Gaming World Forums
General Category => General Talk => Topic started by: jamie on August 24, 2010, 01:57:40 pm
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I think about this on and off. I like animals, it's cool to have animals around the house. It just cheers things up. I kind of want a pet, but I know I'm going to be the kind of guy who moves around alot for a while and there are bigger priorities. I still want some kind of animal though. It'd be nice when I get my next flat in Glasgow after I start uni to have an animal/s around. Really, I'd like to get a dog, but that's way too big a commitment for someone like me right now. I will get a dog, but that's something you do when you're settled down for a long term. I was looking at Chinchillas, which look pretty cool. I like turtles, too. I was thinking of maybe getting something like that which would be small enough I could get away to go on holidays and stuff while leaving it with my family for a week or two. I dunno though, maybe this is just one of those things and I'll forget about it. I was wondering if anyone around here ever got a pet for themselves? I'm not really asking about pets you grew up with or someone you know got and you live with or something, but if you ever decided you wanted a pet.
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I had a mouse problem at my house, so I went and got a cat. They only had one at the store, but I lucked out that its the most easygoing cat I've ever seen.
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Rodents: Rats. Easy to take care of, cute, loving, and they eat anything. Downsides are average lifespan is 2 years, and respiratory illness is very prevalent (so you DO have to clean out their cages as much as possible). Oh, and they don't like extremely loud noises. Recommendations: Buy two females. You should never buy rats singly unless you have an hour to spare each day holding them so they don't go crazy from lack of attention. Females are less aggressive, and they are less likely to urinate on you. Also, cages, not aquariums.
Reptiles: Leopard Geckos. Easiest reptile to take care of. Pretty, too. There are no discernible downsides. Recommendations: Make sure that the aquarium is clean. My herp died due to some terrible eye disease.
Birds: Cockatiels/Parakeets. I've never had birds, but my ex did. She loves these guys. Downside is that they're very messy and sometimes loud. Recommendations: Teach your cockatiel to whistle the chocobo song: http://www.cutebreak.com/being-cute/cockatiel-whistles-chocobo-theme-final-fantasy/
Fish: Don't bother.
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don't lizards stink though? my friend had a big iguana and it was just covered in lizard stink. like a snake skin.
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Yeah reptiles smell awful but a lot of it has to do with the cages and the bedding in those cages. Rodents smell really bad for the same reason.
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stink is not a consideration. if visitors dislike the pungent stench of my lair and the critters i keep, they are free to leave.
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There's no pet in the world like a dog and that's a fact. Only cats come close and they're some snooty motherfuckers sometimes. I wouldn't know what else to tell you because every other pet is worse.
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reptiles don't have much of a smell if you keep their cages clean. it's kinda obvious that ANIMAL FECES is gonna smell bad!
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my brother had a carnivorous giant frog
it was pretty scary
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my brother had a carnivorous giant frog
it was pretty scary
was it a pacman frog? because those are p. sweet (for obvious reasons)
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I had a spider for a few hours, but it ran away
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i've had lots of pets over the years, mostly rodents.
my favorites ever were my 2 rats. rats are awesome :D mice are cool too but they're not as fun to play with and they're so tiny and fragile. i much preferred having my rats sit on my shoulders than having a pile of mice in my hands. but still, i did have 16 mice at one point (i bred 2 of them), including 1 wild mouse, and that was all great fun. those were definitely MY pets, and not my family's. i also had a guinea pig named Hershey but those guys are usually really shy and anxious, even when socialized from birth. gerbils are like wild rats. they're not usually easy-going or overly friendly but they're definitely fun to watch. hamsters are super cute and relaxed, but they're not very active. they're good for if you want a single pet, because most other rodents need to live with others, but hamsters are strictly solitary animals.
ferrets are awesome but they smell really bad. i had 2 of them for about a year when i was younger but my sister never changed their cage, and my parents got sick of the smell and gave them away. but i miss those guys a lot. they learned how to open their cage's latch from the inside and they got out a few times. ferrets are smart and cuddly too. jamie i think a ferret or 2 would be your perfect pet. :] they're like dogs but with less commitment! you can teach them tricks. many people let them walk around the house freely, and they can be trained to use a litterbox. pretty much the only thing people complain about with ferrets is the smell.
dogs and cats are good, though i've only ever had dogs. i had my dog Jake until a couple years ago, and now i have an adorable terrier named Toby. dogs are awesome and they can cheer you up completely even when things are tough. plus you can teach them lots of cool things. but yeah dogs/cats are a big commitment.
currently i have my dog Toby, a hamster named Ebichu, 2 snails named Fred Credenza and Sal Moe Nella, and 2 baby leopard slugs named Mo'Nique and Sherlock.
pets are awesome :D
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I like turtles but I don't think it's fair to them unless you make a whole room their habitat. or like if you have a tub that you don't use, that could be the turtle's space.
reptiles don't have much of a smell if you keep their cages clean. it's kinda obvious that ANIMAL FECES is gonna smell bad!
I don't know about that. have you ever smelled a snake skin. well it stinks
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was it a pacman frog? because those are p. sweet (for obvious reasons)
Yeah I think it was actually
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Fish: Don't bother.
Why not? Keeping an aquarium is a pretty cool hobby.
Cats in general are probably my favorite pets, but I also like big dogs(fuck small dogs). I also hate reptiles and rodents because they stink!!!! not in my home, no sir
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aquariums are cool! fish can be really fun to watch. i had a beta fish for a while and i always let him bite my finger xD and! i have recently discovered the joys of gastropods-- snails and slugs. they're a lot more fun than you'd think! aquariums are good because you can amass a collection of creatures and form an ecosystem. with a properly-designed environment, you can keep together certain kinds of turtles, fish, snails, clams, and more. it's great fun :D
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We got another cat a year ago and it was definitely a good move at least in principle. Our new cat is still young and wild and tends to terrorize the older one, but it really cheered her up, she used to spend all days sleeping when we didn't have much time for her. So if you decide to go for cats, take two. Preferably sibling kittens, though just two kittens should fine as well. If they get used to each other from a young age they should get along fine and they keep each other company which means a lot less trouble for you and happier cats.
Generally cats are really easy compared to dogs. We feed them three times a day, clean their toilets a couple of times and then play with them a little everyday, give them some attention and they are fine. They still live to be pretty old, so even though they are easy it's a long term thing. You can't teach them cool stuff or get a really loyal companion, but they liven up the place and I really like the feeling that I'm never completely alone when I'm at home.
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my big cat is smart and loyal. little cat is braindead but we still love him.
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Why not? Keeping an aquarium is a pretty cool hobby.
Cats in general are probably my favorite pets, but I also like big dogs(fuck small dogs). I also hate reptiles and rodents because they stink!!!! not in my home, no sir
Cool hobby? Fish never do anything interesting
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fish suck. you'll be intrigued for the first few months and then you'll realize all they do is swim around and do nothing new or interesting ever and loathe having to clean the aquarium all the time
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When you get tired of fish, you can eat them.
Many modern societies would look down upon you if you were to do this to another pet.
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Also keep in mind my brother's golden rule: Never get a pet that, if worse comes to worst, you can't kill with your bare hands.
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Cool hobby? Fish never do anything interesting
Well if you look at it that way, animals in general don't really do anything that's particularly interesting. Fish have a variety of different temperaments and interact with each other and other species in pretty interesting ways(IMO).
the fun thing about aquariums is maintaining a little ecosystem where life can thrive so it's just kind of a way to "play god". I had one as a kid and it was really useful for learning a lot of basic concepts in chemistry and biology.
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dietcoke: pro pet fish
i am too, but i won't be getting fish.
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get a sugarglider
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or a capuchin monkey
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that looks like the best pet ever
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i sort of already told you all of this on irc buuuuut
fish are cool but axolotls are cooler, because they're like having fish and having lizards at the same time. plus, they're hella easy to care for and severely cuter than fish (because they don't have the cold dead stare that fish do, instead they have cute little dot eyes and smiley faces). also they live pretty well together, so you can get more than one. also unlike some aquarium setups where you have to have a pretty huge aquarium, two adult axolotls can be kept in a 20 gallon tank which isn't too big really. and since your requirements are that it has to be something that can be left on holiday, it would be very easy to just have someone come 'round and throw a bit of food in there for it every few days or something. the only downside is that they aren't always easy to find, but i'm pretty sure there's several breeders in the UK so if nothing else you could have them shipped (this is what i did, because there were none for sale near me so i just paid to have one shipped from elsewhere in the US)
just please learn from my mistakes and be very careful to sort through the gravel (or use something other than gravel) because even if the gravel is in general very large, there's still the possibility that a single piece would be big enough to swallow and trust me, they will :(
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My dad used to have a capuchin monkey. Potty trained him and everything. Bad ass mofo, he was. Unfortunately, nowadays you have to have a license for them or something.
Oh THOSE are axolotls? I've always wanted to know what they were called! In elementary school we used to have some. CUTE!
Also, guild steersmen from Dune.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2010/aug/25/bali-animals
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I love my cat Shadow. She's by far the greatest cat I've ever had the pleasure of owning. We live on an acre of land and she's an outdoor cat so we don't need a litterbox at all for her. Best of all her personality is like that of a dog - when you're outside she'll follow you around like she's mothering you, and will even meow at you to get you to back away from the lake when you get too close. Hahaha. She's very affectionate and will seek you out and lay on your lap when you're watching tv. It's like having the best of both worlds. A companion like a dog without the responsibility of having to walk and clean up after it.
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monkeys are pretty awful and dangerous pets as a rule
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I have two dogs. One is an Australian shepherd named Carly. The other is a black lab named Corbin (yes, after Corbin Dallas from the 5th Element).
Carly is pretty relaxed and the lazier of the two, but it may be due to the fact that she's almost two years old whereas Corbin is 3 months old. Corbin is super active and really playful, but I think he's about to leave his puppy stage in a few weeks.
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monkeys are pretty awful and dangerous pets as a rule
naw they're great, the problem is with the owners. If you invest the time and effort it takes to raise and train a lil monkey-baby, she or he will be your little monkey buddy for the rest of its monkey life
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Also keep in mind my brother's golden rule: Never get a pet that, if worse comes to worst, you can't kill with your bare hands.
this is why I have a pet rabbit. They basically kill themselves if they kick too hard I HAVE BEEN LEAD TO BELIEVE.
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i want a pet great ape from the zoo and i will name him george bush
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Well if you look at it that way, animals in general don't really do anything that's particularly interesting. Fish have a variety of different temperaments and interact with each other and other species in pretty interesting ways(IMO).
the fun thing about aquariums is maintaining a little ecosystem where life can thrive so it's just kind of a way to "play god". I had one as a kid and it was really useful for learning a lot of basic concepts in chemistry and biology.
But it sucks you have to change the water and all that stuff. If I wanted an ecosystem I'd just leave garbage around so mice would grow on it.
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naw they're great, the problem is with the owners. If you invest the time and effort it takes to raise and train a lil monkey-baby, she or he will be your little monkey buddy for the rest of its monkey life
it depends on the type of monkey, but in general most people aren't cut out for it (jesus most people aren't really cut out for dogs)
but some types of monkeys are just plain unsuitable to be living in a house with people no matter what. the basic rule of thumb is just don't.
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i don't know about 'just don't. some of them can deal with it.
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i don't know about 'just don't. some of them can deal with it.
nah man monkeys are pretty classically a pet where most people who want one aren't capable of properly caring for it. very very few people are legitimately right to own one. that's why for the most part you should just go ahead and assume no unless you go way above and beyond.
i hate to use a site like this (http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/primates/a/primatesaspets.htm) as a catch all for making a point but it's all the info i want to convey in one spot so i'm goin for it
not saying having a pet monkey is always 100% a horrible thing, but for all the people out there who think it'd be cool to have a monkey, almost none of them are really properly up for it and just shouldn't before they not only cause themselves tons of problems but also the monkey. this really goes for most exotic pets tbh but monkeys are high up on the list for 'pets most people aren't prepared to keep'
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In hit US comedy f.r.i.e.n.d.s the f.r.i.e.n.d called Ross had a pet monkey
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this is why I have a pet rabbit. They basically kill themselves if they kick too hard I HAVE BEEN LEAD TO BELIEVE.
yeah I actually had this happen to me before, a dog got into the house and I picked the rabbit up and it freaked out, jerked around and killed itself in my arms :(
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Had many a dog n cat, and even a pair of talking budgies whn I was in grade 1 ( No joke, I used to practice my spelling words with them)
I'm really wanting a small-medium sized snake, like a kingsnake or simmilar, i think they are neat and i like the unique patterns they have.