Why are gerbils illegal? I'm not really a fan of rodents or rabbits although they seem to be ok as pets I suppose. Smell a bit though.
Since my last message we seem to have acquired another tortoise
I was wondering the same thing about gerbils being illegal. That seems "off," even for California.
Here in Pennsylvania, I know hedgehogs as pets are illegal, but not gerbils. And if you want chickens, you have to check with your local municipality. Some allow chickens in your yard; others do not.
I, however, do not want chickens, so this doesn't apply to me.
The two guinea pigs (Carl and Steve) are plenty, and although I discovered that guinea pigs have quite the engaging personalities (and loud voices!), they have always been cat-substitutes for me. (Hubby hates cats, so...) So once they are gone, I won't be replacing them. They turned five years old in March, so I conceivably have a few more years with them both. (They're brothers.)
The fun thing about guinea pigs (compared to other rodents as pets) is that they have no tails (NO tails, not just short tails) and they are NOT at all agile. So I don't need a lid on their cage, and they can't crawl out. I've been known to accidentally leave the cage door open and they are still there in the morning, staring at me in horror as if to say, "Are you trying to KILL us with that open door?"
Carl and Steve when they were babies (Carl is under the hammock; Steve is in the hammock; and that's the front cage door open--horrors!: