Suggest our next pet please...

[ClementFreudsGreatestAdmirer]

...we've had 2 hamsters. they were lovely, and suited our relatively lazy ways. i want to be able to go away without having to put upon neighbours too much for help feeding them etc. We can't have cats due to cat-related asthma in family. I did wonder about a guinea pig but a) i read you have to have at least 2 and b) you have to clean them out every day. And c) some people say they are no more fun than hamsters. which are fun, and cute, i just fancy a change.....

Rabbit?

what is the looking after requirement for a rabbit? and don't they have to live outside? i think i want an inside creature.

They don't have to live outside but they need space and somewhere warm in the winter if you want them outside. They are the same to care for as a hamster. You can toilet train them to use a tray aswell.

I was really really alergic to guinea pigs as a child ( have grown out of it now) if you have asthma in the family I'd have a trial run with some guinea pigs before you buy them just to be sure you are OK with them. They are great pets though, and ours got on very well with dog, as they also sniff bums as greeting think he thought it was another dog.

GPs don't need to be cleaned out every day, not unless cage is too small, anyway. They do only a little concentrated wee and their poo is vegetarian, so not that smelly or unpleasant. They can be left outdoors in winter but they must be draft free and dry if you do.

GPs live 7-9 years, so much more commitment than hammies. Nutritionally also a little bit tricky (they need hay all the time and a source of Vit. C each day). And they need a lot of work to tame down nicely (ime). You could look into rescue GPs, lots and lots of families get bored with them before the end of their natural lifespan. GPs, like hammies, will quite possibly die if they fall more than a foot or so.

We have had rats, who are easy and much more tolerant of children than GPs or hammies, but they can be expensive in vet bills and they need lots of attention / time out of cage to be truly happy.

DD's hamster died yesterday

Rabbits can live indoors, they can be trained to use litter trays etc. Bunnies can be quite bite-y though.

We're going to get 2 female guineas after Christmas, they will live in an ENORMOUS cage (this one) in DD's (6) bedroom. We would have got another hamster but tbh they aren;t great for kids. Thye are very small and fragile and the nocturnal thing means that they are often still in bed when your child goes to sleep so there's not a huge amount of interaction between the child and their pet. Guineas are not nocturnal so DD should get plenty of opportunity to engage with her girls

I had rats as a teenager and they were fabulous pets. Really bright, very friendly, never got bitten by one and they are incredibly sociable. They are lovely but they do smell a bit (the oils in their coats) and you do need to be able to give them LOTS of time and interaction. They get bored and depressed if you don't . Mine was great, I'd get home from school get him out of his cage and he'd be with me right until I went to bed. He used to sit on my shoulder.

Rats make absolutly bloody brilliant pets and dont smell or anything !

We have two brilliant Rats, so funny nd the mindees love them, as long as you put a litter tray in the cage hey dont smell or need cleaning too often, I just change the litter every couple of days and clean them about 0nce a fortnight.

Do if you can get dark Rats not albinos, they live longer.

We also keep ours in a tall Parrot cage, so they get more exercise and can go up into their hammock away from the children when the want.

Rats are brilliant.
Personally though i would recommend a ferret. Indoor or outdoor pets, they can be litter trained, descented if you so wish, walked by the kids on a lead or not depending on if you want to, allowed to wander round (ok with a bit of ferretproofing) the house, never bite if brought up and handled a lot, very entertaining, very cheeky, loving and friendly, yeah they pooh in the same spot and wee there as well so no worrying about them, once they have a spot and you have put a litter tray there, no accidents round the house, their dry food can be hard to source but once you have, they are cheap to feed.
The kids will love them because they play for hours on end with toys, they can be shown if you so wish..

GPs are great, as are gerbils. As gerbils are essentially 'desert' animals they pee less than hamsters, therefore less maintenance on the cleaning out front. Plus they're not nocturnal, so far more sociable.

TARANTULA!

they are fluffy, very rarely need cleaning out and easy to feed (a cricket now and then) and there are some good 'starter' type ones to choose from

look at this one's beautiful pink feet

MM [shudder]

Betta fish (aka siamese fighting fish). You can only keep one male per tank, but they come in all sorts of pretty colours, and can be "trained" to do things for their dinner - things like swimming through a hoop, or "jumping" slightly out the water to take the food.

They are a pretty low-key pet, but they have the entertainment factor. They can be kept in tanks like the dora/spongebob ones, and you can buy their food in flake form, so no real effort needed for anything special

you could also consider reptiles, aquatic frogs, tortoises, giant african land snails?

hedgehog?

Chickens.

Please don't get a pygmy hedgehog, they are genetically a mess, and prone to all sorts of health problems. They also cost a small fortune

We have chickens, no more care involved than for a rabbit or guinea pig and you get eggs in return.

But are they fun to cuddle, pinkmagic1? And living outside they are prone to picking up mites, no? And they tear up the garden, I have observed. I have looked into chickens, but would be way too much work for us, right now.

RABBITS ARE A LOT OF WORK

Please trust me. I have 4 now and I KNOW. I know lots of other rabbit people and have done a stupid amount of research etc. The amount of work required for rabbits is actually compared to that OF A HORSE more than a cat. I could detail what you have to go through but you may not be interested - if you are you can let me know and I will be happy to explain it all to you. But seriously when I got my first 2 i thought they would be somewhere between a hamster and a cat and they are NOTHING like that easy!

SERIOUSLY RABBITS ARE A LOT OF WORK AND IF YOU HAVE THEM INSIDE THEY WILL EAT A LARGE PORTION OF YOUR HOUSE

there you go - i have photographic proof should you require it

senatorvass speaking here - my DH just typed that but I second what he says!

wow thanks everyone. i think i'm still sold on gps. i think about them all the time when i'm not thinking about other things.... although ferrets sound good too. how big does their accommodation need to be, sapphire?