what makes you think you would be able to convince your parents to let a younger sibling get one, but not you? i thought they were opposed to them b/c they smell and poop everywhere?

I am lost. What is the deal with the poop and the smell? Quite honestly, and you might really not like me after this, I think your parents might have a very valid reason for their decision. Adding a pet to the family is not something that should be taken lightly. Ultimately, if neither you nor your siblings have a stable income, your parents are the ones having to take care of the pets. Pets need much more than to be played with and food and water and a clean cage. They need attention at all times throughout their entire lives. You need to make sure your pet is healthy and the slightest sign of illness, pets need to be taken to the vet. If you truly want to do things right in being owned by pets, you have to invest a lot of money and always be ready to take them to the vet, no matter the cost. Taking exotic pets to the vet is very, very expensive! Are you personally financially stable without your parents? It sounds like there are three of you children. Having to raise three children is expensive, too.
Have you sat down with your parents and asked them specifically why they are against a pet in the house? I completely understand parents not wanting to get pets for their children (and trust me, I always wanted pets, always!). There are reasons for it. You need to imagine you are them. They have bills to pay, attention to give, three futures to plan (=their children)… that’s a lot to take care of as a parent.
As a kid, I always thought: but I will take care of the animals! But I will clean them and love them!
Wrong. My father was the only breadwinner (still is), my mom raised us, in my culture, animals don’t belong in the house, my mom has so many health issues unknown to me because I had grown up with those. It was normal for me that mom would go to the hospital, it was normal for me mom would lament. It was very hard for my parents to raise us, let alone have pets in the house.

Now that I am an adult, I understand my parents.
Now that I am an adult, I have a house full of animals and a seperate bank account for them just for vet bills.

I am sorry if I sounded harsh. That was not my intention; however, being a parent must be very difficult and if you try to put yourself in their shoes, it all may make more sense.

i understood when my parents wouldnt let me have the pets i wanted, of course i was gutted at the time but i knew it was for the best, i probably should have waited till i had my own house with a mortgage to get some bunnies but i couldnt help it, however if they had let me have the pets i wanted i would no way be able to afford to live now. I cant just about live comfortably with 2 dogs 2 rabbits and 2 gerbils! i wanted cockatiels, rats, ferrets, fish, a cat and all sorts! Think about when u are in college or uni will u be able to afford to keep them then? will u want to take them with u? will u want 2 not be able 2 go anywhere on holiday for example with all your other college friends because u have 2 stay and look after your pets? i know how gutting it is at the time believe me but when u have ur own place u can get as many pets as will fit through the doors – believe me thats what i intend to do! hehe
best thing to do? if i am tottally honest? even though this may hurt your feelings (and im really really sorry if it does ) but basically the only way they will let u have one is if u stop going on about it, start doing more housework, do all your homework on time, get good reports etc. and prove to them that u have grown up alot, start washing up if u dont already, run the hoover round, take the dog for a walk, get an A* report, stop going on about it and prove to them u are old enough to have one!

Bigsis is a very responsible pet owner. trust me, we’ve been thru it all with her already, and if anyone can handle it, it is Bigsis! Liza and Kimberly make great points, but it’s not anything you don’t already know (or we have not already told you.) i just have a hard time imagining your mom would not let YOU get a rabbit but would have no problem with a younger, less repsonsible sister having one.

maybe they could try a guinea pig? have you looked at petfinder in your area? there are quite a few guinea pig rescues in my area, i bet there are in yours too. the only thing with guinea pigs is that you need a very large area, since they’re not climbers, you can’t build up like you can with buns or ferrets.

i still find it incredibly hard to believe they don’t think your ferret smells…

I was also going to suggest a guinea pig. I had them with my brothers growing up. Didn’t have a cat or a bunny until I was a full adult and living alone.
The pigs were very, very easy to take care of compared to the other two. Also much less expensive overall. I’d recommend them highly as a beginner/teenager’s pet.

i thought ferrets were meant to smell more than rabbits?