6 Unique Apartment Pets
Posted on August 23, 2007
Filed Under Apartment Living | 18 Comments
Nothing makes apartment living fun like a playful pet. Fido and Felix bring a number of new elements to an apartment other than the additional smell. On any given day pets add companionship, humor, personality, and tons of fun to even the most monotonous dwellings. Although dogs and cats lead the pack of domesticated pals there are a number of untraditional, unique, and exotically extravagant creatures available. So, if you are seeking a cute, small, or just out of the ordinary companion check out the little buggers that round out my list of Top Six Unique Apartment Pets.
6) Pot-Bellied Pigs- While slightly destructive at times, Pot-Bellied Pigs can be as easy, if not easier to train than dogs. They’re playful, curious, caring, surprisingly odorless, and they don’t bark. Natural “rooters” and highly intelligent, these pets can get quite stubborn in their desperate search to feed their addiction to food, learning to open cabinets, drawers, bins, and find their way into making a real mess of the kitchen. Keeping food locked up is only a fraction of commitment to caring for these lovable little oinkers. Pot-Bellied Pigs may require much care, financial, and time commitment, but make an extremely fun pet and incredible family member.
5) Hedgehog- Although not a very social animal, a tamed hedgehog can make a nice furry friend. With a life-span of 4-6 years, Hedgehogs are relatively easy to care for and are easy to feed with high quality cat food. When they feel threatened these animals will roll into a ball, poking out the prickly spines on their back. These spines are not a big danger, but getting a hedgehog used to human handling is one of the biggest steps in making them comfortable and you avoiding getting poked. A seemingly quiet animal, they don’t require a lot of attention and are great at entertaining themselves.
4) Chinchillas- Pets don’t get much softer or cuddlier than one of these very soft, furry creatures. Like most exotic mammals on this list, if handled from a young age Chinchillas bond very closely with their human owners. For a smaller animal they have quite the extensive life span, lasting about 15 years. An active and playful animal by nature, having a spacious cage and many toys available for the Chinchilla will add to their happiness and natural comfort level. Surprisingly, these little guys bathe in dust to keep their coat silky and smooth, so having a dust bath is a necessity. Does anyone else see the irony in the fact that an animal can bathe itself in dust to maintain a clean, shiny coat of fur?
3) Ferrets- A very mischievous animal, Ferrets can be highly entertaining. One of the more common animals on this list, Ferrets are known to sleep long hours (up to 18 hrs/day) and be very active during dawn and dusk. Most will adapt their sleeping and active times to fit that of their owner’s schedule. While they do have a reputation for having a musky smell, Ferrets are typically fixed and descented before being sold. Ferret owners should always try to be aware of the whereabouts of their pet as a ferret’s curiosity can lead it anywhere in the home. Living roughly 6-8 years, Ferrets make a really awesome and extremely fun apartment pet.
2) Prairie Dogs- One of the most social, playful, and active animals on this list, Prairie Dogs can make incredibly fun pets for an apartment. If trained very young to be around humans, these furry creatures become affectionate and very caring to their owners. With this need for affection, they require a good amount of attention. Feeding on rabbit pellets, hay, and the occasional treat, it’s fairly easy to keep a Prairie Dogs’ belly full. Make sure to have many chewable toys available as they do like to chew on things and you don’t want them to chew on you.
1) Sugar Gliders- This is the ultimate apartment pet. Sugar Glider’s are extremely social and bond naturally with their human owners. This in mind, these animals do require quite a bit of daily attention and interaction as without it they can at times become depressed or even die. A marsupial, the Sugar Glider is quite comfortable hanging out in a shirt pocket all day, cuddling close to its owner. They are a very endearing and non-aggressive pet that typically lives 12-14 years, so will make a wonderful long time pet that’ll connect well with its owner. Being small, fun, and easy to care for makes the Sugar Glider the perfect apartment pet!
That rounds out the list of Top Six Unique Apartment Pets. There are an increasing number of viable pet options for apartment dwellers out there, so make sure and look around and weigh those options to find the perfect pet for you and your place.
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what is best exercise machine for apartment living and overall weight loss?live on 2nd floor of apartment building. would like an exercise machine that won't be too loud or bother neighbors below. also want something that will work whole body. am thinking either treadmill, exercise bike or step machine. thoughts please!!
thanks. but could people please just respond with answers to my specific question. about the equiptment. not looking to use a diet supplements.
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NEW YUCK CITY!
That’s nice
I remember the first time I went to O’Hare. I had just lost my Brazilian passport (in New York, early 2003), and had a military ID (issued in Rio de Janeiro), and the guy who was checking IDs asked if I had a passport. I was freaking out… Lol. Then his supervisor said it was OK for me to travel with my military ID. Ironically, I just lost my passport again… last night. I don’t remember putting my cell phone number on it, thus I don’t think I’ll recover it, sadly ;-(
This one is tailored to the commercial sector and most registered users are owner- operators, but try the Homeowner's section towards the bottom at http://www.lawnsite.com/, it may be all you're looking for but I suspect you'll have to look a bit further, they should be able to help.
I used Wikipedia as data source for the GDP comparison between LA and Chicago. LA has a 179 billion dollars higher GDP than Chicago. It may change within a year, but not so likely. I used to travel to Chicago a lot, for business, pleasure and… well… I was in and out of love with someone there… lol… 7 years ago. I thought it was yesterday… lol.
What do you do in Chicago? What kind of work? Involved with performing arts somehow?
Get a healthy dog with a temperament that best suits your active lifestyle. Since you have an apartment, you should avoid the hounds, terriers, herding and toy dogs that tend to bark a lot. English Springer Spaniels, Vizslas, Golden Retrievers, German Shorthaired Pointers and English Setters are great if you've got the time and energy to exercise them regularly. The bigger the dog, the longer they can go between walks and the easier they are to housebreak. And they can carry their own backpack on your hikes!
Irish Wolfhounds, Greyhounds and Whippets are terrific apartment dogs, as long as you can take them out for a long daily run. They ARE couch potatoes (like our Borzoi – Russian wolfhound) and you won't even know they're around most of the time. They are quiet and easily housebroken and much better than most small dogs. Be careful if you're adopting a racing greyhound off the track. They are often fine, but many have behavior problems (like destructive chewing) from being locked in a cage with little socialization. Also, remember that sighthounds are hunting dogs and some will kill small animals (cats, rabbits, toy dogs) if they haven't grown up with them.
BEFORE you get any dog you should read some great books on training. (Try not to pick books randomly – there are a lot of bad books out there also!) These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com
What All Good Dogs Should Know – Volhard http://www.volhard.com/
Good Owners, Great Dogs – Brian Kilcommins
Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin
Don't Shoot the Dog – Pryor
Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method – Volhard
Dog Problems – Benjamin
Cesar's Way – Cesar Millan
Also, watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is the best trainer I've ever seen on TV.
http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/
Find a good breeder by going to http://www.akc.org or talking to people at dog shows. You can also find info about the breed clubs on the akc site – they probably have a rescue group where you can get an older dog for less money. The best breeders will be members of their breed club, promoting healthy dogs with great temperaments. They should ask you a bunch of questions to make sure their puppy will be getting a good home. If all a "breeder" seems to care about is whether your check will clear, you can be sure he won't care a week later when the pup is dying from distemper or parvo and you want your money back.
Whatever you do, DON'T go to a pet shop, a flea market or buy one sight-unseen off the Internet!!!! You'll pay top dollar for what is usually a poor quality puppy mill dog. And you'll be supporting one of the cruelest industries in the country. The breeding animals are often kept in deplorable conditions – spending their entire lives in small wire-bottomed cages. They probably haven't been vaccinated against contagious diseases or tested for any health or temperament problems or genetic diseases – that costs money and cuts into their profits. A female is often bred every time she comes into heat. When her poor little body can't take it any more, she is often clubbed in the head and tossed into a dumpster or an open ditch. Most puppy mills ship their pups to pet stores at wholesale prices and many pups die before they even get there.
These so-called "breeders" have now figured out that they can use the internet to ship a dog directly to the customer and thus make more money by cutting out the middleman. If you buy a dog from out of state, good luck getting your money back if there's something wrong with the pup. These people count on you becoming instantly attached to the poor little guy and being willing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars at the vet to treat whatever is wrong with him.
First of all make sure you are able to paint your walls any color you want. I'd hate for you to paint and then get in trouble and be evicted for something so easily fixed or not done in the first place.
Even with just white walls, you can create a spanish flair with all the accessories, pictures and decorating.
It’s funny we don’t think much about it, Chicago is actually the 4th wealthiest city in the world, after:
1. Tokyo (nobody talks about it, because the Japanese are lame bitches… lol;
2. New York (among the only 2 cities worldwide with a GDP surpassing 1,1 trillion dollars, not so distant from Tokyo numberwise);
3. Los Angeles;
4. Chicago.
ha ha im betting u probably aint got no job or may be got one & not makin shit & still gotta live with mommy & daddy in NY. lol!
elevators are soooo nice when moving or bringing in groceries…..the view is very important….you don't want to live to close to an airport…that is just to noisy….laundry room and dish washer are a must….but, check to see what kind of clientele live there and if it is in a heavy crime area…..
I would say Yorkies, Chihuahuas, Pekingese, or Toy Poodle.
According to this link, the Newfies have the higher bet of becoming an apartment dog despite it's size.
Check it out:
http://lnk.nu/dogtime.com/uz2
i think we’re actually wealthier than LA right now cause LA’s unemployment rate is higher than Chicago’s & they dont have federal reserves & futures stock exchanges like we do. hollywood can only do so much for LA but right now not enough.
Lol…
CHI-TOWN sure sounds better than the BIG ROTTEN APPLE.
3. Los Angeles: 639 billion dollars;
4. Chicago: 460 billion dollars.
According with whatever data info, I found it on Wikipedia, Chicago and Paris have the same GDP. I’m sure it can’t be the same exact number, so Paris comes out as 5th largest economy among cities worldwide.
http://www.betterbudgeting.com
on the left are links,one is a link for decorating.
Keep in mind small dogs like to pee alot. I have a Yorkie that can't hold it to save his life. Try a cock-a-poo. Or stick to a cat…they can use the litter box…just get it fixed this will reduce the chance of spraying.