I have read online that Meerkats make great pets, I have also been to a few websites strongly discourging it.

What is your guys' opinions about it, I personally would love a pet meerkat, however i'm not sure if domesticating a meerkat is a good idea,

I would name my pet meerkat Beetoven if I did get one.

Absolutely not! For a number of reasons. Meerkats scent mark which would stink up your house. Meerkats are sociable and live in groups. A single meerkat will get lonely with no one of its kind being around. They have sharp, long claws. They could do major damage to your furniture. Meerkats also are natural born diggers. Do you want one digging up your carpet or your lawn? So you see, meerkats do not make good pets. In fact I think in some places it's illegal to possess a meerkat.

I'm sure we would all love one if it were possible, but meerkats are not meant to be housepets. They have a lot of unstoppable behaviors (digging, scent-marking, evicting and fighting as they must live in groups) that make it a bad idea, as JaDart said. A frequent poster on the spoiler board (Sophie711) knows someone who has a pair, and they are very wild in the house and attack strangers.

Also, there is an illegal trade in meerkats stolen from the wild. Pups are taken from breeding burrows and smuggled out of Southern Africa, and many die in the process. If you do go about getting a meerkat, make sure you know exactly where it came from. They can also carry serious disease (rabies, tuberculosis) if not properly aquired and cared for.

I would only recommend meerkats if you have a lot of money and expertise in caring for exotic animals. They would have to live in a sandy enclosure with burrows and such to be really happy (and to not destroy your house) and those can be hard to maintain.

There are issues with these pets as well, but if you want a meerkat-like creature ferrets are an option. There are a lot of ferret lovers among MM fans.

Thank you both for this information, and it duely noted, i dont think i will be getting one, i imagined it would be tough to keep and care for one, so i guess i will just continue admiring these beautiful animals from afar, perhaps someday, when i become a millionair, i will open an indoor meerkat facilty where they will have huge outdoor living facilties, but, if i were to go through that sort of trouble, perhaps i will just open a zoo, you are all invited!!!

Exept for whoever is responsible for not providing us with Season 5, they are not invited.

I would love to come to your zoo someday :]

I am still hoping for S5 news. They would usually start filming very soon, although they could always put it off for a few months. S4 filming stopped months earlier than previous years and they still had plenty of material. Maybe S5 filming could start late and still come to us next summer.

The pups usually start coming in August/October, which is when its most interesting to film the meerkats.

i also think that is not a good idea they need to stick together and you would have to catch their food that would be GROSS! that zoo idea sounds like a good one

I posted this message in another forum re Season5 (it doesn't sound encouraging):

I e-mailed AP re MM the other day; their reply sounds sooooooooo final (sob, sob)!

Dear Viewer:
Thank you for contacting Animal Planet. We appreciate your interest in Meerkat Manor.
At this time, there are no seasons scheduled for Meerkat Manor. Please continue to check out our website at www.animalplanet.com for information and updates on the program and its schedule. There, you can also purchase DVDs, "Meet the Whiskers Family," watch "Sneak Peaks" and "Adopt a Meerkat."
Please know that your comments and interest in the series will be forwarded to our programming management for their review.
Thank you again for expressing your interest in our programming.
Sincerely,
Viewer Relations
Animal Planet

I am highly against it. A meerkat needs to have a family group and the ability to dig to be truly happy. Also, how hard would it be to provide scorpians for them to eat? Meerkats are wild animals and are best off that way.

Attila

We know the right course of action is NOT to have meerkats for pets. We know in the US it is not legal, but that is not true in other countries.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t...t/article6894496.ece

Hope the link stays good for a while. This is the way to have a meerkat live with you...on its own terms. Now hope they stay safe.

Thanks scmeerkatfan...it does not seem as if meerkats are AP's favorite wee critter any longer.

I would love to see a meerkat up close, but having one as a pet would not work for me. I don't have the money or the expertise to care for one, so I will watch them online or on DVD's (if I ever buy them)