What small furry might be suitable?

[FairyBarr]

I'm just in the initial stages of thinking of getting a pet; I will do my research but wondered if anyone could give me a steer on what type to look at?

I have two kids aged 11 and 8; we currently have tropical fish - I had rabbits before I have kids but looking for something smaller, that needs less space, this time.

We've got room for a reasonable sized cage and got time for feeding/cleaning/playing daily. We aren't in a rush so can take our time finding the right cage, right place to buy a pet etc.

The big BUT: we go away several times a year and would like to find something that could happily be left for a long weekend say every other month with just a neighbour popping in once to feed and then a couple of times a year we would be away for a week and ?would take the cage round to a family member to care for?? It this is ridiculously impossible got any small furry then I'd like to know now before i spend ages researching

[Frostynight]

Hamster. Easy to look after, move around, and fun to watch.

[ratherbealeep]

I would say hamster or gerbil.

[eddiemairswife]

Guinea pigs are easier to handle than hamsters .Two females won't fight. Ours used to hear my husband's car each evening and chirp in greeting.

[Blowitout]

Guinea pigs are great. They are really happy to be left alone. I think two females are better to avoid the risk of fighting - you should research this. Our boys did randomly turn on each other sometimes, necessitating temporary separation, and I would’ve hated for it to happen whilst away. Other than that they are absolutely perfect pets for older children. If you are able to give them supervised outdoor time they will be so happy and should live 5+ years.

[Cookerhood]

Rats - wonderful pets. You need a group though (3 or 4). They are intelligent, great fun, wonderful pets,.like little puppies. They will break your heart though as they only live 2 or 3 years. There's a rescue in south London that has rats/hamsters/gerbils.

[PaulCostinRIP]

Hamsters tend to get active late evening and sleep dieting the day.

Guinea pigs in a pair would be better.

[Windymcwindyson]

Rats make fab pets ime.

[PaulCostinRIP]

@Cookerhood

Rats - wonderful pets. You need a group though (3 or 4). They are intelligent, great fun, wonderful pets,.like little puppies. They will break your heart though as they only live 2 or 3 years. There's a rescue in south London that has rats/hamsters/gerbils.

Rats are indeed wonderful pets but their lifespan is far too short.

[ArchetypalBusyMum]

Rabbits can live a long time. Your mugs will be heading to university or moving on in 8-10 years, and may lose interest as they become older teens earlier than that. Rabbits live too long for that and have quite specific needs to be met which a lot of people neglect.
Go for a pair of guinea pigs. Nice chatty easy to handle creatures, get really tame if you give them lots of lovely attention.
Max life span 8 years, so just right.

[Sausagis]

Rats are interactive and playful. They climb so their cage can be tall. Guinea pigs are less interesting (they mainly want feeding) and need a long cage. My vote is rats or degus.

[BananaPyjamaLlama]

Guinea Pigs (and rabbits) need a lot more space than most people think. None of the ones available in places like Pets at Home are big enough (ditto for Hamster cages)
C&C cages are an excellent option - and the guineapigs prefer them too as it means they are living indoors with you, far more human contact and not stuck outside lonesome and cold (or baking in summer!)
You can make your own by buying correx, the grids and zip ties or buy a kit.
C&C Guinea Pig Cages - Home-Indoor Guinea Pig & Rabbit Cages (candcguineapigcages.co.uk)

Guinea Pig Cage Size | How Big Should a Guinea Pig Cage Be? (guineapiggles.co.uk)

[FairyBarr]

Oh wow so many reply's - thank you all.

I don't think we want a rabbit or guinea pig, just too much space required. I understand hamsters also need lots of space - how about dwarf hamsters? Presumably these are smaller? I love the idea of rats or degus and will look into these in detail...

[Windymcwindyson]

Think on hamsters are nocturnal and will want to be sleeping not playing when dc are awake.. My phone didn't type bastard instead of hamster for nothing.... *scar from my childhood still visible

[clpsmum]

Not furry been as you already have aquatics what about an axolotl? We have one and she is sooooo much more interesting and fun than fish and I bet none or not many of their pals have one

[FairyBarr]

@clpsmum

Not furry been as you already have aquatics what about an axolotl? We have one and she is sooooo much more interesting and fun than fish and I bet none or not many of their pals have one

They are SO cool! But the kids would really love an animal they can handle this time.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I was going to give you all the downsides of guinea-pigs , as a long term guinea-pig keeper first myself from 9-22yo then my DD from 9-17yo . I love the bones of guinea-pigs but my goodness they are harder work than people think .
They need loads of space
They are vunerable to damp/draught/cold/predators . They need you to know when they.re ill before they show you signs .They're prey animals . Very dependant .
Lazy . Greedy . So, so messy .
But the sweetest tempered little mammals you'd ever meet .

You can;t have A Guinea-pig they need company , Two boars can be great together if you give them the environment they need.
Best set up for them is a castrated boar and a couple of PigWives .

Ours were from Rescue .No cruelty cases thankfully . Mainly re-homed due to home circumstances , two of our sows were from a 240 piggie rescue .One boar from a rescue from a breeder (he was a tiny piglet) One was sent to boarding and basically dumped there .

And the little swine break you heart when they die . So you get a cagemate (or two )


That C&C cage looks great ( I had a C&C set up indoors and a big cage and a wooden piggieshed outside , plus big rabbit runs )
My guineas wouldv'e looked at the ramp and shrieked In what parallel universe do you think I;m climbing that ramp ? For they were lazy articles .



Rats sounds ideal . They need space but you can go upward , so huge height smaller footprint

[bozzabollix]

Rats - absolutely brilliant pets. Really clever and characterful. If we didn’t have a cat now I’d get more.

[Newdoggo]

What about a bird instead of a furry - no smell and they have amazing personalities, really easy to look after and love company, sitting on your shoulder playing with your hair etc. :)

[KeeeeeepDancing]

Go on the website trusted housesitters and book a sitter. We have had 2 successful sits

[marshmallowfinder]

I'm a bit shocked that people are suggesting guinea pigs in your situation. They cannot go in a cage. They need PLENTY of space and lots of cleaning out and care. I have 3 and they're wonderful but take a lot of time, twice daily cleaning and take up a huge area in my flat. A hamster would be a good choice.

[Justhereforaibu1]

Have you thought about a bearded dragon or something along those lines?

[ArchetypalBusyMum]

@marshmallowfinder

I'm a bit shocked that people are suggesting guinea pigs in your situation. They cannot go in a cage. They need PLENTY of space and lots of cleaning out and care. I have 3 and they're wonderful but take a lot of time, twice daily cleaning and take up a huge area in my flat. A hamster would be a good choice.

Hamsters should also have plenty of space. In the wild they travel miles every night and the cages they get given are .
I think many pets are expected to cope with less than optimum conditions... To the shame of the human race.
I also suggested guinea pigs, but if information on small cage size was in the op I missed it, so my bad.

[marshmallowfinder]

@ArchetypalBusyMum

Hamsters should also have plenty of space. In the wild they travel miles every night and the cages they get given are .
I think many pets are expected to cope with less than optimum conditions... To the shame of the human race.
I also suggested guinea pigs, but if information on small cage size was in the op I missed it, so my bad.

Oh yes indeed, hamsters certainly must too. You're quite right. It's just that they're smaller and live alone, so a less is needed than for piggies.

[Notellinganyone]

The only child -related advice I ever give is to say don’t bother with small furry rodents. I have 3, now grown, DC. We’ve had rabbits, gerbils, hamsters and Guinea Pigs. All hassle. Get a kitten- far less hassle and more reward.

[StoatofDisarray]

Guinea pigs are easy to handle they talk to you. (well they make greeting noises) and their sociable and friendly. Hamsters are loners who are nocturnal, and I've never found them to be good pets. I would always recommend a guinea pig or two.