Saturday, May 2, 2009

Polling for Pets

Please take my new poll about pets. But first, here are some pictures and brief pros and cons of each option.

Hedgehog:

Hedgehogs of the pet variety are almost all small, fit in your hand, African pygmy hedgehogs. Despite the pricklies that they are known for, their underbellies are quite soft. Even their spines are not so bad if you don't rub it the wrong way or get it mad at you. They are quiet, good for people prone to allergies, and rather independent. They can form bonds with their human owners, but they can also turn out to be always frightened of you or even grumpy. They are nocturnal, and as such may stay in a ball all day until the sun goes down. In the wild they are insectivores, and in captivity they are often fed cat food or special commercial hedgehog food. They can be messy, but if well looked after, they won't be smelly.

Sugar Glider:

This marsupial from Australia natively lives in colonies, so they are very social animals. They may take a while or a very short time to adapt to their human owners, but they almost always develop a close bond with their humans. They are nocturnal, too, but they are very active when awake, and they may even like their human enough to be awake whenever their human has time for them. They really like spending time with their human, but they will be very sad if their human does not have time to spend with them. As a marsupial, they feel comforted by small spaces, so they like to sleep in a little pouch in their cage, and they sometimes like to sit in shirt pockets and go around the house with their human. They clean themselves much like a cat, so they do not require their human to wash them, though their cage and pouch can get stinky if not cleaned regularly. They need a complex diet of fruits, vegetables, nectars/honey, and protein, but the amount they eat in one day is very small. Their food can be prepared at home, or a commercial food can be ordered and supplemented with fresh fruits/veggies and extra proteins. They do need their toenails trimmed regularly, but they can do this themselves if their running wheel is lined with fine sandpaper. If well socialized, they can be very friendly. They can be trained to wear a leash, but make sure it's not on if they decide to do this:



Baby Orangutan:

It's cute. It will do crazy-fun things. It might even dance an Irish jig. But you might find it eating its own crap one day.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a decision! Do you have any opportunity to spend time around either of these animals beforehand, either in a pet store or with happy owners? That might make a difference.

PS My husband is not encouraging more posts like this, seeing as now I want a hedgehog and a sugar glider.

Sul

Thora said...

I voted for the baby orangutang. But the real problem, is every baby grows up to be a huge orangutang. And then you would have to rent them out to the zoo. So perhaps the glider would work better - I like the close human bond.

Carrie Nation said...

I've heard that people bring these animals to show off at the state fair...

Frau Magister said...

I think you want a sugar glider. Or a pet skunk. Then Matt would be jealous.

REC said...

Linus is the best pet. He cleans up after himself,his diet isn't too exotic, and he loves attention from you.