# My first exotic mammal!! need help



## robbies-reptiles (Nov 8, 2009)

hey guys, im toying with the idea of gettig an exotic mammal btu am rly stuck with what to get, id liek soemthign abit un usual and with abit of size on it, maybe inbetween a mouse and a ferret , somethign big enough to ahndel btu doesnt require to much room, any thoughts?


----------



## Twiglet (May 6, 2009)

Just to give us an idea what to recommend, what have you kept mammal-wise before? Any idea at all what you are looking for? Something handleable or something to watch? 

Kat


----------



## robbies-reptiles (Nov 8, 2009)

urm, well actualy the only things i am keeping currently is 1 bearded dragona nd a recently aquired lawsons dragon, and soemthing which is handable, size of caging isnt a huge problem asloing as its not like huge


----------



## robbies-reptiles (Nov 8, 2009)

anyone got any ideas?


----------



## robbies-reptiles (Nov 8, 2009)

can no one help me lol?


----------



## sooty (Dec 31, 2009)

I hear that degus are nice to keep.about the size you are looking for.need to do a good read up on them,what sort of cage etc.look like a really interesting and entertaining mammel to keep!! hope this helps you a bit,mellx: victory:


----------



## Twiglet (May 6, 2009)

Have you thought about a pair of fancy rats? As you want something different perhaps you could get a pair of Blues or nicely coloured dumbos so that whilst you have something manageable and tame its not run of the mill.

Duprasi gerbils are nice, very calm and easy to handle and keep but not overly active. Behaviour-wise they are like male syrian hamsters with a less intimidating bite if they do get you which they are disinclined to do. They'll live happily in a two or three foot glass tank with a lid but in all honesty I've even kept them in reasonable sized single level hamster cages. Dont keep them in multilevel cages, their depth perception is non-existant and they WILL fall.
Egyptian (often wrongly labelled as turkish or arabian) spiny mice are nice too. Get tame if you put a bit of time into them, are bigger than a fancy mouse but no where near the size of a fancy rat, can be kept in small single sex groups in a three foot tank and are dead easy to keep. There is also quite alot about and you can pick them up very cheap. I wouldnt suggest breeding them at the moment though as because people seem to find them hard to sex (they are not) there are so many about that I've seen them being sold for as little as £2.50 each. They are hugely entertaining though so well worth keeping just as pets.

Kat


----------



## reptilekid2212 (Feb 7, 2010)

hamsters are sssooooo nice.
my hamster has never bit me in its life
they dont need a big cage.:2thumb:


----------



## spider_duck (Feb 25, 2008)

Rats, spiny mice or duprasi! :flrt::flrt:


----------



## mbj20 (Sep 14, 2009)

research research research then............................African Pygmy Hedgehog:lol2:


----------



## Cranwelli (Mar 24, 2009)

spider_duck said:


> Rats, *spiny mice* or duprasi! :flrt::flrt:


I didn't know spiny mice are handable. I've never tried with mine based on their skittish behaviour and spines.


----------



## NaomiR (Jan 26, 2009)

you don't know what you're missing lol I found the spinies A LOT more handlable than the stripeys :flrt:


----------



## Twiglet (May 6, 2009)

totally agree with naomi... the stripes are a bit mental. The egyptian spinies (cream jobs) ae so bloody nosey that taming them is simples. 
The arabians (dark ones) are rather more jumpy. they still get tame but just dont sit still. Think gerbil on speed...

Kat


----------



## ambyglam (Nov 16, 2009)

im getting spiny mice this weekend...im sooo excited!

what about african pygmy dormice...super cute!


----------



## Rum_Kitty (Jun 14, 2009)

"much room" is kind of debateable. For example, my suggestion would be rats. In my opinion they don't need much room but my parents think my rat cage does take up a lot of room...its 80cmX50cmX80cm and has three ratties in it...is that too much room? Because if not rats are fantastic pets. We always call ours "palm dogs" because they are so tame and friendly. As soon as we go into the animal room, they are up at the bars, licking your fingers and begging to be taken out for a cuddle and a play. They are pretty much the best low maintenance pets you can have in terms of friendliness and fun IMO. They are also adorably cute, even if you dont like their tails (which you get used to be BTW, I never like rat tails when I got my first rats, now I find myself absentmindedly stroking rat tails lol). Only downside is they have very short lifespans and a lot tend to be unhealthy towards the latter end of their life, which is horrible. 

If you wanted something more unusual I have heard that both duprasi and short tailed opossums make excellent pets, but I have had neither so can't comment lol.


----------



## Twiglet (May 6, 2009)

I dont know that STO's are a best bet for someone with no prior exotic mammal experience. African pygmy dormice are cute but not really handleable... yes i know you do get the odd one but most of them are too fast to handle safely on a regular basis, they drop their tails pretty easily and christ do the bite....
My ther halfs rats are kept in a furet tower cage which is about five foot tall and a couple of foot square... it's currently only got two in it as two of the girls are out in a seperate gace to have their babies and to keep them away from dad for a bit so they aren't constantly preggers. 

Kat


----------



## colinbradbury (Nov 16, 2008)

sto's arnt too bad for a new exotic keeper just need to do the research 1st . they do tame very easy and make fantastic pets . but finding one is going to be just about impossable at the moment . and most people would rarther sell to other breeders rarther than just as pets with there being so few about

have to agree pygmy mice are great but not handable at all imo , and can get out of the smallest opening and are a swine to catch . spiney mice are a great entry into exotics and are easy to tame . steppe lemmings , 

of course it really does depend what enclosure size you would class at too big . 

cheers col


----------



## beckyl92 (Aug 21, 2009)

i'd get a rat  they're like mini dogs. so clever


----------



## sausage (Oct 11, 2009)

I'd agree with the African pygmy hedgehog, I'm addicted to them :lol2:


----------

