Ferrets and rats make me too sad. I LOVE them but I can’t do it again.

Rabbits freak me out a little. And hedgehogs are too pointy even though they are lovely creatures.

How do you feel about lizards?

I’m looking for something that can be handled and maybe can even be affectionate if possible.

Things like tarantulas and many reptiles that need strict humidity requirements are daunting. I need something low-medium maintenance.

A snake would have to be smaller than a ball python.

Well snakes grow to the size of their environment. if you get one just keep the tank small and it will stay small

I don’t know much about reptiles beyond large snakes so that is a category of creature I’m very interested in personal experiences on

I'm sorry, but. Snakes will continue to grow even in small environments.

They'll just grow poorly, with low quality of life.

chinchillas are cuddly and love a long time, but like guinea pigs, you need 2 for them to be happy

hamsters are low maintenance, and fairly independent. but they are nocturnal

I'm literally reading a vet website

Birds I think are not gonna make the cut. too much maintenance needed

hmm guinea pigs might be good if you're okay with having 2, but they need space to run around. but are very cuddly, food is inexpensive and they are very docile

What about gerbils?

hubby says King snakes, but not mountain king snakes, they get big. Corn snakes and milk snakes he says are also good

maybe a hognose snake too. my daughter keeps an eyelash crested gecko, but that setup might be too much for now re: your humidity concerns.

oh, forgot to mention guinea pigs are out. we used to have a million of them and their squeaks are instant overstimulation for me lmao

ClaireKI77y: ooo I've never interacted much with chinchillas. I should look into them just to know more...

ZoanTanis: gerbils and hamsters are both pretty unknown to me. my only interaction was being immediately mauled by one (think it was a gerbil?) at a pet store when I was a kid gfhdkg

ClaireKI77y: also these are good small snake recs, tell your hubby thanks

will do!

nightlocke: yeah geckos have always intimidated me. my friend had one that he loved but it died quickly under mysterious circumstances and that made me nervous about trying to keep one. and I don';t know much about hognose snakes

Aah... ao probably not a gerbil or hamsters lol

I have no idea if my experience was normal or not, haha. i never had who kept them so I dont know what they're really like

from what I've seen, they don't seem to get too big? I have never owned one, alas. Mostly because I have cats and I am concerned one of them might attempt to eat the snake...

also having had gerbils and hamsters, they can be bitey little jerks.

but usually if they're not handled much.

^ that and gerbils are very fast and love to chew on everything, but, I did enjoy having them when I was younger

Same. The hamsters can be escape artists, too--to potentially bad ends.

yeeeah those probably wont work then

but man looking at chinchillas...

Im liking what I'm seeing so far

is a cat out of the question?

yeeeah can't do cat

chinchillaaaaa

chinchilla kind of seems to be the median point between rat and cat lol

gerbils are fun, but they need their tank cleaned at least monthly, and they are very very dumb and also the best approach is to get a same-sex bonded pair and never separate them

i've never had a rat but i know they are really smart and can learn tricks and if socialized properly they can hang out like a cat

I really really really love rats. I'm just not ready to have them again because of their super short lifespans

the last pair of rats we had totally broke us ;;;;;