# 1st exotic mammal suggestions



## LizardFTI (Dec 2, 2006)

Hi,

my mother has recently started getting back into exotics again and is considering adding a mammal to her animal family later this year.

She has experience with domestic rodents, cats and dogs in the past, but nothing exotic as yet. 

Ideally she wants something she could handle (or at least hand feed) and relatively non skittish (so it wont be terrified by the activeness of her house).

Enclosure wise, she has room for a 4 x 2 x 2 ( w x d x h) in her livingroom (possibly a little larger if she rearranges the current animals), otherwise, has the space in her garden to build a heated shed of about 10 x 5 x 6 ( w x d x h) if needs be. The preference would be to have something in her living room tho.

Can anyone suggest which animals might be suitable so she has a starting point for her research?

All responses appreciated,


>^..^< Elizabeth


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## Disgruntled (Dec 5, 2010)

Well, it's not a huge space, I suppose some sort of exotic rodents? What about chipmunks? They are very active and fun to watch..


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## em_40 (Sep 29, 2010)

skunk free roaming the house or an APH/Tenrec in the enclosure?


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## xx-SAVANNAH-xx (Jan 9, 2010)

how about a savannah kitten to roam the house. You could go for a more domesticated one which has been bred down a few generations or if your serious you could take what space you do have and build it an outdoor enclosure,get a dwa and get a proper f1 savannah or serval.


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## stubeanz (Mar 28, 2007)

A pygmy hedgehog would probably be the best bet ... As long as you have done lots of research they can make great pets, and can also become quite tame! I wouldn't recommend a skunk as a first time exotic...


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## LizardFTI (Dec 2, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies.



Disgruntled said:


> Well, it's not a huge space, I suppose some sort of exotic rodents? What about chipmunks? They are very active and fun to watch..


Are they handlable at all? Or at least hand feedable? All the ones I have seen run around like crazy so I doubt it, but obviously, its down to the time you put into gaining the animals trust.



em_40 said:


> skunk free roaming the house or an APH/Tenrec in the enclosure?





xx-SAVANNAH-xx said:


> how about a savannah kitten to roam the house. You could go for a more domesticated one which has been bred down a few generations or if your serious you could take what space you do have and build it an outdoor enclosure,get a dwa and get a proper f1 savannah or serval.





stubeanz said:


> A pygmy hedgehog would probably be the best bet ... As long as you have done lots of research they can make great pets, and can also become quite tame! I wouldn't recommend a skunk as a first time exotic...


She keeps a lot a Ts so I dont think a free roaming pet is a good idea, just incase it ends up knocking something over. The APH/Tenec is a good idea tho, she was looking into a Tenec a little while ago, but wasnt sure how suitable it would be as a first exotic mammal.


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

stubeanz said:


> A pygmy hedgehog would probably be the best bet ... As long as you have done lots of research they can make great pets, and can also become quite tame! I wouldn't recommend a skunk as a first time exotic...


I certainly don't think that a skunk is too bad for a first exotic mammal....especially if the OP is experienced with meeting the requirements of other exotic pets. Better to get a skunk that will have a great loving home than to get a hedgehog (which the OP may not _really_ want), and then get bored of it because they do nowt, and never appear in daylight. Skunks make great pets, so long as you've prepared yourself for their little ways.




ELZ1985 said:


> She keeps a lot a Ts so I dont think a free roaming pet is a good idea, just incase it ends up knocking something over.


I don't think a free roaming skunk would be able to reach the height that a tarantula vivarium would be kept at. My skunk can't even get onto the sofa!


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## LizardFTI (Dec 2, 2006)

mrcriss said:


> I don't think a free roaming skunk would be able to reach the height that a tarantula vivarium would be kept at. My skunk can't even get onto the sofa!


Aww, thats adorable, I assumed they would be able to jump.

Do skunks make good pets in terms of companionship? Are they as destructive as raccoons?


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

ELZ1985 said:


> Aww, thats adorable, I assumed they would be able to jump.
> 
> Do skunks make good pets in terms of companionship? Are they as destructive as raccoons?


I can't speak for all skunks, as I have only one. But I got Rosy as a 2 year old, and she's just perfect. Cuddly as you like, and always comes to me to fall asleep on me whatever I'm doing. They're led by their stomachs, so it's very easy to get them bonded to you by giving them dried mealworms treats. It only took a couple of days with Rosy, and now she comes when called, and won't leave me alone (even when I go to the loo!)

I'm not saying they can't be destructive (some are incredibly so, apparently), but Rosy has only ever tried to pull up a corner of carpet.....that's it.

They can be toilet trained, though mine isn't. I just let Rosy outside (in a skunk proof area) a couple of times a day, and she usually does her business then....with the odd accident (that doesn't smell particularly bad).

They make FAR better pets than raccoons on the whole....not too much of a handful, and a lot gentler.:2thumb:


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## LizardFTI (Dec 2, 2006)

mrcriss said:


> I can't speak for all skunks, as I have only one. But I got Rosy as a 2 year old, and she's just perfect. Cuddly as you like, and always comes to me to fall asleep on me whatever I'm doing. They're led by their stomachs, so it's very easy to get them bonded to you by giving them dried mealworms treats. It only took a couple of days with Rosy, and now she comes when called, and won't leave me alone (even when I go to the loo!)
> 
> I'm not saying they can't be destructive (some are incredibly so, apparently), but Rosy has only ever tried to pull up a corner of carpet.....that's it.
> 
> ...


Thank you for that. Are they able to be left alone for a couple of hours a day like a cat is? Or due to being so affectionate, they need attention closer to a dog?

I'll start having a look at a few sites about skunks as pets now too and see what my mother thinks ^_^


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

ELZ1985 said:


> Thank you for that. Are they able to be left alone for a couple of hours a day like a cat is? Or due to being so affectionate, they need attention closer to a dog?
> 
> I'll start having a look at a few sites about skunks as pets now too and see what my mother thinks ^_^


The good thing about skunks is that will happily sleep in their "den" all day. Rosy has a run around for about an hour after breakfast, and then sleeps til dinner. Then she'll have another mad hour or two (not that "mad" really  ), before she passes out on the sofa next to me.


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## LizardFTI (Dec 2, 2006)

mrcriss said:


> The good thing about skunks is that will happily sleep in their "den" all day. Rosy has a run around for about an hour after breakfast, and then sleeps til dinner. Then she'll have another mad hour or two (not that "mad" really  ), before she passes out on the sofa next to me.


She sounds adorable


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

ELZ1985 said:


> She sounds adorable


She's my little princess  Seriously...I kinda see her as my daughter!:lol2:


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## slugsiss32 (Nov 14, 2010)

Skunks were my first exotic. They aren't like cats or dogs. They are their own species with their own ways completely! 

The most important things to a skunk I would say are food and space... 

Food (which you have to prepare as there are no suitable complete diets available, there are certain skunk kibbles from the us though)

Space - skunks need either to free run, or an enclosure outdoors - good thing is though they don't need space in the day as once they've found their 'den' they won't wake up! You can leave them all day long as long as they have access to everything they would need. Then have them out to free run in the evening/night...some people even have their skunks sleep in the same bed as them, although I don't as i'm scared i'll wake up with bitten toes ahha   lol!

Mine are both litter trained - never ever had any problems with litter training, I never actually trained them either...they just go in a corner which happens to be where I put the tray. I'm good at litter training somehow...I never trained my dog either but she's never been to the loo in the house - and she was born in a stable!

They can be destructive to things like lino and carpet flooring but that's about it. They don't chew which is good  

And its unlikely that they will spray because they are socialised when being kept by humans. 

They are partial to small animals though...so be careful with your T's.

Others will be able to help more. I've only had them a year so far.


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## 5plusmany (Sep 29, 2011)

ELZ1985 said:


> Aww, thats adorable, I assumed they would be able to jump.
> 
> Do skunks make good pets in terms of companionship?* Are they as destructive as raccoons?[/*QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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