my nine year old son is wanting a pet but, we can't have dogs or cats.... any suggestions other than fish?

Question

looking for something that he will be able to care for himself

Answer 1

Two words.....guinea pigs! They are absolutely fabulous! My 11 yr. old son has two. Get two, they love company. They are relatively inexpensive to purchase and provide for. They are extremely social creatures and very affectionate. My son's "talk" to him when he comes in the room. And they become very docile within a short time if you handle them regularly. Very sweet creatures. Loaded with personality! Getcha one! Or two!

Answer 2

If he can't have pets because of allergies, you could consider rabbits. They are allergen free and can be trained to use a litter box.

There are also allergen-free dogs, poodles or poodle cross-breeds. We have a shih-poo which is allergen free and stays small (18 pounds).

You can also get a small member of the rodent family, perhaps a guinea pig (can be trained to follow you around for food), hamster, gerbil.

You can also look into reptiles. Various lizards are easy care animals and fun to watch. There are also several large insects or arachnids that your son could handle easily. You may also consider something like a built-in ant colony or a bee hive. Though he won't be able to handle the bees directly, they are incredibly interesting to watch and an be sey up easily. You create an entrance with a small hole in the wall and then a tube to feed into the hive located inside. You make the hive out of plexi-glass so you can see all of the activity of the hive. Perfect for honey bees.

Answer 3

a hamster or chinchilla is a great first pet especially for little kids. they stay in the cage and they can feel like they are responsible because you can put it in his room. then he can have the responsibility of feeding it and stuff but still check on it to make sure its ok.
in my old school, chinchilla's and ferrets are great for showing off and there more of a guys small pet especially in elementry.
girls are more with rabbits and hamsters so you dont want a guy to have a girlly pet unless of course he wants it.
you can even have him pick it out since they all look different. also ferrets take walks so he can put a leash on it and go around the house and in the yard with it so it would be sorta like a dog.
for the reptiles...a snake is a pretty cool pet for a boy at his age. but most people dont like them in the house so you can also get a chamillian or something like that. it is great for kids especially for boys.
good luck.

Answer 4

My brother and I had pet rats (not mice) as kids. They're quite intelligent and affectionate creatures, and smart too. They're fun to train to do tricks, and while you will probably have to help with cage-cleaning, the day-to-day care of them is very simple. A 9 yr. old could easily take care of the daily stuff.

We had gerbils and hamsters at a couple of points too, but I found they were more tempermental, and less affectionate. Also boring; they didn't train well to do the fun stuff like the rats did. And my hamster nearly bit my fingertip off one time, for no apparent reason. :(

Hope this helps! :)

Answer 5

thats awsome that your willing to let him have a pet. its a great responsibilty learning experience. There are tons of animal options you can choose from. My younger brothers (now 11 & 13) have almost every animal that comes from the pet stores since they were able to talk

But for the first one maybe a:
hamster
ferret (you can put them on a leash and walk them)
guinea pig
sugar Gliders
rabbit
they can all be kept in a cage and occasionally taken out for exercise and play time-

or if you and your lil guy are brave my brothers love having:
a snake
gecko
iguana
turtles
or any other lizard

Answer 6

I would suggest a baby turtle but I'm talking about the ones that are only about 3 inches long.They grow slowly & they are easy to take care of.All he has to do is change its water( which it hardly uses) & feed it every other day(they don't eat much).My son loves his.They're very inexpensive.Lot's boys like hamsters & guinea pigs but you do need to be careful because they DO bite.A small lizard would also be good.

Answer 7

I would suggest a Guinea pig but they require a lot of room to be healthy and ideally one should have 2 pigs because they need a lot of social interaction. However, they can be very affectionate and can learn to enjoy human touch.

Reptiles and amphibians can carry salmonella so lots of hand washing is necessary. They aren't hard to care for but aren't as cuddly.

A small bird might be fun but you will need space and they do take some work to properly care for.

Answer 8

I had a parakeet when I was nine years old. They are small, inexpensive and very affectionate if you spend a lot of time with them.
Mine used to always ride around the house on my shoulder.
They are very smart and can be taught to do an incredible number of tricks.
I used to let mine fly around the house, but my Mom wasn't especially thrilled about that.
Good Luck!

Answer 9

Try a hamster type pet. Reptiles are great pets, however if not taken care of properly they can become sick or hurt easily. Reptiles can also spread salmonella poisoning if you don't wash properly after handling them. Let's face it how many 9 year old boys wash thoroughly . Good luck.

Answer 10

maybe something like a chameleon or other kind of lizard? those are kind of fun. turtles are a little more boring, and also stinky. birds are high maintenance and loud but beautful. from what i've seen with other kids, i'd have to say a lizard. perhaps a hamster or gerbil though they can be delicate.

(I wouldn't recommend rabbits because they are a lot of trouble to clean, smelly, and not that responsive even tho they are soft)