Pets for teens

My 13 and 15 year old want a small pet in their rooms. They will want to play with, hold, pet etc their pet. Yet they are also worried about getting bit. I can't think of any good starter pets. My son says he wants a guinea pig. Any suggestions?

Actually if you are thinking mammal and okay with the rodent family. Rats make excellent pets, super smart can be taught tricks, less nervous than g-pigs can be and way less into biting than say hamsters, gerbils and such.

Or if rats are something you just can't handle some of the smaller rabbits can make excellent pets.

Before I let my son's have their own pets at about that age I had them both do research and write an essay about the care, lifespan, health concerns and such of their chosen animal. One got a ball python the other a pet rat, son's had their own rooms so no temptation for the rat to be fed to the snake when they were being brothers and boys!

Or are they thinking parrots?

Rats or guinea pigs are both good choices. Maybe a small rabbit? I miss my rabbit.

Guinea pig, rabbits, and rodents such as hamsters and mice are all good pets for teens, provided your teens keep calm and quiet. They all bite quite hard, BUT from what I've heard Guinea pigs are sweet little guys that only bite if abused in some way.

Rats are very good as well. Their bites are bad, but most well cared for rats are gentle and sociable animals. I know rat owners who have compared the affection of their rats to the affection of their parrots. The only thing is most rats live 2-3 years max

I think ultimately a guinea pig could be a wonderful pet for your sons. However, it is A MUST to very strictly warn them they should not pick the animal up if it show fear, and that they should remain calm and somewhat quiet around a guinea pig. Guineas are flighty, easily scared animals, especially of loud noises. They might not be cuddly or playful at first, but if your sons take their time and be slow and gentle, the animal will warm up to them, and eventually cuddling, playing, and the occasional holding will be fine. Guinea pigs have personalities and some will inevitably develop trusting bonds with their owners faster than others. Your sons are pretty old, so they should understand this. Just make sure they also understand they should never be rough with these little guys. EVEN IF THE GUINEA PIG STARTS PLAYING ROUGH WITH YOU. Playing is a positive thing, but guineas are fragile, so him playing rough with you does not mean you should play rough back. Humans are, after all, a lot stronger.

Also make sure your sons know that if the piggy doesn't want to play or cuddle at first does not mean that it hates them. Some kids take it harshly when an animal doesn't take to them at first. But so long as your boys be gentle, and not scary, they should bond with a guinea pig just fine.

Rats are quite smart.....gerbils are not bad...Ferrets are a bit of a mess, but my daughter had one named bandit....funny little guy he was. Like having a cat in a way.
Forget the house plants, little buggers can dig them up in a hurry. Missing anything? You'll find your watch, keys, and your other slipper or sock in it's Liar....under the couch. Ha ha ha.......

Please please think long and hard before getting a ferret...I had three. They are very expensive when cared for properly, the are friendly but will NOT hold still for cuddling. And can play rough. Without a thorough cleaning every day they will stink.... I tried so hard to take care of mine... never again! I would never recommend them for a teen just from my experience. I had 3 for 4 years my fiance and I eventually gave them to a rescue...

Ann333 said:

Please please think long and hard before getting a ferret...I had three. They are very expensive when cared for properly, the are friendly but will NOT hold still for cuddling. And can play rough. Without a thorough cleaning every day they will stink.... I tried so hard to take care of mine... never again! I would never recommend them for a teen just from my experience. I had 3 for 4 years my fiance and I eventually gave them to a rescue...

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I agree, I personally wouldn't want one, my daughter didn't mind and wanted one... but after 3 years rehomed it as it was a bit too much. Well I did warn her. But sometimes they have to learn on their own. They are not always cuddly...Darn thing bit me once very hard...After that wouldn't touch her pet.

I agree aswell about ferrets. They can crush bones and are big carnivores. They are naughty and will chew things and hard to tame. Carfull before getting ferrets

Birdsfourever said:

I agree aswell about ferrets. They can crush bones and are big carnivores. They are naughty and will chew things and hard to tame. Carfull before getting ferrets

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Ferrets cannot crush human bones. Certainly they can bite hard enough to cause you to need stitches, but not crush your bones.

Chinchillas make sweet pets! I've never been bitten by a Chin and they are very clean! if they are looking for information on care and everything you can pm me

Rabbits make good house pets too, they can be litter trained just like a cat, big chewers though if you don't watch them while they are out, I let one of our Angora does out while I cleaned her cage (took me 5 minutes or so) and even in that short period of time she had chewed through the Christmas tree light cord, clean in half it was! I "thought" I had been watching her out of the corner of my eye but obviously she was up to no good. Thankfully it wasn't plugged in!

Sunset_Chaser said:

Chinchillas make sweet pets! I've never been bitten by a Chin and they are very clean!

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I was right about to say Chinchillas before realizing I have no experience and very little knowledge of them besides knowing they take dust baths and are soft and cute

I was in ferret rescue when I was younger.....had 14 of my own at one point. They are destructive and messy but one of the best pets I have ever owned. No they do not want to cuddle all the time but if they are getting out everyday and you play with them....they will get tired and want to pass out often on your lap while you pet them. I would not call ferret biters and I never had a bad bite from any of mine. They are like any other animal you have to socialize them and if you aren't taking care to reduce the insane amount of energy they contain than you will get behavior problems. They do play rough but discipline them when they get out of hand...they do it to each other so you do it to them too. We rescued a ferret that was supposed to be the meanest thing and was going to be put down because he was so vicious. Took us 5 minutes to figure out he couldn't hear a thing but people still wanted to put him down. We took him and as long as you tapped the ground when approaching he wouldn't get startled and bite you. He would also come running when you tapped the ground....he was very social and it would have been such a waste for him to have been put down because of people not understanding or trying to understand why he was the way he was. So I think ferrets make excellent pets but be prepared for the destruction, the high energy, the mess, and yes there can be a smell if you have more than one or two....or you have a male that has not been descented.....ferrets are also prone to medical problems just a warning.

I was also in rat rescue at one point...I know I've spent most of my life in one rescue or another I absouletely loved my rats! I would recommend them to anyone. They are very socialize and very smart. Males will leave a trail of pee behind them...especially if they like you...it is a marking thing. Males like to cuddle and hang out more than girls typically. Girls are little more high energy but all of my most bonded have been girls. If you get more than one make sure it's the same sex....they breed like crazy. I had my boys and girls caged separately yet my one young girl got out and got herself knocked up through the cage bars of the male cage...she was very determined

I hate guinea pigs....I've had them before and they drove me insane. Rabbits are nice as long as you feed them right and they get out of cage time to run around a couple times a week. I wouldn't choose a rabbit over say a ferret or rat myself.

I love reptiles....they aren't very exciting pets but they are interesting in other ways. If either one likes reptiles I would go with a breaded dragon, leopard gecko, blue tongue skink, corn snake, ball python and if you can handle a bigger snake in a few years a red tail boa can be a good choice too. I would not get a milk snake or King snake they are often too wiggle and kings can be fairly aggressive.

Also if you get them different animals I wouldn't recommend a ferret with any small rodent or a bird in the house. Ferrets are hunters and will go after and kill even unintentional the other animals. Rats will also attack birds just so you know!

Okay I found a couple pics....all the others are in photo albums hiding in the garage somewhere.

This was my most bonded....she was vicious and unadoptable..yet... We called her Snowflake she would follow me around and sleep in bed with me. She also killed 2 hamsters and attempted to kill a sugar glider so hunters like I said!


This was Pooh he was the sweetest male. He died when he was under a year old from medical issues.

Well, I'm glad the ferret idea worked itself out quickly. Unfortunately (in my own adventure for another pet) I have been told ferrets make good pets without being told about all the other little quirks in their behavior. Since prey drive in only a pretty recently expanded upon topic (especially since smaller pets and smaller dogs are now beginning to crush the popularity of big dogs) I found out they have a high prey drive and will happily go after small birds

riddick07 said:

I love reptiles....they aren't very exciting pets but they are interesting in other ways. If either one likes reptiles I would go with a breaded dragon, leopard gecko, blue tongue skink, corn snake, ball python and if you can handle a bigger snake in a few years a red tail boa can be a good choice too. I would not get a milk snake or King snake they are often too wiggle and kings can be fairly aggressive.

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Don't forget Crested Geckos! I am looking into owning one this year and I think a Crestie fits my bill well, though I am going to ask a few questions on here for people who own both reptiles and birds. I have in the meanwhile been in contact with crestie owners. The best thing I have found is if you are squimish around bugs Cresties can be fed exclusively on a diet of repashy crested gecko food. I've been told mine will grow slower (if I get a baby) but have also been told not to feel pressured to give them bugs.

I've also been told that for kids beardies are really a nice pet. But no kids in our house so I'd rather go with a crestie.

One thing I've been told over and over again, is that reptiles do not love you. Hot debate among some optimisitc owners who anthropomorphize their animals, but I think it's important if you getting a reptile for kids. Most children like animals that will love them back, and reptiles don't always like to be handled, so while they are awesome, I'm not sure they would really be the best for what your kids want.

SkyandHoudini said:

Well, I'm glad the ferret idea worked itself out quickly. Unfortunately (in my own adventure for another pet) I have been told ferrets make good pets without being told about all the other little quirks in their behavior. Since prey drive in only a pretty recently expanded upon topic (especially since smaller pets and smaller dogs are now beginning to crush the popularity of big dogs) I found out they have a high prey drive and will happily go after small birds

riddick07 said:

I love reptiles....they aren't very exciting pets but they are interesting in other ways. If either one likes reptiles I would go with a breaded dragon, leopard gecko, blue tongue skink, corn snake, ball python and if you can handle a bigger snake in a few years a red tail boa can be a good choice too. I would not get a milk snake or King snake they are often too wiggle and kings can be fairly aggressive.

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Don't forget Crested Geckos! I am looking into owning one this year and I think a Crestie fits my bill well, though I am going to ask a few questions on here for people who own both reptiles and birds. I have in the meanwhile been in contact with crestie owners. The best thing I have found is if you are squimish around bugs Cresties can be fed exclusively on a diet of repashy crested gecko food. I've been told mine will grow slower (if I get a baby) but have also been told not to feel pressured to give them bugs.

I've also been told that for kids beardies are really a nice pet. But no kids in our house so I'd rather go with a crestie.

One thing I've been told over and over again, is that reptiles do not love you. Hot debate among some optimisitc owners who anthropomorphize their animals, but I think it's important if you getting a reptile for kids. Most children like animals that will love them back, and reptiles don't always like to be handled, so while they are awesome, I'm not sure they would really be the best for what your kids want.

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If you decide to get a crested gecko I would encourage you to feed Pangea diet rather than Repashy. Allen Repashy's diet has been going steady down hill over the last few years with many people I know actually losing prized geckos over it. Matt Parks (a wonderful stand up guy) runs a website called Pangea LOTS of info there. I know people and have had cresteds and chahoua years ago that have seemed to enjoy hanging out with you, they are not super fast, in fact most walk around on you at the speed of "sloth". I do believe that crested benefit greatly with a few calcium dusted crickets once a week but really not a big deal to feed bugs once in a while even every two weeks is better than no bugs. The larger chahoua's must have regular bugs but cresteds can go longer without them but still highly recommended.

I think these are all perfect suggestions! Bearded dragons are really great because you can put them on your shirt and they could stay there all day. Rats are awesome because they will play and snuggle with you. Ball pythons are the best because you can take them out and handle them or they are content just hanging out in their tank. Can I suggest a turtle? Preferably a tortoise, because they are easier to clean if your kids decide they aren't interested in scrubbing an aquatic tank clean frequently. Just be careful because some are cute as babies but live to be a looong time...

Rats are great! They are extremely social and affectionate. Very intelligent as well! Just make sure that yout get them tame and socialized. And it's important to know that you must get a pair and house them together.
I'd say the only con is that their cages get very smelly. I personally couldn't handle the smell trapped in my bedroom.

Bearded Dragons are another good choice. They are probably the most docile reptile out there. They are fairly easy to care for also. But as with all reptiles, heating and humidity in the enclosure is very important. If you want to know more about Beardies you can PM me.

I'd also vote for rats! They are so intelligent and a lot of fun. Mine were very interested in being around me, sitting on my shoulder, etc. They much more of an interactive pet than hamsters or guinea pigs.

Rabbits are also great, but in my opinion larger breeds are the way to go. I breed Angoras and they are soooo different in temperament from the smaller Dwarfs. If you get a larger breed, they are much calmer and remind me of a dog. They are also more costly as it is really recommended to spay/neuter them (decreases chance of certain health problems and nixes hormonal problems).

Violette said:

I'd also vote for rats! They are so intelligent and a lot of fun. Mine were very interested in being around me, sitting on my shoulder, etc. They much more of an interactive pet than hamsters or guinea pigs.

Rabbits are also great, but in my opinion larger breeds are the way to go. I breed Angoras and they are soooo different in temperament from the smaller Dwarfs. If you get a larger breed, they are much calmer and remind me of a dog. They are also more costly as it is really recommended to spay/neuter them (decreases chance of certain health problems and nixes hormonal problems).

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What breed of Angoras do you raise? If they want to keep the pet in their room I wouldn't recommend an Angora as they require AT LEAST every other day brushing once their fiber grows out and need clipping every 3 months, they can get wool block if their diet isn't right or if they aren't brushed enough resulting in death for the poor rabbit. Angora fiber is 7 times warmer than sheep's wool so an Angora as a house bunny probably wouldn't be a great idea. We recently acquired an English Angora that was a house bunny and she had 5 large hotspots all over her body, they cleared up with treatment and she is much happier out where it is cooler. Perhaps a short haired rabbit like a Mini Rex? Or a Lop?

I haven't noticed the smaller dwarf breeds being any different in personality than the larger breeds. I think it just depends on how they are raised.