There’s a particular kind of awkwardness around grieving a pet that isn’t a dog or a cat. People at work might politely express sympathy for a dog. They’ll often understand a cat. But mention that you’ve just lost your rabbit, your parrot, your bearded dragon, your rat, your ferret, your tortoise, and there’s sometimes a slight pause. A ‘sorry to hear that’ that feels a bit smaller than the loss actually was. As if the depth of the bond was somehow proportional to the species of the animal.
It isn’t. Anyone who has lived with and loved a pet, of any species, knows that the relationship doesn’t care about what’s typical. The eight-year-old African Grey who learned your routine. The rabbit who came when called. The lizard who knew your face. The rat who tucked into the crook of your arm. The ferret who slept in your dressing gown pocket. These are real bonds, and the loss of them is real grief, and it deserves to be honoured properly.
This page is for people whose pet didn’t fit neatly into the dog-or-cat assumption. We’ve been doing pet ashes tattoos at Bubblegum Ink ® for over twenty years, and across that time we’ve worked with the ashes of an extraordinary range of animals. The process is the same regardless of species. The dignity is the same regardless of species. The only thing that varies is the design conversation.
Animals We’ve Worked With
Beyond the dog, cat, and horse memorials we have dedicated pages for, the studio has worked with the cremation ashes of an extraordinary range of pets over the years.
Smaller mammals. Rabbits (across breeds from Netherland Dwarf to Continental Giant), guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, rats (including hairless and dumbo varieties), mice, ferrets, and chinchillas.
Reptiles. Bearded dragons, leopard geckos, crested geckos, blue-tongue skinks, tegus, snakes (royal pythons, corn snakes, boas), tortoises (Hermann’s, Spur-thighed, Horsfield’s), and turtles.
Birds. Parrots (African Greys, Macaws, Cockatoos, Amazons, Conures), budgies, cockatiels, lovebirds, canaries, and various rescue birds.
Less common companions. Pet pigs, sheep kept as pets, fish (where ashes have been preserved), small primates kept under licence, exotic mammals, and occasionally working animals retired into companionship.
If your pet isn’t on this list, it doesn’t mean we haven’t worked with the species before, and it certainly doesn’t mean we won’t. Get in touch and we’ll talk it through.
Designing For An Unusual Species
One of the practical differences between memorial work for unusual species and work for dogs or cats is that the design vocabulary is less established. There aren’t as many existing references to draw on, and a stock ‘cute parrot tattoo’ from the internet isn’t likely to capture your specific bird.
This actually tends to produce better tattoos. Because the design has to be built around your specific animal rather than fitting into a familiar template, the conversation focuses harder on the specifics. The exact pattern on the back of a tortoise’s shell. The precise eye colour of an African Grey. The unique pattern of stripes on a tiger snake. The way a particular ferret carried himself. These specifics become the design rather than being secondary to it.
When you reach out, send as much reference material as you have. Multiple photographs, video if you have it, descriptions of distinctive markings or behaviours. The more we can work with, the more the finished tattoo will look like the specific animal you lived with rather than a generic version of the species.
The Smaller-Pet Volume Question, Honestly
The most common worry from people with smaller pets is that they don’t have enough ash. Cremation of a hamster or a small bird produces very little material, and the urn or pouch you’re left with can feel disconcertingly small.
Almost always, what you have is workable. The volume needed for the actual infusion is genuinely small, around a teaspoon. Anything below that level we’d need to talk through honestly, but in twenty years of this work we’ve very rarely had to turn anyone away on volume grounds. If your pet was very small or you have only a tiny amount, get in touch first and we’ll be straight with you about whether what you have can support a tattoo. We’d much rather have an honest conversation in advance than have you travel in only to be disappointed.
Our how much ashes for a tattoo page covers the volume question in more detail.
Memorials For Working Animals
A specific note for clients who lived with working animals (police dogs retired into companionship, service animals, search-and-rescue dogs, sheep dogs, retired racehorses): the bond with a working animal is often even more particular than the bond with a household pet, because the relationship was built on shared work and trust. Memorial tattoos for these animals tend to incorporate references to the work itself (a search collar, a sheep dog’s posture, racing colours), and the design conversation often focuses on what you did together rather than just on what they looked like.
We’ve done memorials for an extensive range of working animals over the years and the design vocabulary tends to be very personal.
How The Process Works
An ashes tattoo at our studio is a 100% infusion of prepared ashes into a custom ink, distinct from the partial-mix approach used at generalist studios. The full preparation process is documented on our adding ashes into tattoo ink page. The same process applies regardless of species.
On the day of the appointment, you bring the ashes in whatever container they’re already in, and the studio handles the rest. Anything not used in the infusion comes back to you at the end of the appointment, untouched.
If You’re In The Awkward Position Of Explaining It To Family
It comes up often. A partner, parent, or other family member who didn’t share your bond with the animal and finds the idea of a memorial tattoo for, say, a rat or a snake, slightly baffling.
Here’s the only thing worth saying about it. The tattoo is yours. The grief is yours. The choice belongs entirely to you, and the validity of it doesn’t depend on anyone else understanding the depth of the bond you had with your pet. Some of our clients have come in specifically because nobody else around them was treating their loss seriously, and the appointment itself was the first time the grief had been properly acknowledged.
Common Questions
My pet is a species you haven’t mentioned. Do you still work with them?
Almost certainly yes. Get in touch and we’ll confirm. The preparation process works the same way regardless of species, and we’ve worked with a much wider range of animals than the list above shows.
My pet was very small and there isn’t much ash. Will it work?
Probably yes. Get in touch with what you have and we’ll be honest about whether it’s workable.
I don’t have a clear photo of my pet. Can the tattoo still be done?
It depends on the design. Stylised silhouettes, paw prints (where applicable), name-based designs, and symbolic imagery don’t need a clear photograph. Realistic portrait work does. We’ll be straight about what’s possible at consultation.
Can I include species-specific elements in the design?
Yes, and we’d encourage it. A specific scale pattern, feather detail, ear shape, or shell marking can carry as much meaning as a portrait. The design conversation can centre on whichever specifics feel most representative of your pet.
Are there any species you can’t work with?
We’ve not encountered one yet. The preparation process is designed to handle the chemistry of cremation ashes from any animal. Get in touch if you’re unsure.
My pet died years ago and I never got round to a memorial. Is it too late?
Not at all. As long as the ashes are still in your possession, the work can be done at any point.
Can I include more than one pet in a single piece?
Yes. Multi-pet memorial pieces are common. Each set of ashes is prepared separately and infused into different elements of the design.
Booking
When you’d like to start the conversation, call 01270 385001, email info@bubblegumink.com, or use the contact page. If your pet is an unusual species, mentioning that in your first message helps us prepare for the design conversation.
Bubblegum Ink ® is in Sandbach, Cheshire. We also have dedicated pages for dog ashes tattoos, cat ashes tattoos, and horse ashes tattoos if you’d like to read more on a specific species. Our coping with grief page may also be useful.
Bubblegum Ink ® | Sandbach, Cheshire | 01270 385001 | info@bubblegumink.com