Zoologist -- keeping as pets or setting free

[Janna]

I gave in and bought the Pets EP.  I am playing the zoologist and I was wondering, how many keep the ones they catch.  I'm not trying to get a poll, just info on the keeping them or setting them free.  Wouldn't it be cheaper to set them free to have empty cages to reuse?

Is it worth it to keep them?  I found a Spotted Sixam and befriended him, but I hate keeping him trapped inside.  I know it is a game, but a part of me goes it isn't right to cage up a wild creature who has had freedom and then take it away from them.   I also have the Spotted Turtle. 
I found in China the Pygmy tortoise, and Iridescent Shieldtail Snake, caught a common gecko but he got away later, he still counted for the amount, fortunately.

So, I started to wonder, how many keep the ones they catch and is it worth it, or is it better to set them free?  And how long do you keep them before you set them free?  Do you have to keep them for a set period of time, or just turn them lose an hour or so after catching them?


I just thought, about selling them, is that a viable option, would it be worth it to sell them, so if you find another one just catch it and sell it? Some I have no problem with selling off to make money on. 

[ratchie]

I sell mine as I get them. You do not need to keep them to complete the LTW so it is easier to set them free.

Rachel

[CSquared2]

Minor pets have a pretty short lifespan, and, while they're a novelty now while the EP is new to you, they get old fast.  Their cages dirty every other day or every third day and they pretty much need to be fed daily.  That doesn't sound like much until you have ten or 15 of them.  On top of this, if you buy the bird tree, large birds can use it, but you  have to catch the bird sitting on the tree not doing anything in order to feed it or clean the pan.  Since the bird is free to fly around, that can be a pain.  I sell the pets and keep just one or two per household.  They're just likes seeds or rocks, you will find more and you can't keep them all.   

[paws_bells]

Minor pets have a pretty short lifespan, and, while they're a novelty now while the EP is new to you, they get old fast.  Their cages dirty every other day or every third day and they pretty much need to be fed daily.  That doesn't sound like much until you have ten or 15 of them.  On top of this, if you buy the bird tree, large birds can use it, but you  have to catch the bird sitting on the tree not doing anything in order to feed it or clean the pan.  Since the bird is free to fly around, that can be a pain.  I sell the pets and keep just one or two per household.  They're just likes seeds or rocks, you will find more and you can't keep them all.   

I agree. I don't keep minor pets because the cleaning and feeding takes so much time and effort, not to mention the cages and enclosures take up space as well. Every critter the cat drags home is promptly sold (with the exception of fish, which goes into the fridge to feed the family).

[Wai]

I'm withyou Janna,

I know this is an oldish post, but I have only just aquired Pets.

I was annoyed by the butterfly collecting, and the idea of collecting and caging wild animals is quite unpaletable.  It is hardly ecologically acceptable, even in a game.  What an attitude to present to our children.

I'd love to see EA address this by including a "set free" bonus.  I would suggest an accumulater in the collection part of the journal (like the accumulator for meditation hours or time spent jogging).  Perhaps, one point for releasing a common creature, ten for an uncommon and 100 for a rare.  When the goal, a nice high one, is reached, there should be a really splendid reward that cannot be obtained in any other way, not even by cheating. 

[Korva]

I feel stupidly guilty if I tell my Sims to catch and keep or sell a wild bird. With the other "minor" pets, I still feel a twinge but can overlook it, though usually only near the start of a new game when money is super-tight.  I may catch a bird to "free up" the spawn point when I'm pretty sure the bird is from a non-bird spawner , but then it gets released right away, same with birds that my Sim-cats catch.

I love parrots, but the game doesn't do them justice.