What's a Good Pet for a 7 Yr. Old.

Hi C.

Since you already have 1 dog and don't want something high maitnence I would go with fish or a guinea pig. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats, and found my cats are very self sufficent and do not require much maitence, just cleaning the litter box, food and water, so that is another option as well. Good luck!
S.

If you're really expecting him to be mostly in charge of the responsibility, (because no matter what, you will be responsible for the pet some of the time), then I would suggest a couple of fish, in a fish bowl. He can clean the bowl, feed the fish and it's pretty low maintenence.

I have had all of these pets...and almost all "domestic" and tons of exotics before also though..!! Plus I was going to school to be a zoologist... anyways,

Turtle, Great easy pet. Food is cheap. Need an aquarium that is large enough though...although how large depends on the breed. I have a red eared slider boy for example. He had a 30 gallon tank and that works great...Downsides, you have to have one heck of a filter! Turtles stink! They excreet acid basically for their movements. So you have to constantly change expensive filters or your house starts to smell rank. Also, the vast majority of all breeds carry salmonela. So your children have to learn to handle them with care or they will get sick! The younger and smaller the turtle the more concentrated the salmonella! Never get a baby turtle! Most states don't allow turtles under so many inches to be sold but if yours does still pass on babys!! They have a high mortality rate and can be very deadly salmonella wise! They also require a high amount of husbandry which most don't know but they do! Aside from those downsides if you learn good husbandry and hygeine they make wonderful pets! I adore mine..Plus most breeds live at least 20 years some up to 100!

Also, if you decide on a different reptile most eat live things. fish, crickets, meal worms, mice, rats etc. If you get a reptile that requires crickets. crickets are far worse than the reptile to care for!! They smell, and don't live a long time. So I was at the pet store half the time every third day for my frogs, toads, lizards, things of this nature. Not to mention getting frozen rats, and mice is kinda strange for a little boy! LOL! Although, my favorite pet ever was always my amphibians! They don't live that long unfortunately. only downside to um.

Guinea pigs, Great pets. Not much different than a hamster per say..require a cage...open one perfered. Food is inexpensive, bedding as long as you get a paper one, not wood, reduce the odds of parasites getting your pet and killing it. They are kinda stand offish till they get comfortable with some that is never mind you! But I think this is a wonderful choice for a first responsibility!

Fish, depends on the fish. But always a good choice. Look up the kind you want online and see what they require food wise. All you usually need is a good aquarium, filter, food, and chlorine remover plus the pretty stuff for the aquarium. Change the cage as often as recommended by the filters standards. A very, very, easy pet. But usually a low life span.

Dogs, Well i assume cause you said another you had or do already have one. I would be leary against a dog for a 7 year old cause I know with my knowledge...that usually means mom will end up taking care of it most of the time!! LOL!

And lastly ferrets, You said you are already well versed in um. Just be warned that some smell far worse than others descented or not!! I have been around alot. They go from mildly stinky to beyond wonder how they got that stinky!! So if you can get one the same sex, and kinship to the ones you like I would only go for that!! LOL! Otherwise you might be doing alot more cleaning than for a cat! LOL!! Or a dog for that matter!

If you have question about any other animal. I would be happy to give my opinion. I won't sugar coat it. I don't think it is good for people to get animals that when they don't understand the commitment they are getting behind. Shelters are so badly over run as it is. I am constantly running a zoo. So like i said previously I have had more animals than i would care to list. Although, i prefer reptiles and amphibians to be honest anymore. But I would be happy to help in any way i can. I Have oodles of books on all sorts of animal also.

My Family had done a few of these and i have found them to be A LOT of work.

We did the fish thing and they all dead because of the water we were using i guess. So, be careful with those. They also take a lot of work with keeping the tank clean

Guinea pig we have done also and they are smelly and also need a lot of care. You need to make sure that the bottem of there cage is clean at all times or they can get wet bottem and dead. We did have ours live for awhile then one day the just passed, we never knew why.

Ferret I hear that they smell REALLY REALLY bad. I have never had one myself but that's why i hear anyhow.

I am also thinking about getting a turtle for my daughter which is 5, going to be 6 in June. They look pretty easy to care for and don't need much to live, also they seem to be nice.

I hope that helps you hun.

J. F.
Le Mars, Iowa

Hi C.!

I have a daughter (now 7, almost 8) who wanted a fish. So for Christmas about three years ago we got a fish. In the beginning she fed the fish every morning. Slowly this became my chore on top of making sure the tank was clean. We also tried a turtle, same thing occurred. And let me tell you if you don't keep the tank cleaned they stink. We now have a cat and a dog, and on occasion does my daughter help out by feeding, letting the dog out or cleaning the litter box.

So,I guess the first thing you should be askig your self before adding a new family member is how responsible is he with your dog? If he isn't very responsible with your dog, that is something to consider, or set some goals. If he can or does help feed and water the dog every morning or every evening, etc then make that decsion to add another family member.

Take care and good luck! :)

I'm sure everyone is right about the amount of time it will take YOU when your son gets a new pet. Keep in mind how special the new pet will be to him though. I had almost every pet when I was a kid--and those animals made some of the best memories I have of my childhood. Maybe you could take him out a catch a frog to keep for a while, then let it go when he looses interest. I had a turtle in the back yard of my home one summer that got away. That's another option ;)

Pets Pets my lord we have 3 dogs a cat , Turtle ,Rat , and 3 birds ,and 2 fish tanks one small one and another 150 gallon one. I take care of them all . Turtles beleave it or not do have alot of needs , Have to clean the tank all the time and u cant hold them and touch them as much as one thinks. Guinea we have had to many to count another that has alot of needs as the same with the rat. My birds there not that bad feed them every few days i vacuum their cage well im cleaning and as long as there wings are clipped you can let them out . Well i hope this helps if you have any ? let me know

One of my friends sons got a crab for his 8th birthday. Not sure how long they lasted but he really liked them. The living area was very small and he kept it in his room and was able to feed and clean the tank all on his own.

We did the fish and turtles. They were very fun but not something that just the kids would have to do. We had them as a family and had really big tanks so the kids couldn't really clean them but they liked to help and that was nice. The also like to help pick out the new ones. But I couldn't see them doing it all on their own.

This is kinda gross but I heard that rats are good first pets and that maybe something to gross for you but little boys love that kind of thing and you can train them too. Some thing to consider they are easy. If you just get one boy rat then you don't have to worry about babys.

Or the virtual pets that would be something that you would not have to clean up after or feed even if he forgot. There are lots of kinds and the prices are not to bad. $15 for the pet and then some have tv game hook up those are around $30 to $50. Family fun just did a parents guide on them and it was very helpful. If you are not sure what kind of pet you want this maybe an easy way out.
Good luck and hope he has a happy birthday.

My daughter had a rat at that age. We tried hamsters, but they were't tough enough to withstand being handled by her, and her brother and her cousins.Ferrets are actully alot more work that cats or dogs, we did the ferret thing for awhile. We also tried turtles, fish, just about anything you can imagine. If you're not squemish, a rat is probably your best bet.

C.,

I think it really depends on how much time you want to devote to another pet. Obviously another dog would take some work. Ferrits and guinea pigs, in my opinion, are stinky(even though they are cute)and kind of a pain although I know many would probably disagree with me. Turtles on the other hand are very low maintenance pets aside from aqarium care. My kids had a painted turtle for several years and they just absooltely loved him. He was very sweet. Unfortunetly he died. I know if they were to ever want another one I wouldn't have a problem at all with it. I believe they sell turtle food, but we would just go buy a couple small goldfish every so often and that's what he would eat. We have also had aquariums which are great for teaching the kids responsibility and feeding their fish. The aqarium is also soothing if it's in their room (for some anyway). I would reccomend one with a filter though and not a bowl. The bowls are a pain. :-)

I think that a pet that a child can play with and hold without worry of hurting it is the best idea. There are several things you need to think about when deciding what type of pet you get. I see that you have a special needs child. Is this the child that the pet is for? A child generally likes to play with the pet they get so usually fish is not a good idea unless the child can understand that they are just to look at, they can't be trained, petted, or controled to pay attention to the child when they want them to. I have found after 22 years of partenting that until they are in their teens, fish are hard to keep alive, and I was always finding "new toys" for the fish in the tank.
My first child's daycare had chincillias for the children. They were adorable and seemed to withstand the wear and tear of the three and four year olds there. They were let out of their cage quite often, but never seemed to disappear. They would acctually come back to their cage after they had explored for a short time.
Turtles and reptiles can carry a variety of diseases that you would have to worry about.
What ever you decide on, make sure you do your reserach. I have made some terrible choices on pets over the years, the last being chickens, and ducks. These take alot of time just in the cleaning up process. We do live in the country so the varity of pet choices is a little broader than those who live in the city.
I must say that of all the pest I had as a child and all the ones my children have had, I liked the miniture holland loped-eared bunnie the best. He was litter train just like a cat and we were able to train it to do several tricks. He lived quite a long time so the issue of dealing with the death of their loved one was not an issue with this pet. The only proble we had with him was the mistake of getting a female rabbit. We had several litters and had the stresss of getting rid of the babies. We kept the female in a cage and the male still was able to inpregnant her.
Best of luck with your decision. I think all children need the responsibility of carring for a pet of their own. My four year started taking care of the animals with me when he was two. He loves it!!

First, I would see if you can tell if he's wanting a new pet, because he's bored with the family dog. Or because he got a new toy and he thinks that's really cool. I think a lot of times, kids want something else because it's new. REmember , any pet you get, you'll be maintenancing about half them time, either because the kids are in school or because they forget.

Be careful. don't ask them this, because most kids will say, "no, I really want to take responsibility for it." just to achieve that objective (receiving something new) and once they get it, it's on to the next "new item". and if you get a 2nd pet, does the dog go away or does he then have 2 pets to take care of.

Maybe do a practice day as though he were taking care of a pet and the dog. You can create a cage out of a box and a set of stuffed socks for the ferret or guinea pig and he has to go through everything we should be doing with the pet. a pet is not just playing with it. sometimes I think that's the hardest thing for kids to understand.

Guinea pig! Definatly. I got one for my 3 boys and since my husband hates pets, I was sceptical.. Elvis (the guinea pig) is fun, he makes noises, you can tell his emotions, He needs a large cage (you can make one inexpensively dont buy one) www.caveycages.com we use the daily newspaper for his bedding, and change it every 3 days I lay down 3 layers then shred enough to cover the floor (he loves to make a nest with shredded newspaper and some timmothy hay). (that is VERY inexpensive and easy to clean) his food we only buy once a month from wal-mart 1 bag of Timmothy hay and guinea pig pellets) he also eats fruits and vegetables except tube plants like onions(poisonous)
we buy extra fruits and vegies and share with Elvis.. Your son just needs to change his water and food daily, and roll up the newspaper every three days. SIMPLE and fun.

Fish are good starter pets for young kids. I started my son with a fish when he was 4. Yes it did die, but not because he wasnt taken care of, it was a defective fish from the store.
We gave him a funeral though, instead of taking it back. The second fish he got, he kept alive for a long time and I think it just died of old age. Or something in the water we had. Its an easy pet for any age to take care of, though you will have to help change the water. My son thought he could play with it like a dog, he did even teach it a sort of trick. I showed him to wet a toothpick and dip it in the food. That was all the food his fish could have. The fish would jump up and eat the food right off of his toothpick. He thought he was pretty smart teaching his fish a trick. ;) Hamsters are another pet that are very low maintainance. And they can be played with somewhat. Hamster balls are great to let run around his room. I had hamsters before I had my kids, and I love them. We have a cat now, so I dont have any currently. I hope this helps and Good Luck!

Your son is old enough to care for a pet of his own. Let him get a fish or guinee pig or turtle. Those are all easy maintance. The dog might not like ferrets. They are natural enemy's. So I've heard. I wouldn't get another dog unless the one you already have is extremely friendly.

I went to a pet store asking the same question about my 2 boys. (We were thinking turtle or lizard.) They said no to any reptiles for children. They need too much attention and require special diets, living conditions etc. Ferrets do as well. I know they litterally starve for attention when not given it. We just bought three fish and in one week are down to only one! My son now says, the fish went down the toilet in order to go to heaven. However, the dog has survived six years! When they are puppies they are the adults responsibility. When buying our dog the kennel was very strong in pointing out..."You don't buy pets for your children." They said that they get a lot of sales before Christmas and then about half come back when the parents find out they end up taking care of the pets. My sons do help in feeding, opening the back door, etc. But when it really comes down to it, we as parents are responsible.

HI. we have had many small painted turtles in the past and they easy to take care of, just kee the water warm and we feed them crickets or turtle pellets everyother day.

Hope this helps

E.

I have three ferrets!! They do require constant care. I think your son would love one at first but then after awhile he wont want to take care of it anymore. I would get him a little fish tank for his room or something. That way it will seem personal to him. Or a small lizzard would be fun too. They are easy to care for and dont make a mess either.