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#1
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Easy to Care for Pet
I'll state right off that I am not a pet lover. But, my kids are
now pre-teens and still desparately want a pet. We were at first thinking about fish, but they aren't particularly cuddly. It is also complicated by the fact that dogs and cats make me sneeze. So what might be a good first time pet for kids in the tens but not yet teens? Carol |
#2
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Easy to Care for Pet
Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just
make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another. -- Sue (mom to three girls) wrote in message ... I'll state right off that I am not a pet lover. But, my kids are now pre-teens and still desparately want a pet. We were at first thinking about fish, but they aren't particularly cuddly. It is also complicated by the fact that dogs and cats make me sneeze. So what might be a good first time pet for kids in the tens but not yet teens? Carol |
#3
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Easy to Care for Pet
"Sue" wrote in message news:6pmdnYluc8_Jhc3anZ2dnUVZ_jmdnZ2d@wideopenwest .com... Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another. -- Sue (mom to three girls) Hamsters are very cute, but they bite and don't particularly like to be handled. If a cat is out of the question, I recommend a rat (smart, cute, fun, personable, clean) or a guinea pig (not-so-smart, cute, also loves attention, but messy). wrote in message ... I'll state right off that I am not a pet lover. But, my kids are now pre-teens and still desparately want a pet. We were at first thinking about fish, but they aren't particularly cuddly. It is also complicated by the fact that dogs and cats make me sneeze. So what might be a good first time pet for kids in the tens but not yet teens? Carol |
#4
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Easy to Care for Pet
wrote in message ... I'll state right off that I am not a pet lover. But, my kids are now pre-teens and still desparately want a pet. We were at first thinking about fish, but they aren't particularly cuddly. It is also complicated by the fact that dogs and cats make me sneeze. So what might be a good first time pet for kids in the tens but not yet teens? Carol A hedgehog. They are cute, fun, trainable, and easy care. Low allergy as well. Care for a hedgehog is easy, however you do have to know what your doing before you get one. |
#5
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Easy to Care for Pet
In article , Sue says...
Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another. -- Sue (mom to three girls) Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes are), and are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual puppies. I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish - just something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats are a lot of fun. Banty |
#6
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Easy to Care for Pet
On Nov 30, 8:49 am, Banty wrote:
In article , Sue says... Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another. -- Sue (mom to three girls) Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes are), and are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual puppies. I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish - just something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats are a lot of fun. Banty Except that they eat through everything! Just make sure that you never leave them out unsupervised. (I agree they're cute as can be, and my friend had pet rats I liked, but we've had so many *pest* rodents that I don't want to _invite_ one into our home. Besides, our cat would go nuts.) |
#7
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Easy to Care for Pet
In article ,
cjra says... On Nov 30, 8:49 am, Banty wrote: In article , Sue says... Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another. -- Sue (mom to three girls) Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes are), and are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual puppies. I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish - just something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats are a lot of fun. Banty Except that they eat through everything! Just make sure that you never leave them out unsupervised. Yes - we never let them run around unsupervised. There is also the issue of rattie pee and rattie poo (although I hear some folks actually potty train them in little litter boxes in the corners of the room). But most of all, this little issue of our two cats ;-) (I agree they're cute as can be, and my friend had pet rats I liked, but we've had so many *pest* rodents that I don't want to _invite_ one into our home. Besides, our cat would go nuts.) There's no necessary connection between the pest rodents and keeping pet rodents. I did notice that our friends and neighbors who have NYC roots were a little freaked about us actually keeping them as pets. As to cats, like I said, we had the rats out only under close supervision - actually they were mostly in our pockets and on our shoulders. But they gained a lot of respect from our cats on their own - they would jump onto their cage wires right at the cats when they passed, so the cats kept themselves away. They only live a couple-three years, though. One of our gerbils lasted nearly five. Our vet was a rat fan and had a lot of specialized skills. One of our rats actually had surgery to remove a tumor. Banty |
#8
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Easy to Care for Pet
On Nov 30, 10:24 am, Banty wrote:
In article , cjra says... On Nov 30, 8:49 am, Banty wrote: In article , Sue says... Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another. -- Sue (mom to three girls) Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes are), and are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual puppies. I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish - just something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats are a lot of fun. Banty Except that they eat through everything! Just make sure that you never leave them out unsupervised. Yes - we never let them run around unsupervised. There is also the issue of rattie pee and rattie poo (although I hear some folks actually potty train them in little litter boxes in the corners of the room). But most of all, this little issue of our two cats ;-) (I agree they're cute as can be, and my friend had pet rats I liked, but we've had so many *pest* rodents that I don't want to _invite_ one into our home. Besides, our cat would go nuts.) There's no necessary connection between the pest rodents and keeping pet rodents. I did notice that our friends and neighbors who have NYC roots were a little freaked about us actually keeping them as pets. Oh but there's a mental connection! When we bought this house and started cleaning it out, our neighbors were innundated with rats. Apparently our cleaning forced them all out. We've done a lot to prevent them from returning, and despite just having seen Ratatouille a few days ago and having a soft spot for them, I can't bring myself to welcome them into my home again. Our cat was angry enough when we saved the baby squirrel she brought into the house and was trying to kill (or at least torture to death), and she's still adapting to the baby usurping her place as Queen of the Castle. I couldn't torture her with pet rats. Wouldn't be fair. |
#9
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Easy to Care for Pet
In article ,
Banty wrote: In article , cjra says... On Nov 30, 8:49 am, Banty wrote: In article , Sue says... Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another. -- Sue (mom to three girls) Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes are), and are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual puppies. I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish - just something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats are a lot of fun. Banty Except that they eat through everything! Just make sure that you never leave them out unsupervised. Yes - we never let them run around unsupervised. There is also the issue of rattie pee and rattie poo (although I hear some folks actually potty train them in little litter boxes in the corners of the room). But most of all, this little issue of our two cats ;-) (I agree they're cute as can be, and my friend had pet rats I liked, but we've had so many *pest* rodents that I don't want to _invite_ one into our home. Besides, our cat would go nuts.) There's no necessary connection between the pest rodents and keeping pet rodents. I did notice that our friends and neighbors who have NYC roots were a little freaked about us actually keeping them as pets. As to cats, like I said, we had the rats out only under close supervision - actually they were mostly in our pockets and on our shoulders. But they gained a lot of respect from our cats on their own - they would jump onto their cage wires right at the cats when they passed, so the cats kept themselves away. They only live a couple-three years, though. One of our gerbils lasted nearly five. Our vet was a rat fan and had a lot of specialized skills. One of our rats actually had surgery to remove a tumor. I'll admit that I hadn't thought of rats as a pet. But compared to the "we could get a snake or some sort of lizard" discussion, rats would seem to be a better choice. And compared to the life-span of my childhood goldfish three years sounds like a while. (My neighbours though, had a goldfish that lived for years and years.) It would also be longer than the lifespan of the fly that my youngest adopted as a "pet" at school. It's when I found myself having a funeral for a fly (who was carefully brought home by my tearful child) that I've come to accept the depth of yearning for a pet. Although I'll have to keep guinea pigs in mind too - they may be more common locally. I hadn't known that hamsters tended to bite, so I'm certainly appreciating everyone's advice! Carol |
#10
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Easy to Care for Pet
We had very good luck with hamsters in that none of the 6 or so we have had
were bitters. One thing is to try and get a baby so to teach them to be held. Older hamsters can be taught to not bite by giving them a treat every time you pick them up and letting them smell you first before picking them up. A book about the pet you are about to buy would be a smart thing to do or research on the internet. -- Sue (mom to three girls) wrote in message ... In article , Banty wrote: In article , cjra says... On Nov 30, 8:49 am, Banty wrote: In article , Sue says... Hamster? If you end up getting a hamster and want one for each kid, just make sure you have them in separate cages or else they will eat one another. -- Sue (mom to three girls) Better yet - two pet rats. They're not biters (as hamsters sometimes are), and are more intelligent and interactive. Kinda of like having perpetual puppies. I've done hamsters, rats, gerbils. Gerbils are like mammilian fish - just something to watch. Hamsters are cuddlier, but tempramental. Rats are a lot of fun. Banty Except that they eat through everything! Just make sure that you never leave them out unsupervised. Yes - we never let them run around unsupervised. There is also the issue of rattie pee and rattie poo (although I hear some folks actually potty train them in little litter boxes in the corners of the room). But most of all, this little issue of our two cats ;-) (I agree they're cute as can be, and my friend had pet rats I liked, but we've had so many *pest* rodents that I don't want to _invite_ one into our home. Besides, our cat would go nuts.) There's no necessary connection between the pest rodents and keeping pet rodents. I did notice that our friends and neighbors who have NYC roots were a little freaked about us actually keeping them as pets. As to cats, like I said, we had the rats out only under close upervision - actually they were mostly in our pockets and on our shoulders. But they gained a lot of respect from our cats on their own - they would jump onto their cage wires right at the cats when they passed, so the cats kept themselves away. They only live a couple-three years, though. One of our gerbils lasted nearly five. Our vet was a rat fan and had a lot of specialized skills. One of our rats actually had surgery to remove a tumor. I'll admit that I hadn't thought of rats as a pet. But compared to the "we could get a snake or some sort of lizard" discussion, rats would seem to be a better choice. And compared to the life-span of my childhood goldfish three years sounds like a while. (My neighbours though, had a goldfish that lived for years and years.) It would also be longer than the lifespan of the fly that my youngest adopted as a "pet" at school. It's when I found myself having a funeral for a fly (who was carefully brought home by my tearful child) that I've come to accept the depth of yearning for a pet. Although I'll have to keep guinea pigs in mind too - they may be more common locally. I hadn't known that hamsters tended to bite, so I'm certainly appreciating everyone's advice! Carol |
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