Low maintenance pets pllease lock mods

[FerretMonarch]

Hello,

I just moved in with my sister into a house she owns and she said I could have a pet. The only rules are nothing weird/creepy or could potentially eat her cats/puppy. So no snakes, skunks, wild animals, rats (which arent exactly low maintenance anyways), and no birds. But with a few limited choices I'm not really sure what to get (i'm a bit in the fence anyways and not super sure since i still have to unpack everything. I'm thinking perhaps 3-4 months is the potential timeframe. I already have a elephant ear plant and would aim to get something where I dont have to super worry about getting it sick if i bring in a new plant. (I'm already pretty cautious since her animals.like to chew on the leaves or drink the water of my taro. But i'm also allergic to lillies i think and pollen makes me allergies flare up a lot. And i already take daily allergy pills so i stay away from flowering plants anyways.) But what is semi low maintenance (i work a 8 hour job 5 days a week) animal that would potentially fit this? (I saw semi low maintenance because i dont want to have to worry about an animal all alone in my room. (Even if its having full run of the house like her cats. Her pup doesnt since it aint potty trained.)

Common Questions/Concerns/information that would help:

I am from the midwest US and at least the part I'm from 'low maintenance' animals are ones that aren't cats, dogs, horses, or big livestock. (ignoring poultry cause most people have chickens round here). This is what I refer to when I say low maintenance. I also refer to low maintenance as being okay with being in a cage/habitat/whatever for at least 8 hours per day as I work 5 days a week for 8 hours. (Somtimes more)

I have had dogs all my life except for now while also having cats, rabbits, and at one time fish. I was a kid and didn't have access to the internet and my parents did what they though was right, so mistakes were made. This thread was made to ensure those same mistakes aren't repeated and I can give whatever animal I choose to get, if I get one, the proper care. I don't know anything about gekos or anything like that which is why this was made to get information.

I am doing my own research, even on pets I know I don't want to ensure I don't want them, I'm just not listing it here. This is only because there's a lot of information out there, some is wrong, and I wanted to see if anyone here had any information before I accidentally followed information that's wrong and potentially got an animal sick/hurt.

I ain't getting a pet right now; the smallest amount of time I am waiting is 3-6 months. I'll probably wait more, but I haven't made my decision on if I'll get a pet or not. This was made to see what options I had if any.

I'm realistically not ever getting a skunk or anyother wild animal no matter how much I want one that was more of a joke that I forgot to state as such and was ill placed.

I do have a Taro plant, it wasn't labelled as a Taro, so I didn't know it would be toxic to the pets my sister has. The plant tag it had said pet friendly. Even if it didn't the animals now have no way to get into my room as my door now shuts and I ensure it shuts by pushing on it everytime I exit it. I also wasn't planning to live with my sibling I was going to buy my own house where I wouldn't have to worry about animals being near a toxic plant and things happened where I couldn't buy the house and I already bought the plant.

My sister and her boyfriend takes care of their cats and dog I have nothing to do with them they aren't mine. This pet would be all mine and they would have nothing to do with it.

I get that all animals have specific needs and they could, potentially, be disabled or need extra care that ain't the problem. I just don't want a cat or dog because I don't have the time to properly care for one and the Taro inhibits that.

I'd obviously be taking as good as care of a pet that I possibly could I just want something tha's fine with me being gone 8 hours of a day. And I get that animals ain't home decor but it goes into what I said above. (No idea where people got this idea that I wasn't from).

Please keep in mind that I am a person trying to learn and doing my own research on my time off, so please be respectful to me and others on this thread. I am more than happy to answer any and all respectful questions and/or concerns any may have either on this thread or in my inbox. I am also a self diagnosed autistic, so if I say something weird or word it 'wrong' I'm most likely not doing it on purpose I just thought it was right or I mispelled or missaid something and didn't notice. So just be kind please

I think that's all the major questions/concerns people had, but if there's any I missed or think should be added here just tell me. Thanks

[pugshark99]

A frog might be a good option! And young ones eat max 1x a day, older ones only every couple days!

[Madel]

In my experience, cats are very easy pet to take care of when you have a busy schedule. They're independent, easily litter trained, and wont chew on things if you give them enough toys and enrichment. Ive taken care of cats, Guiana pigs rabbits, birds, rats, turtles, snakes, spiders, and a lot more but cats have always been the easiest to care for just because of how independent they are. My cats are all very sweet and affectionate, but we can also leave them for a weekend with an automated feeder and watering thing and they're totally fine.

[FilthyAnimals]

Crested geckos are pretty low maintenance!! They’re very cute as well! I breed them you can find me on insta at evergreengeckos.

[FerretMonarch]

Gekos are so cute too! Those and frogs are the only ny sister will let me have. Also if i didnt have to clean a fish tank twice a week i would have a tank or two. I also sent you a insta message

[Eveningsdawn]

Animals in general are NOT low maintenance; if you're concerned about your ability to give an animal attention or about their safety around what you already have in the house, don't get an animal. Every animal needs their enclosure or litter cleaned regularly -- daily to weekly, with full breakdown clean every few months -- and that includes invertebrates, geckos, and frogs. Cats are very easy to take care of and mine have never minded me going to work (they sleep while you're gone, and most other times) but easy to take care of =/= low maintenance. My cats have come to harass me for attention every one to two hours today. One screams until she gets cuddled. I'm constantly trimming claws. They are fed morning and evening, and one is medicated with two different things. Think that won't happen to you? It could! With any animal. And cats ARE easy animals. Reptiles aren't actually great first-time pets for many people; they are hard to get vet care for depending on where you are, they don't show affection the way we want them to as mammals, their setups can be complicated or expensive to set up and maintain, and they can take a lot of time to acclimate them to you. If you're not ready to dedicate some daily time and attention to an animal, allow that animal the freedom it needs to move and the company it requires (whatever that is), and to keep that animal safe from other animals that clearly already mess with your things, don't get an animal. Get another plant. Preferably a plant that won't kill one of the animals already resident, like a lily would or like a taro already can. Taro is poisonous to cats and dogs! Please get that out of their reach!

also, please don't try to get a skunk or a wild animal even when you move out, those are wildly unethical pets.

[winx]

Animals in general are NOT low maintenance; if you're concerned about your ability to give an animal attention or about their safety around what you already have in the house, don't get an animal. Every animal needs their enclosure or litter cleaned regularly -- daily to weekly, with full breakdown clean every few months -- and that includes invertebrates, geckos, and frogs. Cats are very easy to take care of and mine have never minded me going to work (they sleep while you're gone, and most other times) but easy to take care of =/= low maintenance. My cats have come to harass me for attention every one to two hours today. One screams until she gets cuddled. I'm constantly trimming claws. They are fed morning and evening, and one is medicated with two different things. Think that won't happen to you? It could! With any animal. And cats ARE easy animals. Reptiles aren't actually great first-time pets for many people; they are hard to get vet care for depending on where you are, they don't show affection the way we want them to as mammals, their setups can be complicated or expensive to set up and maintain, and they can take a lot of time to acclimate them to you. If you're not ready to dedicate some daily time and attention to an animal, allow that animal the freedom it needs to move and the company it requires (whatever that is), and to keep that animal safe from other animals that clearly already mess with your things, don't get an animal. Get another plant. Preferably a plant that won't kill one of the animals already resident, like a lily would or like a taro already can. Taro is poisonous to cats and dogs! Please get that out of their reach!

also, please don't try to get a skunk or a wild animal even when you move out, those are wildly unethical pets.

I suppose that 'low mantinace' was a bad wording on my part. I meant more of easy to care for. Like how a bunny is super needing to be cared for or a bird since bith are highly social animals and usually need a buddy (im unsure of whether either could go 8+ hours without either human or animal interaction and their mental health still be fine. 8+ hours as in a 8-10 hour work day not as in i'll leave them alone for weeks upon weeks) i've always had dogs and cats and rabbits a couple times (though rabbits weren't a good or very educated decision on my part).

When I go to get a pet (if i do since as mentioned in the original post i am semi on the fence) i will of course give it daily interactions (most likely i will be bothering the crud out of it with affection).

As for the animals bothering my things I have my door closed unless i am in the room because I know Taros are toxic to animals (its also on a stand and in a taller pot) the only super messing they do/did is when it was on the ground before my stand and even then i shooed them away from it. (The pup is still young and was mostly sniffing and the cats wanted to drink the water. Which probably isnt great for them but they never actually ingested any.)) So the animals now cant get into my room unless i'm in there and even then its mostly a poking their head into my room for a second. It's a bew space for the animals too and if im in my room i dont mind them in my room i keep a close eye on them anyways since my room isnt set up all the way and i have a tv by my taro and it makes me nervous. If i think they're getting too close to either i shoo them out, but they mostly want to lay on my
air vent. The taro is now out of reach for everyone unless a cat hops on a box, but they wont since one is shy and the other hides under my dresser cause she thinks its fun.

Also skunks are fine in my state to have as pets and there's even breeders that have ones that are offspring from ones that were rehabilitated and stuff like that and have been around humans their entire lives, so the risk of them actually harming a human is pretty low and you can get them deglanded so they dont stink. Also they're really intelligent and can be litterbox trained easily. The skunk is more of a dream pet since they obviously would need more care than any other 'exotic' pet from a shop.

It's off the ground where they would all have to jump on something to get to it now and my door is closed if im not in there or not paying attention when i am in there, but the dog cant jump and the cats are less interested now that they realize im not here for a few days. So there's no way any could make a snack out of it. Also because of my allergies and because im not sure im allergic to lillies i woudlnt get one and cause there's freeroaming cats around. I actually bought a lilly right before my sister closed on the house and planted it in my mom's yard once i found out they did (because i live with her and their cats) the only issue i potentially have is the cats trying to drink taro water because i dont know if it could harm them (the cats also drink toliet water despite having multiple clean water dishes at all times. Little weirdos) but the blue plate which helps level the cleat water dish cause its super flimsy and i already threw water into my room twice. Keeps them from being able to drink the water that runs off. And they cant move the cement pot. So its not a worry anymore unless they suddenly gain opposable thumbs and are able to open my door.

[Eveningsdawn]

Just because a skunk is legal does not make them good pets. Please don't get a skunk as a pet. They're not domesticated and while with a huge amount of work you can be an appropriate home, buying them is still encouraging the breeding of an animal that shouldn't be kept anyway. (And de-glanding an animal who relies on its glands for self-defense, thus stressing it out when it instinctively tries to defend itself, is of dubious ethical quality and illegal in other countries as it's considered as bad as declawing; but that's a different conversation.) They might be lovely little animals -- my backyard skunk friend certainly is, though we only observe each other from a distance -- but they can't be vaccinated against rabies, they destroy your things, and they're just. Not pets. No one should be selling them as pets.

Anyway, all animals are hard to care for in their own way, and any animal can become hard to care for very quickly. I'd focus on taking care of yourself for now, and enjoying the cats and dog who live with you.

[Madel]

Saying this as someone who works in animal rehab, please do not take in those kinds of "exotic pets"
We're constantly getting animals that have been habituated in the hospital, and they cannot be released. The problem is that people realize they aren't good pets, they "release" them, and then the animal has no hope of making it in the wild.
Half the residents we have here where habituated

[FerretMonarch]

Me getting a pet is at the very least 4-6 months off, but because of the taro I dont super want to get a conventional animal like a cat (and i dont want to mindlessly worry about whether or not a certain plant would affect one. Even though i do because of the ones already living here) i also want to be able to add plants when i want without worrying about something trying to knock it over. And the time worry is literally just because one of the cats that my sister and her bf has is my okd cat that I got when i was working and also in school and i didnt have enough time for her and she was also in my room 24/7 becuase my dad didn't want her in the house on the counters. (He aint an inside cat type of person. But she also was supposed to be a mousing cat and not an inside one and things just happened). Of course all animals have their own requirements i just think it'd be nice to have a little buddy of my own once i do settle in.