hi again after long hard consideration we have decided we are not ready or able to cope with a 2nd rescue dog for a long while yet. thanks for all the tips and hints though really useful

i have been quite unwell lately and find having diamond gives me something to focus on. i would like to have a 2nd pet despite not being ready for another dog.

i am very frightened of cats so this would be a no go i think they are great pets for some people my friend is a mad cat lover but not for me unfortunatley. i was thinking a small pet?

i did look at rabbitts previously but was told that because they are prey animals they do not like being handled? also i havent got a garage or anywhere to put the cage in winter and obviously couldnt have a house rabbitt with diamond being suspected part whippett dont think it would go down well lol!

i am not experienced so wouldnt want to take on anything too complicated to care for. my partner is really into reptiles but i understand they are quite expensive to purchase and care for?

any ideas from you small pet owners out there would be great thanks in advance ..........

hi again after long hard consideration we have decided we are not ready or able to cope with a 2nd rescue dog for a long while yet. thanks for all the tips and hints though really useful

i have been quite unwell lately and find having diamond gives me something to focus on. i would like to have a 2nd pet despite not being ready for another dog.

i am very frightened of cats so this would be a no go i think they are great pets for some people my friend is a mad cat lover but not for me unfortunatley. i was thinking a small pet?

i did look at rabbitts previously but was told that because they are prey animals they do not like being handled? also i havent got a garage or anywhere to put the cage in winter and obviously couldnt have a house rabbitt with diamond being suspected part whippett dont think it would go down well lol!

i am not experienced so wouldnt want to take on anything too complicated to care for. my partner is really into reptiles but i understand they are quite expensive to purchase and care for?

any ideas from you small pet owners out there would be great thanks in advance ..........

You can't beat a rat as a small pet, My wife rescued quite a few lab rats many years ago and I couldn't even bear to look at them at first, they gave me the shivers however in time I came to realise what smashing pets they made, great with our son who was only small at the time and they used to love playing in my dogs long fur. They rarely bite, infact in all the we had them we were never bit once, unlike with my sons hamster who slept through the day and would rather bite you than not.

Who told you rabbits dont like being handled?
Thats, very, untrue. If you handle a rabbit alot and make friends with it, you can sometimes let them out without a run or anything, one of mine will hop around the garden then when shes done gets back in her cage. The other one though, try to pick her up and she will buck and scratch you to death (I still have scars on my chest from her!) If you get a rabbit, remember they like to stay in pairs for friendships etc, get one from an experienced breeder/rescue, get one thats been handled from birth and make sure you get same sex rabbits or get the female spayed straight away then the male neutered. If you get ones that have been handled from birth, you'll have a lovely pair that will like holding etc

You'll need a cage, with 2 sections at the very least. One for food, one for a bed. Ive found 2 water bottles instead of the 1 work better with having 2 very dominant females. You'll need a *big* run, the size depends on what breed of rabbit you get. You'll need to stock up on plenty of hay, straw, shavings, pellet or dry mix food, and if you do a quick google theres a list of all the fresh fruit/veg that they can and cant eat.

When I got my 2 females, from petsathome, I didnt know the slightest about them. Coming on here has helped me though, even got them sexed by a lovely lady on here who obviously saw my fears that one was pregnant and she came, declared 'both females' and I cant thank her enough! My personal opinion, dont go to petsathome. There are plenty of rescues on here, and breeders of rabbits. I kept my rabbits as indoor until this summer, well if you can say summer, they then went outside. I havent got a shed, or garage but ive got some carpet that is over their cage to stop wind getting in. Ive started to line their hutch with newspaper, because they pee an awful lot, I cleaned them out about once a week sometimes every 5days, but its now every 2-3 days because I was going in and their shavings where all soaking :gag:

They need to go in their run every day. Mine got broke a few weeks since, so my 2 are let out 1 at a time while I keep an eye on them but I seriously need a new one.


And, other than a rabbit what about a Guinea pig? Lots of piggie people on here, to give you more advice.
A hamster? A bird?

I understand that you dont want a cat for several reasons, but im not sure how your dog would react to the other smaller furries ive mentioned. Although, rabbits are very rewarding, even when they poo on you :)

hi again after long hard consideration we have decided we are not ready or able to cope with a 2nd rescue dog for a long while yet. thanks for all the tips and hints though really useful

i have been quite unwell lately and find having diamond gives me something to focus on. i would like to have a 2nd pet despite not being ready for another dog.

i am very frightened of cats so this would be a no go i think they are great pets for some people my friend is a mad cat lover but not for me unfortunatley. i was thinking a small pet?

i did look at rabbitts previously but was told that because they are prey animals they do not like being handled? also i havent got a garage or anywhere to put the cage in winter and obviously couldnt have a house rabbitt with diamond being suspected part whippett dont think it would go down well lol!

i am not experienced so wouldnt want to take on anything too complicated to care for. my partner is really into reptiles but i understand they are quite expensive to purchase and care for?

any ideas from you small pet owners out there would be great thanks in advance ..........

reptiles are not expensive to buy or care for..running costs can be much less than a mammal. ask him what type of reptile he likes, that will narrow it down....no point me going on about 10 types of reptiles, ask him to narrow it down.

snake or lizard for a start?

he likes lizards. water dragons i think he was looking at? i am liking the idea of rats actually? or maybe a hamster dont know much about either. the thing that puts me off guinea pigs (which i also like) or rabbitts is having no where to put the hutch in winter?

he likes lizards. water dragons i think he was looking at? i am liking the idea of rats actually? or maybe a hamster dont know much about either. the thing that puts me off guinea pigs (which i also like) or rabbitts is having no where to put the hutch in winter?

water dragons are ok, there not really a tame handlable reptile, they need a lot of space and a hi humidity, great to look at, but can be expeniveish to set up, and they get pretty large..
look at a bearded dragon, very tame, fun and a good beginners reptile, pretty bullet proof. i kept rats but not as pets....i like them though.

you wont regret rats lol they get mega tame, they are intelligent...i cant praise rats enough

I had a rat when I first left home , my sister bought it for me as company lol, he was lovely and you can train them , he knew his name and used to like sitting on my shoulder to watch tv, I made little assault courses for him out of toilet roll inners and he used to play "fetch" He was lovely and very clever

thanks for all replies cooljules im going to look into bearded dragon (dont even know what they are lol! google time) sound promising though any ideas of rough figure of set up cost?
rats seem to be getting a big thumbs up from lots of you aswell. any ideas set up cost for rats and if they should be kept in pairs or alone? also are they nocturnal?
also anyone able to give me any guinea pig advice would really appreciate it how easy to care for/running costs?/set up cost? easy to handle and can they be kept in an indoor cage?

Rats do make excellent pets. They need to be kept in pairs as a minimum (trios are good :hihi:). Set up costs are mostly the cost of the cage as they need a large one (larger the better). A good cage for 2-3 rats is the Freddy: http://www.petcentreonline.co.uk/ecommerce/Scripts/prodView~idproduct~484.htm but you can of course go bigger! :D

Food wise, a good dry mix is relatively inexpensive and fresh food of an evening/morning can normally be found in the day to day shopping anyhow.

Rats are crepuscular, that is they are most active around dawn and dusk. That said they tend to adapt to your hours and be most active when you are.

Boys tend to be lazy and floppy, girls more active and into everything! There's plenty of breeders and rescues around Sheffield and it's much better to avoid pet shops. They can help and advise you and give you ongoing support - something a pet shop just won't do.

Take a look at this thread for lots of links to local breeders and rescues to wet your appetite: http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=518899

thanks hels1977 thats some good advice. have looked at the bearded dragons they look really nice actually but the set up seems like it would be something i couldnt afford. going to look into rats and caring for them now.

after much googling i really am leaning towards rats now they sound great. i have emailed the rat-a-ta trescue and am awaiting her reply keep your fingers xd for me guys. any other ratty advice recieved with thanks

OOh Lesley is lovely - although I had to pocket check her when she visited me, I think she was trying to sneak some of my girls out! :P