That time of the year has arrived once again, and millions of teenagers begin to the process of leaving home and moving into dorms or close-to-campus apartments. College students face many challenges in their new environment. They must learn how to effectively balance their course work-loads with housekeeping chores, recreation, and possibly taking care of a pet.
History of Pets in College
Although the odds are stacked against college students, there does appear to be a rising trend of allowing pets in campus dorms.
The University of Northern Colorado amended its rules to allow pets in dorm room starting August 2014. The university created some guidelines for students wondering if their pet would fit the criteria. Per this university’s policy, pets must weigh less than 40 pounds, and non-venomous snakes must be less than six-feet long.
Possible Pets for College Students in Dorm Rooms
The majority of people know the type of care required having a dog or cat. Students should consider these possible alternatives to dogs or cats.
Birds & Parrots
Who doesn’t imagine a day chatting with a parrot? Every college student knows that parrots possess the ability to mimic human speech. Sounds cool, right? Well, birds are messy. Their cages must be thoroughly cleaned once per week, and the cage lining must be changed every day. Also, birds must have an adequate level of socialization—1 to 2 hours daily—to prevent self-mutilating behaviors, which is commonly called feather-plucking.
Now, you may be thinking you can handle the amount of time required for cleaning and proper socialization. Does this mean you should go purchase a parrot for school? No. Birds chatter, and large parrots have been known to produce blood-curdling vocalizations as part of their normal behavior. This means a small bird may be acceptable in a dorm room, but the larger birds may be too much of a nuisance to other students. Of course, every bird has its own temperament, and some may be highly-suited for a dorm room. Ask the breeder, or whoever you purchase a bird from, about the bird’s vocalizations. Are they loud? Are they often? If you do decide to purchase a bird, you may want to start with a budgie, commonly called an American Parakeet, or another small bird.
Snakes & Reptiles
Similar to variety of birds, there exists an almost infinite amount of species of reptiles available for a dorm-room pet. In order to properly care for reptiles, they need to have a constant temperature within their terrarium, which should be cleaned weekly as well. Furthermore, many reptile species are poisonous and should not be brought into a college environment.
If you’re thinking of taking a pet with you to college, you should think about the overall cost of taking care of the pet. Even if you decide to take a small dog, you must choose from the hundreds of available brands of food. Some people find feeding their animals natural, organic foods to be beneficial. The choices for a college pet are your own, but remember there are tons of other creatures out there besides dogs and cats.
