My oldest wants a pet that he can interact with more than his current goldfish.

Whilst all of us apart from Mrs P would love a dog, in reality we can’t guarantee to be around for enough of the day, and trying to go away anywhere is hard enough without having to line up pet care.

Guinea Pigs or Rabbits have been mentioned, and I had a few of the former myself as a kid. They’re just eating and sh1tting machines really, and I can see the boys losing interest fairly quickly, leaving us parents with an extra job.

We once went to a “possible pets” display at a zoo, and they were recommending rats as bright, interesting and interactive pets. This was in comparison to parrots, ferrets, gerbils, hamsters rabbits and mice. Any experiences on here or rats as kids pets? Including how to overcome Mum’s initial issues with the scaly tails?!

My brother got his boys, 8 and 5, a snake and a lizard (I forget which type). Relatively low maintenance when you inevitably have to take over, and the kids get to feed them live crickets 😈

I do hear good things about rats, tho.

Ferrets!! They are brilliant mischevious wee buglers , no end of fun.

My oldest wants a pet that he can interact with more than his current goldfish

Bigger tank and diving lessons?

Pig (no problem when the get bored of it).

Rabbits are crap. We have two. I feed them and clean out their endless shit. The kids never even look at them but act like its the end of the world when I suggest re homing them (re homing the rabbits, not the kids)

Rabbits are pretty terrible pets, you are wise to avoid. Only possible exception being house rabbit. Our first, Snaggletooth, was pretty cool as a house rabbit.

Friends have rats and seem to find them really good family pets. They also have a bearded dragon and a corn snake.

Cat? I had cats at that age and loved them.

Short term: We recently got some caterpillars in a jar, surprisingly entertaining and of course educational.

Rats are great pets – intelligent and don’t live too long. They’re inquisitive, don’t bite much (with regular handling) and aren’t too nocturnal.

A cat would be another good pet if you’re not around at home that much.

Not a fan of cats tbh….obviously some folk line em but I find them a bit self-serving and of course they’re pretty destructive to wildlife and neighbours gardens.

LOL at “repurposing” a pig!

Snake

Have you considered chickens?

As you’ll be caring for them, at least if you go for chooks you’ll get some lovely eggs 🙂

we’ve rabbits, chickens and a dog. Whatever pet you get, as you’ll be caring for it, make sure it’s one you’ll enjoy.

Not a rabbit.

Yeah, maybe a rat.

Definitely a house pet…rabbits tend to get left shut away in a hutch and forgotten about for six months of year when its dark after school, not a great life for them. We have a couple but one is really friendly and follows you round the garden and is desperate to be picked up for cuddles the whole time. However he has still got a good jump and can easily jump out of your arms and hurt himself so not great for kids. They have a 8×6 shed to run around in where they can jump up onto a shelf by the windows…anything much smaller than a shed would feel cruel.

Cat and kids dont always mix well, the cat will need enough space preferably access to the outside world as the constant attention of kids treating it like a toy can cause some aggressive a dirty behaviour

Eldest had a rat it bit her a lot.

Had lots of rats, they’re fabulous little creatures as long as you handle them correctly – as you would with any small furry. They’re interactive, inquisitive, smart and mischievous. They do honk a bit and they are prone to respiratory problems. Mycoplasmosis being one. They rarely last more than two years in my experience.

Get yourself down to a big pet shop, don’t let them convince you to have a rabbit unless you’re going to give it the time and space it needs. It’s woeful what some people feel is acceptable accommodation for them. My local pet shop stopped selling furries as some people would buy the smallest, cheapest cage they could get away with.

Degus are cute, never owned one though – have to be very careful with their diet as they can’t process sugar iirc.

I had all kinds of rodent pets growing up and rats were my favourite. They’d run around my room when I was doing my homework. They’d use a litter tray and come back when called. Def the best out of mice, gerbils, hamsters etc. Not bitten by the rats. I guess they’re a little smarter than the others. In contrast to LeeW, mine lived to 3 and 5 and neither had medical issues until the second was put down with cancer. They don’t really smell although that’s objective of course.

I agree with the comments about forgotten rabbits.

I’d really like a turtle / tortoise / terrapin. I have no experience nor have I researched them* but they look awesome.

*as we’re not a pet-ready family at the moment.

What Pet for 8,5 and 2 year old boys?

One that you like, as you will end up looking after it!

Tortoise. … surprisingly interesting pets

Ferrets!! They are brilliant mischevious wee buglers , no end of fun

This. They’re great. 😀

Rats.
Check out their front hands. They have tiny human hands!
If you arent going for Cats/dogs: rats.

Tortoise would be cool. A lifetime commitment though, even if only for half a year every year

Would rather have a cat than rats

another vote for rat here, fantastic pets

How are Ferrets for biting and out door life? I’m being hounded for rabbits by my youngest which I don’t mind and know me I would end up enjoy building a monster hutch and run but it will of course be me looking after them. As said above on that basis it would be nice to have a pet with a bit of character.

How old is the youngest, Sodajim?

gofasterstripes only 4 1/2 which I appreciate puts her out of the equation for pretty much any pet so Id have to work on the basis that it would be “my” pet in reality.
I’ve had a look on the RSPA site and they have 3 allegedly friendly pairs used to being handled looking for adoption in my area.

They would definitely have to live out side so in my mind I’m thinking a custom built shed with under floor heating and joined run accessible through ducting !!

If I do go ahead I want to give it a lot of thought first

Preloved rabbits are a good idea. I am slightly concerned, usually, about rabbits being not fond of being handled, but if you get some that are, and you don’t let the little one pick them up (sit and stroke) then you might well be fine. Have a read on rabbit.org for info.

Have you considered chickens?

Good shout. We had them for years – fairly low maintenance, fun to have around, and the fresh eggs taste great.

Ok thanks for the advice GFS

If you can get ferrets early enough, biting should not be a problem. I however loved the fact mine were unpredictable 😆 , they will give you so much joy if you look after them properly.

They are lazy, sleeping up to 18hrs a day , but when they are awake they are like little firecrackers. Looked after properly they will live up to 7-8 yrs , also don’t get 1 as they get lonely 🙁 there is a lot to be said for the saying as mad as a bag of ferrets .

Feed on james wellbeloved ferret food , mine loved it. also my jill was physco for bananas. She was super smart, my hob not so much.

Watching them bounce about sideways, dooking ther little heads off is hilarious ,yeah they smell a bit , more so if they get a fright. They will happily live in a hutch outside as mine did but they also got into the house every night , just give them plenty of stuff for their wee brains to get stimulation out of , mine had a suspended black flexi drainage pipe circuit with a slide in there run which they loved.

Watch youtube video’s and do the research & think carefully about it. I’ll admit I got a lot more upset than a grown man should when their time ran out , but thats life 😐

Hmmm…food for thought here…think it’s between ferrets and rats at the mo…

Do you need to worry about either disappearing off into the bowels of the house and chewing through electrical cables etc?

Also, how can you tell if you’re getting a biter? Or avoid it?

Your never going to know if you’re going to get a bitey one, just handle them gently, they will let you know if they don’t want to pick picked up or stroked.

One of my rats – Annabel – would curl up on my lap to sleep, I would stroke her gently on her side with my forefinger. If she wanted me to stop she’d hold it (not bite it) in her mouth. Then after a few seconds she’d let go then go back to sleep. She was a gentle little soul, my step daughter would bring them all Dow at breakfast time so they could run around the sofa. She would only ever take food off me, sometimes she’d stalk my toast/cereal whatever. Once she managed to snaffle a whole slice of toast!

Girls smell less than boys, don’t get one of each as they WILL have babies no matter what you do. Males tend to be a little calmer, easier to handle for kids, girls are quite lively.

I was talking to the SO earlier, think we’re going to have some degu’s see how we get on, she doesn’t like rats tails (a common issue with sillyarses).

We have 4 degus, lovely wee things. They love nothing more than running round your shoulders and if you put a hoody on they will snuggle down in there for ages.

Nothing major to worry about their diet. A few niggles with sugar etc but they are so easy to take care of.

They do chew though. If they get loose you will know about it. But they are so smart and intelligent.

That’s sold it for me Mac 🙂

Fantastic, i am sure you will love them.

Degutopia is a great site for information. If you are getting them from pets r us or whatever they are called they dont really know much about them. The cages they supplies were way too small.

Any info you need just email.

I can see the boys losing interest fairly quickly, leaving us parents with an extra job.

I don’t mean to be a killjoy, but I’d hazard that’s almost certainly what will happen irrespective of what you get. The novelty will wear off and you’ll be left as pet daddy. Whatever you end up with, make sure it’s something you like and are prepared to look after.

Cougar…yep, hence the question and my antipathy towards guinea pigs and rabbits!

You could have another baby and get them to raise it 😉