Best first pet

[dominate]

Hi

We have 3 kids 2yrs, 5ys & 7yrs.

My two eldest keep saying they want a pet, and I think they'd be really good with owning a pet, but realistically it'll be me left to cope with it if anything were to go wrong. We've had fish before and tbh it was a nightmare... getting the water right, changing the tank regularly, feeding them the right amount and when they eventually died..jeez...it was awful! So fish are out!

Whats a easy pet to have? If any? I'm a responsible person and feel that any pet has to be looked after like one of the family. I'm not a great animal lover though and can't bare to pick things up, although my husband can. But it'll be me at home with it all day (I'm a full-time mum)

Shall I just keep fobbing the kids off for a bit longer do you think? Or am I making them miss out on learning a valuable life lesson by denying them a pet? If so then any suggestions on the easiest, least smelly and cheapest pet to have? 😂
(As you can tell I'm really into this)

Thanks

Syrian hamsters are lovely they wake up just after kids get in from school with gentle handeling (sp) they can be tamed and they dont need a lot of looking after. Russian hamsters are bitey feckers we had them too they just were not friendly at all.

Degus! Bloody awesome pets. Basic diet, easy to handle, super cute. My daughter used to play the recorder to ours & he'd sit at the cage bars haha. Have to be in pairs or small groups but if you get a decent size cage you're good to go

We have rats and they are lovely. They are like mini puppies. Friendly, intelligent and sociable. They are happy to sit in pockets or on shoulders and can be trained.

Ours are trained to use a litter box and like tummy rubs. They come when they are called.

I don't have any clear photos but ours look just like this.

Would it matter that I couldn't pick it up? My husband can handle them and would teach the kids...it's me that can't pick things up, I can't even pick a cat up!

Dominate i couldn't handle our degu, he hated me 🙄 My daughter could tho! I think as long as regular handling is done by somebody most small pets don't need it from everybody in the house

Rats are by far the easiest to look after. We have 2 and they are like mini dogs.... coming to you for affection rather than just food.They free range the living room( the house if we let them), don’t smell if you use the right litter( we use paper based cat litter ... change once a month for large cage where they seem to prefer doing their business)
We have rabbits, guinea pigs too, from when the kids were younger( quite messy, high maintenance). In past have had all types of hamsters and chickens. The hamsters sleep during the day.Chickens are great but you have to let them out of the coop at dawn and difficult to get petsitter for holidays.Rats only live approx 2 years so no long term commitment either and are interactive at any time of day.Males are easy going and females like to do tricks etc so probably need more time spent with them.
We got ours from a breeder rather than pet shop so they are socialised and don’t bite.
Hope this helps.