Small pet for a 9 year old girl?

Person_one

A word of warning about rats, they do take up a fair amount of room. Even if you only get two (and you have to get at least two) they need a pretty big cage.

Have a google of rat cages to get an idea of size, I had one called an 'Explorer' that was brilliant but about 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide so make sure you've measured your space!

BobbieTo

a rabbit?

Kodagirl

I have 4 ferrets,they are great pets,all male,and all neutured,but they still have a slight musky smell,and are kept outside,they have the full run of a shed,and an attatched run,ive never been bitten by any of them.

Years ago,i worked in a pet shop,and i,have kept,rats and hamster myself,rats are the best,so intelligent,and they have never bitten me,hamsters,well,i lost count,how many times they had their gnashers round my fingers!!!!

Skintski

I'm amazed how many have had evil hamsters. Always handle them in the shop before purchase to see how they deal with it. You wouldn't buy a puppy without seeing/cuddling/stroking it first so why would a hamster be any different.

ragecake

I love my house bunny more than anything in the world, He's so friendly and sweet, and even though the setup is high, they're good little veggie eaters, and can eat most stuff you dont want to (browner lettuce, carrot ends etc)

They can also be trained to go to the toilet in a tray, and are very very clean creatures.

shegirl

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

as an ex fish keeper, and i have a thread here and advised in the past here, its not a cheap thing to have.

a goldfish can be just as expensive as tropical fish to keep and keep happy, when it goes wrong, all that you have spent will double again.

to keep it simple, ill explain it easily as i can and as short as possible.

an average gold fish 4-6inches mature, so youd need at least a 2ft tank (not a 50p peice shaed one either or a bowl type tank BIOsomething rings to mind) for that one fish, good filtration (they are messy).

must cycle tank before purchase of any fish, a tank can take upto 6 weeks to be safe enough to place a goldfish in, when cycled correctly! (google cycling a fish tank).
will take take 6 months+ for a tank to mature and to become stable water conditions.

water temprature is key in keeping a fish even gold fish. if your house is warm in the winter, and warmer in the summer, never go for a cold water tank!.
dont place tank in direct sunlight try and keep in coldest part of the house where the temp mostly stays the same.

expect an increase in electricity bills. light and constant running of filter pump.

a 9 year old will get bored of one fish in a 2ft tank, will want to get him a friend, if thats the case increase the size if the tank by another foot.

i always reccomend a 4ft tank as a starter tank, more room to make mistakes without harming the fish immeadiatly or fataly.

some species of fish bite! not just piranha.

with cold water tanks your limited to the amount of fish types to keep.

degu are not bad creatures very clean and dont malt! hard to handle sometimes, sociable but you will get a set of degu that really dont want to be handled just looked at and fed. again you have to supply degu with baths (specialist granules) extra expense, cleaning them out aswell the make allot of mess and must have chew toys for dental purposes.

had rats in the past, very intelligent, also have personality, if you get a rat that dont like you can give you a nasty nip.

chinchilla?

chipmonks?

leapard gheko?

guineapig?

house trainable rabbit?

certain breed of cat rather than a domestic? RAGDOLL, PERSIAN, norweigen forest cat, bengal. (research needed and indepth research of breeder is my advice there).

why not become a cats protection fosterer? if you have the space, usual requirements are a spare quiet room solely for the cat patience and time to to take to vets and go to homing days, help your 9yr in learning that cats need love attention and patience and care and that its continuous and hard work.

sometimes a 9yr sees a cuddly thing want it and do not know what is required to take care of it, get bored quickly and then the pet becomes a normal part of the house where mummy and daddy feed it clean it and child just pays it attention now and then.

Average goldfish do not grow to 4-6 inches,they grow to foot long and more!!!!.they are pond fish and if in a tank need at least 120litres until they go to a pond!

flower24

Guinea pigs are lovely

Herongull

What if you gave the daughter her own kitten, so that she would feel it would grow up into her own special cat (and she generally take responsibility of its house training and socialising with appropriate support)?

Pupnik

Rats make excellent pets however they do have pitfalls- they can be quite expensive as they are prone to illnesses, especially respiratory infections so it is vital they are cleaned out regularly, and preferably litter trained (but be careful with the litter brand), but even a rat kept in a pristine dust-free cage is going to be infected as they catch myco from their mother's at birth and can suffer flare ups throughout their lives for a variety of reasons. It is important to get this treated as soon as the symptoms crop as as their lungs scar badly and the end result would be needing to be put to sleep. Females are likely to get mammary tumours and surgery can be expensive. I don't mean it to sound like I am trying to put you off rats, as I said they are lovely pets and bring a lot of joy, but it is important to research the downsides too. To give you an idea about the required costs and commitments, so far in 2013 I have spent about £200 on vet fees for three rats and for most of the year have been having to give them medicine twice a day.

Even though I prefer rats to hamsters, I think hamsters do still make good pets, especially for a young child. I had hamsters and never had any vicious ones, most of them were very sweet although they keep to themselves much more than rats (who are very sociable) and are nocturnal so will sleep most of the day. Word of advice - if you do go for a hamster and it will be in a bedroom don't bother with the cheapo wheels that come with cages, invest in a more expensive silent spinner because it will be well worth it when little Nibbles is racing on it in the early hours of the morning...