Suggestions for pet for a 5yr old?

Jumbie Spider

Jumbie Spider

Arachnobaron
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This is easy... if you want to go the cost effective route, get her a betta fish. Easy, affordable, low maintenance, kids love em.
Or you can get a small aquarium, some guppies or livebearers (platys etc.) or some exotic schooling tetras (small learning curve on tank cycling required).
Can also catch a jumping spider outside, kids dig those as well.
 
XxSpiderQueenxX

XxSpiderQueenxX

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Jumbie Spider said:
This is easy... if you want to go the cost effective route, get her a betta fish. Easy, affordable, low maintenance, kids love em.
Or you can get a small aquarium, some guppies or livebearers (platys etc.) or some exotic schooling tetras (small learning curve on tank cycling required).
Can also catch a jumping spider outside, kids dig those as well.
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Jumping spiders are amazing, but the type you can locally catch are generally small ones. To easily feed with crickets, find a Phidippus sp. or buy it. Jumpers are adorable
 
Jumbie Spider

Jumbie Spider

Arachnobaron
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XxSpiderQueenxX said:
Jumping spiders are amazing, but the type you can locally catch are generally small ones. To easily feed with crickets, find a Phidippus sp. or buy it. Jumpers are adorable
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I have a small one that I caught by accident as he walked up to us at the park, no idea what type it is... I feed it flightless fruit flies, you can get a culture jar at Petco and they last a very long time as feeders. I'd like to get a bigger one, one day.
I caught a small moth outside to feed it once, and it leaped and caught it mid air. Where are the bigger ones found?
 
Tim Benzedrine

Tim Benzedrine

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I think I'll cast a vote for hissers. If you do choose them, keep in mind what others have mentioned about their reproduction. I was given a pair because i mentioned to a guy i know that i had always wanted a couple. he gave me a breeding pair.
I'll bet their are at least 30 of them now, and if i had made an effort to give them optimal breeding temperature conditions, I'm sure i'd have many more..

They are easily handled, they don't infest, feeding demands are not very high, they have a certain "ick" factor reaction for some people, something some kids delight in, they make sound (only when bothered, though) and aren't fast..

Fish and aquariums are nice, but maintenance can sometimes be a chore. And of course, they are not interactive. But the same can be said about arachnids. Fish seem to have a lot of potential diseases, I often jokingly say that they die if you look at them the wrong way. But a betta may not be that bad of a choice if you want a fish.

Somebody mentioned hamsters. Sure they are cute. But they are from hell. Avoid. ;) :D Seriously, though, they can be a bit bitey in my experience. A tortoise could be nice, but i think a little more suitable for a bit older of a child. The main consideration is having to make sure the kid adopts very clean handling habits because reptiles can carry salmonella.
I prefer guinea pigs over hamsters if I were into keeping mammals but bear in mind they need larger cages. Not huge, but larger than some that you often see marketed for them, in my opinion.

Personally, in regard to reptiles, Ithink the suggestion of a snake is not too bad of an idea.
There are a few lizards that might be considered, but many need temperatures and lighting that may be a little daunting, but not a deal-breaker. Leopard geckos are not a terrible choice, but the kid must understand that they can drop their tails if not handled correctly.
Crested geckos, in my opinion are easier to care for, do not absolutely require live feeder bugs (although supplementing the available commercial diets with insects now and then is not a bad idea. The same caveat apllies to them in regard to dropping their tails, and they seem to do so more readily the a leopard. And they can jump away pretty good. They are arboreals, and fairly speedy.
But they do get pretty tame, so that may not be an issue. But tame or not, they do sometimes decide they would rather be someplace else, and leap to facilitate that desire. And if they get loose, they could be hard to find. Since they are very good climbers on nearly any surface, they can more or less hide anywhere. I recently had one escape, and i never did locate it and at this point can only presume that itperished behind or beneath something. I'm now raising a new one, such was my attachment to the species. I was crushed when I realized mine was gone. My own fault, I did not notice that the lid was not secure while i was doing critter maintenance (one of the lid clamps had popped loose and she slipped out while my attention was turned towards my other animals.

I almost forgot bearded dragons. Which may be the best choice of all. Again keeping certain requirements in mind. (Heating, lighting and supplementation.) They end up needing a moderate sized enclosure. A ten gallon or even a 20 will not suffice. Think at least a forty gallon breeder tank at least. But i look at them as the puppy dogs of the lizard world. I'd have one, but I don't have the space.

I guess you can say that there are ups and downs about nearly all pets, particularly exotic ones. Which is why I'll return to the snake suggestion. No special lighting required, (a trait shared with leopard geckos and crested geckos, but it can be beneficial)and their food is nutritionally complete if given decent quality feeders in addition to a good commercial diet.
Speaking of which, if a snake is chosen, I'm not sure how a five year old child might react to seeing a mouse killed and eaten. It is considered safer for a snake anyway. Some mice can get a shot in before being overcome by the snake. A corn snake would probably be ideal. Moderate in size, a temperate species, so no worrying about heating as long as it is in the temperate range.Generally quite easy to handle, by all accounts I've heard. Never owned one, i have a black rat-snake, though, very similar in care. Corn snakes are a type of rat-snake of course. My rat snake, which i caught going on eight years ago as a juvenile of about two feet long, had of course never seen a domestic mouse, let alone a pre-killed and frozen one, ate one the day after I caught it. it is now near five feet long.
Several reptiles have the advantage that if cared for properly, they can have fairly long lifetimes. Depending on species, of course.
So, depending on the type of animal you'd prefer, I'd say hissing roaches or a corn snake. Maybe a leopard gecko or crested, if you are willing to take the steps to avoid pitfalls like metabolic bone disease, which is fairly easy to avoid if you feed them properly, and provide proper supplementation.

Wait I forgot one. A Tokay gecko!
Just kidding. if pitbulls were reptiles, they'd be Tokay geckos, if ya ask me. ;)

Finally, the best advice that can be offered is this: Research BEFORE choosing to see what is right for your child and you. Which is sort of what you are doing with this thread. But go even further than this. These days, what with the internet at your fingertips, there is no excuse not to have a pretty good idea of what you are getting into before making a decision.
 
Jumbie Spider

Jumbie Spider

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Tim Benzedrine said:
And of course, they are not interactive.
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Have you ever kept a betta fish? They are quite interactive. In fact, there are a bunch of species which are very interactive and can even recognize their keepers. But primarily suggested beta as it's for a 5 year old.
 
Tim Benzedrine

Tim Benzedrine

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Jumbie Spider said:
Have you ever kept a betta fish? They are quite interactive. In fact, there are a bunch of species which are very interactive and can even recognize their keepers. But primarily suggested beta as it's for a 5 year old.
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Oh, I wasn't being critical of the suggestion of bettas or any fish in general, really. I like fish well enough. I'd have a tank. IF I had somebody else to maintain them. I figure I'd get along with a betta, but community tanks so often end up being a bit of a hassle, I've known a lot of people being very enthusiastic over a tank that gave up on them in a year or two. I think three years was my longest run with a tank. I think one needs to be pretty committed to keeping fish to be truly successful. And many, many people are, of course.
 
Jumbie Spider

Jumbie Spider

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Tim Benzedrine said:
Oh, I wasn't being critical of the suggestion of bettas or any fish in general, really. I like fish well enough. I'd have a tank. IF I had somebody else to maintain them. I figure I'd get along with a betta, but community tanks so often end up being a bit of a hassle, I've known a lot of people being very enthusiastic over a tank that gave up on them in a year or two. I think three years was my longest run with a tank. I think one needs to be pretty committed to keeping fish to be truly successful. And many, many people are, of course.
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Fair enough ✌ I didn't mean to phrase my question in a confrontational way, was merely curious as I know bettas are generally feisty when healthy. I did mention the small learning curve about the nitrogen cycle, but I agree that some don't get past the nitrogen cycle and give up on the hobby. 🍻
 
Jumper

Jumper

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Get a her a 35 gallon tank of 5 to 6 baby Oscars.
This will teach her to respect the animal and at the same time teach her observe the animal in its natural environment
She can interact with them by feeding fish pellets.
 
Arachnoenthusiast

Arachnoenthusiast

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Jumper said:
Get a her a 35 gallon tank of 5 to 6 baby Oscars.
This will teach her to respect the animal and at the same time teach her observe the animal in its natural environment
She can interact with them by feeding fish pellets.
Click to expand...
Would love to, but space for a tank that size isn't available. I've called the area pet shops and when they get hissers back in stock well make the drive to get some
 
aprilmayjunebugs

aprilmayjunebugs

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Just make sure if you get more than one that they're the same sex, unless you want to be in the same position I'm in!
 
Arachnoenthusiast

Arachnoenthusiast

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Cross your fingers everyone, we are hitting the road today to get some roaches (I hope) found a place 2 hrs away that said they had 2 and promised to hold them for us.
 
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