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1. can you afford the start up costs?
including a suitable cage, tank, toys, food and water dish, house, various accesories, play area, vet visit for desexing or worming etc
2. what about the ongoing costs?
such as food, toys, replacement equipment, treats etc
3. do you have the space?
is there a good place in your house to put a large enough enclosure? or if its not that sort of animal is there enough room in your house and backyard for your pet to be happy?
4. can you meet their social needs?
is it going to need a friend? are you going to have enough time to spend with them if its a social animal?
5. can you give them enough exercise?
if necessary, will you be able to take them for walks, or out of their enclosure for some supervised playtime?
6. can you afford vet costs?
if all of your pets, including the new addition, got sick right now, and had to go to the vet, could you and would you take them?
7. what about your existing pets?
are they going to pose a danger to each other? and if so can you keep them away from each other? have you got other pets of the same species? if so, can you quarantine? and if they dont get along, can you keep them seperately? will you still have the time to continue caring for existing pets?
8. can you deal with their personality?
will you be able to deal with any noise? will you be able to handle them if they are very engergetic? will you still love them if they are boring or unfriendly?
9. are you going to have to train/tame them?
can you put in the time and effort to do this if necessary? will you keep going if it doesnt work?
10. have you done your research?
do you know how to care for them, including diet, social needs, hygiene needs, what proper housing is for them, any species specific care information and what equipment you will need to buy? are you willing to meet all those needs? have you found out everything you can?
11. are you willing to clean up after them?
have you got time to thoroughly clean out enclosures, pick up poo, change litter etc? are you going to be willing to keep everything as clean as necessary? are you going to slack off?
12. what about the future?
what sort of lifespan does this animal have? are you still going to want one in a week? is this a spur of the moment decision or have you been wanting one a while? are you going to be able to care for it until the end of its life? is there anything happening in the forseeable future that will change the answers to any of these questions? if you go on holiday, who will look after them?
13. what if you cant keep them?
if for some reason you had to give them up, are you willing to look hard for a good loving home?
14. is this a good time for a pet?
are you in a good position financially right now? have you got enough time for the extra work that goes into organising bringing a pet home and getting it settled? is there perhaps a better time coming up that you should wait for?
15. are you responsible enough?
are you going to slack on what you need to do? are you going to forget to feed them or give them fresh water? be realistic, are you really going to put the time in to bond with them if necessary? or clean up after them? or exercise them? are you going to watch them closely for signs of illness and act immediately if you see them? look at your current/previous pet ownership history if you have one, did/do you ever find yourself complaining either in your mind or out loud about doing things or spending money for your pet/s? do your parents, if necessary, understand the pets needs for vet care etc?
16. where are you going to get it?
do you know someone or somewhere you will be able to get a healthy animal for an affordable price? and of course all the supplies? what breed? what gender? do you know how to recognize a healthy one with the right temperament?
be sure to consider all of these things before buying an animal, no matter what species.
including a suitable cage, tank, toys, food and water dish, house, various accesories, play area, vet visit for desexing or worming etc
2. what about the ongoing costs?
such as food, toys, replacement equipment, treats etc
3. do you have the space?
is there a good place in your house to put a large enough enclosure? or if its not that sort of animal is there enough room in your house and backyard for your pet to be happy?
4. can you meet their social needs?
is it going to need a friend? are you going to have enough time to spend with them if its a social animal?
5. can you give them enough exercise?
if necessary, will you be able to take them for walks, or out of their enclosure for some supervised playtime?
6. can you afford vet costs?
if all of your pets, including the new addition, got sick right now, and had to go to the vet, could you and would you take them?
7. what about your existing pets?
are they going to pose a danger to each other? and if so can you keep them away from each other? have you got other pets of the same species? if so, can you quarantine? and if they dont get along, can you keep them seperately? will you still have the time to continue caring for existing pets?
8. can you deal with their personality?
will you be able to deal with any noise? will you be able to handle them if they are very engergetic? will you still love them if they are boring or unfriendly?
9. are you going to have to train/tame them?
can you put in the time and effort to do this if necessary? will you keep going if it doesnt work?
10. have you done your research?
do you know how to care for them, including diet, social needs, hygiene needs, what proper housing is for them, any species specific care information and what equipment you will need to buy? are you willing to meet all those needs? have you found out everything you can?
11. are you willing to clean up after them?
have you got time to thoroughly clean out enclosures, pick up poo, change litter etc? are you going to be willing to keep everything as clean as necessary? are you going to slack off?
12. what about the future?
what sort of lifespan does this animal have? are you still going to want one in a week? is this a spur of the moment decision or have you been wanting one a while? are you going to be able to care for it until the end of its life? is there anything happening in the forseeable future that will change the answers to any of these questions? if you go on holiday, who will look after them?
13. what if you cant keep them?
if for some reason you had to give them up, are you willing to look hard for a good loving home?
14. is this a good time for a pet?
are you in a good position financially right now? have you got enough time for the extra work that goes into organising bringing a pet home and getting it settled? is there perhaps a better time coming up that you should wait for?
15. are you responsible enough?
are you going to slack on what you need to do? are you going to forget to feed them or give them fresh water? be realistic, are you really going to put the time in to bond with them if necessary? or clean up after them? or exercise them? are you going to watch them closely for signs of illness and act immediately if you see them? look at your current/previous pet ownership history if you have one, did/do you ever find yourself complaining either in your mind or out loud about doing things or spending money for your pet/s? do your parents, if necessary, understand the pets needs for vet care etc?
16. where are you going to get it?
do you know someone or somewhere you will be able to get a healthy animal for an affordable price? and of course all the supplies? what breed? what gender? do you know how to recognize a healthy one with the right temperament?
be sure to consider all of these things before buying an animal, no matter what species.
