Large animals require a lot of attention, so parents often opt for smaller ones. Here are some of the pets that you can get as pets for children.
Rats
Some people treat these rodents with caution. But as pets for children, they are quite nice. They come in a variety of colours, some are even hairless. Best to have two same-sex rats, as they can better tolerate captivity in company.
Pros: Ideal for families who travel a lot. If you’re going away for a few days, you can safely leave your pet in its cage. Make sure it has enough water and food. If it is handled frequently since its infancy, it will quickly become tame.
Cons: peculiar smell. If a rat is allowed out of its cage, chew on everything in its path.
Where to put it: Cage should be at least 60 by 40 cm and 50 cm high. It must have a house, shelves, stairs and tunnels to climb on.
Food: barley, oats, millet, wheat. You can give peanuts for grinding teeth and chicken bones.
Hamsters
This pet is a joy to watch. They run around in a funny wheel, munch on treats and curl up to sleep.
Pros: quickly becomes attached to people and tame.
Cons: very small, you have to make sure the cage is locked. If it runs away, it is hard to catch. Need to bathe and clip claws. Nocturnal dog. Sleeps during the day and makes noise in the evening. Does not live long.
Better not to have one if the child is under eight years old. Hamsters may not survive active games. Also capable of biting if the child presses him hard.
Where to put them: For pygmy breeds the cage should be at least 30 by 50 cm and for Syrian breeds 40 by 60 cm. Cage should have a house and a running wheel, and you can put different steps to make it more interesting to run around.
Food: Solids (wheat, oats, millet), seeds and nuts as a treat.
Guinea pigs
Funny animals with an easy-going and friendly disposition. They don’t like to be alone and enjoy being played with and held in their arms.
Pros: Guinea pig coats do not cause allergies. The animals are clean and carefully look after not only themselves but also their cage mates.
Cons: rather fearful.
Explain to children that guinea pigs must be very careful. Guinea pigs should never be thrown on the floor. Any careless movement and the furry friend might get hurt.
Housing: Suitable cage or terrarium with area of 40 by 80 cm. The cage may be low, but the main thing is roomy. Inside it should have a house for your pig to hide in and some toys. For example a tunnel to climb in, an old sock or a cardboard tube full of hay. Pigs love to chew on these.
Food: Specialty foods, hay, dry grasses, fruit tree twigs.
Varieties: Long-haired, short-haired and hairless.
Chinchillas
Active and cheerful animal will be a great pet for children. Females are brisk and fidgety, males are calmer. It is possible to stroke them, to scratch, but it is not that one animal who will sit for hours at your hands.
Pros: Chinchillas are fun to look at.
Cons: They sleep during the day and are naughty at night. They don’t tolerate air temperatures above 26 degrees, so we must cool the room down in summer. Optimal temperature for them +18 … +20 degrees. If released from the cage – may chew on everything in its path.
Don’t buy chinchillas if there is a child younger than 5 years. Screaming or crying may scare it off.
Where to put it: Cage should be large, at least 50cm wide and 70cm long. Ideally find a cage with shelves at different heights from each other. Chinchillas like to sit on them.
Fishes
Fishes are ideal for restless, hyperactive children. On the one hand, it would seem that such a child would be bored with fish. You can’t pet them, run with them, take them for a walk. But an aquarium with fish can calm down the nervous system of a child before bedtime or after a school day.
For them it is easy to look after, to feed the fish – a matter of two minutes. You can clean the aquarium with mum or dad at first until the child learns how to do it themselves. Furthermore, the fish make practically no noise, which is sometimes very important for parents. But keep in mind that interest in the fish may quickly wane, so be prepared for new requests for a new pet.