What kind of small pet should we get?

December 19, 2009 11:36 AM

We're looking for a good pet(s) for our family. Our 3 year old betta is about to die (it's just lying on the bottom of the bowl, not looking good at all). We're looking for a new pet to replace our betta. We live in a small apartment and my son and I are allergic to dogs and cats so those are out. We're looking for something that is kid friendly (in that they can participate in its care) and can live in a bowl/tank.

We're looking for a pet that is relatively easy to take care of (I don't mind cleaning out the bowl/tank once a week or every other week), easy to feed (can buy food that will last a couple of months or can feed the pet something that we can buy at the store) and doesn't need a lot of space (we have a bowl and a tank the is 12" x 8" x 8" so something that can live in one of those). We don't mind buying a few extra things but we don't want to have to get a ton of extra equipment (rocks and plants are fine).

Some ideas we have been playing with: turtle(s), frog(s), mouse or hamster, lizard, fish (other than betta but something a little more interesting than a goldfish), some other kind of fresh water critter.

What kind of recommendations can metafilter make? Any animals highly recommended? Any animals we should avoid? We were kind of interested in a lizard or small snake but would we have to buy crickets or some other kind of critter to feed them?

Some other animal experience we have had: painted lady butterflys (caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly, that one was fun), ant farm (no queen so they only lasted a couple of months, that was fun too, the kids loved watching them work).

Any advice is appreciated!

posted by crios to Pets & Animals (33 answers total)

Newts are pretty cool, but they're not fantastic playthings.
posted by Think_Long at 11:44 AM on December 19, 2009

Stick bugs! I had an Australian Walking Prickly Stick Insect and it was awesome! However, they eat blackberry (and related) leaves, so it may be too far into winter to have one/some now. Get a female - they look 'scorpionlike' with their curled abdomen, but are very passive and totally harmless. The males have functional wings and are often biters.

Also, Hermit Crabs are an easy, fun pet. If a drunken college student can keep one, anyone can.

Lizards and snakes are fairly cool pets. Pet stores generally have large buckets of crickets they sell by the pound.
posted by bookdragoness at 11:49 AM on December 19, 2009

I adore turtles, but if you go that route do some research on turtles and salmonella.

I have always wanted a little pet octopus, though they do require more care than some of the creatures you have mentioned. They are very intelligent.
posted by amro at 11:54 AM on December 19, 2009

I had a pet mouse in college. He was a lot of fun, easy to take care of, and reasonably cheap to feed and entertain. He was also, very importantly, easy to socialize and was very friendly to anyone who held him properly (i.e. he wasn't a big fan of anyone who picked him up in a frightening way). You can buy playground houses that are modular and expandable.

I also turtle-sat for a family. The turtle was cute but not a lot of fun and not very interactive.
posted by honeybee413 at 11:55 AM on December 19, 2009

I had two fire-bellied newts, Ernie and Bert, in my early 20's and they were way cool. You can also build really neat environments for them; Ernie and Bert's tank got a make-over about once every three months. They can also live for up to 30 years, but if you leave the lid off the tank, they'll escape.

On the plus side, two years later, you might find Ernie fossilized under a radiator, at which point you can have him dipped in gold and wear his as a broach. Which is what I did.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:57 AM on December 19, 2009 [8 favorites]

Lately, I've been obsessed with the idea of a hedgehog. They don't produce dander, so they're fine for allergies. They eat cat food (and veggies and sometimes crickets). They're pretty self-sufficient. They use a litterbox. And they're ADORABLE.
posted by kerning at 11:58 AM on December 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

You can feed sand boas frozen mice, and they are beautiful and fun.
posted by Night_owl at 12:00 PM on December 19, 2009

Oh, and as a kid I also had a guinea pig, which was noisy; gerbils, which I found dull; a box turtle that was interesting but not really interactive; and a snake which was also interesting but not really friendly. The newts were the most fun to watch; it was like owning my own dinosaurs. I liked that they both swam and climbed and I loved making their tank a great place for them (the tank in the video on that page kinda sucks, IMHO.)

Also, their itty bitty toes are just neat.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:06 PM on December 19, 2009

i really like small birds, which can be a bit messy, but the high interactivity quotient makes it worth it in my opinion. smaller bird to bigger cage = better for bird less messy for you.
posted by saraindc at 12:19 PM on December 19, 2009

What's the temperature of your betta's water? Mine always got sluggish and laid at the bottom of the bowl when it was too cold.
posted by elsietheeel at 12:20 PM on December 19, 2009

Axolotls are awesome in a creepy kind of way. Popular with primary school aged boys, you can feed them live worms or pelleted food. the biology is really cool too, I was totally creeped out when I found they sty in their infant form into adulthood (and sexual maturity) because of lack of thyroid function and giving them iodine causes them to metamorphose into an adult salamander. The wikipedia page explains.

Something like a rat would have way more personality and are very smart but if you want something that stays in the tank an axolotl would be cooler than a boring frog, heh. (hmm, although your tank may not be big enough?)
posted by shelleycat at 12:27 PM on December 19, 2009

As much as I love snakes and lizards as pets, they do need specialised equipment (heat mats/lamps, timers etc) and generally require food that you can't just pick up with your weekly grocery shop (although we did have a skink that ate dog food for a while but he preferred meal worms)
posted by missmagenta at 12:34 PM on December 19, 2009

I had a lot of fun with the little tiny frogs, but there really isn't much interaction. You just watch them.

A mouse could be a lot of fun for your son. They are trainable and can be quite affectionate. At the very least they are fun to watch running around in those clear plastic balls. I did a bit of research on rats for my (then) five year old, and found that they are supposed to be really good 'first' pets for kids around that age. They are really quite smart, and will become very attactched to their person. They can also be trained to do tricks, and like to ride around on peoples' shoulders. You can even get a harness and take it for walks.
posted by TooFewShoes at 12:37 PM on December 19, 2009

I am going to put in a vote for a leopard gecko (bias disclaimer: I have four of them). They tolerate handling really well, are very easy to clean up after (they generally pick one corner to poop in), and don't need UV or basking lights. They do need an undertank heating pad, and a diet of mealworms, superworms, and crickets. I keep my full grown adults in 20 gallon long tanks, but a single gecko does just fine in a 10 gallon tank as well. I recommend using slate tile as the substrate in their tank, it is super easy to clean and you have zero risk of the gecko ingesting any bedding along with the crickets. If you want any additional info memail me, I can talk for days about gecko husbandry.
posted by d13t_p3ps1 at 12:59 PM on December 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

I grew up with gerbils, hamsters, mice, and dwarf hamsters. They are all fairly inexpensive and pretty easy to maintain. For example, I just bought a dwarf hamster and got a big bag of wood chips for about $9. She's in a 5 1/2 gallon aquarium, so that should last her a couple of months at least. I also bought a 2 lb bag of food that should last a while as well (I think that was around $6). And, I've unfortunately learned from experience, that it isn't worth it to take them to the vet (although I'm sure some will disagree with me).

Of all the animals I've owned, my favorite was a regular hamster that looked very much like this one. He wasn't the smartest animal I've had but he was the nicest.
posted by Nolechick11 at 1:07 PM on December 19, 2009

Seconding axolotls: relatively low maintenance, look suitably monsterish, great biological backstory. We dug up worms from the back garden as a treat, but they were fine on pellets. If properly looked after, they can live for quite a while. Critically endangered in the wild, alas, but their lab use keeps the species alive. (As someone from the land of Mrs Tiggywinkle, I'm slightly creeped out by the "pet hedgehog" phenomenon.)
posted by holgate at 1:09 PM on December 19, 2009

Giant millipedes have the fun exotic factor, are super easy to take care of, don't require much space (a 10-gallon aquarium should be fine), and most importantly (in my mind) don't smell. They're not overly bright, but do enjoy crawing over you, very.... slowly...
posted by Bardolph at 1:23 PM on December 19, 2009

I had a couple of gerbils not so long ago. Really super easy to look after, cheap to feed, don't need that much attention other than feeding a cleaning the tank every week, plus a lot of fun to play with and easy to handle.
posted by afx237vi at 1:28 PM on December 19, 2009

I had hermit crabs as a kid - We had a large terrarium (tropical fish aquarium, converted) and a bird cage for them as homes. They ate little food pellets, and fresh veggies, and were amazingly easy to care for. And I loved them.
posted by strixus at 1:42 PM on December 19, 2009

As a long-term insane goldfish owner, I feel that I must take a stand for the humble goldfish.

Mine in particular is AWESOME. He rushes to the side of the tank when I come down the stairs, hoping beyond hope that he's going to get fed, he dithers back and forth when the husband and I have a "Who do you love best, Chegwin? Who?" contest, he dives after peas like they were ambrosia from heaven, and he tears apart lettuce like it killed his father.

I recommend getting a tank, a simple goldfish, a good filter system, and some nice food. Teach your son how to feed the fish, and you can start training goldfish in an amazing Pavlovian bit of mayhem.

(But keep an eye on the gravel size. Too big, and the fish'll get it stuck in its mouth, like mine did, and too small, and the fish'll get it stuck in its nostrils, like mine did. As much as I love him, he's sometimes stupider than a box of stupid.)
posted by Katemonkey at 1:46 PM on December 19, 2009 [5 favorites]

Rats! They are such amazing little creatures and so easy to take care of.

My boyfriend and I have two female rats that we got as babies at the end of September. They're intelligence is out of this world and they are very, very affectionate. They will sit on your shoulder and let you carry them around. Mine play peek-a-boo with me in the couch cushions and even come up to my lips to give me kisses.

They spend a lot of time grooming themselves and one another, so they're extremely clean animals. Once they are comfortable, they will start to groom you too. Their diet consists mainly of rat blocks and water, but we supplement their diet with veggies, grains, and other treats.

If you do decide on rats, you should get two so that they have a companion to play and snuggle with when their human family isn't around.
posted by inconsequentialist at 2:25 PM on December 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yup, rats are super sweet and very smart.
posted by amarynth at 2:59 PM on December 19, 2009

I've had hamsters, gerbils, mice, fish, a newt, and others. By and far, the hamsters were the best and most fun. Mine were all Teddy Bear Hamsters. My last died when I was about 12, but they still sometimes come up in conversation with my mother. They were cute, spunky, really smart, and one was so calm I could take her and sit her on the bed with me or on the floor and let her play and climb.

That same hamster was also too clever for her own good by far, balancing herself atop the wheel to try and push the tank lid off! She did this multiple times before I placed a heavy dictionary on top of the lid.

Hamsters are cute and can be clownish. They're also hilarious, but that's just my humble opinion. They do require careful hands at first to acclimate them to being picked up. You don't say how old your kids are, but I got my first three hamsters when I was 9. They are nocturnal, but that doesn't mean one can't play with them in the afternoon for a bit. Make sure your wheel isn't squeaky. And those clear plastic balls are so much fun to watch them run around in.

Food is easily available, and it's really easy to give them extra treats - just chop up some apple or toss in some baby carrots or lettuce. For something more exotic, flower heads, plain popcorn, or raw sunflower seeds. They love eating flowers.

Cleanup isn't that difficult. I used kitty litter in the bottom of my tank instead of hamster shavings. It made cleanup a lot easier and prevented trapped moisture or wet shavings. Of course, I put down bedding for them on top of the kitty litter. Salt lick, chews, and others aren't so expensive. I bought hamster pellets at the supermarket sometimes, but YMMV.

I've actually been considering taking hamsters into my home again.
posted by cmgonzalez at 3:14 PM on December 19, 2009

Yay a question possibly involving mice!

Mice do really well in smallish tanks-- if you get two or three girls (boys can get smelly) they keep each other company and are entertaining and very low-maintenance. They like to bustle around building nests and arranging things, and it's fun to build them wee treehouses and whatnot. They don't bond with you exactly but well-handled they will cheerfully run about in your sleeves. They're cute and full of personality. And cheap! Five bucks should get you the finest mouse in the land. I'd go with a hobby breeder if you can find one near you, they do the prettiest mice.

Couldn't be cheaper to feed-- I make my own mousemix out of wild bird seed, porridge oats, and other oddments. And you can go off for the weekend and just leave them a supply of food-- they do their own thing, pretty much.

That's my pet mouse pitch! The downside: distressingly short lives-- they go about a year or two, just when you're getting very fond of them..
posted by Erasmouse at 3:24 PM on December 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm a rat owner, and I can't say enough good things about rats - very friendly, intelligent, trainable, keep themselves clean, can be litter trained, and are happy just to interact with you. When I'm doing stuff around the house, I often have a rat or two in my hoodie pocket or on my shoulder. They're just super fun!

BUT, if space is an issue, they might not be the best pet for you, as it's recommended that you get at least two since they are so social. They need more space than the 12x8x8" tank, too (here is a cage size calculator).
posted by illenion at 3:32 PM on December 19, 2009

Tarantula? You probably don't want your kid to handle it (I don't feel that they should be handled anyway), but they are interesting to observe, have almost no cage maintenance, they don't stink, and they eat a couple of crickets a week.

Well, I think they're interesting. A great way to learn about and observe invertebrate/arachnid biology.
posted by bolognius maximus at 4:57 PM on December 19, 2009

A tarantula makes a very good pet. You generally need to feed it crickets, (and always get females only unless you like chirping in the middle of the night), but they can go long periods of time without food (if you like to take long vacations). They are silent, they can be quite beautiful, and they do well in relatively small terrariums.
posted by birdsquared at 5:02 PM on December 19, 2009

Gaah - I figured "no need to preview, it's been over an hour since someone's posted...". Make that seconding tarantula.
posted by birdsquared at 5:03 PM on December 19, 2009

If you have enough room for an appropriately sized cage, I'll put in another vote for a rat. I've had a wide variety of small pets (fish, gerbils, hamsters [briefly!], mice, guinea pigs, turtles, frogs, parakeets), and my favorite of all has always been the rats. They are the most people-oriented and easily handled of the rodents, and they actually enjoy human attention, as opposed to simply learning to tolerate people.

If you're unable or unwilling to get a tank larger than 12x8x8, though, your options are quite limited, as that is quite a small tank for most critters (2.5 gallons, if my calculations are correct). A tank that size is rather small even for a pair of mice (and mice, like rats, are best kept in pairs).

If that's the case, my recommendation would be guppies. They are quite easy to take care of, and you could safely have 3 or 4 in a tank that size.
posted by drlith at 5:04 PM on December 19, 2009

If your allergic to dogs and cats you may also be allergic to rodents.
posted by ljesse at 12:17 AM on December 20, 2009

I met a flying squirrel at a party the other night. He was adorable, flinging himself from guest to guest, running up and down peoples' pant legs.

He was about eight weeks old and already trained to piddle in the right place and not to climb up bare skin. He ate pecans (and was forever squirreling them away in surprise corners of the house) or half a grape for a treat.
posted by m1ndsurfer at 6:21 AM on December 20, 2009

I'm really fond of Sea Monkeys, and I'm looking at a large vase full of them right now. They're cheap, durable, and require very little attention or equipment. If you allow enough light in, the bowl or tank where they will live will also grow algae which will help oxygenate the water and give the sea monkeys some food. Plus, the sea monkeys have a really odd body plan, life cycle and movement, and occasionally display some interesting behaviors.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 11:43 AM on December 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

I recently got some African Dwarf Frogs, and they're really pretty great. They're fully aquatic and need to stay in the water (so no playing with/picking up), but to make up for this they SING. Care-wise they're very similar to the betta I used to keep, pretty low maintenance. Here's a good site for general info.
posted by sarahmelah at 6:45 AM on December 22, 2009 [1 favorite]