Which pet for DS?

[whethergirl]

DS age 6 is DESPERATE for a pet and my mum wants to buy him one for his birthday. We've given up with fishes as they just keep dying (despite being treated like bloody royalty) which I initially bought because they were low maintenance.

So thinking...gerbil, hamster or guinea pigs. Or Terrapins. Who has had experience of any of these and how have you found them in terms of, fun for the DC and also ease of maintenance, common problems?

Terrapins were the original choice but gone off the idea since learning they can get very big, live forever and STINK.

I can only tell you of my experience with Guinea pigs as I have never had either of the others and now we live in Oz are not likeley to either lol.
We have two girls and they have made fantastic pets for my 2 DD's (6 and 3).
They brush them every day, cuddle them (in special little cuddle pouches so they dont accidently drop them) and help me to feed, water, clean out and make little treats for them.
In return the GP's squeak, make cute little noises and love to snuggle and be brushed.
On the down side you will have to be the person who does all the cleaning out and takes responsibility for feeding, healthcare etc and this can be a little time consuming. I keep mine on wood shavings and newspaper in the garden under the patio in their hutch and this can become a bit messy. There are alternatives to bedding and we are about to switch over to fleece beds which are warm and wont blow bits all over the garden.
Make sure you get a same sex (or neutered) pair as Guinea's are group animals and need company, but will breed very fast if given the chance.
They also need a specific diet made especially for guinea pigs with Vit C added as like us they do not make their own and will get sick if they dont have any provided in their diet.
They also need a portion of fresh fruit and Veg every day and a supply of hay to keep their teeth from overgrowing.
They are nice pets if handled alot and are used to being around people.
Hope this helps.

I would personally steer clear of terrapins too! lol

Aw Mummy2LZ, they do sound lovely, I didn't realise they enjoyed cuddles so much. But yes, now having looked into it, they do seem to need a lot of space and cleaning up. However, I am still thinking about it! I do have a garden, although here in UK where it's miserable most of the time, it's not quite as appealing having to go in the garden to see your pet, where as I wanted more of a house pet that we could see all the time!

We have two female guinea pigs and they're fab :) They're very funny to watch (jumping around next to me at the moment). We have an indoor cage for them that I built (google C&C Cages) which is nice and big. They have an outdoor run/shelter as well so they're going out there every day at the moment while the weather's so nice. They're great pets and my DD (2y8m) loves watching them and giving them little cuddles.

How about a dwarf rabbit? You could train it to be a house rabbit, rather than keeping it outside.

Some info on house rabbits here.

gerbils and hamsters are more active at night, and hamsters don't have very good eyesight and mine would bite whatever you put in front of it thinking it was food...They always seem to be asleep. Gerbils are lovely but quite quick and not very cuddly although very interesting and they don't bite (usually)
I have had gerbils, hamsters and Guinea Pigs and I would say get a cat Guinea Pigs.

My all time favourite small furry pets are rats, but then I know an awful lot of people wouldn't feel the same way.

They are clean, intelligent, loving, playful and funny, aren't small and fragile enough to get injured when handled by younger children and best of all they don't bite.

I used to have a pet rat that would climb up and stretch out on the dog's back to go to sleep. She was such an incredible personality for such a little creature and is still fondly remembered by people 20 years later.

I couldn't stand the thought of cleaning up after small rodenty things and being disturbed by turning wheels at night (a childhood memory).

So we got animal-daft dd1 a cat. Best decision ever. So easy.

I'd agree that our cat is very low maintenance. I've always had cats and they are great pets, very easy.

I've also heard that rats are fantastic but DH really wasn't keen. Probably would have considered them otherwise, a friend of mine breeds them and they seem very sweet.

Thanks so much, all these furry little creatures sound great. However, I also couldn't help thinking that they seem about as much trouble to keep as a cat (speaking as a previous cat owner of 4 cats - pre ds). The only thing that was stopping me was my landlord, who I spoke to today and was happy to let me have one after all!

Guinea pigs - need a lot of space and quite high maintenance by the sound of things - might as well get a cat?

Hamsters - fall asleep during the day and likely to either bite or have a heart attack. Might as well get a cat as they do the same except have heart attacks.

Gerbils - also day sleepers and not cuddle-able. You can at least stroke a cat.

Dwarf rabbit - will look into. I do love cats.

rat - did think about this. However, I don't think my mum would actually step foot inside the house if we had one (that might sound like a bonus to some but she's actually ds' best friend). She doesn't mind cats.

I had a gorgeous hamster when I was 11. She only ever bit me once (after a stupid friend dropped her cage with her in it so fair enough really!)

She was lovely. I taught her to do little tricks like climb ladders. And she used to escape and then sit next to her cage waiting for me to find her.

Terrapins are definitely a BAD idea they need quite a lot of specialist care and they can get absolutely huge and vicious!

We decided on a hamster when we were in your situation and got him last week from a proper breeder rather than a pet shop in the hope that any health problems will be minimal. He is lovely, yes, he does sleep a lot, but we aren't at home much during the day anyway so that's not a big problem. He hasn't bitten us yet - being from a breeder they handle them regularly from birth so he doens't mind being picked up really.

Good decision on the Cat

Fancy Mice; honestly, best kiddy pet we've ever had.

Low cost & effort to obtain, feed, house & maintain; Don't take much space up, don't/can't bite hardly ever (unlike Hamsters or rats). Don't need stimulation like rats or space and exercise (like GPigs). Don't live long (Guinea pigs are a 7 year commitment!). Have big cute ears and small tendril tails. Don't smell any worse than any of the others. Too difficult to successfully give much medical care to so you don't feel guilty about not wanting to pay high vet bills for lump removals and other treatments (unlike Rats).

Try to find a local fancy mouse show breeder who has imperfect specimens that they would otherwise cull -- cheap or free as they're rescues.... only drawback is they might have more genetic problems due to inbreeding. Petshop fancy mouse are better wrt health problems, but not hugely so.

ps: and although the mice are nocturnal, DD's 4 pet mice still aren't as loud as one hamster would be.

We rehomed our very sweet gerbils after only 4 months due to the absolute racket they made every night. Not great pets if you live in a small house or one with thin walls.

I think for you a cat would def be the right decision.