Low maintenance indoor pet?

[absolutelyflawed]

DC love animals and would love a dog but we are renting and so sadly can't.
What would make a good indoor pet? - Ideally one that can be left for a night / for 24 hours if necessary..

[Mrsderekshepard]

A fish?

[Ifailed]

stick insects.

[absolutelyflawed]

Thank you.
We had stuck insects previously actually.
I think DC would prefer something more tactile, something to stroke
Also looked at reptiles but they seem quite high maintenance with the live food.

[LunarGirl]

DD has snails. Very very cheap to keep and DD gets them out and strokes them and lets them slime all over her. Lovely. I don't quite get the fascination but she thinks they're brilliant!

[Toddlerteaplease]

I've got two indoor Persian cats who are surprisingly low maintenance, but give a huge amount back.

[AllTheWittyNamesAreGone]

Rats are great pets. They can be trained to do tricks and love a snuggle.
Get three though as they don't like to live alone

[SelfObsessionHoney]

Tortoise? Big commitment mind you.

[PinglePongle]

Indoor cat, we have maine coons. Need feeding twice a day, litter emptying and lots of playing with in the evenings but they are quite happy to sleep all day so fairly low maintenance.

Really affectionate breed, similar to a dog without the walking

[abbsisspartacus]

Teddy bear all the strokes you want and no mess

[leighdinglady]

A hamster. Small and fluffy. Can go in an excercise ball or it's wheel.

[Araminta77]

Rehome an older kitty from a rescue centre. They have lots of love to give and there are many needing indoor homes.

[Synecdoche]

Do NOT get a house rabbit. I love mine to bits but by god is she hard work!

[13Bastards]

Rats or Guinea Pigs.
I wouldn't recommend hamsters, they can be vicious little things!

[absolutelyflawed]

Ha re teddy bear.
Landlord will veto cats sadly.
Keep em coming..
Gerbil better than hamster or anything similar? Chinchillas or similar anyone? Nervous of rats!

Could be left for 24 hours or no?
( don't want to be cruel)
Do all reptiles need live food?

[Flossy1978]

Budgies. They can be left for 24 hours. But it is nicer they get some free range flying, not just stuck in a cage. And get one each of the opposite sex. They won't mate if you don't have any nesting boxes around. Don't get the same sexed ones. They like male/female company.

[Flossy1978]

Guinea pigs can be left for 24 hours. Make sure they have plenty of water, hay and good quality pellets. They'll be ok.

I agree with the poster about rabbits. Mine were lovely and I loved them to bits, but they are so much work and can be quite naughty if you value your stuff

[13Bastards]

I had geckos and a bearded dragon and they can be expensive to run. By the time you have the vivarium, the lamps and the bedding it all adds up.

Once the live crickets I bought escaped and set up camp under my fridge. I lived in a tiny 1 bed flat at the time and the bastards sung all night every night until they eventually died.

[boggedoff]

Hamster ours is elderly now but very tame and entertaining

[ApocalypseNowt]

We've got giant african land snails. They're super cheap (eats most fruit and veg and they don't mind it a bit out of date). DD1 loves picking them up and letting them crawl on her.

I also find them very zen and relaxing to watch...!

You could easily leave them 24 hours by themselves too.

[Toddlerteaplease]

I've always fancied a giant sea snail.

[StayGoldPonyBoy]

Please don't get a chinchilla for kids. If over handled their fur falls out and they aren't always very good tempered. They can bite through brick and don't love being faffed with. They need sand baths and a large cage so aren't that low maintenance.

We've had hamsters and as long as they're properly socialised they're fab. One of ours would sit on my shoulder and groom herself and then me they're pretty low maintenance and are solitary if you get Syrians so only need one. Syrians are the bigger ones so a bit easier to handle than dwarf varieties.

Rats aren't 'low maintenance' as they're too clever and need a large habitat with lots going on, but if you can give them a huge cage and lots of interaction and stimulation I'd recommend them to anyone. Our three boys love when we make mazes for them and when we put frozen peas in a dish of shallow water for them to fish for

[absolutelyflawed]

Thanks all.
Could a Syrian hamster be left for 24 hours?
Can guineas live indoors?

[Katiekatie37]

I don't think rabbits or Guinea pigs are a good idea, they need to run around and can quite quickly destroy houses, chew through everything and have fluorescent wee! They also smell quite quickly.

[absolutelyflawed]

Ok thank you. Prob a no from landlord then :(

[Katiekatie37]

Hamsters are fairly low maintenance, little bit musty smelling but easyish to keep!