By Request

So this blog has been percolating for about a month. Not necessarily in blog form but I figured since I was putting the time into it I may as well blog it. Also, I am procrastinating on packing I thought I would finish it. A friend of mine recently asked for my advise on what pet to get her daughter. I guess she thought I was the right person to ask because I love animals and children and spend enormous amounts of time on the internet...or something. Her daughter is almost eight, the family has never had a pet, they don't have a fenced backyard, and the dad is allergic to cats. with these facts in mind I began my search.

I love pets, if I could get away with living in a zoo I would. I think raising children to respect and admire animals is the way to go but safety needs to come first. Children cannot be held solely responsible for their pets, they are only children, but I believe it is important to give kids something to take care of, and a pet works wonderfully.

Here is a break down of my recommendations:

Fish: I love fish for kids, they are fun to watch and and based on the type need relatively little care. However based on the tank and type of fish the water needs to be changed and filters and tanks cleaned which is something that a child shouldn't and probably can't do on their own. Also children aren't able to exactly cuddle or interact with fish in the way they could with a dog.

My top recommendations for fish bearing in mind price and availability are bettas or goldfish. For more information about bettas visit thiswebsite. I would recommend keeping bettas in small tanks, not a vase or something like that unless you can keep the temperature warm, 75 degrees or above, as they tend to get sluggish or even ill if kept at lower temperatures. Although, if you keep your house warm enough it may work. Goldfish are my other recommendation. You can find some really good information on them here The temperature for gold fish isn't as important, but they are messy so they need about 10 gallons per fish you are planning on keeping. part of the water needs to be changed frequently but I haven't found it necessary to use some of the additives mentioned on the site. You can feed them flakes of any type of "goldfish food" it is also fun to put bits of other foods in the tank like frozen peas or other vegetables, they gobble it up!

Rodents: I personally don't know much about rodents but in doing my research I found that some rodents are better than others although kids need to be supervised with all animals. One that seems particularly good is the Guinea Pig. There are many different types of coats and colors. They have very specific dietary needs but once you get those correct they stay fairly healthy. For more information look here. Guinea pigs are recommended because children can handle them and they rarely bite, and they make cute noises and will learn to recognize you and whistle or talk to you when they hear you coming. Their cages need to be clean fairly frequently but it isn't very difficult. Rats are also a popular choice but they tend to be messy and can easily escape for a young child I don't recommend them. Hamsters are my other recommendation they are curious and active and fun to watch. for information on look here. The dwarf varieties are cute but as they are small they tend to be easily frightened and bite more frequently. There are plenty of cage option but things to bear in mind are ease of access, security (if a hamster can fit its head through it can escape), spaciousness, and ease of cleaning.