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

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

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.

"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.

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.

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

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?

Sorry for hijack OP.

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 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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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?

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).

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.