Searching for a cool indoor pet for my son?

Question

My son is 11 years old and we can't have a dog or cat in our apartment. So besides a fish what would be a neat pet that we can consider. I love dogs/cats so Im not an absolute amimal hater, but not so easy going with the reptiles, but as long as it has easy care "instruction" and easy for my son to take care of, its fine with me. Any suggestions?!?!?!?!

Answer 1

Heres a list of Pets ive had (or have) and the pros and cons of each one.

Hamsters-
I have a hamster now and have had plenty of them in the past. Pros-they're small and take up minimal space, theyre relatively cheap to own/feed. They can be super friendly and fun to play with. Cons- theyre lil escape artists, if you get a regular cage for them- make sure its got a door with a latch, or buy a latch for the door...they wont sit still very long in your hands so if youre looking for a laid back pet for your son, this might not be the way to go. they only live a couple years. (average life span for a hamster is 2-4 years)

Rats- If you love dogs, you'll love rats. Jack hannah refers to rats as the "dogs of the rodent world" which is very true. Pros -theyre smart, they figure things out like nobodys business, theyre super fun to play with..They'll chill on your shoulder while youre doing other things, theyre cheap to buy, and own (after you buy a cage that is). Cons- female rats are sometimes prone to tumors, so you either have to pay to have them removed, or have them put to sleep..they too, only live a few years. Rats are very social so if youre gonna get one its best to get 2 so they can keep each other company (2 of the same sex or you'll have 5000 baby rats before you know it) Unless your son has alot of time to play with his pet, that is.

Rabbits- Pros- theyre super soft and fun to cuddle, theyre playful, and do cute things. Cons- You'll need a bigger cage for them, they chew on EVERYTHING, you have to clean them more often than other animals, usually twice a week, and if you dont have them fixed, they can develop quite the snotty attitude.

Guinea pigs- Pros -they dont take up much space, unlike a hamster, they'll sit in your lap and chill.. Cons- they dont do much of anything..theyre really kind of boring. but if youre looking for a really laid back pet, this would be the way to go. theyre super skittish but like anything they can be trained out of it.

parakeets/cockatiels- Pros- theyre smart, easy to clean, playful, and they live for a long time (generally 5-10 years, sometimes more) cons -theyre freaking loooouuud, and you gotta have their wings clipped in order to train them or else they'll fly off constantly.

I think thats all ive owned.. Hope this helps. Good luck with your future pet!

Answer 2

Whilst I agree with angelonthesun's comment that ferrets make great pets, I would not recommend that you "try" one, or any other pet for that matter.

There are already quite enough pets in animal shelters looking for new homes, because people just decided to "try" them, and they didn't work out.

Instead I would recommend that you visit your local library, scour the internet, and perhaps meet some pets that you are interested in and learn what they are like firsthand, and well as getting some sort of picture of the care YOU will likely be putting into the pet. Because it is not realistic to expect an 11-year-old to take all the responsibility for this. All swear blind they will, but the 11-year-old with strong enough interest and a well-developed enough sense of responsibility to do this is rare.

You might also consider visiting some animal rescues and shelters. The people who work there are both knowledgeable and committed to the welfare of the animals they rescue. Once you have learned all you need to know and take care of the pet that is right for you, it might be nice to home one of these rescues too.

Answer 3

As far as snakes go... Corn snakes are pretty easy, as are ball pythons. Both ae easy to care for, laid back, and don't get too big. Just make sure the cage is escape-proof. And hopefully you're not squeamish about feeding it mice and rats.

Hermit crabs are also easy, although not very exciting.

Chinchillas are cool too, although you'll likely spend more on the cage and/or accessories than you will on the animal itself. They are very intelligent and always active, so they need a big cage like a ferret would. Once you get them set up, they are pretty easy to care for, and NOT smelly! :)

Also I used to keep rats. Strange as it may sound, they are probably the best of the small rodents. They are not likely to bite, and they are intelligent enough to recognize you, unlike hamsters, gerbils, and guinea pigs. Aside from weekly cage cleaning they are very easy to take care of.

Box turtles are easy, but again, not very exciting.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

Answer 4

Some alternate ideas to having a pet are that you could contact a local exotic animal group (like, we have reptile and bird rescue groups in my area), and see if you could foster a pet from there for a little while to see how things go and if it's right for your family. Another thought could be if you have the ability, get your son involved in volunteering at some of these places. He'd get to play and learn and you wouldn't have to deal with anything at home.

As to cool pets:

I have a friend with little frogs. She loves them and they're very easy - just feed some crickets (that you can buy at the pet store) once/week. They do make a little bit of noise, though, and aren't really for handling - even though they're a lot of fun to watch.

Turtles are also easy - just not the most interactive, and like mammals, cage can get quite smelly if not changed frequently. Lizards, too, and you can handle them - a little bit. Iguanas are very cool, but take up a lot of space and require special care (they need to be kept warm, so need special habitat - that kind of thing).

Hermit crabs are kind of easy to care for and fun if you can get them healthy and happy enough to change shells to those with different decorations. They just need to be fed, have their sand kept warm and they must be misted with water (think recreating the beach); and they're very handle-able.

Small mammals like various rodents can be very sweet, cuddly and cute. But - they take more effort for being taken care of. You can probably find several at your local animal shelter - my local animal shelter frequently has bunnies, hamsters and guinea pigs.

I guess all living pets are going to require some amount of effort, though, when it comes down to it. My friend bought her three kids (4,7 & 9 - so a little younger than your son) giga-pets for Christmas along with the attendant TV accessory. The kids really love them - I had no idea how involved the gig-pet culture was. They're quite interactive, can connect to each other, trade items with one another and have adventures via the accessories. Maybe that might be easier?

Answer 5

Chinese water dragons are pretty cool pets. They eat crickets, meal worms, scrambled eggs, and small chunks of fruit. They only get as big as their tank. You do have to keep their tank pretty humid, and you should have a little pond for it to chill in. If you get it when it's real small and hold it a lot it will get used to it and it wont try to get away unless it is spooked. Try some type of frog, not a good pet for holding though. birds are cool too if you get the right one. African gray birds are cool they're like parrots but less colorful. you can teach them shapes, colors , phrases, and they will pick up stuff on their own. like sounds around the house , the phone ring, if you say a persons name a lot. and it will out live your son unless it gets some sort of sickness.

Answer 6

Rodents are fun. Rats make excellent pets. More so than mice and gerbils, and just as good as hamsters any day. They're smart, clean, and affectionate.

Rabbits are great too. And can be litter box trained. Some rabbits are very playful and sweet. But they do chew! So you need to watch your furniture and any wires from electronics.

Answer 7

You may not like the idea, but rats make wonderful pets. They are very social with their human companion, easy to take care of and lots of fun. My 10yr old son has a female rat and they are best of friends, and I have really come to like her too.

Answer 8

All indoor pets.

Answer 9

rabbit i am ten i have one so i dont think it will be that hard for an 11 year old to take care of keep him in a room that theres nothing it could climb under cuz mine likes to climb under stuff and it is hard to get him to come out

Answer 10

Hamster!! Very easy to take care of, and lots of fun for "teens" Lol