What would be an appropriate pet for a 5 year that is not a cat or dog?

poohcma102: What would be an appropriate pet for a 5 year that is not a cat or dog?
My daughter has been asking for a pet. My husband has already said NO to a cat or dog. My daughter is 5 and slightly autistic. I am not sure what type of pet would be easy for her to care for and handle. We already have a beta fish but he is no fun for her. Anyone have any suggestions?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Ethel
Rats. Seriously, the pet rats are pretty friendly, gentle, easy to care for, and tough. They don’t live forever of course, but pet rats have been around for about 150 years as an alternative pet for allergic kids.

Answer by *~Mandi~*
ginipig is fun or bunnys r cool something small and furry in a cage would be a good pet

Answer by keiko
If fish are no fun, try firebelly frogs. The set up is not as expensive as a turtle and the are fun to watch when they aren’t hiding. However, you don’t handle the frogs. They are more to look at. If you want a pet you can pick up, try a snake. Also bunnies or mice might me fun.

Answer by CrunchyCon
Well if he won’t allow a cat or a dog, there aren’t many options that really WOULD be fun for her, she needs something she can touch and cats and dogs are really the best for that. The only other thing would be a guinea pig or gerbil or something but they would be much harder to handle and care for (think cage cleaning and scurrying) and they stink to high heaven. I’d keep working on the cat/dog with your husband.

Answer by GOAT HEAD
i was going to suggest a hamster or gerble but being that she’s autistic i dont know if that would be a good idea or not. that would all depend on if she could stay gentle with it even if she got a little over stimulated

you could also try to get a bigger fish tank that has more fish in it that move around more and are different colors and sizes

Answer by jo c
maybe a rabbit as they are easy to take care of and eats all fruit and veg scraps

Answer by Becca
Try a guinea pig or perhaps a rabbit. They both can live in a cage and can also be out of the cage and walking around your house when supervised. Since they are bigger, a child is less likely to squeeze too hard, if you know what I mean. Plus, they’re a pet that you can bond more to. I

Answer by thesunwasshiningonthesea
I agree with rats. They are great pets and quite intelligent compared to the other furry critters of their size.

Answer by jellibells
Cats and dogs are big time commitments, and everyone in the family really needs to be on board – I don’t think you should push your husband to get an animal he doesn’t want, that is a big reason so many animals end up being given away or in a shelter.

Guinea pigs are probably the the friendliest and most interactive of the ‘small and furry’ bunch – and much lower maintenance than rabbits. Rabbits can be nice pets, but they are JUST like having a dog or cat – they won’t thrive being cooped up in a little cage and are not good pets for people who don’t have a lot of space and time. Plus, all the reasons your husband does not want a cat or dog are the same reasons and then some he won’t want a rabbit. They are great pets, but not low maintenance.

Guinea pigs that are handled A LOT from the time they are babies can be super friendly and far less likely to bite than mice, gerbils, hamsters. But you really need to commit to handling them all the time when they are babies – like every day for an hour +, to turn them into the really sweet pets they can be. When you see skittish guinea pigs, it is because they were not handled enough. Even still, they are less likely to bite than others in that category, but a skittish guinea pig isn’t nearly as fun!

They also can be kept in a cage and do NOT stink if you change their bedding and keep their cage clean. Anything stinks if you don’t care for it properly, but they are not as stinky as, say, male rats which naturally have a very strong smell. Rats actually are very smart and can make great pets, but the males have really potent urine and it is hard to keep things clean enough so that you can’t smell it.

If you have a GOOD animal shelter near you that accepts small animals (many do), check them out first. Good does not have to mean ‘no kill’, but it does mean that their staff seem to know a lot about a number of different animals and, if they do euthanize, they are the kind of shelter that does so infrequently and therefore has the time to get to know their animals. A good shelter can be by far the best place to get a pet for a child, as the staff usually know much more than pet store employees and can help find the right animal for a child with disabilities. You can look up shelters in your area at www.petfinder.com

Good luck – an animal can make a huge difference in the life of a child!

Answer by Picky1
My little brother is autistic – we had a cat, but he tried to be nice and give it a hair cut, and ended up nipping it’s ear – they aren’t friends anymore.

The best pet we discovered was a pet painted turtle.

Pros:
-It walked, but not too fast that he couldn’t keep up.

-It didn’t bite, and could be carried around.

-It’s shell had different colors, which he thought was awesome.

-It’s cheap to feed.

-Doesn’t cause any allergy issues.

-Is easy to care for and can sit on a bed stand at night.

-Doesn’t demand attention when the kid wants to ignore it.

Overall, it’s a good ‘non-stress’ animal, and won’t do anything to set the kid off. Plus, when it died, it could be swapped for a new one without any heartbreak or tears. Harder to do with a dog…..

This worked out good because when the turtle would pull into it’s shell, he learned that that was nap time and he’d leave it alone. Helped with understanding that after awhile people needed ‘shell time’ also.

Plus the times he accidentally dropped it, it had protection….

Answer by titania94
You could try a hamster. They are small enough to be handled, and you can get fun accessories for them (a ball, trails, wheel). And they are easy to care for. You could also go for an unconventional pet, like a hermit crab. I loved them when I was a kid.

Answer by Jules
How about a parakeet or other small bird? They’re really fun and don’t need to be held a lot.