Thinking of getting another pet! Which one?

[brandes]

k so im 19 and my mother wont let me get a snake cause shes scared oF snakes, basically snakes and lizards she dosnt want so i have to wait 3-4 yeARs to finish uni and move out to get snakes, nyways im thinking of getting another bird ( my last two died cause i bought my second budgie from a bad pet store, had a disease,died and killed my other bird)
k baiscally are there any pets that are low maintenence like snakes??(spot clean cages daily, clean cage 3-4 months, stuff like that, and not gunna lie i was young when i had my birds like 6-7 so i didnt know how to train them properly, how would i do that? and is it cruel to clip wings, and do they grow back so they can fly? i might do it just at the beggininning while i train it and get my dog use to them, ( he usually cases cats and other critters, i can train him though to leave them alone) nyways i have a fairly big cage, plan on getting 1 bird the a second one in a year after i train the first, what bird do you reccommend? i dont want any bird smaller than budgies, and not bigger then , a cockatail(a little bigger is fine, and i want a trainable bird, maybe a less energenic bird if its possible)


ANYWAYS, NEW PET? ANY SUGGESTIONS? love my dog, train and taking care of him is awsome, just think im ready for another pet and since it cant be a snake or lizard need to think of other suggestions, so suggestions and why if you need more info just ask, thanks for the help!

[BenMax]

Personally I would wait until you are finished university. My daughter is attending university and has a cat, but I am the financial provider for this cat...and her babysitter. Also, you are limited on what you can do being so young and having the responsibility of a pet. Think long and hard because if you do decide to adopt a bird..it is for many years that you need to provide. Also, a bird cage must be cleaned out more than just 3-4 months. If it is not done, he/she may contract diseases based on their fecal matter.

Wait it out and when you are on your own and know what direction you are going, then decide what animal is best suited for you.

[Rgeurts]

Originally Posted by BenMax

Personally I would wait until you are finished university. My daughter is attending university and has a cat, but I am the financial provider for this cat...and her babysitter. Also, you are limited on what you can do being so young and having the responsibility of a pet. Think long and hard because if you do decide to adopt a bird..it is for many years that you need to provide. Also, a bird cage must be cleaned out more than just 3-4 months. If it is not done, he/she may contract diseases based on their fecal matter.

Wait it out and when you are on your own and know what direction you are going, then decide what animal is best suited for you.

Great advice

[rainbow]

Brandes, BenMax gave you some great advice.

Maybe you could consider volunteering at your local spca/shelter until you are finished university.

[kathryn]

Originally Posted by rainbow

Maybe you could consider volunteering at your local spca/shelter until you are finished university.

That's what I would go with. I'm 19 as well and have 12 cats, 2 snakes, 2 bearded dragons, a leopard gecko, a crested gecko, 2 fire bellied toads and a turtle in an aquatic setup with various pond fish and snails and things.

The difference is I live at home full time, my mom doesn't mind the creepy crawly critters, and I am the sole provider for the lizards (my mom does help care for the cats). If your mom isn't okay with anything, then don't get it, because at some point either you or her are going to end up getting rid of it somewhere, and that can be stressful on the critter.

If you are thinking of getting a bird, and your mom is okay with feathered friends, there are some things you need to think of. Personally, I am not a bird person, but have significant experience with them regardless.

1. Do you want a quiet bird or one that talks?
2. How much are you willing to invest to adopt or purchase the bird from a reputable store/breeder?
3. How much cleaning are you willing to do? BE REALISTIC! Birds are VERY VERY DIRTY and many people oversee this! They will crap wherever they please, throw their seed, spill their water and they have dander/dust.
4. Do you want a bird you can handle? Or just ones to look at?
5. How big of a space do you have for an appropriately sized cage?


If you are able to answer that, perhaps I can recommend some pet birds. For some smaller birds, you can have parakeets (loud, dirty but can be handled), canaries (pretty, can sing, somewhat messy and handling is questionable) finches (not normally handled, easily startled, but cleaner than most birds and sing pretty little tunes).. some of the medium sized birds like cockatiels are okay. They can be dirty and when they get upset they will squawk like you wouldn't believe. They can be trained to do simple things though.

[brandes]

Originally Posted by kathryn

That's what I would go with. I'm 19 as well and have 12 cats, 2 snakes, 2 bearded dragons, a leopard gecko, a crested gecko, 2 fire bellied toads and a turtle in an aquatic setup with various pond fish and snails and things.

The difference is I live at home full time, my mom doesn't mind the creepy crawly critters, and I am the sole provider for the lizards (my mom does help care for the cats). If your mom isn't okay with anything, then don't get it, because at some point either you or her are going to end up getting rid of it somewhere, and that can be stressful on the critter.

If you are thinking of getting a bird, and your mom is okay with feathered friends, there are some things you need to think of. Personally, I am not a bird person, but have significant experience with them regardless.

1. Do you want a quiet bird or one that talks?
2. How much are you willing to invest to adopt or purchase the bird from a reputable store/breeder?
3. How much cleaning are you willing to do? BE REALISTIC! Birds are VERY VERY DIRTY and many people oversee this! They will crap wherever they please, throw their seed, spill their water and they have dander/dust.
4. Do you want a bird you can handle? Or just ones to look at?
5. How big of a space do you have for an appropriately sized cage?


If you are able to answer that, perhaps I can recommend some pet birds. For some smaller birds, you can have parakeets (loud, dirty but can be handled), canaries (pretty, can sing, somewhat messy and handling is questionable) finches (not normally handled, easily startled, but cleaner than most birds and sing pretty little tunes).. some of the medium sized birds like cockatiels are okay. They can be dirty and when they get upset they will squawk like you wouldn't believe. They can be trained to do simple things though.

firstly you guys definitly misunderstood me, i just pointed out that i liked the fact that snakes are low maintenience, i wasnt saying i was gunna clean the birds cage every 3 months,, iv had bird before and i was the sole provider, i know hiw dirty they are and i would need to clean it once a week especially if i got 2, i would prolly have to sweep the floor daily for all the seeds they throw around

now to answer your question

1. quiet would be prefered
2. prolly go to a breeder, not too much, i would want a small sized bird, the biggest i would accept is a cockatoo or w\e they are called( always had trouble remembering that name)
3.every week

4. want one to handle
5. i have a cage for budgies dimensions are like 26x 15x15, around that, but i am willing to upgrade if i must

[kathryn]

Originally Posted by brandes

1. quiet would be prefered
2. prolly go to a breeder, not too much, i would want a small sized bird, the biggest i would accept is a cockatoo or w\e they are called( always had trouble remembering that name)
3.every week

4. want one to handle
5. i have a cage for budgies dimensions are like 26x 15x15, around that, but i am willing to upgrade if i must

I would say a parakeet or canary might be your best option. Here is a good article

http://birds.about.com/od/adoptingab...ose_a_bird.htm

I'm not a fan of parakeets, but canaries are quite wonderful. Parakeets test my patience too much.

Stay away from big box stores like Petsmart or Petco if you want to purchase a bird. They may have some pretty birds available but you have NO idea where those birds have come from.. I work at a pet store and our birds are from breeders, local people who don't want them or if they come from a "supplier" it's one that's been checked out. I really don't even think we get anything aside from maybe parakeets that come from a supplier, and it's a local one at that.

[brandes]

what about frogs or turtles? can you handle them?

[luckypenny]

Although you couldn't cuddle with one, you can train a goldfish .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4kPZ25IMn0

Lots of other fish training videos on youtube .

[brandes]

iv had fish for years pretty boring to be honest, but that vid was pretty cool, im prolly guna go with a bird or a turtle, preferably a bird, gunna go visit the animal shelter