Ideal pet for a 6 yr old

[CostaCosta]

It's my ds's birthday (6th) coming up and we've said he can get a pet. We've had fish previously and I'm not too keen on hamsters as I worry it will get lost. We were thinking of a pet rat. Is this a good idea? Is there a better one? We have a 1yo too.

One more side note, all rodents I've had needed weekly cleaning and got stinky very quickly. Gerbils absolutely do not smell if they have a big enough cage with enough substrate. They produce very little urine and it lacks a chemical that makes it stinky. You can easily get away with cleaning their habitat once a month or even less with a bigger cage.

Rats are really lovely pets if you’re not squeamish about the tails. They need a massive cage though - anything you can buy at Pets at Home is too small. You must also keep them in pairs or small single-sex groups as a solo rat is a very sad rat. Does create a problem when you get down to one.

Guinea pigs aren’t particularly prone to ringworm or fleas, not sure where you’ve heard that. They can get mites from their hay. They are best kept indoors - again, no PaH cage is big enough. Google C to C cages, they’re the best. They are messy though and hay (which they have to have) gets everywhere. Again, they must live in pairs. Females tend to get along more than boys.

Don’t get a pet from PaH either. They come from factory farm breeding units and are not well handled so are very nervous. Find a breeder who will handle babies from a young age. Whatever you get, do loads of reading online.

And whatever you do, don’t get rabbits. Terrible pets for kids.

Just to add that both rats and guinea pigs are great pets but both are extremely social and should be kept in pairs. I believe in some countries it's even illegal to keep just one guinea pig, under animal cruelty laws.

How fast are rats? Maybe a daft question, but we have cats, so I'd be really nervous about DD getting a rat out of it's cage and it running off and escaping, before getting eaten by a cat.

We had hamsters growing up but they were so docile it wasn't an issue. Whereas I can't see rats and cats living harmoniously together.

What am I missing?!

@HowFastIsTooFast thanks for the info. The plan is to get two pets. We've been watching videos on youtube of a lady who keeps guinea pigs. She's up to her 10th one now!

@StillRunningUpThatHill thanks very much for the info. I was planning on buying from p@h thinking I was being responsible, so thank you for the advice.

@NoMoreMrNiceGaius a gerbil is sounding like a good first option! Although rats and guinea pigs sound very cute too!

@NoMoreMrNiceGaius ps thank you for your reply, I was reading from the bottom up. Really appreciate your advice!

@ChemistryExaminerTutor thank you, will have a look at those pages.

@KilljoysDutch ohhhh they are so lovely!!

@ladybird69 I worry my ds2 (1) is too young for a cat. He'll be getting a pet too, only because most like looking at pairs, but i'd help him with stroking etc. He tries to sit on neighbours cats!

@talkingkrustydoll this sounds great! I quite like the idea of rat cuddles at night!

@fruitpastille thanks for tge tips!

Another vote for ratties, we've had quite a few and they really are the most lovely, cuddly pets. We have guinea pigs now which are also great, but so much louder, always squeaking.

@Stellaris22 thanks. Where do you keep your rats? And how big is the cage? I know a pp said not to get one from pets at home, although they do seem pretty big!

I used to have a big cage on the table in my living room, the dining area really but we never ate there.
They were let out at least twice a day though.

You need to get pets you'd be happy to look after incase the 6 year old gets bored.

My gerbils attacked each other after living together for a while, had to split them up into 2 cages.

Yes, absolutely agree that you must be prepared to take responsibility.

@OneMoreLight
A friend of mine when we were teenagers had gerbils, and one ate the other

For 2 rats you need a cage that's at least 100 x 50 x 70cm, preferably with multiple levels, and the bigger the better. Rats are total acrobats and love climbing, jumping and hanging everywhere so a tall cage with different levels is perfect and easier to clean than one with a wider/longer bottom. You can also make some levels yourself with hanging hammocks, platforms, ropes, branches etc.