# Good house mammal?



## dragon ranch (Dec 1, 2008)

I will hopefully be getting my own place in the next year and always wanted a house pet other than my reptiles, something that will have free roam of the house.

I originally wanted Japanese Akitas however after long thought when I do have children they are supposedly not good with children so bad idea. Then I thought Labradors.

However today I got thinking, how about something else, an alternative to a dog, maybe something exotic. well I've always wanted a skunk...are they good house pets? ok with children? or is there another mammal that is recommended?

Thanks guys.


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## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

African Pygmy Hedgehog?. Or those huge Flemish Giant bunnies, not exactly 'exotic' but pretty crazy pet!.


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

_jake_ said:


> African Pygmy Hedgehog?. Or those huge Flemish Giant bunnies, not exactly 'exotic' but pretty crazy pet!.


Giant bunnies FTW :flrt: Megan -Moore's Photos - Giant Rabbits! | Facebook Great indoor and outdoor pets, love attention. Oh and they give the best cuddles ever. :flrt:

If you're interested in Skunks go jump in in the random skunk thread, they'll be able to help you. : victory:


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## xXFooFooLaFluffXx (Aug 4, 2007)

_jake_ said:


> African Pygmy Hedgehog?. Or those huge Flemish Giant bunnies, not exactly 'exotic' but pretty crazy pet!.


aph's are hardly the best pets to free roam :lol2:

skunks make good pets for free roaming if you get them young enough to litter train them. We got Chester and domino (rip) when they were a bit older and so were not litter trained. if we allowed them the roam of the full house they would have shit everywhere! so chester, and his new friend mojo and restricted mainly to the largest room in the house. Dice our female stops in our bedroom, she is litter trained thank god, and actually sleeps under the duvet at our feet. youd need to make sure wires etc were not within chewin distance of them though!


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Skunks are like having kids lol 

as cat has said some litter train well and some dont 

i have 3 that i have managed to litter train and one that point blank refuses 

you would have to skunk proof your house should you want them free roaming all the time 

such as move plants or they will replant them on the floor anything climbable they will climb.......have locks put on cupboards, fridges and draws they are great at getting into them 

bins dont have them on floor level or you will find the contents all over the place 

Skunks are generally clean animals and clean themselves as cats do but they are not as proud as cats an will also get as mucky as hell LOL 

if you have the time to put into a skunk they are very rewarding and loving pets 

but they are still a wild animal with the potential to bite so there is noway of saying NO a skunk will never bite 

they are a pretty tolerant sterdy animal though mine live with dogs and cats and i have a 9 yr old son too


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Also maybe a thought to actually go and meet someones skunks in the flesh before deciding on definately owning one


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Or maybe get a cat  Great with kids, use a litter tray and there is a huge variety to choose from


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## stucoady (May 23, 2008)

LoveForLizards said:


> Giant bunnies FTW :flrt: Megan -Moore's Photos - Giant Rabbits! | Facebook Great indoor and outdoor pets, love attention. Oh and they give the best cuddles ever. :flrt:
> 
> If you're interested in Skunks go jump in in the random skunk thread, they'll be able to help you. : victory:


Rabbits make great indoor pets and better than keeping them in a hutch unless you have a very large hutch with more than 6' run. You would need to bunny proof your house as bunnies will chew wires.


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

stucoady said:


> Rabbits make great indoor pets and better than keeping them in a hutch unless you have a very large hutch with more than 6' run. You would need to bunny proof your house as bunnies will chew wires.


Ours used to be inside rabbits but now they live outdoors, they much preferred it outdoors and have the option to come inside all day if they want but they never even attempt it unless I'm late giving them their food. :lol2: We don't have mahooooosive hutches and mile long runs like some people think we should be our rabbits are happy, healthy and besides that they much prefer to laze about in the sun when possible and sit on top of their bed boxes the rest of the time munching hay then dash around all the time like people seem to think they would. :whistling2:


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## stucoady (May 23, 2008)

With rabbit accommodation, bigger is better - rabbits need plenty of space to move. Minimum hutch sizes are just that - the absolute minimum. The RSPCA and RWA (UK) recommend a minimum hutch size of 5' x 2' x 2' and the ASPCA (US) recommends 4' x 2' x 2'. These are for average size pet rabbits. Larger rabbit breeds will need much larger hutches, a rabbit shed may be more appropriate although we use large dog houses/runs. 
Please give your rabbit room to move. Rabbits should have a run a minimum of 6′x4′ but preferably bigger or access to a larger area regularly so they can run. A happy rabbit will run around and do what’s called binkys i.e. run, hop and jump etc


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

stucoady said:


> With rabbit accommodation, bigger is better - rabbits need plenty of space to move. Minimum hutch sizes are just that - the absolute minimum. The RSPCA and RWA (UK) recommend a minimum hutch size of 5' x 2' x 2' and the ASPCA (US) recommends 4' x 2' x 2'. These are for average size pet rabbits. Larger rabbit breeds will need much larger hutches, a rabbit shed may be more appropriate although we use large dog houses/runs.
> Please give your rabbit room to move. Rabbits should have a run a minimum of 6′x4′ but preferably bigger or access to a larger area regularly so they can run. A happy rabbit will run around and do what’s called binkys i.e. run, hop and jump etc


Hmm..Well since I've kept rabbits myself since I was 5 years old (literally, I took sole responsibility of my bunny when I was 5 and did all the research under the sun before doing so) I've have that pretty much drilled into me, though I DO know when accomodation isn't suitable or too small for one particular rabbit, and saying one size of rabbit needs X amount of space is just a little misleading. : victory:


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## stucoady (May 23, 2008)

I personally think those hutch sizes are too small and can only lead to health and behaviural issues. The ones sold at [email protected] are an example of being far to small and even goes against the recommended housing size as found in the Animal Welfare Act 2006. 

Rabbits are the 3rd most pop pet yet the mostly neglected and poorly housed and cared for. It annoys me how easily one can purchase such pets without any knoweledge or provision of the appropriate housing needed etc.


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

stucoady said:


> I personally think those hutch sizes are too small and can only lead to health and behaviural issues. The ones sold at [email protected] are an example of being far to small and even goes against the recommended housing size as found in the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
> 
> Rabbits are the 3rd most pop pet yet the mostly neglected and poorly housed and cared for. It annoys me how easily one can purchase such pets without any knoweledge or provision of the appropriate housing needed etc.


What hutch sizes?


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## dragon ranch (Dec 1, 2008)

Thanks for all your replies.

I've had a Rabbit before so fancy something different and never been a massive fan of cats.

Still liking the Skunk idea. I know breeding season is june / July, are they easy to get hold of? I'm in Yorkshire. I have IZVG near me which I use for Reptiles but they also do exotic mammals.

I've also seen price ranges between £300 and £800, which is more realistic?

Thanks


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

dragon ranch said:


> Thanks for all your replies.
> 
> I've had a Rabbit before so fancy something different and never been a massive fan of cats.
> 
> ...


 
depends where is selling tbh on the prices 

and depends on the colour of skunk your wanting too 

classic black and whites tend to be the lower of the price ranges then your colours such as apricots, lavenders and smokes around the higher end


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

you may have to be willing to travel to purchase a skunk or pay for delivery


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## dragon ranch (Dec 1, 2008)

I would travel for the perfect pet


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## Exotic Mad (Jul 11, 2009)

are giant rabbits easy to litter train?


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Exotic Mad said:


> are giant rabbits easy to litter train?



Same principles as others rabbits. If they don't want to litter train, I bid you good luck! :lol2: But if they do, then they can be brilliant at it.


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## xclairex (Apr 9, 2008)

Skunks are lovely little things although they can be stubborn and they do bite although depending on the skunk depends how often and how hard, our little girl only play bites you which isnt hard at all but can be a bit of a shock at first . She loves to snuggle up and sleep and follow me around and chase me feet and play with her toys and of course she loves food. They're very good at getting into everything and climbing things such as draws by pulling them out, as said you will need to skunk proof stuff otherwise it will be everywhere ours is a nosey little one into everything and you should watch your clothes, blankets and if like ours any tissue around as she will steal it and take it into her bed my washing ends up under the bed in her little spot right in the middle so its difficult to reach:bash: She was easy to litter train and has only had a few accidents since although some just wont be trained, we got ours when she was around 8weeks old so she may have been easier to train etc.


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## dragon ranch (Dec 1, 2008)

Ok I have a few questions for people who have first hand experience.

Is it a good idea to keep two? can you keep 2 males or 2 females?

How hard is it to Skunk proof your home? Guessing covering wires in the main one. what are they like with curtains, skirting board? will they chew anything such as the TV?

Finally the diet looks pretty straight forward, is it?


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## paynestaley (May 28, 2009)

IMO cats are the best but there's no point if you're not a cat person, you have to enjoy everything about them including when they ignore you! It's good that you're thinking ahead to something that would suit kids, because too many people don't and then get rid of their pets as soon as kids come along (like my sister, she is getting rid of her poor cats now that she has a baby and one on the way). But...you don't HAVE to have kids! I'm not and it's great, and I would take a child-unfriendly pet over a kid any day :2thumb:


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

dragon ranch said:


> Ok I have a few questions for people who have first hand experience.
> 
> Is it a good idea to keep two? can you keep 2 males or 2 females?
> 
> ...


 
Skunks are solitary animals really so dont as such need company so you can keep them on their own 

if keeping 2 boys you will have to have one or both castrated...........2 girls you will have to have spayed (they are like ferrets need to be bred or taken out of season)

i have never had a problem with mine chewing wires..........they like to dig at things though.............pull carpets up and scratch at wall paper 

curtains all you have to fear on that is finding a dump on them if they are long lol 

if you leave books, paper, carrier bags or such laying around they will pinch them and shred them :lol2:

anything climbable watch out for they will climb it.......shelves and such they can open draws an cupboards and doors so watch them

make sure any paracetamol and along that lines is well out of the way they seem attracted to it...............but obviously it can kill them 

food is 90% vegies 5% fruit an 5% protien so pretty straight forward yes 


anything else i can help with just ask


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## dragon ranch (Dec 1, 2008)

A skunk definately sounds like the pet for me, having read lots of caresheets. I am hoping to get my own place in the next year / 2 years so will look in April 2011 / 2012 for one


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

dragon ranch said:


> A skunk definately sounds like the pet for me, having read lots of caresheets. I am hoping to get my own place in the next year / 2 years so will look in April 2011 / 2012 for one


 
well the site in my signature has some good advice on it............there is also a diet sheet on there as well :2thumb:

have you ever met a skunk in the flesh ?


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## dragon ranch (Dec 1, 2008)

Not yet but I will do before I buy one, possibly go see a breeder but its not for a while yet until I get my own place.


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

well there are a few of us that own skunks that are not too far away from you :2thumb::lol2:


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## dragon ranch (Dec 1, 2008)

Nice, where is a good start?


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

well im in halifax , theres cat and ditta in manchester, joe, lucy,sallie, felix notts way 

and many more too 

so its where ever is closest to you really :lol2:


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