I’m getting confused when I see so many options in the Pet Shop! Hamsters, Gerbils, Rats, Guinea Pigs, Dwarf Rabbits… I’d like to have the most intelligent and docile Small Pet for my kids…
What can you tell me from your experience on these and other pets?
There is no definite answer. It depends on you and your kids. How old are they? How gentle are they? How responsible are they? Are you willing to take care of and maintain whatever pet you bring home? Are you going to put the pet up for rehoming when your kids get tired or bored of it, and/or don’t take care of it anymore?
Guinea pigs are costly to keep. Bunnies aren’t a cheap pet either. Hamsters, gerbils and rats can bite. All pets need love and attention, as well as time out of their cage. Any pet that isn’t handled, or cared for in the right manner, can become an aggressive and unsocialized pet – and be a biter as well.
I think rats are extremely intelligent – but I wouldn’t get them for a child who isn’t going to be responsible, or a parent who can’t handle the idea of having to care for a rat.
Hamsters bore kids easily. The same for guinea pigs. Rabbits can be fun pets – but they can also chew through wires and walls as so can some of the other rodents you mention.
Dwarf hamsters are nippier than Syrian hamsters IMO – not a good pet for young kids. The easiest to care for IMO would be Syrian hamsters of any type (those are the large less expensive hamsters). I also find them to be the least costly of all pets to maintain, and they don’t need a cagemate.
Rats and guinea pigs need a cagemate or two (same sex or a spayed or neutered pal) to keep them company.
Just remember that at some point whatever rodent you opt for, you’re going to end up being the one taking care of it – and that means vet bills too.
12 Responses
Home
RSS Feed
E-Mail
Del.icio.us
Digg
Technorati
Magnolia
Newsvine
Reddit
There is no pet that’s really great for kids, really. Out of all of them, though, I’d say the rabbit would be best, as long as you’re going to take care of him and include him in your family.
Rabbits are very social and smart. They can be litter trained and can roam your house.
More importantly for children though, they are bigger than the other animals, and if raised right, probably less likely to bite.
References :
As a child I had mice, hamsters, gerbils, rats, rabbits and guinea pigs. By far I’d say the rats, rabbits and guinea pigs were the most docile. Rats and rabbits really are like little dogs and will learn to come when they’re called. Guinea pigs are more cat-like, they prefer to cuddle but they’re also very active when given a play area.
The mice, hamsters and gerbils all tended to bite when they didn’t want to be handled. They’re also more active at night. So not only are they kind of boring, but they make a lot of noise at night. The rats, rabbits and guinea pigs were usually awake in the evening and ready to interact with the family.
References :
No, hampsters carry alot of germs just like mice do
References :
rats are intelligent and they make great pets for kids, but not young children, think they are best with children age 10+
References :
I use to love hamsters when I was little but as soon as they bit ( which they always did ) I wouldn’t go near it again. Gerbils I also heard are the same.. biting wise (though I may be wrong) rats… I personally love them and would really like to own a few but I’m not allowed, they’re smart and don’t bite anywhere near as much as hamsters… guinea pigs I love, I have 2 but I don’t feel young children should own them, they need a LOT of room, they need to be kept in pairs, they need 1 cup of veg a day.. vitamin c.. food.. lots of stuff. It costs a lot and they’re fragile, if dropped or handled roughly they die very easy. Dwarf rabbits are nice and pretty good for children they’re bigger and don’t die easy.. they don’t need all the special stuff guineas need and are sociable and cuddly.
References :
I’d get a Syrian Hamster for your Children, never get a Dwarf Hamster because they Bite and escape easy and they aren’t suitable for Children
And Syrians DO NOT CARRY GERMS.
THEY MAY IF THEY COME FROM HOMES AND NOT PET SHOP
PLEASE THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK
Hope I Helped
P.S; if you have a Pets at Home near you, i’d get your hamster from there, £7.00 For the hamster
References :
http://www.petsathome.com/Advice/SmallPets/Hamster/Syrian-Hamster
http://www.petsathome.com/
Yes. But you will have to tame it to all the kids first, so it will be familiar with them.
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/lifestyle/pets/petplanet/2005/05/10/smanimalhealth/tamingyourhamster.html
Get a Rat or a mouse or a gerbil (Gerbils are for older kids). You might want to consider getting a pair of rats or gerbils
Rats: Are very cuddly, but prefer to live in groups or pairs such as getting 2 or more because they will get lonely. They require an aquarium, other commercial cages, will be noisy because they will bite on the cage bars. Quite strong odor but not as much as hamsters
Gerbils
Are quite timid, and require taming before handling and becoming friends with people. Quite cuddly but only like to be held for 10 seconds or so. They require an aquarium, other commercial cages, will be noisy because they will bite on the cage bars. Little odor. Would get two or more because they will get lonely.
Hamsters
Are very timid and are prefer to live alone. A lot of odor and require taming before handling. Require an aquarium, other commercial cages, will be noisy because they will bite on the cage bars.
Dwarf Hamsters
Not so timid and prefer to live in pairs. Would 2 at the minimum and 3 at the highest. A lot of odor and require taming before handling, require an aquarium, other commercial cages, will be noisy because they will bite on the cage bars.
Mice
Very cuddly and are quite smart for their size. Require taming but not so much as gerbils and require paper shavings and an aquarium, other commercial cages, will be noisy because they will bite on the cage bars. Females have little odor. Would get two or more because they will get lonely.
Dwarf Rabbits
They are cuddly, but have very strong odor, requires taming but not as much as gerbils or hamsters. Would suggest getting two of these so you can have more fun seeing both of them eat and will not be lonely
Guinea Pigs
Very, very cuddly and cute, have medium odor, and does tricks quite timid to people at first. Would suggest getting two of these so you can have more fun seeing both of them eat and will not be lonely
References :
I had kept all these cute little pets before.
I would suggest Fancy Rats. I’ve had them my whole life from the time I was like 7 or 6. They love to be held and taken out of their cage. They like to lick your hands too. I just think that they have the cutest personalities. I don’t know about other types of rats, but Fancy Rats seem to be the best. I wouldn’t recommend getting a hamster though. They bite really hard. I got a hamster once from the pet store and it bit a hole into my finger! I was bleeding for like 30 minutes. And it was like hissing at me, there was just like this scary sound coming out of it mouth. I thought it had rabies, but when we went back to the pet store to return it, one of the people that worked there said that they’ve had a lot of people return hamsters because they can be aggressive. I don’t think all hamsters are like that though. I bought a Teddy Bear Hamster that was very sweet.
References :
It really depends on the age of your kids. If they are young: between toddler and 7 then you should consider a rabbit or guinea pig because they are easier to handle than hamsters. At such a young age they would be expecting to hug their pet and hamster don’t really appreciate this. Rabbits and guinea pigs take a little extra time compared to hamsters but I am guessing at this age that whatever the pet they would not be required to clean them out by themselves. But it is good to teach them responsibility from when they are young and it would be easiest to get them to help clean out an outdoor pet because children tend to make such a mess at this kind of job.
If they are a little older 8-11 then I would go for the hamster; they will understand how delicate such a small animal is and know how to handle it. And then they would probably be in charge of cleaning it out so a rabbit or guinea pig might be a bit much for them and they will probably get bored when a hamster is so much easier. It would be nice for a achild of this age to have an indoor pet. If a small child has a pet that is indoors they are likely to give it too much attention and frighten the animal whereas an 8-11 year old would understand better that it needs time to be left alone. However, hamsters are not very intelligent in some senses. Well, they don’t appear it anyway. Deep down all animals are pretty clever. But hamsters are incapable of learning any thing more than their name (If this)., But hamsters are great fun to play with and I am sur your kids could find lots of different things to do with it.
12+ – A hamster is still great but a rat would probably be better. They are much more intelligent and take a little more time which at over 12 youyr child should be able to give it. They can learn so many tricks and they will become your best friends. they are in a sense like dogs only smaller and less hassle. They are still cheap and easy to keep so your kid could pay for them themselves. Guinea pigs and rabbits still make great pets and you could even get them a guinea pig/rabbit in an indoor cage.
As for gerbils they are pretty much the same as hamsters only with tails and a bit more complicated in my opinion (They cannot have any plastic in their cage according to wikapedia).]
Good luck with your new pet!
Oh and you also should consider the age of your pet dying and the age of your children.
A hamster lives for about 2-3 years. If your child is now 6 they will be 8-9 when it dies and will find it very hard to accept and probably cry a lot. If they are 11 then they will be 13-14 when it dies and accept it more although they will still be upset. Another reaosn why with younger children its better to go for guinea pig/rabbit which live about 8 years.
:)
References :
If your kids are under 8 years old, I don’t reccomend any small pet. The best pets for young kids in my opinion would be rats or hamsters. I had a rabbit when I was a kid and she didn’t last long. Lets just say there was a skittish rabbit and my very bloody arm. They are better for calmer people. Guinea pigs are not good pet for little kids b/c they can be very skittish and are sensitive. They also require lots of time and money to take care of and a cage that has at least 6 square feet of floor space. Gerbils are pretty cool little animals. They are similar to hamsters, but are more energetic so they might be harder for little kids to handle. I personally LOVE rats! They are so cute and males are really easy going and like to watch tv with you and cuddle. Your kids do have to be really careful though. Rats stuff like cages and all that is kind of expensive to start up, but after that you only need to buy food and bedding. Feed LAB BLOCKS, not seed\nut\grain mixes. That goes for all small pets.
Hamsters are good pets for kids because they are easy going, small, cute, cheap, and fairly hardy. My hamster handled being dropped twice by my cousin, almost eated by a dog twice, and rolling down the stairs multiple times in her ball. So they are good for kids.
References :
owned lots of pets
There is no definite answer. It depends on you and your kids. How old are they? How gentle are they? How responsible are they? Are you willing to take care of and maintain whatever pet you bring home? Are you going to put the pet up for rehoming when your kids get tired or bored of it, and/or don’t take care of it anymore?
Guinea pigs are costly to keep. Bunnies aren’t a cheap pet either. Hamsters, gerbils and rats can bite. All pets need love and attention, as well as time out of their cage. Any pet that isn’t handled, or cared for in the right manner, can become an aggressive and unsocialized pet – and be a biter as well.
I think rats are extremely intelligent – but I wouldn’t get them for a child who isn’t going to be responsible, or a parent who can’t handle the idea of having to care for a rat.
Hamsters bore kids easily. The same for guinea pigs. Rabbits can be fun pets – but they can also chew through wires and walls as so can some of the other rodents you mention.
Dwarf hamsters are nippier than Syrian hamsters IMO – not a good pet for young kids. The easiest to care for IMO would be Syrian hamsters of any type (those are the large less expensive hamsters). I also find them to be the least costly of all pets to maintain, and they don’t need a cagemate.
Rats and guinea pigs need a cagemate or two (same sex or a spayed or neutered pal) to keep them company.
Just remember that at some point whatever rodent you opt for, you’re going to end up being the one taking care of it – and that means vet bills too.
References :
Hamsters and Gerbils would be best for older kids (10+) just purely due to their size and speed. They’re also more likely to nip.
Rats, Guinea Pigs and Rabbits (not just dwarfs) are perfect for the younger kids. They’re interesting to watch, and are very interactive too, even for the moist boisterous child.
For intelligence, rats are brilliant. Very cheeky at times though – but can add to their character!
References :