Are Gerbil Good Pets For Children?

Are Gerbil Good Pets For Children? Small mammals are a good pet to start teaching children respect for animals, cats and bird are most of them. Check out Litter Box for cats. It’s best to wait until your child is around five before buying them a gerbil. This is because they’ll be better able to understand their needs and what’s required of them as a new pet owner.

Here are some pointers if you’re thinking about acquiring a gerbil for your child:

Are Gerbil Good Pets For Children?

Gerbils are Docile

Gerbils are friendly little creatures that respond well to gentle handling and voices. Your child will be able to handle a gerbil because they don’t tend to bite or scratch.

They’re easy to look after

Gerbils are desert animals so they urinate less than other caged pets. This means the bedding stays cleaner for longer and is good news for children that want to be hands-on. Bedding will require a weekly clean which is a child-friendly frequency and something they should help with.

They have an easy to follow diet too, eating mostly seeds with a variety of fruit and vegetables which a child can give them once a day before or after school.

Gerbils fare best in same sex pairs because they’re social animals. Keeping one on its own is unfair. A pair will entertain each other when your child becomes bored.

They are quick!

Gerbils are fast and children love that. It gets their attention. Watching a gerbil run top speed in an exercise wheel is something kids never get bored of.

Low cost

Compared to a cat, dog or pony gerbils are low cost! They still need a safe place to live, such as a place like World’s Best Cat Litter. And also they need to food and bedding though.

Nocturnal

Gerbils are mostly awake at night. If your child wants a pet in their room a gerbil isn’t a great idea.

In fact, any pet kept in a bedroom can lead to inappropriate feeding because kids tend to share their snacks and this leads to intestinal problems. That said, gerbils are awake for periods during the day and enjoy being handling then.

Gerbils are delicate

Always supervise your child handling a gerbil. Children, especially younger ones, don’t have a soft touch and may injure their pet by accident. Lifting by the tail will break it and squeezing will cause irreparable internal damage.

Life span

Gerbils are short-lived usually living a maximum of 5 years. Children may find it upsetting when their pets dies, but some parents use this an opportunity to explain the ‘circle of life’. It’s something to bear in mind if your child is particularly sensitive.

If you chose a gerbil for your child you need to be prepared to take on the bulk of care because even with the best intentions children can become bored and forgetful. Luckily for you gerbils are easy and quick to care for!

Author:

I’m Rakib, the founder of Self Pet Care, It’s a Resourceful blog dedicated to provide honest Pets care advice and information for pet lovers.

Are Gerbil Good Pets For Children?

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