Best pet that isn't a cat or dog?

[shmo]

I don't know if it'd been said before, but my non cat/dog go to would be tarantulas!!
While yes arachnids creep most people on the globe out, as pets tarantulas are super easy to maintain and it is a joy watching them grow. They don't make noise etc. like birds, (i love birds but prefer quiet) make a mess, require a lot of space & don't smell and are generally great for display as well as cost friendly compared to fishes/reptiles with all the aquarium/terrarium expenses. Besides that I've grown to be fascinated by tarantulas cause they look absolutely stunning and have truly interesting variations :'D
There's this guy on YT who I used to watch water his tarantulas and that vid honestly made me less scared of them haha.

If you look up a tarantula paw close-up it looks like a tiny cat paw and that's honestly one of the cutest things I've ever seen uwu

[amidst]

I personally love snakes. They're very chill animals most of the time and just like to hang out lol

[Synth Salazzle]

I don't know if it'd been said before, but my non cat/dog go to would be tarantulas!!
While yes arachnids creep most people on the globe out, as pets tarantulas are super easy to maintain and it is a joy watching them grow. They don't make noise etc. like birds, (i love birds but prefer quiet) make a mess, require a lot of space & don't smell and are generally great for display as well as cost friendly compared to fishes/reptiles with all the aquarium/terrarium expenses. Besides that I've grown to be fascinated by tarantulas cause they look absolutely stunning and have truly interesting variations :'D
There's this guy on YT who I used to watch water his tarantulas and that vid honestly made me less scared of them haha.

If you look up a tarantula paw close-up it looks like a tiny cat paw and that's honestly one of the cutest things I've ever seen uwu

I second this, plus they don't really bite either if you're afraid of the fangs, they're way more likely to flick their hairs at you in a blind fury than bite (more likely fear but that's not as metal sounding)
I never raised them but I knew someone irl that did and handling massive giant spiders cured my fear of them when I was like 16 and now I love all bugs and arachnids so much that they're some of my favourite animals ever

[Shinji]

I second a hamster. They're very easy to manage, you can put them in those little balls or make a huge tunnel fortress around a room, there's a ton of ways to be creative. Also in terms of pets they're very low maintenance and I would opt for that personally. Like for example I loved a Fire Belly Toad (they're super tiny) but unless you want to go buy live crickets twice a week, its just exhausting.
I would think about:
- how much time you have to commit to the pet
- how much money you have to spend on said pet (the pet itself)
- how much money you have to budget for upkeep (food, litter, pot haircuts, grooming etc)
- how much space you can dedicate to being "theirs"

[Sithis]

We recently (four or five months ago) got an aquarium and about a dozen small fish. I can honestly say that it has been a wonderful experience. Minimal effort, yet still more effort than I expected. We did have a few die, but most made it. We also bought multicolored shrimp. We bought ten. Had six die. Currently we have 16 as they've bred. Somewhere along the way we got snails, by accident, but they've been a boon to our tiny ecosystem. I also have two varieties of live plants in there with them and the plants are THRIVING. I am pretty sure I need to cull some of those plants back as the fish are struggling swimming.

[♥ Shinx ♥]

Fave pet that isn't a cat or dog..

I would love a hedgehog. They are considered pests in New Zealand so people can't keep them, but I love how adorable they are and their lil noses poking out of the spikes. Or a ferret. Can't have them here either they look so adorable and I will travel to america just to meet a pet hedgehog and ferret

Sorry OP I don't actually know where you live, and probably no help at all

[woowers]

Fish! So pretty and super easy ( but pls make sure you do research into tank size and setup)

Or a bunny

[DarkSkies]

Fish! So pretty and super easy ( but pls make sure you do research into tank size and setup)

Or a bunny

Totally agree with gathering info about having a fish and its cares. I got one long ago which I wasn't expecting but accepted because otherwise poor little thing was going to suffer. I learnt a lot on the way and fast because I needed to, wish I could have time before to process better and making it easier for my fishy.

In future I would love to have another, tanks ornaments are incredible!

[mixednuts]

Putting Bearded Dragons in the ringer here. Out of all the reptiles ive had and others experiences with beardies they are the most "affectionate" (using it loosely, reptiles arent mammals) but exhibit behaviors closer to them in a way. They are very cuddly and easy to handle and most will just stay in place for a long time specially staring out windows or hanging on the couch. Also reptile cages can be cleaned very easy depending on your set up and have a very affordable diet. Theyre not too large where it feels intimiating to handle and not too small where it feels like you will crush them. Its like a solid in-between


gonna say no to ferrets. they arent good first time pets and they can be extremely demanding and expensive. their diets of all meat arent accessible everywhere and take a lot of education to make sure they are healthy. source: i own 10 ferrets

[xmilo]

Putting Bearded Dragons in the ringer here. Out of all the reptiles ive had and others experiences with beardies they are the most "affectionate" (using it loosely, reptiles arent mammals) but exhibit behaviors closer to them in a way. They are very cuddly and easy to handle and most will just stay in place for a long time specially staring out windows or hanging on the couch. Also reptile cages can be cleaned very easy depending on your set up and have a very affordable diet. Theyre not too large where it feels intimiating to handle and not too small where it feels like you will crush them. Its like a solid in-between


gonna say no to ferrets. they arent good first time pets and they can be extremely demanding and expensive. their diets of all meat arent accessible everywhere and take a lot of education to make sure they are healthy. source: i own 10 ferrets

10 ferrets?!? holy smokes, that sounds like 9 too many. 😂 but it sure sounds fun having to own them!

i would think shrimps (neocaridinas and caridinas) are wonderful pets. i could watch them just grazing and cleaning themselves all day long. similar to what everyone said above me, all pets require your due diligence and effort placed into researching their optimal habitat size, not just aquarium pets!

some of my shrimp pics:

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