There are some wonderful small cute and furry animals which can make excellent pets for young children. Many parents consider that a dog or a cat is too much of a commitment and is often too big to be an ideal pet for small children.
And you need to be aware of the risks of dogs as pets for small children. Some children have been savaged by their own dog, even a small one.
I think personally that one of the best small pets for small children are guinea pigs, and I have a young daughter who has a guinea pig and she delights in him.
They have some huge advantages as a pet. They rarely live much longer than around 5 years, so you won't be looking after the guinea pig after the kids have left home. They are cheap to buy, usually under $20, they are cheap to feed and don't get sick as often as other animals. They are warm and furry and like company and will happily sit on your child's lap in the evening being petted.
However even though a guinea pig is a small cheap pet you still need to give some thought to several important matters that are common to all pets. How you will house and feed him.
A guinea pig is housed in a guinea pig cage or what is correctly called a guinea pig hutch. Usually this is kept outside the house. A guinea pig hutch is generally constructed of wire and timber, although a good material for construction of a hutch can be metal as it is easy to clean and doesn't harbour smells.
Normally a guinea pig hutch will have 2 areas, a sleeping area that is covered over and protected from the weather and an outdoors area where he can play and exercise and nibble grass.
You shouldn't use wire on the floor of your hutch as a guinea pig can get a condition known as bumble foot from walking on wire.
It's not hard to build a hutch yourself relatively cheaply. Most store bought guinea pig hutches are way too small and if you build your own make sure you build a much larger than those you see in the pet shop so he has plenty of room to exercise daily.
All guinea pigs need plenty of roughage in their diet. It is not difficult to feed them but you do need to learn about what they should and should not eat. Hay is a staple as well as fresh green vegetable leaves although lettuce and cabbage should be avoided as they have a tendency to cause diarrhoea. Guinea pig's love grass.
Of course once you commit to a pet such as a guinea pig you need to also commit to cleaning out their cage regularly. Like with all animals young children are not particularly enthusiastic cleaning guinea pig cages and need some encouragement. And guinea pigs need to be groomed regularly to keep their hair knot free, though of course this is very pleasant work.
So if you've been thinking about buying a pet for the children, why not consider a small cute and cuddly guinea pig which will make the ideal pet. Just make sure you provide him with a nice big guinea pig hutch to live in and plenty of the right food.
If you are brave enough to go with a dog or cat then consider containment products like an underground dog fence, wireless dog fence or pet deterents.
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