If you have young children begging for a puppy, you’re likely worried that even after they’ve promised to feed, walk, and clean it up, you’ll actually be the one to take care of the poor. creature. then you will have a furry child to add to your brood.
As a dog fan, although I am allergic, I am an advocate of kids growing up with one (maybe even 2) but that says they are a lot of work and as far as younger kids go they may not be the Better option. As children get older and may realize that a dog or cat requires a lot of care and work, and is in fact a member of the family once adopted, this idea may become more appealing. However, if your little loved ones are just that, little, but you still want them to have a pet to love and learn to care for (with your guidance, of course), let me make a case for gerbils. But before we do, let’s go over some other pet options that may seem appealing but may not be as suitable for a number of reasons.
Other small animals and their drawbacks
I guess before I assume its the little critters will want one of the furry and cuddly variety, I should go for the cold-blooded type. I personally quite like snakes and lizards, but I wouldn’t necessarily want one living in my house. Also, young children are very tactile and many of these creatures need to be handled with care or they don’t necessarily like to be touched. Beyond that, your setup can be expensive and difficult to maintain. Since reptiles cannot regulate their own body temperature, it is crucial that their homes are kept at a certain constant temperature. Their diets can also be complicated. For these reasons, it is very easy for them to become ill if they are not closely watched for signs of distress.
Now to our fluffy friends. Rabbits are some of the cutest animals around, but experts will tell you that they don’t make good pets for young children. They are prone to bite, even with great care and “training” so that they get used to being petted and cuddled. Even more worrying is the fact that they are much more fragile than they appear. Rabbits have very delicate bones and even older children and adults need to know how to pick them up, handle them and return them to their homes. They also need a lot of care, and it can be a lot of work to clean them up afterwards to keep their cages clean and odor free.
Guinea pigs have many of the same traps as rabbits. While they actually need a lot of love and attention, which may seem like a perfect match for kids who want nothing more than hugs and kisses, it’s a lot more work than you’d think. If you have a guinea pig, you should spend at least a couple of hours a day getting it out of the house and playing with it. If you have two (highly recommended as they are very social and lonely), they should still be taken out of their cage at least once a day for an hour or more to play. They also require lots of different toys to play with and places to hide and explore to keep them happy and healthy. Again, diet is crucial and cleaning can be a job in itself. The benefits are worth it, ask any guinea pig lover, but that’s a lot of work for anyone.
Rats (if they don’t scare you) are very social, but the downside, once again, is that they require a lot of attention and care. Mice are great, but they are very fast, they pee a lot, and they need a lot of things to climb and play with to be happy. However, they are an excellent choice as they are easy to care for in terms of diet, do not require much attention if kept in pairs or groups, and do not require a large cage. And, the more you give them to play with, the more entertaining they become. I would definitely rank them at number two.
Hamsters, while one of the cutest creatures out there, are not that easy to care for. The diet is simple, and again, they don’t require a large cage (although with any animal, the more space you give him, the happier he’ll be). However, they do need to be trained to be held without freaking out or biting, they are fragile and they also urinate a lot which means their bedding needs to be changed regularly. There are also different types of hamsters and each type has different requirements to be healthy and happy. Some can and should be housed in multiples, others should be solitary, like Teddy Bear hamsters. And while this should be intuitive and applies to any pet you may have, don’t house both genders together or you’ll end up with more pets than you expected. Hamsters (any kind) would be better for a slightly older child with a bit more patience.
Gerbils are really a great option.
Now we come to the gerbils. They should be housed in groups of at least two or more females to keep them happy, as they are very social little munchkins. They are fast but do not bite and can be easily trained to get used to being held. They don’t seem to care too much if a kid shows up, scares them, and picks them up without warning. The only time a gerbil nibbled my finger was when I forgot to wash my hands after making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Who could blame the little guy?
Gerbils are desert creatures, which means they drink less water than other furry animals and therefore urinate much less. This means their bedding stays cleaner longer and they should never have a smelly cage to deal with. They also love to dig and burrow, but introduce a wheel into their environment and once they discover it, it will be their new favorite toy!
Their diet is simple (you can buy a five pound bag of gerbil food at your nearest Walmart for $4.00 and it will last two gerbils quite a bit) and so is their home setup. The only thing I recommend you don’t do is buy one of those Habitrail hard plastic houses for them. They love to chew and will eventually crack the plastic, but this does not mean they are hard to house. You might like the look of the store-bought shrine, but trust me, they don’t care. All they want to do all day is dig and run on their wheel, and maybe box a little bit; this is typical of gerbils, especially sisters like the gerbils I have, Lola and Yvette. They may squeal and fight, but as long as they snuggle together at bedtime, you know they’re okay.
I bought my little duo the largest Rubbermaid container I could find, filled it with recycled cardboard bedding (also available at Walmart and pet stores, of course), since wood chip bedding is not safe or healthy for any animal, as it can cause respiratory problems. a wheel, a $5 log cabin, food and a bottle of water and they’re in pig heaven. They live an average of one to 3 years and mine are well over the 3 year mark!
A reminder: plenty of space is key to the well-being of your new pet
As an animal lover, I’m a big advocate of making sure you do all your research before adopting a pet of any kind. This is essential to ensure that everything from bedding to food to home furnishings is appropriate and of the highest quality.
Another crucial issue is space. Commercial cages are not that big and the “experts” at pet stores will be happy to direct you to a cage with all the bells and whistles and convince you that this will keep your new pet happy, but this is not the case. Again, if you do your research, you’ll find that commercial cages are made to be large enough to house the appropriate animals and give them room to move around a bit, but that doesn’t mean they’re adequate at all. .
Imagine if someone kept you in a cage for almost twenty-four hours a day. The problem is that manufacturers need to make cages that are easy to ship, can be easily stacked once they arrive at the pet store, and can be sold at an outrageous markup for little more than thick wire and/or plastic. . In the future, when the kids are older and you decide you might want to graduate with one of the animals I’ve mentioned, look online for cheap and easy pet houses. It’s often more fun to design and create your own habitat, so your pet will have all the space they need and then some. This will be evident in their behavior and everyone will reap the benefits of a happy, healthy and playful new addition to their family.
