I don't mind taking care of it myself I love them., but I don't want to get some now and my child not appreciate them till theyre old and nearly dead. So what age do you think they would get something out of having some gerbils?
2007-01-28 02:33:55 · 13 answers · asked by cigaro19 5 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
I think having a pet around the house is a great learning experience at any age. I could see a toddler being stimulated by watching a couple of rodents play together in a cage. If the child is mature enough to handle a little critter who is likely to be rather hyper and wiggly, then I think they are ready to handle a gerbil. You should consider buying the animals from a breeder who has been handling the animals since they were babies so that you are certain to get gerbils who enjoy being handled. Most pet store gerbils have not been handled much by humans and would not be the best choices for a child's first pet (though they can become great and loving pets if you have the patience to earn their trust). A breeder can give you a pair of friendly gerbils who have grown up knowing that humans are their friends and they will be much less scared of being picked up and handled (and much less likely to bite you).
The parent, however, should always be the one responsible for the pet and it is great that you are willing to take care of it yourself. You will need to teach the child how to care for the animal and to supervise all interactions with the pet until you trust the child to be gentle. I suggest having the child sit on a couch while holding the animal so that it does not have a long way to fall if the child loses control of the animal. You will need to research the animals before you buy them and you will need to find a good rodent vet in the area where you can take the animals if they become sick or injured. Explaining all of the work that goes in to being a responsible pet owner will be a great learning experience for the child and will help to foster an appreciation for creatures great and small.
2007-01-30 02:39:14 · answer #1 · answered by oohlookasquirrel 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Children at all ages get something out of having pets in the house. All children learn compassion and respect for animals if they observe their parents taking good care of pets. Even a child as young as two years old can be "responsible" for dropping food or a toilet paper tube into the tank for gerbils. On the other hand, I would not expect a child less than 10-12 years old to be fully responsible for pets without some level of supervision.
One good thing about gerbils is that, since they are social creatures, you will end up introducing new, young animals to your older ones when partners die and finally one gerbil is left alone. So a gerbil clan is really a rolling affair with new animals coming in every few years and you can keep that going for as long as you wish.
For a young child, two or three years is a very long time, yet still an amount of time they can grasp. Frankly I think it can be a beneficial experience for a child to own a pet from infancy through death in a fathomable time period. Every one of us will need to deal with death at some point, and the experience of grieving and recovering from the death of a pet can give a child perspective when s/he eventually loses a human family member.
As long as you are willing to do the work and supervise the interactions for everyone's safety, you can get a pet at any point in your child's life.
2007-01-29 05:56:38 · answer #2 · answered by Shawsheen River Gerbils 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At age 10
2007-01-28 02:45:41 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What a lovely answer from Tracey. Refreshing though it was I'd say a 5 year old would be able to appreciate the delicacy of such a tiny life. It would also instill in him/her some wonderful values that will flourish as they grow older. But I guess you'll still end up cleaning out the cage!
A great alternative to gerbils are Guinea Pigs. They're great communicators, love the company of others, are intelligent, are not nocturnal and - best of all - they don't smell!
Unlike Tracey.
2007-01-28 02:43:12 · answer #4 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree w/ the poster who have been given her babies one at 7- basically some weeks in the past my uncle became telling me how me or my cousin grabbed his gerbil and actually squeezed it until that is head popped off and we've been 3 and 5 a million/2. reason whether you save it in a cage, i'm effective your toddler will prefer to hold it and could attempt to realize this with you out of sight, freeing the gerbil into the wilds of fixtures legs electric powered wires and under refridgerator caves, lol. sturdy success
2016-11-01 12:13:36 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gerbils can give a nasty bite and very fast runners if let loose! I think you'd be better with a hamster, say from the age of 6.
2007-01-28 03:29:47 · answer #6 · answered by trixi 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say around 9 or 10 years old.
2007-01-28 02:37:25 · answer #7 · answered by ♪♫♪justpassingby♪♫♪ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say 10 years old is a good age for pets.
2007-01-28 02:39:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I got my first hamster when i was 9 years old. I got a male and a female, and learnt alot from those 2 hamsters, first about reproduction, then about looking after offspring, then about death. My mum made everything in life an education, and i loved it!
2007-01-28 06:47:33 · answer #9 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd say around 8-10, you have to know your own children and determine how mature they are. Guinea pigs are good too though, they're a lot bigger, and would probably be better for younger children (6+). Up to you on that part though.
2007-01-28 02:45:15 · answer #10 · answered by dbybell 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋