Worst type of pet?

[Kyriakos]

Btw, Arakh now added the birds option.

 

[Narz]

My ex had a pigeon, it was very annoying, made incessant noise, had to wear a diaper, generally irritating.

Cat is best pet, loud bird the worst, fish are ok but you can't caress them

Also reptiles are boring sociopaths

 

[Sarin]

Pet rock.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

no one should keep sharks as a pet period. they need to move around a lot and no person should have an aquarium that big just for fun, the energy costs alone would be immense and unnecessary. aside from that I feel like almost all votes in the OP make pretty good pets. foxes and racoons are iffy, though.

also, truth be told, birds are sucky pets and shouldn't be kept. they just poop everywhere and they can irreversibly damage your lungs.

It is why I can't have fish - they need regular change to the water and a rather big space. I recall how a goldfish (not owned by me) died because the owner didn't know the water must be changed so often, and also kept it in a bowl.
It is just not a pleasant feeling, that the being is trapped and probably will eat itself to death, being so miserable

agree 100%.

I voted reptiles, but only because those are the most likely to kill and eat Maddy and me.

basically no pet reptile is a threat to either maddy nor you. unless you're thinking of an actual comodo dragon or jungle python or crocodile, but those are usually illegal to have as pets, for good reasons. foxes or raccoons on the other hand are known to kill cats.

My dearest pet was a chip munk squirrel who became 10 years old.
I can recommend anyone chickens as pet. You have to raise them from the egg and you will find out that they are very social towards you and like to sit on your lap, groom you, etc. Highly social animals.
From the wild department.
I also had wild fish for a while (eel) and wild lizards.
Should shrimps be added on the list ? There are really nice shrimps for nano aquariums.
And if you do not want to have the feeling that you lock pets up in captivity... go small and nano.
The nano Amazon frogs are the best example. They live in a territory of something a cubic meter dense tropical forest and you can put in your terrarium insects as food that eat the dung of your frogs. My daughter is considering this.

yes on the micro shrimp, yes on tiny frog and yes on chickens. chickens and bees might be a reality for me like 30 years down. but miniature frogs might come sooner.

what was your chipmunks name? that's an impressive age for sure. my families cat ended up at 21.

I grow Capsicums myself, and sometimes forget to give them enough water, so it's not like I'm totally innocent, either.

great post about dog breeds! what chilies do you grow?

 

[Lexicus]

The poll should have been multiple choice. I voted reptiles, but only because those are the most likely to kill and eat Maddy and me.

I had a pet leopard gecko for a while and the cats liked to hang around his cage staring hungrily at him...
Actually, my friend had pet frogs who were sadly killed by his cats when they knocked over the frog tank and the frogs inside were crushed by their own water bowls/hiding logs.

That isn't to say I'd be opposed to having a cat, but I'd do everything in my power to ensure they aren't a dick. They don't need to be a dog, but messing with my things and my process is a one-way ticket to resentment.

I am not sure why you seem to think dogs do not destroy things and create problems. In my experience cats are always cleaner, less destructive, and less smelly roommates than dogs are.

I voted for large mammals in the poll because I have particular objections to keeping cetaceans, great apes, and elephants as pets, but really no wild animals should be kept as pets at all.

 

[Birdjaguar]

We've had cats for 50 years and cockatiels for 20. All have been excellent pets. For short periods we've had hamsters, turtles, rabbits, chickens and peacocks. Orchids make pretty nice pets too.

 

[Hrothbern]

what was your chipmunks name? that's an impressive age for sure. my families cat ended up at 21.

impressive age indeed as I learned later when talking with people of the Amsterdam Zoo.
His name was Puf, Puf Pufnstuf
because of this TV series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.R._Pufnstuf

He had a big cage with a tree trunk (his tredmill for fitness going up and down) and every day all the plants of the living room were moved to another room to prevent him digging into the earth (thanks for my mommy she accepted that with "her" plants) and he could freely move around for 1-2 hours ending with sitting on my shoulder and nibbling my ears and hair when he wanted to go back with a hazelnut as reward.
I had hollowed out a coconut with a small entry hole as his "home" and he got from all the vegetables and fruit tiny bits and every day two hazelnuts, besides the usual rodent food.
What is important is that when near windows a squirrel can jump in one go to safe places with cover from above against predator birds, otherwise they feel uncomfortable and not free to move.
On top I caught insects as delicatesse for him.
When it was grasshopper time I caught many with a fishing net and let them hop around in the living room as happy hour time for him.
In spring he could whistle endlesly to attract female... in vain and he gathered material for hist nest as we later found out when some books were partially gone on the edges.

 

[Janskey]

great post about dog breeds! what chilies do you grow?

On my windowsills I've got Naga Morich (~10 years old now) and Naga Peach. I also have some plants growing under artificial lights, bonchi-style, so they do fine with 18-24W fluorescent tubes or LEDs (https://www.fatalii.net/Bonsai_Chiles_Bonchi). You can grow those from basically any type, just might take more time with some varieties. Right now I've got Pequante, Serrano, Cumari Pollux, Black Scorpion Tongue and Barra de Ribeiro. I usually put them outside during the summer and try to make them back to bonchis again, but not all survive the harsh cutting process. Seeds aren't that expensive so I try new stuff whenever I have the space.

 

[Hrothbern]

bees might be a reality for me like 30 years down

You can make your own bee-hotel
just wood and drilling holes
For the solitary bees and many other insects
attach it to a wall near a window balcony or near entrance.

enough on internet on it

 

[Kyriakos]

You can make your own bee-hotel

And your own

 

[Synobun]

I am not sure why you seem to think dogs do not destroy things and create problems. In my experience cats are always cleaner, less destructive, and less smelly roommates than dogs are.

I dunno. I won't proclaim to be uber experienced, especially since I've never had a cat, but my family liked having untrained dogs and they never destroyed a thing. And of the people near me IRL, none of them have had to dogproof their homes, but they've ALL needed to catproof them. Cats are cleaner, I'll give you that, but they seem to like chaos and destruction.

 

[Lexicus]

Luck of the draw probably with both creatures.

I don't really hold animals destroying stuff against them, to be clear. I believe that if you are going to bring a pet into your home you have to take the good with the bad as you would with a human family member. As well blame animals for being animals as blame a human baby for vomiting on your clothes.

 

[Patine]

Just a poll about worst (for whatever reason; just the answer should be honest) type of pet.
Options are:

1. The normie pets (cats & dogs)
2. Small fish (like goldfish)
3. Rodents (basically the lab/"lab" animals, including mouse, rat, guinea pig, hamster)
4. Wild small mammals (fox, raccoon, that kind of stuff)
5. Wild large mammals (eg bear)
5. Normie insects (this just means Ant-Colony; I will probably name the option "Ant-Colony")
6. Freak insects (anything from Praying Mantis to Beetles to other weird stuff, carefull though: NOT SPIDERS)
7. Spiders/Arachnids
8. Weird fish (including piranha and large fish -But you can also vote here for things like Crabs or Octopodes)
9. Reptiles (Crododiles etc)

And I forgot the stupid birds - will pm some mod to include them.

I put other, because I noticed tha having a pet domestic monkey isn't included. Having one of those is a nightmare. I know several people (and have also read horror stories) that made the mistake of the mystique and novelty of such an exotic pet, and learned to rue the day deeply...

 

[Kyriakos]

I put other, because I noticed tha having a pet domestic monkey isn't included. Having one of those is a nightmare. I know several people (and have also read horror stories) that made the mistake of the mystique and novelty of such an exotic pet, and learned to rue the day deeply...

A monkey is a mammal, though, so could be included in the small wild mammals category

 

[Sarin]

Dogs tend to destroy things either as a response to stress or if they're bored and untrained. Both can be dealt with relatively easily. Cats, on the other hand, often seem to like the mischief. I'd attribute your bad experience mostly to owners' faults.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

You can make your own bee-hotel

I know, but there wouldn't be much of a point. bees don't even fly in our height. maybe if I had a house

Cats are cleaner, I'll give you that, but they seem to like chaos and destruction.

it's a meme. cats destroy things because bad owners don't realize they need to scratch/stretch/move/play in order to have a somewhat dignified life and not go crazy.

of course humans barely consider the needs of their pets other than food and water, which is why so many goldfish die of dirty water, mice and guinea pigs die from loneliness, and cats suffer because their claws overgrow and cause them horrible pain (or worse, their claws are cut too much, which I don't even want to think about).

On my windowsills I've got Naga Morich (~10 years old now) and Naga Peach. I also have some plants growing under artificial lights, bonchi-style, so they do fine with 18-24W fluorescent tubes or LEDs (https://www.fatalii.net/Bonsai_Chiles_Bonchi). You can grow those from basically any type, just might take more time with some varieties. Right now I've got Pequante, Serrano, Cumari Pollux, Black Scorpion Tongue and Barra de Ribeiro. I usually put them outside during the summer and try to make them back to bonchis again, but not all survive the harsh cutting process. Seeds aren't that expensive so I try new stuff whenever I have the space.

have you ever done Aji chilis? those and habaneros are imho the most "fruit-like" of all chilis, though Naga Peach and Ghost Peppers do have some nice fruity taste, too.

black scorpion tongues look beautiful!

 

[Patine]

A monkey is a mammal, though, so could be included in the small wild mammals category

The type of monkey sold as pets, which I believe are derived in breed from a Moroccan species, if I'm not mistaken, are viewed as domestic, not wild. The "wild," label is why I didn't choose that choice. I'm not about a Grizzly Adams-type pet.

 

[amadeus]

I voted for rodents. Why would I want disease-spreading vermin in my home? I’d choose some others if the poll were multiple choice. Stick to cats, dogs, and maybe fish and some birds.

 

[Lexicus]

Why would I want disease-spreading vermin in my home?

Maybe the real disease-spreading vermin were humans all along

 

[Cutlass]

Big cats. Because so many people eventually realize that they cannot handle and care for them properly.