Doing Your Best to House Small Fuzzy and Feathered Friends

It's exciting and fun to bring home a new pet, and small mammals or birds are generally a good choice for families with kids. Even if you're a single adult in an apartment, having a small indoor pet can brighten the place up and help to pass the time. You want to keep your furry and feathered friends safe and happy though, and that takes a bit of planning. Here are some ways to make a cozy home for your new pets.

Keeping Small Fuzzies

Small mammals are popular pets for millions of homes. Hamsters, gerbils, rats, and mice, plus chinchillas, rabbits, and more exotic little fuzzies are low-stress and low-effort pets that don't demand much to be happy. Gerbils, rats, mice, and guinea pigs do well in modified aquariums, as long as you make sure they have soft shavings on the floor and fresh water every day. Figure a 10-15-gallon container for most of them. Larger mammals, like rabbits and ferrets, usually do better in wire cages. Just make sure you have a baking dish to use as a solid floor and the gaps in the sides are too narrow to get a paw caught in.

How to House Feathered Friends

The birds you're likely to keep can fly, and they need enough space to exercise those muscles. Set them up with the largest cage you can reasonably fit or afford, or give them lots of opportunities to fly outside the cage. Birds have active and curious minds, so they need lots of toys, and for many species it's also a good idea to buy them in pairs so they have a friend for when you're not home.