Can anyone recommend a small pet for us?

[rainbowinthesky]

We already have a dog but are looking to get a small pet for dd. Something along the lines of guineapigs etc. As a child we had all manner of small, furry animals but lived in teh country with lots of outdoor space.
We do have a garden and a covered area in teh garden but can also keep indoors. We dont have a lot of space indoors.
I dont want something nocturnal and it would be nice if it had a "character" so could bond in some way with us iykwim.

Any suggestions? TIA

[noyouhavehadawee]

guinea pigs, we live in neast and ours stay outside all year though in the freezing cold snow we had for the first time we moved them into the playhouse and we do cover with blankets etc... ours are 4 now and i love em.

[Marne]

I had mice as a child (3 females) they didn't smell too much, i kept them in a huge rotastack (sp) cage thing so they had lots of space and they were cleaned out once or twice a week, they were very tame (one would nip though).

How about an Africain land snail? (not furry but easy to look after).

[ragged]

Oh, apparently boy mice stink much more than the girls.
I have a very poor sense of smell so can't comment if they generally smell, less than I ever noticed the rats smelling, anyway.

What about stick insects, OP?

[ragged]

Besom: I've kept GPigs in outside cage in almost all weathers; but they had a cage that was well off the ground, and I would put them in a shed or somewhere else with safe air if their water bottle threatened to freeze.

Must be dry and draft free, though.

[Carrotsandcelery]

I have had mice and they stink. It doesn't matter if you clean them out every day they still honk. It is a shame as they are lovely otherwise, although I think they would be difficult for small hands to be gentle with them.

[rainbowinthesky]

40 years That's a big fat no then to chinchillas. Also bit worried about commitment to the rats too. Not sure got enough space for guinea pigs. Will research more about the mice though.

[Carrotsandcelery]

The warm pipes and draught free sound good. I would just leave the light on for them during the day so they are not constantly in the dark. Otherwise it sound like a lovely winter haven for a g pig!

[Besom]

There is electric light, but not daylight. It isn't particularly drafty and there are warm pipes and the boiler is down there. We've a spare room though so it's possible they could come inside there.

[Carrotsandcelery]

Besom is there light in your basement?

They don't like draughts. How low does the temperature drop in your basement?

Mine are ok in our garage until it gets ridiculously cold eg into minus even in the daytime (we are in Scotland) but they are in pairs or more and have a lot of bedding when it is like that. I prefer it when they come in the house as they don't get much attention when they are in the garage.

Sorry OP

[Marne]

We kept our guinies in the play house in the winter and they were fine, i think they do find the cold and if you can have them inside its better.

[Besom]

Sorry for hijack OP.

[Besom]

Would guineas be OK in an unheated basement in the winter or would they need to be inside the house? Obv would bring them into the house but would they be ok overnight in a hutch?

[pamplemousserose]

Don't get a chinchilla, they live 40 years. Our guineas are great.

[Carrotsandcelery]

I wouldn't recommend a chinchilla as they don't like high pitched noises (children's voices), lots of noise, sudden movement etc. I used to have one and he was very bonded to me and only me. When my dcs came along he was miserable.

We have several rabbits and they are NOT good pets for young children. They are difficult, expensive etc.

We also have guinea pigs and I would heartily recommend a pair of guinea pigs. They are very entertaining, easy to keep, happy inside and outside and a good size for small hands.

FWIW our dog has been trained not to go near the rabbit hutches and he is great with the guinea pigs. He snuffles them and licks them and that is it. Dd once left one on a cushion to answer the door and the dog didn't touch it. That said, she was clearly warned as I wouldn't put the dog in that position myself. My point is your dog might be fine with whatever pet you get. Not that I would take any risks.

[sixpinetrees]

"dont think the neighbours would be keen on us having chickens!"

I just meant a few hens, not roosters . Hens are lovely and very friendly and quiet.

[ragged]

Most dogs will view most rodents as snax. Hard to be trained out of.

Guinea pigs don't have much personality, ime.
They're only real pluses are rarely biting, mowing the lawn for you & eating kitchen scraps.
DD had fancy mice and I liked them a lot & would have again if DC were keen. Not so good on personality but reasonably well ticks all your other boxes. And they only live 1-1.5 yrs, so not too much commitment. GPigs can live up to 9 yrs!

DC want rats again & I am screeching NO (high vet bills & time demands rather like puppies). Could write a lot about problems I've had with rats.

[rainbowinthesky]

I defintely wont be going to a pet shop to buy a pet.

[rainbowinthesky]

A friend had a hamster and it slept during the day so they never saw it. It took them a few days to realise it had died when it did.
Gerbils - not a bad idea. Do they give anything back? I remember a friend having them and it all being a bit messy and never handling them or having any type of relationship with them.
My main concern with anything is our dog although I am veering towards rats.

[HeidiHole]

My rats are currently 2 years and 2 months old and still alive. think life expectancy is 2-3 years. They are the best pets IMO.

They don't bite, they are clever, cute and sociable.

[mo3d]

I would recomment gerbils. We had 2 and they lived for over 3 years. They even use a little toilet so you don't have to clean out the whole 'cage' every week, just the little toilet every day.
Ours were very friendly. We bought a gerbilarium for them to live in, which is a aquarium at the bottom and a cage at the top. They burrow in the wood chip in the aquarium bit. Very cute!

[Awomancalledhorse]

I know it's a bit of an arsey* suggestion (considering it's for your DD), but would you consider getting something very small, very cheap, that requires not as much attention as a bun or g.pig, with a shortish life span, like a hamster/gerbil?

That way if DD does get bored of it, you've not got to spend 4 hours a day supervising the rabbit outside/cleaning poo.
And if she is totally besotted with it, once it dies you could always 'upgrade' to a rabbit or g.pig.

*arsey in the way I've worded it!

We had loads of super furries as children, our rats would normally live for 5-7 years. Longest we ever had a hamster live for was 3.5, gerbils (only had 2) both died at 2-ish. Mother spent her entire life cleaning pet cages!

[moosemama]

Lots of information about keeping rats here.

We had pet rats years ago and they were fantastic, real little characters, bags of personality, really friendly (no biting, unlike hamsters etc). Mine had a bond with our enormous long-haired German Shepherd and used to stretch out and go to sleep either on her tummy or back depending on how she was lying. Ours all lived for around 3 years, some a little more, a few a little less.

If we had the space I would definitely have some as pets for me our dcs.

There are often lots of rats that need rehoming at rescue centres as well, so you could offer a home to a homeless rat, rather than going to a pet shop for one.

[rainbowinthesky]

How long do they live for? THose people who "had" one - did it die or did you have to rehome it? IF so why?

[JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar]

The thing that's put me off having rats (having had one in the past) is that they need quite a lot of stimulation and space in order for them to be happy.

I do think they make good pets though, if you're prepared to give them the time.

[rainbowinthesky]

Getting quite excited now at the thought of rats and have read out comments to dd who is keen too. DH though is dead against it as they are "rats". Hmm, will need to work on persuading him.