🐾 Parents’ Guide to Choosing the Best Small Pet for Kids – Vet Advice 2025 by Dr Duncan Houston

Looking for the perfect small pet for your child in 2025? With so many adorable and fascinating animals available, it’s important to choose one that matches your child’s maturity, your family’s lifestyle, and your home environment. In this expert guide, Dr Duncan Houston breaks down the most popular small pets—highlighting their pros, cons, and what parents should know before committing. 🧒🐹🐦

🐰 Rabbits

Pros: Social, playful, and adorable. Can live solo or in groups. Cons: High maintenance, expensive, and require daily care.

• ✅ Great for older kids (12+)
• 🍃 Require daily veggies and out-of-cage time
• 💩 Need daily cleaning—lots of poop!
• 🧑‍⚕️ Need spaying/neutering and regular vet visits

🐭 Mice

Pros: Affordable, small, fun to watch, and trainable. Cons: Fast, may nip, and their urine is smelly.

• ✅ Best for children 8+ who can handle gently
• 🧩 Do well with toys and enrichment
• 🧼 Require frequent cage cleaning

🐀 Rats

Pros: Intelligent, friendly, love games and socializing. Cons: Short lifespan (2–3 years), need space and attention.

• 👶 Suitable for kids mature enough to hold gently
• 👯‍♂️ Prefer living in groups
• 💰 Can need frequent vet care

🐹 Hamsters

Pros: Entertaining, enjoy solo play, live in small habitats. Cons: Nocturnal, can bite, carry some zoonotic diseases.

• 🌙 Most active at night—best for night owls
• ⚠️ Not ideal for young kids
• 🚿 Must wash hands after handling

🦔 Gerbils

Pros: Low maintenance, active, curious. Cons: Need space and gentle restraint.

• ✅ Good for kids 6+ who are calm and gentle
• 🏃 Need room to dig, play, and explore
• 🧹 Regular cleaning is a must

🐹 Guinea Pigs

Pros: Friendly, social, vocal, great personalities. Cons: Delicate—can’t be dropped or squeezed.

• 👶 Children under 8 can watch, but shouldn’t handle
• 🥗 Need vitamin C–rich diets
• 🧑‍⚕️ Require vet checks

🦫 Chinchillas

Pros: Adorable, fun, love to explore. Cons: High maintenance, messy, nocturnal.

• 🦷 Chew everything in sight
• 🔁 Need playtime outside cage
• 👶 Better for observing than handling

🦦 Ferrets

Pros: Energetic, funny, like a mix of kitten and puppy. Cons: Expensive, need attention, can get sick easily.

• 👦 Best for teens who can manage complex care
• 🛌 Sleep a lot, but super busy when awake
• 🧑‍⚕️ Need specialized vet care

🦜 Parakeets

Pros: Colorful, fun to watch, some can talk! Cons: Can bite, difficult to train, diet-sensitive.

• 🧒 Great for younger children who watch, not touch
• 🗣️ Respond to whistles and chatter
• 🚫 Avoid seed-only diets—leads to illness

🐦 Finches

Pros: Noisy, social, fun to observe in groups. Cons: Not for handling, can be messy.

• 📺 Perfect for all ages as a visual-only pet
• 🧼 Prepare for poop and seed scatter
• 🏠 Need large cages and social groups

🦎 Bearded Dragons

Pros: Calm, interactive, like attention. Cons: Expensive setup, temp/humidity sensitive.

• 🔍 Great for observation by kids of any age
• 👦 Safe handling only by 10+ with supervision
• 💡 Need heat lamps, UVB bulbs, and balanced diets

🦎 Geckos

Pros: Compact, interesting to watch, quiet. Cons: Nocturnal, delicate, require care precision.

• 👁️ Fun for children to observe
• 👦 Occasional supervised handling for older kids
• 💊 Require special diets and habitat care

🛸 Sugar Gliders

Pros: Playful, social, super engaging. Cons: Smelly, high maintenance, nocturnal.

• 🧑‍🎓 Best for teens and adults
• 🧪 Need specialized diets to stay healthy
• 🛠️ Complex cages and lots of enrichment required

✅ Final Tips from Dr Duncan Houston

Every child is different, and so is every pet! Before you commit to a small animal, ask yourself:

• 👶 Is my child mature enough to handle gently and care responsibly?
• ⏱️ Do we have time for daily cleaning, feeding, and enrichment?
• 💸 Can we afford proper housing and veterinary care?

Involve your child in the research, but always make pet decisions as a family. Remember—some of these animals may live 3–10+ years, so it’s a long-term commitment!

📲 Still Not Sure? Ask A Vet!

Choosing the perfect pet is easier with expert guidance. Download the Ask A Vet app and chat with licensed veterinarians like Dr Duncan Houston anytime for help choosing, feeding, or caring for your family’s next furry (or scaly!) friend. 🐾📱