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