Originally Posted by DunRoaminTheUK

What about Hamsters?

Originally Posted by Pollyana

They're illegal

Originally Posted by Ian & Sharon

Very good post.

Where bringing our dogs and being honest is it really that bad with the snakes !
Ones an old black lab and would just ignore them, the other is a 2 year old staff and would try and defend the lab/kids.
Would you see snakes in your backyard ?
I was told that they are there but you don't see them !

I think I'll just have one big pool and loads of concrete that should stop them !

Originally Posted by annqldau

Red- bellied black snakes have become very rare since the introduction of the cane toad

Originally Posted by KatieStar

I know. I am sad about that. I would love to get a hamster for my little boy. I think he would love seeing it run about. It would make him laugh. Are gerbils allowed? I haven't seen any in pet shops? Though they are not quite as sweet as hammies.

Originally Posted by Tiggs+Graz

Hamsters are grumpy, bad tempered and don't do very much at all (until about 2 in the morning when you are woken up by the squeak on the wheel) - and hamster bites hurt like hell! Not imo a good kids pet. Get a pet rat instead much friendlier and easier to handle (we had one that liked eating crisps and drinking beer! )

Tiggs

Originally Posted by Tiggs+Graz

Hamsters are grumpy, bad tempered and don't do very much at all (until about 2 in the morning when you are woken up by the squeak on the wheel) - and hamster bites hurt like hell! Not imo a good kids pet. Get a pet rat instead much friendlier and easier to handle (we had one that liked eating crisps and drinking beer! )

Tiggs

Originally Posted by KatieStar

LOL you are a person after my own heart. I had two pet rats. they were lovely boys I did not have mine drinking beer though. They probably would have liked it. They used to snuggle up on us when we watched tv.

I had forgotten about the hammies sleeping all day. Somehow don't think bubs would be excited by it sleeping.

Originally Posted by christinabell

I used to have a rat that liked eating crisps and drinking beer too. He was my ex husband

Originally Posted by annqldau

In case you are thinking of owning a dog in Aus it's not always as easy as the UK. After my parents having dogs all my life and 20 yrs of dog ownership myself it's a whole new ball game out here.

Your dog has to have the usual UK yearly injections plus a yearly injection for Heart Worm to stop mozzies injecting a parasite that can get into the dogs heart, there's also a monthly tablet for the same. There are all the usual UK worms as well like roundworm etc..

Then there are the ticks if you live near livestock or bush... ordinary ticks, cattle ticks and paralysis ticks. So far our dog has had two paralysis ticks and survived, you can get a serum that may stop them getting paralysis when they get caught by a paralysis tick but the serum itself can kill them and makes them more suseptible to paralysis tick poisoning for weeks after. After all this they can then just walk out and catch yet another tick. For ticks I use Frontline to control this if possible as the drops are supposed to stop for 2 wks for Paralysis ticks and the spray for 3 wks, there also collars around.

Fleas so far don't seem quite so bad as UK but they are about.

Then there are the cane toads, if they bite a cane toad they can die so you have to wash their mouths out using a special method with water and rush them to a vet with fingers crossed.

Snakes so far, touch wood, our dog has not come across but if he does you can guess the scenario (Twenty-seven species of terrestrial snakes are found in the Brisbane area. These include the carpet python, common tree snake, keelback, yellow-faced whip snake, white-crowned snake, and small-eyed snake. Most common species reported are the carpet python, common tree snake, and yellow-faced whip snake. Australia has some of the world’s most venomous snakes and about two-thirds of these may be found in and around Brisbane. Snakes can be found in almost any suburban backyard and even in the city centre. A number of snakes around the Brisbane area rate very highly on Australia’s “potentially lethal” list. These include the coastal taipan, tiger snake, death adder, rough-scaled snake and eastern brown snake. Of these dangerous snakes, the eastern brown snake is now the only species regularly found in Brisbane suburbs. The others are uncommon or absent in most parts. Eastern brown snakes are reasonably common at the mouth of the Brisbane River and west of Indooroopilly. Red- bellied black snakes have become very rare since the introduction of the cane toad).

Lastly there is night time, you can't leave the dog out in the dark in case the Cane Toads get him or the Pythons if it's a little dog or in case your dog gets the Possums etc. whilst he is out.

Vets are all over the place more popular than UK probably because there are so many things to get your pet. In QLD you have to register your dog yearly and it has to wear a little yellow numbered tag for identification. We have also had our dog chipped although the chips in my area of QLD only track ownership they don't have the dual ownership and thermometer chips yet. if lost your dog goes to the pound same as UK and you pay release fee.

So the gist of this little bit is think twice before buying a dog in Aus and be prepared it's not like having a dog in UK... except the dog is still great company.