# meerkats ??



## jazzywoo (Sep 24, 2009)

ok i love meerkats and have always wanted one so i have decided after many years of thinking about it to start a meerkat fund and save for a baby to join our family :flrt:
in the mean time i need to know everything i need to know from those who keep them as house pets and want you to share your photos with me too :flrt:
i need to know what they eat are they easy to litter train what kind of pets do they make, do they get on with cats , dogs etc , ive heard they make wonderful pets and they usually get on with other animals i could have heard wrong ! 
i would like it to be a general house pet i dont work so im in all the time so he would have free range of the house and maybe have a dog crate over night and when i go collect kids from school apart from that he would be running free i would love to lead train him too if you can :2thumb:
so can a meerkat live in the house like that, do people keep them as house pets like that ?
ann x


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## clairebear1984 (Dec 13, 2009)

i never knew ppl keep these as pets. i love meerkats, i sooo want to work with them


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## Matt Lusty (Aug 20, 2008)

http://exotickeepersforum.co.uk/upload/Meerkat_Article.pdf


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## ChokolateLatte (Nov 9, 2009)

clairebear1984 said:


> i never knew ppl keep these as pets. i love meerkats, i sooo want to work with them


They have become popular though probably the most controversial new pet due to their natural habitat and social working groups. Google meerkats as pets and will struggle to find care of them amongst all the reasons not to have them.


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## clairebear1984 (Dec 13, 2009)

i wouldnt have them as a pet. i know i prob get slated for this but in my opinion i dont think its fair to have them as a pet. meerkats love to be in a group, so to have a meerkat by its self or two of them just wouldnt b fair x


sorry my s's dont always work


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## ReptileKid (Jul 7, 2008)

I always thought you'd have to keep a pair or more, never just one, but not 100%, also i wouldn't even think about having one on 
a lead walking it around, but i dont keep them so maybe ask a keeper.


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## clairebear1984 (Dec 13, 2009)

ReptileKid said:


> I always thought you'd have to keep a pair or more, never just one, but not 100%, also i wouldn't even think about having one on
> a lead walking it around, but i dont keep them so maybe ask a keeper.


yea in the wild a mob (group meerkats) can b up to 20- 30 and each meerkat has a job to do in that mob, wether its babysitting lol or on look out etc love the animals i would so love to work with them


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## xXFooFooLaFluffXx (Aug 4, 2007)

to the original poster, i think you need to start a meercatS fund, as ideally they should be kept in minimum of twos.

claire, most people keep them in groups. meercats are more than happy in pairs. i dont disagree with keepin any animal so long as you cater for its needs to the best of your ability. i think its hypocritical to say its unfair to keep one type of animal as a pet but not another. Lots of people have meercats on here and you will find that most if not all will say they make enjoyable pets and are more than happy in their homes.


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## clairebear1984 (Dec 13, 2009)

have never know ppl to keep meerkat hehe


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## clairebear1984 (Dec 13, 2009)

xXFooFooLaFluffXx said:


> to the original poster, i think you need to start a meercatS fund, as ideally they should be kept in minimum of twos.
> 
> claire, most people keep them in groups. meercats are more than happy in pairs. i dont disagree with keepin any animal so long as you cater for its needs to the best of your ability. i think its hypocritical to say its unfair to keep one type of animal as a pet but not another. Lots of people have meercats on here and you will find that most if not all will say they make enjoyable pets and are more than happy in their homes.


 
like i said my opinion everyone has one. other ppls can obviously be different. That wasnt having ago by way jut saying lol


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## hedgehog738 (Oct 6, 2009)

compare the meerkats,,,,,,,.com


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## xXFooFooLaFluffXx (Aug 4, 2007)

clairebear1984 said:


> have never know ppl to keep meerkat hehe


we have a friend who has 2 boys who live together and have just got a female, shes too young to go with them yet but she gets a lot of human interaction and also has a meercat teddy to cuddle that we bought her. she is comical and loves all the attention.

another keeper on here has one of their pairs offspring and he couldnt live with them so he lives on his own but free roams round the house, and though i cant feel what the meercat is actually feeling, he is very active, enquisitive and loving and looks to be enjying life just as much as he would in a mob. thing is, if hes never had it he wont miss it. thats not to say every meercat should be deprived of group living but some circumstances mean they cant live like that, but theyre just as happy havin a mob of humans to interact with. Vinnie (alan66's) comes to the door to greet you as you arrive, walks on the court yard freely without running off and hes the cuddliest little thing youve ever seen


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## clairebear1984 (Dec 13, 2009)

there welll nice, just wish there was somewhere near me that had them and if i was able to work there lol


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## stubeanz (Mar 28, 2007)

jazzywoo said:


> ok i love meerkats and have always wanted one so i have decided after many years of thinking about it to start a meerkat fund and save for a baby to join our family :flrt:
> in the mean time i need to know everything i need to know from those who keep them as house pets and want you to share your photos with me too :flrt:
> i need to know what they eat are they easy to litter train what kind of pets do they make, do they get on with cats , dogs etc , ive heard they make wonderful pets and they usually get on with other animals i could have heard wrong !
> i would like it to be a general house pet i dont work so im in all the time so he would have free range of the house and maybe have a dog crate over night and when i go collect kids from school apart from that he would be running free i would love to lead train him too if you can :2thumb:
> ...


unforunatly you wont be able to keep a meerkat like this... ive kept both indoors and outdoors, indoors is only when there are rejected babies before they go back into the group.
by far the best way to keep meerkats (yup thats at least two meerkats as they are highly social and have auditory and olfactory signals that humans cant provide) is to build a large enclosure outside with a heated nest box.

in a house they will pull out wires (which could cause housefires especily if your out), chew when young and can and have attacked babies (happened to someone on here while ago)children, pets... infact anything new in the enviroment as they will compete with it in the higherarchy thats your family.

meerkats can make great "pets" but need large outdoor enclosures and at least be kept in pairs. 
stu


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## jazzywoo (Sep 24, 2009)

stubeanz said:


> unforunatly you wont be able to keep a meerkat like this... ive kept both indoors and outdoors, indoors is only when there are rejected babies before they go back into the group.
> by far the best way to keep meerkats (yup thats at least two meerkats as they are highly social and have auditory and olfactory signals that humans cant provide) is to build a large enclosure outside with a heated nest box.
> 
> in a house they will pull out wires (which could cause housefires especily if your out), chew when young and can and have attacked babies (happened to someone on here while ago)children, pets... infact anything new in the enviroment as they will compete with it in the higherarchy thats your family.
> ...


 thanks for been honest thats what i needed i know very little about them and i know it would take over a year to save :whistling2: if thats the case it sounds very a unfair thing to do to a meerkat or even 2 meerkats and i will have to think whats best for the meerkat and maybe making one join our family home wouldnt be fair on it 
another option would set them up in a like shed with a run attached but that may also be a wrong environment too :blush: yes this is my dream pet but i have to think what would be best for the meerkats 
i had heard of people keeping them as house pets hence i was thinking about it but if they are not happy as house pets ill have to maybe drop the idea


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## Bongoz (Nov 30, 2009)

Why dont you get a mongoose. they're sort of meerkat-ish


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

as far as im aware mongoose should ideally be kept in pairs too as they are very social too


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## jazzywoo (Sep 24, 2009)

Bongoz said:


> Why dont you get a mongoose. they're sort of meerkat-ish


 they are not as cute as meerkats :lol2: i dont know ive always had a thing about meekats i would love to meet one close up :flrt: they are just so cute and funny to watch i forced my poor family to stand for 45min to watch them at longleat this year which i do everytime i see a group of them at a zoo, i just adore them and i have heard they make great pets but i wanted to hear this from people who keep them and research the best way of going about it and if they are not as good as pets as i have heard i will of course do the right thing and not have one


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## Matt Lusty (Aug 20, 2008)

Have you checked out the care guide on page 1 of this thread? It is in a PDF format and was written by me and my experience from keeping them


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## jazzywoo (Sep 24, 2009)

Matt Lusty said:


> Have you checked out the care guide on page 1 of this thread? It is in a PDF format and was written by me and my experience from keeping them


 cant find it can i please have the link :2thumb:


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## Matt Lusty (Aug 20, 2008)

Here you go 

http://exotickeepersforum.co.uk/uplo...at_Article.pdf

The pics aren't mine, they belong to Pouchey off here


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## jazzywoo (Sep 24, 2009)

Matt Lusty said:


> Here you go
> 
> http://exotickeepersforum.co.uk/uplo...at_Article.pdf
> 
> The pics aren't mine, they belong to Pouchey off here


link doesnt work


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## Matt Lusty (Aug 20, 2008)

Try this link. Then choose Meerkat care guide 

• View forum - Care Guides


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## SilverSteno (Feb 12, 2006)

jazzywoo said:


> they are not as cute as meerkats :lol2: i dont know ive always had a thing about meekats i would love to meet one close up :flrt: they are just so cute and funny to watch i forced my poor family to stand for 45min to watch them at longleat this year which i do everytime i see a group of them at a zoo, i just adore them and i have heard they make great pets but i wanted to hear this from people who keep them and research the best way of going about it and if they are not as good as pets as i have heard i will of course do the right thing and not have one


Maybe you should save your pennies for this then - Meerkat Encounter from Buyagift :2thumb:


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## clairebear1984 (Dec 13, 2009)

wow omg just had to show my mum that hint hint to my mum lol x


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