Talk to me about first-time furry ownership

[HexBramble]

DD is desperate and I'm working on DH.

We have a space in our spare room/playroom for a furry little friend or two and want some advice.

We have absolutely no experience.

[FernieB]

What kind of small furry are you thinking?

[HexBramble]

Gerbil, hamster?
Mice stink apparently?

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

How old is your DD?

How long to you want your Furry Friend around for? (Hamsters average 3 years, Rabbits and Guinea-pigs longer )

Mice are very sweet , but too small and skittery for a very young child (and the male mice stink, females are lovely)

If you want a furry pet do you want it indoors all the time or do you have space for outdoors.
Some don't cope with the transfer from in-out but our Guineas live in a Playhouse and come inside for winter nights (usually Guy Fawkes weekend then maybe end November til Easter if it's early)

[HexBramble]

DD is 8 and I have another DD who's 5. Lifespan I don't mind.

I'd like it to stay indoors, but that said, we have a wooden playhouse that could be used too.

I was trying to research the smallest rabbits you could buy but didn't get anywhere.

[FernieB]

Rabbits need a lot of space even the small breeds. Also they generally do not like being handled and can wriggle and kick if they are picked up. They are not good pets for young children. They also need neutering and annual vaccinations. They needs lots of space to run and jump.

Guinea pigs are better at being handled but they also need access to an area to run around. They are more interactive for young children as they chatter and squeak a lot.

[FernieB]

Rabbits and guineas also need to be kept in pairs. Better to adopt from a rescue as they can tell you the temperament of the animals. Also fully grown animals are less skittish, although rescues get lots of babies too.

Have you thought about a hamster - they can be solitary. Gerbils (in pairs) can be entertaining too.

You need to consider what you will do when you go away. Hamsters or gerbils can be easily transported to stay at a friends. Guineas and rabbits need more consideration. There are pet hotels for them but they can charge £10 a day and not all of them provide adequate accommodation. The cages can be small.

Do you have enough room for a large cage for rabbits or pigs? Those sold in the major pet shops are generally not big enough. Check out the website of the Rabbit Welfare Association.

[Beesandbutterflies]

Hi,
A pair of guinea pigs or rats are great children friendly pets, they like to be handled and interact well. Rabbits are not and will be expensive in terms of vet costs. All other smaller furries bite I find!
Sounds like fun good luck

[Beesandbutterflies]

Yy to talking to a rescue, great plan

[Beesandbutterflies]

Oh and consider pet insurance

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Bear in mind Hex that YOU will be doing all the work a good share of the looking after.
So pick an animal that fits in with everyones lifestyle (I've taken my DC away to visit grandparents and left DH in charge of the Guinea-Pigs for a week, He coped admireably though we did phone him every day, DD needed to check how how boys were )

Actually when my DD was 8/9 she went through the "Want A Pet" stage because her friends had them. She wanted a hamster in her bedroom but we decided on the guineas, and I said right at the start that I would clean the Pighouse , buy the huge bags of hay and veg.
DD does at least 50% of the Pigwork, she's brilliant with them (though it's me that feeds them at 6.30am )

Good Luck searching.

[HexBramble]

Fab advice, thanks.
Fernie, based on what you said about rabbits, I think I'll cross them off the short list. DD is very tactile and would love to handle her new friend.
Rats? I didn't consider a rat tbh, but I'm game. That said, our science teacher at work has a really bitey rat Einstein, you sod and can only be handled with leather gloves!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Rat are very intelligent (there are lots of rat threads on here) they need a large space but they like different levels to climb, hammocks to sleep in.
You do need to source them carefully to make sure they've been handled well. Males are bigger and more docile, but I think I'd get females, more agile.

Guinea-pigs tick the boxes for me - they aren't particularly clever (sorrys hogs but you know it's true) . They don't indulge in acrobatics (mine wouldn't even use a shallow ramp). And they are pretty un~ toilet trained
But they are noisy, chatty, very bribeable.
Our boars will hold their bladders till they go into their house though they do give definate signals that if we ignore we get peed on.
Rats just go .


If you like the idea of rats, you might find guinea-pigs a tad boring TBH. Our piglet was 6 weeks old when we got him (Rescue to pair up with our adult after his brother died) He was a skittery little critter (we don't know how socialised he was) but now at nearly a year, he's a lovely, lardy, steady huge boar (I described him to DH as a malevolent Teddy Bear )

[Midori1999]

Rats are fantastic pets! They do need quite large cages and a lot of interaction, but IME they rarely bite and if you get a pair from a proper breeder (please don't go to a pet shop) or a rescue, they're likely to have been well handled and socialised. They're very entertaining to watch and you can train them to come to call etc.

I have rabbits, that I adore and have also kept guineas, rats, hamsters (Syrians and Russians) mice, gerbils and multimammates and rats would be my small furry of choice for young children.

[Midori1999]

If you want a non furry, corn snakes are good. That tolerate handling well and are easy to hold.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

What do they eat though Midori ( because I bet it ain't corn)

Don't say guinea-pigs

[isitsnowingyet]

Syrian hamster comes highly recommended! My 8 year old DD has had one for about a year. You can only get one (as they like to be on their own) which to my mind is a plus. The cage needs cleaning out once a week only. Make sure it has an exercise wheel, as they like to run on it all night. The cage we bought came with everything in for under £28 and the little fellow seems quite happy!

[Midori1999]

No, sadly it's not corn. They do eat mice, but Pets At Home stock them now in the freezer section. Tbh, I forget lots of people are squeamish about that idea. Fascinating for children to watch/learn about though.

[MuddledColours]

Hamsters or gerbils make good starting small furries I find.

[AnimalsAreMyFriends]

Guinea pigs are the BEST - they can be handled, they talk to you in dear little weeeeeeks, get to know your routines (ours 'shout' every time the fridge door is opened - they know that the salad lives in there!!) They don't smell like rabbits do, as guineas only pass dry pellets.

You do need a pair. We had 5 at one point - I gave up lying telling folks that they were the children's - they were totally mine!

Gerbils are great too - especially if you keep them in a gerbilarium / tank type thing, as you can put them on a mix of half compost / half sawdust along with some hay, and you can watch them dig for food, make tunnels and underground beds! Not as easy to handle as piggies, but still fun!