Based on their behaviour, do think they would make decent pets? For the record, I'm not planning on buying a meerkat. I'm writing a specialist project on meerkat behaviour and whether or not they'd make good pets. I think I have my answer, but I'd prefer to hear from more well informed people. Thanks for your time!
simple answer no ! they are social animals and despite their size quite aggresive too leave them in the wild or at zoos
No because they have a burrowing instinct and will dig or tear up anything they get their claws on. 5hey are also social able animals so you can't just have one.
I have heard of them being kept as pets in south Africa and possibly usa, but whether they make "good" pets or not, I don't know - but they are available in some countrys
Including the UK. I don't think they would make good pets for the vast majority of people - they need specialised conditions and care. Alan
They don't make good pets, like monkeys, ferrets and raccoons. I'm not saying that they can't be kept as pets, but as the animals that I mentioned earlier, they need special care (including a lot of free time!).
Wild animals are also commonly stressed in household environments in which they are over-handled by humans. I assume meerkats would fall into this category.
I have no doubt that a group of meerkats could be happily kept within a pet environment; indeed any keen owner might well provide them far larger enclosures than their typical zoo ones (which are often on the small side - probably due to their need to be fully sealed to ensure that they don't dig out). However, as others have said, they are not going to come home and be like your ferret or lapdog nor even cat. They have specialist needs and are not going to adapt to typical captive "pet" life. It's the same story we see for most wild species - yes with the right people they can enjoy and even thrive in captivity; but its often coming at a cost of compromise beyond what most would consider reasonable for a "pet" and also often at a significant investment of time for the animal (my observation is that pack-wild animals are often in greater need of continued contact time than many domestic species*) Heck consider that most people consider "horsey" people are bit nuts for the amount of money and time that their animals require and a horse is a well domesticated species. Most people want a cool looking pet; they are not prepared for the more complex care required for a wild species *note by this I don't mean hours of cuddling and petting; but hours of you being there.
