My 16th birthday is coming up in three months, and a friend of mine recently got a pet ferret, so I have been considering asking for a pet of my own. I’ve managed to narrow down my options to a list of possible pets thanks to some research and my mother’s guidelines but I can’t decide on which pet I want to commit to. My mother has said that she is willing to support me in whichever direction I want to go but I need to be 100% sure on that direction, which is why I’m here.
My biggest setback on choosing a pet is that all three of my choices require a lot of work, some more than others, and I’m nervous that I’m only going to take care of them for a few weeks before I get neglectful and my mother will have to take care of a pet she doesn’t want or like. (She doesn’t like lizards at all and doesn’t want to live with one simply because I can’t care for it).
My three options are:
Bearded Dragon- I’ve been interested in owning a lizard since I was 5 but my mother has never let me, and I think a bearded dragon is a match for what I want in a pet. Pros: They are very sociable and are a good pet that can sit on a shoulder and be relaxed and are also active during the day. The same friend that got the ferret also cared for a neglected bearded dragon before rehoming it and his sister has a ball python, so I have friends that have some experience with reptiles. Cons: My mother is against feeding any crickets so I will have to feed it super worms and such. My mother also thinks it lacks color and doesn’t agree to the idea of a lizard being snuggly, and it also looks like an iguana which she doesn’t like. It is also much bigger than she is comfortable with. I’ve never owned a lizard before and have zero experience with owning a lizard and have no idea what to do, and the last thing I want is for the lizard to get a disease or deformed because I did something wrong with the heat or humidity. I also fear I may regret choosing the bearded dragon over the sun conure I’ve listed below.
Leopard gecko- This was a compromise I made with my mother regarding lizards, because they were smaller and more colorful. I’m not hyped about owning a Leopard gecko but I’m sure I could grow to love one with the right personality. Pros: Colorful, small, they can be fed something other than crickets, they can be held and can chill on a shoulder. Cons: I have no lizard caring experience. If I handle one incorrectly it will lose its tail, I also have dogs and a few cats, one of which likes to sleep in my room which could scare the gecko. They are nocturnal, which is not what I want at all, I want something that can chill with me during the day and something I can interact with. I’m not 100% in love with leopard geckos, so I might be more prone to grow bored of it because I don’t really want it.
A Sun Conure- This is a species of bird I was also considering on compromising with over having a lizard in general. I find them beautiful and very sociable birds which is what I saw in the bearded dragon. Pros: Both my mother and I have food experience with birds. We once owned a pair of parakeets and although I never took care of them personally, I took great interest in them and talked to them often, so I am more comfortable with my ability to be responsible for cleaning and caring for a bird. Because my mother enjoys birds as well we have more room for them. She is not comfortable with keeping a lizard tank in our living room but is comfortable keeping a bird cage in the living room, so we have more space options for a bird. Cons: I own a few cats, our last parakeets died because my cat scared them and gave them heart attacks, so I don’t want that to happen. My main concern is that if I get the bird, I’m going to regret my choice and wish I got the bearded dragon instead. Even though I’m more comfortable with caring for a bird, and I feel it’s easier, I’m worried I may grow neglectful and irresponsible with caring for the bird.
If I’ve overlooked any serious pros or cons to any of the three species, please mention them in the comments, and I would also appreciate any insight on making a decision if you have any to give. I can’t make up my mind.
Also to clarify, the reason I’m listing cons that relate to how my mother feels about the animals I’ve picked is because 1) I respect her opinion, even though it’s my animal, and 2) if I wind up not caring for it like a responsible person, she’s the one who has to take care of the animal, so I don’t want her stuck taking care of an animal she isn’t comfortable with. However, my mother has stated she is 100% on board with whatever I want, I just need to point her in the direction and she will support me entirely.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/gcjsx7/i_need_some_pet_buying_insight/
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