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Suitable pet for my niece

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Ideas posted: 3

Posted by: Kay

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My niece would love a pet. She's animal crazy and her mom's willing to get her one if it's an animal the child can take total responsibility for. She wants her to realize how much care even small pets need before allowing her to get a dog, which is her dream. Any ideas what would be good for a youngster to teach her that?

She needs a pet she will enjoy - and that won't die on her! It also needs to be relatively easy to maintain its living environment, care for and to feed properly. She is only seven. :)

Please explain in your idea what makes your choice ideal for her age group and why you think she could care for it herself with little or no supervision. She's very bright and we think understands that if she gets a pet, she can't just forget about looking after it if she doesn't feel like it. This is the test of how fully she gets that.

Her mother has laid down one rule: no rats!

Category: Pets

Tags: animals children pet care pets small animals

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"Small pet" and "won't die" are contradictions, IMO. It might be that lizards and snakes will live longer, for their size, but I'll warrant that any mother who says "no rats" will also say "no snakes." Part of owning a pet is experiencing death before you have to deal with your parents' death, anyway.

That said: hamsters. Guinea pigs, maybe. They do live longer.

She will need supervision with any animal, BTW. She CAN care for any animal. The point of this exercise is to minimize the consequences as she learns exactly what that means.

Jan 26, 2010

Does no rats mean only rats or all small furry creatures? If not, a hamster or guinea pig would be a good option. Each is contained in a small cage, so it wouldn't roam the house. These animals would be a better test of the work involved because unlike a fish, they need some handling and more frequent cleaning of their homes. If you handle them daily, they will enjoy being held and will allow your niece to hold and pet them.

Jan 25, 2010

Hi. I think a hermit crab would be the best pet for your niece. I had a hermit crab when I was about her age. They are extremely easy to take care of. They don't pinch. The only problem is you can not drop them. If you do it will either kill them or make them act a little funny. You can get them at any pet store. They usually have beautiful shells and live in very small plastic boxes with a little sand in them. I hope this helps :)

Jan 13, 2010