Animal Review

[Jaded12]

I thought this would be a good idea. It would give people with experience with certain animals the opportunity to review those animals and get others interested in them as well. And people looking for a new pet might find the info they need to help with their decision on here.

Heres the Format

Type of Animal:
Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies:
Average max size:
Average life span:
Child Friendly:
Diet:
Personal Review:
Star Rating (1-5):


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Type of Animal: Rat

Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies: The average cost of a rat is about $5, but many places adopt them out, and you could get one for free. But remember rats do better in pairs, they are highly social animals. Rats need big cages. You can find "Rat Setups" sometimes which include water bottle, feed dish and such, and will run you about $80, but are really only good for one full grown rat. I've found that ferret and chinchilla cages work wonders for rats. One of those cages will run you $100+ but your ratties will never grow out of it, so its well worth it! Rats also need lots of toys, hammocks, tunnels etc. I've found that bird toys work great. And don't forget bedding, Carefresh pet bedding is the best, wood shavings are bad for rats, a large bag of carefresh is $20. So the average cost of buying a pair of ratties and housing them properly is about $300-$400, but remember after the initial cost all you reall have to pay for is food, bedding and replacing broken toys.

Average max size: Males get larger then females. Females will reach about 8 inches from head to tail, not including their tail. Males will get a couple inches longer then that.

Average life span: About 2 years

Child Friendly: Rat are loving pets, but are small, quick and can get nippy at times which may frighten younger children. I would recommend rats for anyone 10 and older.

Diet: Their diet should consist of some type of complete rat feed, supplemented with fresh fruits and veggies, and they should always have fresh water available to them.

Personal Review: Rats are amazing creatures! They're fun, loyal, playful, clean, everything a pet should be! They can learn their name just like a dog and come when called, they clean themselves more then cats do. they can be litterbx trained. then give kisses as a sign of affection like dogs do. They're cuddly and love to sit on your lap or shoulder. My one boy sits on my shoulder whereever I go. I feel that everyone should own at least one rat in their life time. They really are the greatest pets out there!

Star Rating (1-5): 5 Stars

 

[FBTgirl]

Type of Animal:Rabbit
Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies:Anywhere from 5 to 30 of not big breeders but if you want a nice big breeders rabbbits anywhere from 50 to 150 dollars
Average max size: 3-15 pounds depending on the breed
Average life span:3-6 years
Child Friendly: Very friendly and smart. They are great for children 8 and up
Diet: rabbit pellets where you can find them at any walmart, or IPS
Personal Review: These pets are wonderful and sweet if you have time to work with them and train them they can use the litter box.
Star Rating (1-5): 4

 

[Zafirah]

Type of Animal:Cat
Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies: You can get cats for free from many people as kittens, or from a shelter for around 100$. Supplies arnt too much.
Litter box: 10$
Litter:20$
food and water dish: 2-5$ each
Food: 20$
water: free
Average max size: 8-20 pounds, 8-10 average, 15-20 is obese
Average life span: 10-16+ years
Child Friendly: Yes!
Diet: Dry cat food, wet cat food, or (recomended) home made from Catnutrition.org
Personal Review: gotta love em
Star Rating (1-5): 5 stars
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Type of Animal: Horse
Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies: horses can range from 500$ to 10,000$, all depends on quality of horses
Tack: $500+
Hay: one bale, $1-3.00
Water- free
Board- around 150-250$ a month
halter and leadrope- 10$
blanket- 70$
water bucket- $15
Average max size: 1500 pounds
Average life span: 21+ years
Child Friendly: sometimes, really depends on the training odf the horses
Diet: Hay,grain, water, grass
Personal Review: Horses ar(e great(5+ years experience)
Star Rating (1-5): 5+

 

[fishboy619]

Type of Animal: guinea pig
Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies: average price for the animal is about £7-£15. some breeds go for more. lots of rescue guinea pigs need adopting instead, and these are usally free. a better choice perhaps. need to be in pairs minimum, but small groups are better. single sex groups ive found best, or 1 male to more females( but be ready for babies). a large hutch or indoor cage is suitable. bigger the better. usual cost of large hutch is £40 or indoor cage is about £30. but different sizes change price. atleast 1 hidy hole per animal is best, can pick up hidy holes for about £1.50 in most places. but cardboard boxes also work well. tubes, food dish, water bottle and toys come to roughly £20. depending on what toys you get. most toys and tubes can be immated at home with large tubes, and fruit tree branches. cost of food and hay to me is approx. £10 a month for all my guinea pigs.
Average max size:8-10 inches (20-25cm)
Average life span:4-5 years on adverage, but oldest guinea pig recorded in guiness bokk of records 2006 survived for just short of 15 years.
Child Friendly:yes, biting unheard of, can be come very tame with often handling and treating with care and kindness.
Diet: guinea pig pellets, guinea pig food bought from store, hay, lots of veg and fruit. carrots, brocolii, strawberries, cabbage, celary, most veg. not startch or citrus fruits,
Personal Review: great pets, easy to care for, dont create much mess, lovely characters, great child and adult pets. only problem some people may find is they squeek. but not often. easy to tame.
Star Rating (1-5):5

 

[Morquinn]

Type of animal: Chinese waterdragon
Average cost of purchasing animals and supplies Waterdragon itself will cost anywhere from $25-$45 for a baby and more for adult... supplies and enclosure will cost anywhere from $300-$700 Depending on elaborancy
Average max size Females 2ft, Males 3ft
Average lifespan Can live 20+ years
Child friendly Can be flighty and skittish, sharp claws and teeth, some aggressive behavior
Diet Mainly insects, including crickets, superworms, pheonix worms, locusts, roaches, earthworms, silkworms (Some fruits and veggies if they will take them, although not nessecary
Personal review Needs taming, as most are wild caught, also need immediate fecals done for parasites, high mortality rate in hatchlings, high mortality rate in gravid females, otherwise can be a very gentle and interesting reptile to have
Star Rating 5 for experienced keepers, 3 if you dont know what your doing

 

[The_Dude]

Type of Animal:Chilean Rose Tarantula
Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies: $40 - $50
Average max size: 5 1/2 inches (legspan)
Average life span: Males 2 - 5 years, Females 15 -20 years
Child Friendly: Not really, they don't like being cuddled as much as you'd think
Diet: Carnivorous
Personal Review: They're an easy, low maintanence, quiet, and they also keep your damn neighbors out. They don't require much more than a hiding hole, a bowl of water, and food once a week. Their native environment is THE driest place on Earth, the Atacama Desert in Chile. There have even been specimens reported to have lived 2 1/2 years on water alone. They don't need to be misted like tropical species, because their bowl filled with water regulates humidity and only needs to be topped off every week. They can be sustained on a diet of brown house crickets, one every week. They don't try to bite, they don't even try to kick hairs off of their abdomen, in fact, they're THE most docile species in the hobby.
Star Rating (1-5): Five Stars
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Type of Animal: Emperor Scorpion
Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies: $40 - $50
Average max size: 6 - 8 inches
Average life span: 5 -8 years
Child Friendly: not really
Diet: Carnivorous
Personal Review: They're not as low maintanence as the Chilean Rose Tarantula but really close. These are a jungle of species and require 75% - 85% humidity and a slightly larger cage. They can also be sustained on the exact same diet as the CRT, they also need a wide shallow water bowl. They prefer not to waste their venom on us and barely use it on their prey, in fact, they use their EXTREMELY POWERFUL pincers on their prey. Their pincers have enough force behind them to snap a pencil. They don't leave a little mushy ball of undigested exoskeleton like tarantulas, as they don't eat like tarantulas. They use their pincers to crush the prey while using the existing body pressure to suck out the insides.They leave a flat bug in other words. They also don't hide food like tarantulas do. They're also a good apartment pet, because they're quiet, clean, and easy to care for.
Star Rating (1-5): Five Stars
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Type of Animal: Giant African Black Millipede
Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies: $40 - $50
Average max size: 10 - 12 inches long
Average life span: 8 - 10 years
Child Friendly: After my previous reviews, suprisingly YES!!!
Diet: Detrivore
Personal Review: Their food's a little expensive, but you can also feed them iguana bites. They can secrete this nasty yellowish fluid that emits low levels of Hydrogen Cyanide (non lethal levels). The can be handled without worry though. My parents let me have one when I was five and she died just last year. She never curled up and made her secretion on me, but let everyone else on God's green earth. They are as easy to care for as an emperor scorpion, because they're from the same area of Africa and also need humidity in high levels. They also like to burrow but this can be substituted with a small hide half buried in the substrate. They're far easier to care for than either of my past reviews because if you spill a millipede's food, you don't have sit around with a net like an idiot waiting for it to return to you. They are also a good apartment pet because of the relative ease of care, quietness, and cleanliness.
Star Rating (1-5): Five Stars!

 

[Fighterfish]

Type of Animal: Chicken
Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies: Depends on breed and age. Point of lay bantam £6 +. Housing £75 +
or do a diy job. Straw £4 a bale. Feed- Layer's Pellets £12 a bag.
Average max size: Depends on breed. Biggest e.g brahmas - i have seen 3ft comb to feet.
Average life span: 12 years max
Child Friendly: Yes
Diet:Layers pellets. Kitchen scraps (no meat) corn etc.
Personal Review: I love them 12 and counting.
Star Rating (1-5): 5

 

[The_Dude]

Type of Animal: Purple Pincher Hermit Crabs
Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies: $70 - $80 (including crabs)
Average max size: Around the size of a golfball, but some can get the size of a baseball
Average life span: 20 - 25 years
Child Friendly: For kids 10 and up. May pinch
Diet: omnivore
Personal Review: I haven't owned them yet, but planned on getting them soon. They require a lot of stuff, but they're worth it. They're smart, compared to other crabs or crustaceans their size. They can build quite a strong bond with their keeper, but will need buddies. Crab buddies. They're not hermits at all! In the wild, they can roam in packs of up to 100, searching for shells and food. But we can't come close to those numbers in captivity most of the time. They require a bath weekly and need to be handled and played with frequently. They're like little kids, and need attention. But long story short, their cute and funny antics make them entertaining to watch. They live a long time and are good companions. Oh... SAY NO to Painted Shells! They smell like laquer and they hurt the crabs!

 

[GobyMaster]

Type of Animal-Prehensile Tailed Skink
Average Cost of Purchasing Animal and Supplies-Anywhere between $15-$100 for the Skink, as well as $150-$300 for the tank and decorations
Average Max. Size-28-37"
Average Lifespan-25-30 Years
Child Friendly-Not really. You need to wear gloves while handling them, as their claws are crazy sharp , as I get scratched up by them all the time. Also, if the lizard is out and a child were to move their fingers in front of the lizard's face like a worm, the kid would get bit, and from personal experience, their bite feels like getting your finger caught in a slamming door only about 10x worse, because they don't have teeth, but they are incredibly strong, and they will rip off several layers of skin, and they could break your finger , but apart from that, they're great!
Diet-The only skink on Earth that is completely herbivorous. They will eat fruit and veggies.
Personal Review-These guys are soooo cool!!! I work with them all the time at the city zoo I work at. They're super lazy, as they would, if allowed, just lay around all day long. They're very nice, they won't attack any other pets, they're just plain awesome!!!
Star Rating-***** Five Stars!!

GobyMaster

 

[Sapphelah]

Type of Animal: kitten
Average cost of purchasing animal and supplies: So far for start up costs, we have spent about $60. Though we had a lot of coupons, that we added to sale prices (due to coupon with sale price, got 30 lbs of litter down to $5 from original 15) But it also depends on where you go for supplies
Average max size: I believe 20 lbs is obese and 10 is average
Average life span:15 years?
Child Friendly: If raised that way. If an older cat, and never been around kids, could have issues
Diet:Carnivore. You want the premium foods with more chicken and what not the better.
Personal Review: LOVE THEM! Gotta be patient and find the right cat for you, not just the first you see. Ours is a sweetheart with a pity story (was forced by a human away from her mother at less than a week old). Just remember though, a kitten will grow up to be an adult cat and you adopt them into the family for life.
Star Rating (1-5):Can I give 6 just to show I love 'em?

 

[Zafirah]

This needs to be pinned! It's a great topic.