Guinea pig, rat or cockatiel for a 6-year old

[eyesuc]

Don't Guinea Pigs make annoying loud honking sounds?

I think those are south african soccer fans.

World of Birds in CPT has a lot of guinea pigs. I didn't hear anything apart from faint little noises. Maybe those are more upper class guinea pigs.

 

[Spontaneous.Spinach]

I think those are south african soccer fans.

World of Birds in CPT has a lot of guinea pigs. I didn't hear anything apart from faint little noises. Maybe those are more upper class guinea pigs.

No man serious , i was going to get one till someone told me youtube its honking and i got freaked out at some sounding like car alarms

 

[Qui_Illustrati]

No man serious , i was going to get one till someone told me youtube its honking and i got freaked out at some sounding like car alarms

If that's all it takes to have you deny yourself the love of a Guinea Pig...stay away from youtube and car alarms.
damn snowflakes!

 

[Spontaneous.Spinach]

If that's all it takes to have you deny yourself the love of a Guinea Pig...stay away from youtube and car alarms.
damn snowflakes!

i assumed it was as quiet as my bunny , the only time my little fluffy baby makes noises is when she's biting away at my ethernet cable

 

[Moonunit]

Just got my 6 year old a gecko, relatively easy to keep, feed every second day and clean it's terrarium once to twice a month. They are active in the evenings, perfect for when we get home after school.

 

[PilgrimToHyperion]

I wouldn't recommend any birds for a child at all.

They are not easy to look after if you want to do it right - a parrot can't just live off of sunflower seeds and have a mirror and one or two dowel perches in a small cage.

They are extremely smart and need tons of enrichment and stimulation. Along with a variety of healthy foods - cooked veggies, fresh fruits and veggies, parrot pellets, and 10% of their diet should consist of healthy seed mixes. Vets for exotic pets are expensive, and you need an Avian vet for that - normal vets aren't specialized to treat birds.

They also don't do well alone as they are flock animals, so if they are alone, then they need even more out-of-cage time and time with their human. Long lifespans as well. Cockatiels can live up to 25-30 years. That's a long commitment.

Birds, and Cockatiels especially are amazing, but not for kids.


Source: I have several parrots ranging from Budgies to Cockatoos, do work for a veterinarian, and am one of the Cheeky Beaks Parrot Rescue team members.

I handle the surrender cases of neglected birds that are either abused or given up for various reasons - including young children that lose interest in the bird - I'm not saying that's going to happen with your child, but it's one of the main reasons that birds get sold or are surrendered to us).

Parrots are the third most popular pet - after dogs and cats, yet they are the most neglected, surrendered or given away.

Thank you! This is really great advice. I'll steer away from birds to be on the safe side. Maybe when he is a bit older. Appreciate it.

 

[PilgrimToHyperion]

When my son was younger, we went through a couple of pets.

Budgie - was a problem taming it. When ever he wanted to handle it we had to close the doors and windows. They do pack quite a punch when biting though. So not fun for the youngsters when they do.

pot belly pig - he loved the pig. It was quick to learn new habits and he enjoyed sitting with it on his bed playing. Only problem was the pet shop told us this is the small pot belly pigs, when it reach knee height we had to give it to a friend on a farm as the pig was trying to mate with out dogs an vice versa.

duck - was only fun when it was small and could swim with him in the bath. Yes, it swam with him when he was bathing. Soon it was too big and was kept outside. He never looked after it once we moved it outside.

hamsters - got bitten often. Did not like it plus was difficult to handle out side of the cage.

fishes - got him a small tank with 6 or so fishes which we allowed him to pick. Still have them today after 4 years although some of them has come and go.

hmmm, haven't thought of fish. But I'm not keen on cleaning a tank every other day. Thank you!

 

[PilgrimToHyperion]

Now the offspring of this unholy union sure sounds like a pet worthy of keeping for a kid. A pigdog/dogpig.

OP - what about a hedgehog or tortoise? Before the naysayers hop on this saying how wrong keeping these animals are - my counter argument is -they're just so damn cute!

I already have dogs that dig up the garden. I don't think I could handle more holes. Really like the idea of a tortoise though.

 

[PilgrimToHyperion]

Get something you want, you will end up taking care of it.

This seems like really good advice. I'll have to go with a guinea pig in that case. I had two as a kid (was 11) and I loved them dearly.

 

[PilgrimToHyperion]

Just got my 6 year old a gecko, relatively easy to keep, feed every second day and clean it's terrarium once to twice a month. They are active in the evenings, perfect for when we get home after school.

This sounds like another great idea! They sell them at pet shops? Haven't started looking around yet. Do you have to catch flies etc. or will it eat dead ones?

 

[PandaAttack1]

Do you? Didn't know that. Also, is there like some sort of government department policing this. I mean, you reckon our tax money is going to some schmuck running about fining folks with hedgehogs?

Damn - those things are cute.

TIA - licenses are optional

Fauna/Flora is actually quite active in our country.

When I still kept tarantulas, quite a few collectors kept indigenous species. Highly illegal. If word got out that you had locals in your collections, you are sure to have a fuana visit. They would confiscate and relocate your entire collection.

Same with fish and other wildlife. There are people working for these orgs that are extremely passionate about conservation and protection of local species of animals.

https://www.fauna-flora.org/

 

[Spontaneous.Spinach]

I wanted turtles for my pond and apparently that's illegal 🥲

 

[witpapier]

Lovebirds, they are real parrots, so they are very clever. I think they are the easiest and best pets. small, doesn't eat a lot, cuddly, wont bite your finger off,

 

[PilgrimToHyperion]

Lovebirds, they are real parrots, so they are very clever. I think they are the easiest and best pets. small, doesn't eat a lot, cuddly, wont bite your finger off,

#18 has me hesitant to get a bird for my son. I don't work tomorrow so will go shopping around a bit, but if I don't find anything suitable, he's getting an SSD instead. He wants his games to load faster!

 

[ThatGuyJD]

#18 has me hesitant to get a bird for my son. I don't work tomorrow so will go shopping around a bit, but if I don't find anything suitable, he's getting an SSD instead. He wants his games to load faster!

SSDs are great first pets.

 

[NI∀ƆOƆ‾⊥ᴚ∩ʞ]

SSDs are great first pets.

And when he is older and more mature you can get him a NVMe.

 

[RumMum]

And when he is older and more mature you can get him a NVMe.

Pfffttt you peasants. Why not a 3080ti Eagle?

 

[NI∀ƆOƆ‾⊥ᴚ∩ʞ]

Pfffttt you peasants. Why not a 3080ti Eagle?

Jip the old age is creeping up, OP did say he going to steer clear of birds.

I'll steer away from birds

 

[OuTBreaK]

What about an African Grey? Red tail. They are awesome. Ours is about 22 years old now. Rodents are a pain although the Chinese rats are pretty smart and they get very tame.

 

[OuTBreaK]

What about an African Grey? Red tail. They are awesome. Ours is about 22 years old now. Rodents are a pain although the Chinese rats are pretty smart and they get very tame.

Oh they call them fancy rats I see.

 

[hOOli]

A first pet should be something soft and cuddly that a kid can pick up and carry around with them, because they will. I'm going to be the odd man out and say get a kitten.

Puppies are great but they bark, crap and pee all over the place and have to be fed twice a day.

Kittens crap outside, feed themselves as long as you leave bowls of food and water out and contrary to popular opinion they are extremely affectionate if you raise them with plenty of love and attention, which a kid is likely to do.

 

[NI∀ƆOƆ‾⊥ᴚ∩ʞ]

Puppies are great but they bark, crap and pee all over the place and have to be fed twice a day.

Well you need to teach them not to crap and pee in the house.

 

[hOOli]

LOL in time yes, but for the first couple of weeks be prepared to wake up groggy, slip on a puddle of fresh pee and smack your head against the kitchen counter.

 

[RumMum]

Jip the old age is creeping up, OP did say he going to steer clear of birds.

I thought a raptor might change his mind. That is not just any type of bird.😃

 

[RumMum]

Honestly i think op has dogs already. Why not teach that kid to care for and appreciate the ones you have? That would teach him/her that pets are not replaceable for newer fluffier ones, that will also grow older.

 

[dash09]

A dog that oink , oink at you before it bites you.

Mandogpig is real?

 

[PilgrimToHyperion]

A first pet should be something soft and cuddly that a kid can pick up and carry around with them, because they will. I'm going to be the odd man out and say get a kitten.

Puppies are great but they bark, crap and pee all over the place and have to be fed twice a day.

Kittens crap outside, feed themselves as long as you leave bowls of food and water out and contrary to popular opinion they are extremely affectionate if you raise them with plenty of love and attention, which a kid is likely to do.

The wife's allergic and does not like cats. Apparently. Whenever we've gone into catteries the kittens adore he and it takes a fair amount of effort to get her leave. I've not seen allergic reactions yet! Worth it to bring it up. It is my son's birthday today and he received a watch and rollerblades. I whispered in his ear that I'll find him a pet soon. Probably December when we're at home and he has lots of time to spend with it.

 

[PilgrimToHyperion]

Honestly i think op has dogs already. Why not teach that kid to care for and appreciate the ones you have? That would teach him/her that pets are not replaceable for newer fluffier ones, that will also grow older.

We have dogs and he does his fair share of chores relating to them. Picks up crap once a week, feeds them every 2nd day, fills their water every day, plays with them after school and on weekends and just chills with them on the couch for hours on end. I think he is doing super well! It's actually neat how one of the dogs picked him as her person and the other has picked my daughter as her person. Their personalities match very well, one a little reserved the other completely bonkers.

Damn couch potatoes!

 

[RumMum]

We have dogs and he does his fair share of chores relating to them. Picks up crap once a week, feeds them every 2nd day, fills their water every day, plays with them after school and on weekends and just chills with them on the couch for hours on end. I think he is doing super well! It's actually neat how one of the dogs picked him as her person and the other has picked my daughter as her person. Their personalities match very well, one a little reserved the other completely bonkers.

Damn couch potatoes!

They look like very happy kids. (the human one included)

 

[Spoil3d]

Go to pug Rescue and let your son play with the pugs, they are amazing with kids, If your some loves them then you can adopt one