All during vacation week (last week) and up until last night, we had our first pet. We were taking care of our neighbor Isabel’s tadpole while she went away on vacation. The au pair, Isabel, and her little sister Bis brought over the guy in a fishtank-like box, decorated inside with plastic plants, fake gray rocks, a little cave, and a frog’s life tableau on the surrounding walls. There was also an empty soup can and an eyedropper. Little Bis informed me that this was to suck up his poo every so often from the bottom of the tank. Isabel showed me how much of a pellet to scrape off daily as his food. And that was that.
They didn’t tell me his name; they said he had many nicknames. So I felt free to name him myself. Ned and I quickly agreed on “Thadeus J. Pole.” Why the J? We did not know.
I was excited about the pet-for-a-week thing because I figured the boys would be into it. They were not. I showed each one of them the cute little things Thadeus did, like if you poked inside the cave with the eyedropper, he would come jumping out. Or sometimes he would hide behind some of the fake grass and the only way I would find him was by suddenly turning on the light.
I had had little pets growing up. Every pet Laura had, I had, too. Her little turtle named Fivvy, for her fifth birthday (Five-y), and my little one named Yokky (my mom called me Suki yaki). When they died, we got others. Eventually we got gerbils instead. Mine were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Laura’s were Crackle and Crunch.
Gerbils; what can you say? They eat their young. That was the most impressive thing about them. They seemed to have their babies on every holiday and then we would watch in horror and delighted disgust as they ingested the weakest ones.
I had a kitten just before Nat was born. She was high-strung and tried to bite baby Nat in the head. We had to get rid of her.
So I was eager to see how I’d do with a tadpole. During the week he lost his tail and grew fat! My neighbor could not believe the change when she got back! As I handed over the sloshing tank with a mixture of pride and grief, I realized that I really wanted a pet of my own.
A cat? No, by now I am allergic. A dog? I do have an allergy to dogs and they are too much like a real person, too much responsibility, requiring the best pet insurance company assistance? A tadpole? Too boring, I must confess. A turtle? They carry Salmonella. A gerbil? What?! Are you nuts? And expose Ben to that kind of violence? I don’t want to give him ideas! And Max would be saddened beyond repair by the whole baby-eating thing.
Then, when I was taking out the trash two days ago, I looked up and saw a big fat brown rabbit, five feet away by the shed door. He just sat there boldly chewing. He knew he didn’t have to be afraid of me! So adorable, so innocent, and yet somehow wild and tough! And it came to me: A rabbit for a pet!
I ran in to tell Ned. He agreed right away. So now we are researching it on this helpful review and deciding. A rabbit seems perfect: they can be litter-trained, they stay in a cage except a little bit of running around, and they don’t want a lot of handling (which is good because the boys would probably ignore him for the most part, and if he were a dog, he would be bereft).
The biggest question is: where would he run around and how do we keep him from chewing all of our electrical cords?
12 comments
My experience with rabbits as pets is limited but what I have points to a rather bland emotional attachment; much like what you would expect from a lizard. Dogs may be a more work but the rewards are better.
I had a friend who had rabbits. They are much like cats; if you ignore them, they ignore you. And if you leave them in their cage most of the time, they’ll be miserable.
If you pay attention to them, they’ll bond with you. As for the cords, you have to get PVC pipe (or something similar) and run them through it. Normal, soft “cord / cable covers” aren’t enough to keep their teeth out.
This is from someone who has had just about every imaginable animal as a pet in her life – rabbits can be trained if you have the patience. It takes a lot of doing but you can train them to chew only the things you give them just as you can train them to use a litter box. I had one that would only go in her cage (a dog carrier) to sleep and the rest of her days were spent like a cat. She would curl up (ok they don’t actual curl anything) on the couch with me and have free run of the house. She could go upstairs but never mastered the downs. She may not have been a typical rabbit because she detested carrots. Her name was Jack (she was bought as a male – but I have problems with the whole sexing of animals apparently) and we had her for about 8 years. She was a joy right up until I had to put her down. Friends had one that they ignored and only let out of the cage in the bathtub – she got out one night and pulled little tufts of carpet from all over the APARTMENT. They gave her away and strategically repositioned furniture.
And what is with the whole gerbil thing? I bought 4 males and one magically turned into a female and now we have 15 gerbils – segregated in the basement. I love the little guys and not once did they eat a baby – when two died they took them out of the nest to another location in the maze of cages and went on with life.
Good luck with your bunny. I am sure you will make the perfect fur-mom.
Liz
how fun! congratulations on the bunny pet project! i dont’ know much about them, but i do know of someone who was able to litter-box train her bunny, which was key since they leave their pellet poops EVERYWHERE.
and with lots of love and attention, they can do bond! so very cute and soft, too. fluffy was petting some today at the annual Autism Walk event near our town.
I went into a pet store one day at lunch years ago, and I was watching (what I thought was) the cute, furry little gerbil cleaning its fur-less babies. I wash shocked and nauseated when I realized that they weren’t cleaning them, but eating them alive. I thought I was going to vomit. Then I thought, “What an awful pet store. They starve their gerbils so they have no choice but to eat their young to stay alive.” I found out later that that was their M.O. All I can say is, ick! I didn’t walk into a pet store for the longest time after that.
Ohhh I vote for a dog. I am a huge dog lover, that’s pretty much all I blog about is my baby. So, um yeah, you knew where my vote was going anyways!
Tamsen, you are funny! As if I said there was going to be a VOTE!
I know all about your ups and downs with Capone!
Pete – A Lizard? I can’t believe that, being a Watership Down worshipper. Don’t tell me it’s fiction.
We are going to take our time with this one. We are a bit stymied by the letting-it-run-around-and-chew-stuff thing. I would LOVE to get a dog, but I never had one, neither did Ned, and it seems like a huge responsibility. What do you do when you go away, for instance? My cousin’s dog died in a kennel, very traumatic for me. But if I did get one, it would be a black lab, no question.
Oh wait! How about a dog, two cats, a guinea pig, 15 gerbils and a tank of fish — hang on — thats my life at the moment. I would go for a lab or retriever – black or gold – depends on the colour of your furniture I had a turtle when I was a kid but my sister ran over it with her trike because she wanted to see just how strong his shell was…
Dogs are the best because they are always happy to see you but they are the worst because from about 5 months to about 11 months old you keep wondering 1) where your sanity went and 2) what happened to your new silk blouse…
Oh, I guess then a yellow lab, because most of my furniture is light. Maybe I could get a one-year-old dog so I wouldn’t have to go more insane than I already am?
15 gerbils…? That’s a lot of snackfood.
I wasn’t so keen on getting a dog last year but Mocie, our Labradoodle, has been terrific. Very mellow and eager to please. She’s great with kids, including Matthew. And no shedding unlike most other dog breeds. Andrea had never had a dog before but is thrilled with Mocie.
Oh wait I thought we were voting on your life.
One year dog would be good, but they are still young and hectic. You could always look into getting one from your local shelter, those dogs are starved for love and are more than generous in the love giving dept.
I went into a pet store one day at lunch years ago, and I was watching (what I thought was) the cute, furry little gerbil cleaning its fur-less babies. I wash shocked and nauseated when I realized that they weren’t cleaning them, but eating them alive. I thought I was going to vomit. Then I thought, “What an awful pet store. They starve their gerbils so they have no choice but to eat their young to stay alive.” I found out later that that was their M.O. All I can say is, ick! I didn’t walk into a pet store for the longest time after that.