Pet for a 10 yr old
 

Hi guys / gals

I need some ideas of a pet for my 10 yr old. We have a dog already so something different. He's had a rabbit and got bored of that, and I hate rodents so preferably not them.

Any Ideas ?????

Cat? :D

A snake, they are great fun, I got my first snake at 14, North American garter snake. 10 may be a bit young but it depends how mature they are.

My dog would eat a cat :norty:

I thought a snake but I got put off, when someone said they smell really bad.

ferret

Rodent, in my eyes.

So he has a track record of becoming bored with the welfare of his animal? I wouldn't recommend getting him another pet at all under these circumstances and certainly nothing like a reptile that needs specialist care.

You can't just 'become bored' with an animal that needs a carefully controlled temperature gradient and humidity. You need to be attentive with reptiles because if something is wrong they will hide most outwardly obvious signs until it becomes serious. You need to be on the lookout for subtle changes in behaviour and the thought of an animal suffering in silence because a child has 'become bored' of it is, quite frankly, upsetting.

Not true, they only smell if you do not clean them out regularly just like any other animal.

However little Johnny may be put off by feeding it live goldfish, worms or mice :D

Alright mate, calm down. Its not like the rabbit got mistreated or left to die. We (my wife and I and my elder daughter looked after it) Plus this was a while ago and would say he has grown up quite a bit since then.

Little Johnny would love the feeding bit :norty: (so will his dad) :D
Wurzel what snake would you recommend getting if I was to get one ??? I was looking into a corn snake ......
Obviously I will have to do alot of reading up beforehand so I know what I'm doin.

Sea monkeys !

A 10 year old native orphan from Africa... like wot Madge has innit :D

I heard that she'll be buying her next child on eBay ;)


MOK - How about Fish?

Could've saved the McCanns all that bother ;)

Meant to say we got fish already ;) Tropical and Koi :thumb:

Hard to say, I had a Garter snake, they are constrictors and are about 2ft long and really thin, no teeth but had a serated (sp) jaw that if it bit you it could draw blood but nowt serious, mine only bit my mate once when he annoyed it :D

They however are very enterprising snakes, mine managed to climb out of his tank and squeeze through the tiny gap (less than 1cm) between the lid and glass side, which was no mean feet bearing in mind the snake was 2ft long and the tank was 18" high, we hunted high and low for it for hours, tearing the house apart, we finally found it curled up asleep in my mums yukka plant right next to its tank.

They are fun to play with and can provide endless amusement if treated properley.

What about a Chameleon, or a Bearded Dragon (and no I don't mean Dideri Barlows Mum :) )

We have a Royal Python, easy to keep, easy to feed, once/twice a week with a defrosted slightly warmed mouse, cheap food too

I'm gonna look into these garter snakes :norty:

One other thing is they are small and lite so little hands can handle them ok, I think something like a python could be to big, heavy and powerfull for a 10 yr old.

Yeah i agree. Python will be too big for him I reckon, plus the missus would get freaked big time as well :norty:

Our 3 year old has no problems at all with a 3 year old Royal, about 3 foot long now, she likes her 'arm bracelet' as she calls it :D

He wont grow much bigger really about another foot or so, by then he will probably be feeding on Rats :D

Sonic, you seem to be more qualified and more knowledgable on this subject than me so I will bow out gracefully and let you advise the OP.

Cheers
Steve

I think a smaller snake would be better to start off with. personally

No Steve its ok, your advice is/may be more appropriate to the OP's needs/wants

Agreed a normal Python would get too big and too strong, like a Burmese, but Royals dont grow too big and do take quite a long time to reach full size

In the 2/3 years we have had the Royal he has only grown about a foot, but is quite a bit thicker than he was

We looked at some 'smaller' snakes like the corns, but my own personal opinion is that they are too quick and nimble for me, and they dont get any thicker but they do get or start off quite long

I have no experience of keeping any other snakes, but Royal's can be very fussy eaters and you have to get one that is captive bred, otherwise they may never feed at all

I would love a Chameleon but they do require a lot more attention and looking after

Leopard Geckos are begginers reptiles. Easy to look after, dont have to have a certain temperature, or specific UV light hours. Just make sure they got a heat mat on constantly and a UV light a few hours a day and they fine with water and crickets to drink/eat. Dont bite, don't get bigger than 7-8" inc tail.

I had 2, male/female. Both got old and died. Would recomend though as great pets.

SetoN

how about one of these
babies capuchin monkey for sale London England Great Britain

get him a football - why on earth would you want to give a 10 year old a pet?

Why give him a football? he may hate the sport, and a football isnt a pet, which after all is the OP's question what PET for his son ;)

Thanx Sonic. As it goes he does hate football :thumb: In fact he's not the sporty type, unlike his 2 younger brothers