Ideal pet for a toddler?

hethmar

I seem to remember my guinea pig giving me a good old bite when I was little!

Get her a fluffy toy that squeaks or something. A child of that age cant be responsible for a live animal.

Raksha

hethmar wrote: »

I seem to remember my guinea pig giving me a good old bite when I was little!

Get her a fluffy toy that squeaks or something. A child of that age cant be responsible for a live animal.

Me too! I was about 8 or 9, raised with animals all my life, but in my mind I decided that I was going to catch said GP and give him a cuddle...... Result? - 2 stiches and an anti tetanus jab (Didn't put me off though)

System

start with something like goldfish untill she is a bit older.

Blackpool_Saver

Too young in my opinion, sorry don't mean any offence.

ClootiesMum

Chickens are a great idea - I second FC on this.

And if their wings are clipped you can let them out in an enclosed garden when you're around.

CM

hethmar

Im sorry, but even with chickens, I can imagine a toddler running round after them and them frantically trying to get away. I dont think a child that young can really understand the difference between toys and animals. Sorry, my opinion.

Course, no one is mentioning her parents are they? If they have no pets now, which I assume is why she is excited when she sees yours, perhaps they dont want any? And there is a difference between a bit of dog stroking and patting when a kiddie is visiting for a short while and under supervision, to a 24/7 pet round the house.

Shiny.Side.Up

I apprieciate everyone's opinions but would like to point that that I have already said that we know that we would be responsible ultimately for the pet. Equally, she wouldn't be allowed to handle the animal without our supervision. She already handles our savannah monitor, who would easily remind her if she wasn't being gentle enough! We have no worries about her ability to handle an animal appropriatly.

As for guinea pigs, does anyone know how happily they live in the big plastic indoor cages? To me they seem a little small but we want to avoid getting a hutch! (As some know, we've got things currently going missing from our garden!)

bunnymad

If you chose gp's they live happily indoors. I would recommend the Nero 4 cage
http://www.bitsforpets.com/product_info.php?cPath=160_165&products_id=2957&osCsid=e4190990e9068c3145b28d56c116868d
for a same sex pairing or small group (they are really sociable animals and are much happier in pairs or groups)

You would also need a run for exercising

sneezyboots

I would recommend gerbils. It is recommended you get a pair because they are social animals but due to one passing my remaining gerbil lives very happily on her own. The best way to keep them and the way the breeders do is to get a cuboid tank and put about 3 inches of substrate in the bottom and LOADS of toilet rolls. They are extreemly clean and only need a full change every month or so. I've had a lot of animals in my time and i have not met a hamster yet that doesn't bite (at least occasionally), plus hamsters will sleep all day and keep you up all night. On the other hand i have never met a gerbil that bites and they operate on a sleep/wake cycle every 2 hours or so. Mine gets food about every 3 days and the water needs changing every other day. My 4 year old cousin goes straight over to my gerbil when she visits and asks to get her out or feed her and watches her play for ages. She doesn't even realise i have a hamster too because it is always asleep and i wouldn't trust it not to bite her.

freezspirit

To be honest I can't remember exactly what age I was but I remember having a large tank of tropical fish - Definately before I started primary school. Only problem we had was that they kept breeding and run out of friends, family, schools etc to give them too. Even the pet shop in the end pleaded with my dad to stop bringing free fish for them to sell. Unfortuneatly when I was 5/6 yrs old one weekend we were away unexpectly there was a long power cut - you get the point.

Next pet was a kitten when I was 4/5 years old, one of mums friends lived on a farm and the kitten was getting bullied by the other farm cats and I remember within a space of 6 months we had a puppy from my auntie as we had to go to wales to collect him. Both in the end died of old age around 14/15 yrs.

Currently have to cats coming up to their 7th birthday.

But to get back to the point, fish are a good starting point as you learn how to be responsible for them. Other than that I would say like others gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs maybe even a chipmunk?