lover of reptiles and had two turtles and a leopard gecko. I don't recommend a water turtle thing - ours was mean and ha to be sent to a wildlife rehabilitation center because it grew so big. There was also a box turtle, who was a bit boring but really nice. She loved getting petted on the head and playing in hose water and eating blueberries. She had been rescued from an abusive home (had a lot of damage to her shell, poor thing) so it's possible others might be friendlier.

The leopard gecko is still going strong well over a decade later (he is definitely at least 13, possibly 15, none of us can remember when we got him!). You have to be a little gentle with him but can take him out and pet him and let him climb all over you. And it's a lot of fun to watch him eat crickets. I can't imagine a dog being interested in a lizard in a cage.
 

partgypsy

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Messages
6,622
Thank you for the suggestions. Talking about "caged" small mammal my top choice would be to get a chinchilla, but like any small mammal, just can't trust Chuck. He has come a long way, but he has a certain amount of instinct towards rats and similar animals. I know my youngest would love something like that. When she visits a friend with a pet like that, that's all she wants to do is interact and hold the pet (rabbit, guinea pig, hamster you name it). Our cat was never a cuddler (she was rescued off the street after being a kitten, so wasn't socialized around people when young). She will sit on your lap on rare occasions but doesn't like being picked up. She gives a lot of attention to our dog but it's not the same as a small animal she can "hold".


I looked and there is a reptile rescue organization, and there are actually 2 different leopard geckos that are available for adoption. I don't think my dog would react (he never pays any mind to hermit crabs, even when we would bring them out to crawl around) so that is a possibility for the oldest, but not the youngest, but I don't think we will be able to please everyone at this point.
anyways I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. Distracts story really does hit home :((
 

momhappy

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 3, 2013
Messages
4,660
I also wanted to mention that overstock.com now helps to facilitate pet adoptions. They have a link near the top of the page and you can search by animal type (everything from dogs & cats to birds & reptiles, etc.) and zip code. Maybe you can search through the listings and see what comes up in your area for some ideas?
 

partgypsy

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Messages
6,622
I have to admit, at the petsmart in the adoptions area there were 2 beautiful 4 month old kittens at the store. One a beautiful brown female tabby, alert and curious, and a soft gray tabby male athletic and playful. Our household through happenstance has usually ended up with the hard luck not so pretty cases that end up growing on us. These two were just magnificant. Sigh. Hubby I think is vetoing the cat idea so I shouldn't even go there.
 

iLander

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
6,731
Yes, check out petfinder for all kinds of critters.

https://www.petfinder.com/

For a kitten, your DH might consider a Siamese or Burmese, people usually aren't allergic to those.
 

partgypsy

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Messages
6,622
Thanks Ilander! At one time I read all the mystery books "The cat who -" which featured the (fictional siamese) cat Koko.
 

momhappy

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 3, 2013
Messages
4,660
I had a siamese growing up as a kid - he was wonderful:)
 

Gypsy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
40,225
I'd be worried about a kitten being too small and rat like.

I think a nice adolescent/young adult cat at 8-12 months or an older cat would be a better fit.

I also urge you to please adopt. There are many cats on death row. Just go to your local shelter and see who picks you. That's always the best way to find a new pet.
 

Gypsy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
40,225
If you get an adult cat from a good rescue or shelter they will be able to tell you which cats love being held and handled. Which ones are the big cuddlers.
 

justginger

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 11, 2009
Messages
3,712
Don't rule out reptiles not being 'cuddly' because they lack fur. I had two fat tailed geckos in college, they lived in a tank in my sorority house with me (very against the rules, lol). Anyway, they were extremely alert and clever, with big, cartoon-like eyes (which would likely make them cuter to a little girl). And they LOVED being held. They would slowly crawl through my hands, or lay on my stomach while I watched a movie - no racing about or trying to get away. They might be an option to keep both kiddos happy.
 

partgypsy

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Messages
6,622
thanks everyone for ideas. It looks like we are leaning towards keeping our pet crab and getting him a couple new friends. Despite the terrible accidents, I do know how to take care of them and we have all the equipment, while starting over with a new pet is a steep learning curve.
We still may end up getting another pet (a kitten or cat if we can talk him into it, or probably lizard if not) but we will wait until October or so to do so. Yes if we got a kitten or cat, it would have to go through husband's approval because he is allergic, so he would have to be able to meet it, etc to see if he was comfortable.

I think Chuck would be OK with kittens (though I was again thinking of a older kitten, not a baby) and supervise if get a kitty.
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top