Dog
Children learn consideration and responsibility by taking care of a pet, however a dog brings many everyday duties. It is important to realize that he needed to be walked, fed, cared for his hair and above all, he needs to be given enough attention, so that he did not invest his energy e.g. into the destruction of shoes.
If you want buy a dog for your children, you should follow the characteristics of particular breeds. Look for dogs, which are less active. You also need to ensure in advance, if your kid is not allergic to dog hair.
You need to remember that it is a commitment for many years – 8 to 15 or more.
Keep also in mind that you go to work and your children go to school. You can preferably get a dog outside, or even a different pet, which will not feel lonely at home.
Cat
A cat is less demanding on your time. When kids are at school and you are at work, a cat can stay at home contentedly. He will not make much mess, as he can learn to use the cat toilet easily. Cats live an average of 12 years.
As to the care, cats need regular feeding. You do not need to worry about their hair, as cats can clean it well themselves.
When you teach the cat to use a carrier, he can even go on holiday with you. Do not forget regular deworming and visits to the vet.
Dwarf Rabbit
A dwarf rabbit can be trained to cleanliness well. It will even rush on call and it will like to cuddle. Although it does not required full-time care, the keeper must give it some time every day and let it run outside its housing for at least 4 hours a day.
A rabbit can learn certain principles and customs. Each dwarf rabbit is a unique personality. There are nice and clean individuals as well as lifelong “pigs” and naughty ones.
In most cases, they are relatively sensitive to disease. The standard dwarf rabbit has a weight of 1 to 1.5 kg. But it is not guaranteed that it will not grow bigger.
Remember that it is necessary to change the bedding and water often and to buy goodies for it to have vitamins. Do not forget the hay and twigs, as rabbits need to gnaw with their teeth. To begin with, you need to buy a special housing (a cage, a plastic box), a drinking fountain, a bowl, food and bedding. A rabbit lives on average 6-8 years.
Goldfish
They are perfect for beginners. If your kid wants a pet, you can start with goldfish. Although the kid will not be able to cuddle with them, he or she will learn to take care of them, and you will see whether the enthusiasm lasts.
You need to get a sufficiently large fish tank, some plants, stones, the filters for water purification, air bubble maker, light and warmer. After this, the care is simple: the goldfish need just to be fed once a day. There are many different species of goldfish, some of them are demanding on the water purity and some can even do without the filter and heater, if you change the water daily and if you bubble fresh air through a straw. They can live up to 16 years.
Guinea-Pig
It is one of popular pets. It usually does not bite, so it is suitable for kids. A guinea-pig can reach the weight up to 1.2 kg. Guinea-pigs are very active and they reproduce very quickly. It is not recommended to keep two or more males at the same time.
The cage must have a minimum of 80×50 cm. It should be placed in a bright and not overheated room, without draft and noise. There are terrariums and plastic boxes available. The diet should be varied and regular, twice a day at the same time. The fresh food needs to be at room temperature. The improper foods include leek, potatoes, onion and garlic.
Guinea-pig´s teeth grow constantly, so it needs hay, stems and twigs from fruit trees to gnaw on. Use a water fountain, as water intake is very important for them. Be prepared for the sounds a guinea-pig makes: squeaking, bubbling, clicking its teeth or “singing”. The life expectancy is 5-8 years.
Ferret
Ferrets have a sweet and playful character like cats. You can walk it on a leash and you can keep in an apartment similarly to a dog. A ferret needs a large cage or aviary, where it sleeps most of the day. Place a ferret toilet in every room, in which your ferret has access. As to toys, a tube from TP or plush toys are sufficient, however an ordinary plastic bag is probably its favourite.
The ideal food is high quality meat granules designed specifically for ferrets. Ferrets like fruit or vegetables, too. Do not forget to allow your ferret a constant access to drinking water.
A ferret is a social creature, so it suffers much when it feels alone and neglected. If you do not have enough time for it, you would better not to acquire it. When a ferret suffers, it starts to bite or becomes ill. A ferret lives up to 6-8 years.
Rat
If you take good care of it, a rat can become a great pet. It is intelligent, playful, clean, docile, and it does not require much space for living.
Its cage or glass tank should be placed in a room with a constant temperature up to 22 °C. A rat must be protected from drafts, but it also needs a sufficient air circulation. That is why a cage is better than a glass tank. Before you let the rat out of it, it is necessary to remove all poisonous plants (such as cyclamen, agave, azalea, ivy, hyacinth and others) from the room/s.
You also need to secure all gaps between the furniture and walls, from where you would not be able to get a rat out. Do not forget to close the window. Allow the rat to return into its cage to drink or eat whenever it needs. A rat can live up to 3-4 years.
Tortoise
Although tortoises are herbivores, they should not be fed only with herbs. Apart from the fresh leaves from trees and other plants (clover, dandelions, kohlrabi), they should occasionally get hay, egg yolks and some raw meat. Granulated food is suitable, too.
Correct breeding requires a supply of UV light. In a terrarium, an artificial source of UV light is necessary.
Tortoises require a constant and adequate humidity. It is questionable, whether hibernation is necessary for them. Some breeders claim that winterizing is significant, but also very risky. Therefore, if you do not want to risk it, let the turtle find its daily rhythm and composure itself.
Tortoises require less care than turtles which need changing of fresh water regularly. Anyway, keep in mind that a tortoise can live up to 80 years! In a pet shop, you can buy one provided with a chip and its number from a database.
Tarantula
Tarantula is a very popular pet. It is quiet and needs a little space for living. There are many kinds, sizes and colours of them.
A tarantula likes to eat crickets, cockroaches and little mice or rodents. In addition to food, it needs a constant access to water. Use a loose bedding in its terrarium so that it can burrow. Various holes and hiding places are ideal for tarantulas. Be careful about sharp edges where it can get injured. The ideal temperature is 25-35 °C.
The tarantulas regularly leave their old skin which remains intact. They live up to 25 years.
Warning: It should be noted that it is not recommended to acquire a tarantula if you are an amateur keeper, who has no experience with keeping spiders and similar creatures. You always need to practice extreme caution when handling tarantulas. Their bite should not be fatal, however it is very painful!
African Giant Snail
Breeding of a giant snail needs some courage. Not everyone has the desire to cuddle with such a creature, however it is quite undemanding. It grows up the length of 30 cm and when adult, it weighs 300 grams.
Snails eat fruit, Chinese cabbage, chunks of cheese, boiled pasta, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, moss or cuttings from apples and cucumbers.
They need air humidity of 90% and a temperature of about 27 °C. They can also be kept in a plastic box with holes, however make sure you get a glass terrarium with a minimum size of 50×40 cm. The bedding should be made of coconut substrate. Occasionally they can be given a cuttlebone or crushed egg shells – their shell will be hard and shiny then. Do not forget a large water pool, where the snail can bathe. In captivity, it can live up to 7 years.
