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."
If you are looking to make a commitment (Score:5, Interesting)
If you are looking to make a commitment I would recommend a few sugar gliders [skinhorse.net]. They are very fun, but they do bond to their owners and live for many years, so they aren't a good choice if you're just dabbling with the idea of pets. They are also communal, so you should get at least two.
As always, a simple web seearch will turn up lots more information.
-- MarkusQ
Re:If you are looking to make a commitment (Score:3, Interesting)
Unfortunately, it is illegal to even own them in some states, notably California.
Speaking of that, does anyone know if it's still illegal to own gerbils in California?
Back in 1984, my family and I were moving from Texas to Oregon. I had a pair of gerbils (which make GREAT pets as far as small rodents go BTW -- much better than hamsters). We were going to go through CA to see relatives. But when we got to the CA agriculture inspection point at Needles, they freeking told us gerbils weren't allowed in the state and gave us a scary looking paper with big letters "WANTED" on top, with a big picture of a gerbil, "Gerbils Are Destructive Pests", and a long description of why they are so evil. They were really going to confiscate them, and my dad was gracious enough to drive us through Nevada instead! And if that weren't bad enough, the CA agriculture cronies put out a statewide alert for our vehicle in case we tried to enter through another point of entry!!!
Consider a cat... (Score:3, Interesting)
No shit, I trained mine 5 years ago and it's been great. She uses the toilet in the spare bathroom and neither of us have to worry about all the indignities of a dirty litter box.
Do not try to train it to flush, though. Seems that if you do this they decide that they love it and go and flush the toilet whenever they're bored...
millenia of domestication (Score:4, Interesting)
[This sounds like a sickly competitive statement.]
Dogs and cats have millenia of domestication backing them up. If you want a trainable animal, this seems like a no brainer. My dog knows all sorts of things.
- "Let's take a nap" and Belle runs up stairs.
- "MOVE!" and Belle avoids being kicked and gets out of my way.
- "Treat!" and she pays more attention to me.
- "Truck", "Clancy", "go", and she gets excited to go in the truck to Mom and Dad's to play with Clancy.
- "Get in the truck" and she jumps into the back of the truck.
- all of the standards, "sit", "down", "paw", "rollover", "stay"
- "other paw" and she'll shake with the other paw...
= "Outside?" and she'll go to the door if she wants out, otherwise she'll just stair at you.
- When let in from outside, Belle used to check out the living room for visitors, not she checks out the high chair for dropped food.
Dogs are only fun when well trained. Training is a physical activity. There is no negotiating with a dog. The dog has to know that it is at the bottom of the pack (below children) and may at times need reminders.
Mixed breed dogs are more robust and smarter. I'd look for a young dog at the pound.
Dogs are also a 20 year commitment, but can be well worth it.
Joe
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
How about a snake?? (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course now, I have a springer spanial, but only because my wife HATES snakes.
Ecosphere (Score:2, Interesting)
Eco-sphere [eco-sphere.com]
They don't require any maintenance and if you forget about them for a few weeks, no big deal. Occasionally, I'll put in the dark for a few days to stop the algae growth and to satisfy my god complex.
I had mine for about a year now and my 4 little brine friends are still running in circles.
Data Dog! (Score:2, Interesting)
Turtles (Score:3, Interesting)
Personally, I prefer aquatic turtles: if you have to leave them alone for a week (for vacation, trips, whatever), you can get a little automatic feeder and you don't have to worry about them pooping all over the place like dogs. They're beautiful to watch when they swim, plus you can take them out and play with them.
Plus, they'll eat meat: you can throw a couple of live feeder fish, crickets, or whatever in the tank and watch the thrill of the chase.
I can't exactly say that they're trainable, but they're very smart. Mine have learned to climb up on my feet and sit there when they want me to play with them. They'll just camp out on my socks or shoes and wait patiently for me to sit down on the floor.