Need advice on a good pet to get my 8 year of son for his birthday (Jasper: allergy, living)

[hadleyzoo]

I second the rats! My daughter had 3 girls who all lived about 4 years (she got them all as very small babies from a neighbor's daughter who put the male and female together and bam! 16 babies!)...she named them Buttercup, Bubbles, and Blossom.

They can be litterbox trained (you just get a small box to put in their cage with some litter and teach them like any other animal to use it). Rats are SOCIAL animals...hamsters are not (which is why they either fight or breed and then fight). Most people have a problem with the long tails, but my daughter's rats were very affectionate and clean and didn't stink at all. They all knew their names. If she called one, that one would come running out of her bed to my daughter.

[SnappyBob]

[quote=cheermomof4girls;9891058]If you want a pet that actually likes to be handled, and is small and easy to take care of, I would suggest a pet rat. I have 2 daughters with asthma and allergies and they did not have a problem with rats. They are very affectionate, they don't bite, and stink like hamsters, gerbils, guinnea pigs do. We had 7 at one time. I have 4 girls, so they each had their own cage. When you set them down they don't run off like the other rodents mentioned. They just walk around and love to be with you. We have a mini doxi and a dobermann and they got along. I would suggest looking on Craigslist for them. I got most of my rats for free and they came with their cages. I only paid for a pair of rats but that's because they came with a 3 story cage, at that I only paid $20. A lot of them are giving them away because their kids lost interest, or they were given as a gift and not wanted. If you have any other questions, feel free to dm me.

????What????

[majormadmax]

Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens, or simply 'bettas' (with two t's) don't necessarily require air pumps in their bowls. Like anabantids and all of the other members of the genus Betta, they have a labyrinth organ in their heads that allows them to take oxygen directly from the atmosphere (but they can also still take oxygen from the water via their gills).

This is one reason they tend to live longer and under more extreme conditions (my father told me the locals kept them in mud puddles in Vietnam; the fish is native to the rice paddies of Thailand and Cambodia).

They're nice looking and great "low maintenance" pets for kids. Just be careful not to put two males in the same tank, they usually will fight to the death. Actually, a male may also kill a female, so it is best just to keep one per bowl!

Here's a good forum for info: Betta Fish and Betta Fish Care

Cheers! M2

[cheermomof4girls]

[quote=SnappyBob;9892290]

Originally Posted by cheermomof4girls

If you want a pet that actually likes to be handled, and is small and easy to take care of, I would suggest a pet rat. I have 2 daughters with asthma and allergies and they did not have a problem with rats. They are very affectionate, they don't bite, and stink like hamsters, gerbils, guinnea pigs do. We had 7 at one time. I have 4 girls, so they each had their own cage. When you set them down they don't run off like the other rodents mentioned. They just walk around and love to be with you. We have a mini doxi and a dobermann and they got along. I would suggest looking on Craigslist for them. I got most of my rats for free and they came with their cages. I only paid for a pair of rats but that's because they came with a 3 story cage, at that I only paid $20. A lot of them are giving them away because their kids lost interest, or they were given as a gift and not wanted. If you have any other questions, feel free to dm me.

????What????

What? Is it so strange that all for girls had a pet rat/s in their room?

[HisLilSecret]

[quote=cheermomof4girls;9892453]

Originally Posted by SnappyBob

What? Is it so strange that all for girls had a pet rat/s in their room?

I'm thinking the was for saying "each girl had her own cage," giving the impression the girls were in a cage, not the rats.*lol* Of course, I'm twisted, so maybe SnappyBob meant something else.

[Camper1]

[quote=SnappyBob;9892290]

Originally Posted by cheermomof4girls

If you want a pet that actually likes to be handled, and is small and easy to take care of, I would suggest a pet rat. I have 2 daughters with asthma and allergies and they did not have a problem with rats. They are very affectionate, they don't bite, and stink like hamsters, gerbils, guinnea pigs do. We had 7 at one time. I have 4 girls, so they each had their own cage. When you set them down they don't run off like the other rodents mentioned. They just walk around and love to be with you. We have a mini doxi and a dobermann and they got along. I would suggest looking on Craigslist for them. I got most of my rats for free and they came with their cages. I only paid for a pair of rats but that's because they came with a 3 story cage, at that I only paid $20. A lot of them are giving them away because their kids lost interest, or they were given as a gift and not wanted. If you have any other questions, feel free to dm me.

????What????

[Camper1]

[quote=cheermomof4girls;9892453]

Originally Posted by SnappyBob

What? Is it so strange that all for girls had a pet rat/s in their room?

Sorry, I thought it was funny the way he it put it in red that your girls each had their own cage.

[cheermomof4girls]

I didn't realize it would be read that way. LOL I didn't read it that way when I re read what I typed out. I thought it looked obvious that the cage was referred to the part where I said we had 7 rats. I didn't want people to think I had them all in the same cage, the RATS, that is.

[stoneoak]

to each his own....but I've never thought "rats" and "pet" should be in the same sentence. Same goes for, "Hey, meet Fluffy, my pet boa constrictor!" or "Wait! Has anyone seen my pet tarantula!?!"

[Deep Forest]

And don't forget...rats need to go to the Vet too ! Food for thought....