Office pets:

[rivan]

So I work in a pretty liberal office - but we're in a new building with REALLY drab cubes. We can spice them up, to a point, anyway. One of my cubemates has a 6-or-so gallon saltwater fishtank that we all think is cool, but he's moving to another team, so bye-bye fishies.

We want to get a new cube pet, and I'm here for suggestions.

It needs to be something fairly low maintenance (don't want another fishtank), but still interesting, and that won't scare anyone or be dangerous, so things like snakes are out (snakes get a little stinky anyway).

One idea we had was running a huge habitrail around the cube and get a few hamsters.

Anyone have any better ideas?

 

[nakedfrog]

Hedgehog.

 

[dullard]

"Low maintenance" and "hamsters" don't belong in the same sentence. Think every 3 days you have to disassemble everything and throughly wash each and every component. Even at that rate, it may be smelly.

Hamsters have the strongest smelling urine that I've ever come in contact with. And they get it everywhere.

<- Had hamsters growing up and couldn't stand to clean after them.

 

[clamum]

CHIMPS

 

[So]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Hedgehog.

Oooh. Good idea. I was gonna say hamster or rat or something, but hedgies are odd, cute, and from what I know, pretty low maintenance.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: dullard
"Low maintenance" and "hamsters" don't belong in the same sentence. Think every 3 days you have to disassemble everything and throughly wash each and every component. Even at that rate, it may be smelly.

Hamsters have the strongest smelling urine that I've ever come in contact with. And they get it everywhere.

<- Had hamsters growing up and couldn't stand to clean after them.

exactly. hamsters need lots of maint. amd can get stinky.
fish is the lowest maint. you're gonna get i bet.

 

[gwrober]

I want one of these...


ants

 

[imported_Tick]

Lizards. Low maintanance, and not creepy, and only mildly smelly. Only problem is they usually eat bugs, but the not-squemish people could feed them.

 

[gwrober]

Originally posted by: So

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Hedgehog.

Oooh. Good idea. I was gonna say hamster or rat or something, but hedgies are odd, cute, and from what I know, pretty low maintenance.

And you can build their tunnels all over the cube farm, and everyone can enjoy them.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Hermit Crabs?

 

[Homerboy]

How about a 6-or-so gallon saltwater fishtank that you all think is cool?

 

[krunchykrome]

You could just start arranging your cubicles on top of one another and then it would really be a cube farm. How fun would that be! Everyone would have to climb up and down through everyone's cubicles!


Thats awesome though that you can have small pets at your job. I'd go with a hamster.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Hermit Crabs?

those and lizards can get smelly. i've had both growing up as a kid.

 

[radioouman]

Rock

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

If you go with another fish tank, do freshwater, you'll thank yourself later.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: gwrober
I want one of these...


ants

jesus christ, does everything need to be riced out these days? neon lights on everything...
but anyway, ant farms are kinds cool. had one of those as a kid too.

 

[jammur21]

Venus fly trap

 

[rivan]

Sounds like hamsters are out - cleaning that often would not be good.

We need something that doesn't get smelly at all... snakes and lizards need not apply.

Another fishtank is just... meh. To me, saltwater's the only way to go on fishtanks, and I don't want to hassle with building the ecosystem, $20 fish dying/getting eaten, and/or salt creep.

Originally posted by: gwrober
I want one of these...


ants

I thought briefly about one of these, but a call to a pet store said I could only expect the ants to last a couple months in one of those.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: gwrober
I want one of these...


[/L]

You crave stimulation. You crave a Carnivorous desktop plant set. Perfect for the casual office worker who delights in watching insects slowly meet their makers as they are painfully digested by an engaging variety of meat-sucking flora. Nothing quite like it.


That is the most awesome thing ever. In for 2.

OMG...they even have an "action shot"

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
If you go with another fish tank, do freshwater, you'll thank yourself later.

Fresh fish are much easier to handle, and cheaper to boot. No salt creep, either. This might be an option, if we can't come up with anything better.... reading up on hedgehogs now.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
If you go with another fish tank, do freshwater, you'll thank yourself later.

Fresh fish are much easier to handle, and cheaper to boot. No salt creep, either. This might be an option, if we can't come up with anything better.... reading up on hedgehogs now.

this is going to be the same as a hamster.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
If you go with another fish tank, do freshwater, you'll thank yourself later.

Fresh fish are much easier to handle, and cheaper to boot. No salt creep, either. This might be an option, if we can't come up with anything better.... reading up on hedgehogs now.

this is going to be the same as a hamster.

Hedgehogs, you mean?

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
If you go with another fish tank, do freshwater, you'll thank yourself later.

Fresh fish are much easier to handle, and cheaper to boot. No salt creep, either. This might be an option, if we can't come up with anything better.... reading up on hedgehogs now.

this is going to be the same as a hamster.

Hedgehogs, you mean?

yes...a hedgehog is basiaclly a hamster with spikes on its back

 

[Mo0o]

There arent that many animals that are so low maintenance that you wont have to change its cage on a regular basis. Afterall, it'll need to eat, poop, pee etc.

One of the labs i use to work for use to have a peruvian guinea pig named Rufus. Uber cute but gotta clean his cage often.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
There are that many animals that are so low maintenance that you wont have to change its cage on a regular basis. Afterall, it'll need to eat, poop, pee etc.

Well sure, but the 'every three days scrubbing every inch of habitrail' described above is way too much. Cleaning a cage once a month and a crapper out once a week's just fine.