Household Pets for the Common Geek? 186
batobin asks: "I just moved into my first apartment that allows pets, and am looking forward to finally getting some sort of animal companion. My question to the Slashdot community is this: are there any pets out there that are especially conducive to a nerdish personality/lifestyle? I was looking into hedgehogs before I found out they're illegal in my state, but ferrets are starting to look fun too. Which pets are especially trainable? Which will be entertained by (yet not intrusive upon) a typist with a flashing screen in front of them? Is cable-gnawing an issue? Something tells me I can do better than simply a dog or a cat."
Re:hamsters! (Score:1, Informative)
The bad thing, not due to the animal itself but human stupidity, is you'll get a lot of jokes and strange stares if you mention you have one. Undeservingly, but be aware if you have somewhat lesser confidence in yourself, peer pressure, sexual and gender identity, etc. Easy way to identify friends who are sickos though.
The one somewhat advantage is that gerbils tend to be a little more friendly during the gray hours (evenings, early mornings) than hamsters. I send tend, because small animals individually have their own qwirks, as I've seen hamsters that have no problem at times traditionally considered more hands off.
The one disadvantage is that you have to handle gerbils (and presumably most animals) early on, otherwise, you won't be able to hold it in your hand or let it run on your carpet (enclosed space) without it going nuts. The one I have current was abandoned, so I took it in. It took about 4 months before it got used to me and I to it, but it's very friendly. But I have never been able to handle it comfortably without it going a bit nuts that I've given up on that aspect.
Excellent get home, play with animal. Low maintenance. Quiet with some activity at night (rearranges cage bedding). Good typing companion and thing to watch during a coffee break during a late night or early morning coding session. Very low odor, esp. if you maintain the cage, and even if you don't, not bad (from experience during the abandoned to time I took it in transition).
Hamsters (high school friend years back raised russian dwarfs) are great, and cuter, imo. Gerbils, less cute, but less irritated during grey hours with you.
Things to watch out for (Score:5, Informative)
- Keep small pets. Pets like cats, and anything smaller, are good for this. The reason is cost. Food for a large dog will cost you a ton compared to a half-tin of cat food a day and a bag of dry food every two weeks.
- Keep low-maintenance pets. Cats are reasonably good for this, as long as you remember to let them in and out (if applicable), and remember to change their litter and feed them. They'll mostly stay out of your way if they're loners, and if they're sucky (friendly, suck-up, lovey) cats, they'll gladly sit in your lap, where you can pet them with one hand and browse slashdot with the other.
- In a ground floor apartment, you can have any pet you want. In anything above the 1 1/2th floor, or anything above the 3rd floor that doesn't have a huge tree just outside the patio/window, you need an indoor pet, or a 'companion' pet. Cats are bad for this (unless you have the tree), since once you get outside, they'll take off, and you'll have to wait for hours for them to come back so you can open the door. Dogs are better for this, since you walk them and then go home with them. Problem is, you have to walk them, it's not an option.
- Don't go exotic. It might seem 'cool' or 'geeky' to have an exotic pet, but when it gets sick and the vets are clueless, when the only petstore around that carries food for it closes up, when you move to a no-pets apartment and have to get rid of it, it can be a pain in the ass.
- Don't get a bird. Either you let it fly around the apartment and crap on everything, or you lock it up in a cage, which is cruel. The best case you could hope for is one that's happy in a cage, in which case it'll sing and whistle at you, which can make concentrating or sleeping somewhat difficult.
I'm a cat person myself, I've almost never not had a cat, but I'm also aware of how much work it takes to care for a cat, and a lot of pets take more work to manage. Be very careful. Ask your local petstore, or as many local petstores as you can find. Ask friends, family, coworkers what kinds of pets they have or have had, and what it takes to take care of them. Get as much info as you can, not just from slashdot. No one here knows enough about your personal habits to give you proper information, only suggestions.And lastly, once you decide on a pet, go to the SPCA or the local animal shelter. Don't buy from a petstore when there are poor things sitting locked in cages for who knows how long, up until they have to be killed to put them out of everyone's misery.
--Dan
Re:Cat... (Score:5, Informative)
More exotic pets, partucularly rodents, can get expensive: My daughter begged and begged for a "pet of her own" and we thought it would help teach her some responsibility. We ended up getting her a guinea pig. BIG mistake: the cage requires daily cleaning; the litter and food and expensive. The damn little rodent costs WAY more in food and litter than our cat. And a guinea pig isn't exactly exotic.
I mentioned a cat earlier. Now, I grew up with a dog -- a rather likable English Setter that lived to the ripe old age of around 18. I like dogs. But dogs need to be walked (some small species can be trained to do their business on newspaper in the garage, but the smell remains long after the excrement has been removed), and I've always thought it cruel to have a dog and not live somewhere where they can run and play in big open places. Cats are quite happy to live indoors, and some species can be trained to not roam. Persians are good for this, but you will have to deal with their long hair, shedding, and trips to the groomer 2-4 times a year to have them shaved (yeah, the hair gets that long, and perioding shaving is necessary). I've had a long-haired Persian cat for almost 10 years now. No regrets. It even adapted well to three moves in that time (apartment to house, to house, to house)
Re:If you are looking to make a commitment (Score:3, Informative)
I have a friend with three and also serveral cats. Initially, the cats seemed to be thinking "Hmmm, those little critters look like they'd make a good snack," until the big tom decided to check out the possibility.
He started stalking, and as soon as the glider in question saw him, he (the glider) puffed himself up and started towards the cat (~50 times his mass) striding sort of like an old-west gunfighter. The cat stopped, looked confused. The glider kept going until he was a few inches from the cat.
They peered at each other.
The cat stuck out one paw, cautiously, as if to swat at the glider. The glider leaped onto the cats head and started biting his ears.
The cat ran, flipping his head from side to side until the glider jumped off. The glider then went back to what he'd been doing and they've pretty much left each other alone since.
-- MarkusQ
Re:How about a snake?? (Score:1, Informative)
bearded dragon.