Your child really wants a pet, but you just don’t have the time for dogs, cats and the like? We show you four easy-to-care-for pets.
Pets always mean responsibility
The biggest wish of almost every child? A pet! An animal of their own to cuddle, pet, watch or play with. But a pet requires a lot of time, care and attention and unfortunately many pet owners only realize this after the animal has moved in. After the first exciting weeks, the pet becomes less and less interesting and moves further and further down the priority scale. The result: neglected pets that don’t have a nice life.
That’s why many families look around for low-maintenance pets. In fact, there are animals that need less attention than, for example, a dog or a cat. Nevertheless, you should be aware that pets always bring some responsibility: Who gives the animal its daily food? Who will regularly clean the animal’s home? And who will take care of your animal roommates when you are on vacation? If you have found satisfactory answers to these questions, there are indeed animals that require very little effort and could be considered as pets. We’ll introduce you to four.
Low-maintenance pets to watch: Fish
Fish are fascinating animals. While their cuddle factor is zero, watching them can provide hours of fun for some children. Watching these small aquatic animals has a calming effect. Apart from regular feeding (usually once a day) and checking the water quality so that fish and plants in the aquarium feel well and do not get sick, fish do not require any special care. Only the purchase and set-up of the aquarium and the first few days after the fish have moved in are costly.
Nocturnal pets without much care: Hamsters
Hamster as a pet
Much fluffier but still more of a pet to watch is the hamster. He is a suitable pet for those who do not have too much time to take care of a pet and still want to have a cute, exciting little animal at home. The small rodents are always kept alone, as they are absolute loners.
You should definitely take into account that hamsters are nocturnal and tend to rest during the day. Therefore, they should not necessarily be placed in the children’s room, after all, they make quite a racket when they first get going in their running wheel. What you should also consider: Even if hamsters can be taken on the hand with a little patience, they are absolutely no animals that are there to cuddle. This can disappoint children, which is why you should definitely talk about it beforehand.
Hamsters are tiny and are kept in a cage, but since they are quite bundles of energy, it must be large so that they have enough space to scamper around. Additionally, a running wheel always belongs in a hamster cage.
Noiseless, easy-care pets in dragon form: Bearded dragons
Bearded dragons are becoming increasingly popular as pets. No wonder: not only do they look super exciting – like little dragons – but they are also rather low-maintenance. The reptiles can be left alone for a few hours without any problems and are absolutely quiet. In addition, they are a nice way to keep an animal, especially for allergy sufferers who have problems with animal hair.
The diurnal bearded dragons usually become hand-tame quickly and may also be taken out of the terrarium from time to time. Of course, they are not cuddly animals either. If they are kept properly, they reach an age of 8 to 10 years. Proper husbandry in the case of the bearded dragon means a large terrarium with appropriate lighting. The animals are very sun-loving in their natural environment, so they also need light and warmth in the terrarium.
Based on their origin, the terrarium temperature should be about 35°C during the day and 25°C at night. They also need a direct heat environment, which should be around 50°C. Feeding agamas might not be everyone’s cup of tea: they only eat live insects, e.g. crickets or crickets.
Low-maintenance pet alternative: snails
Even low-maintenance animals mean responsibility, and usually for several years. If you don’t have time for that, but still want to gain some first experiences with animals, there are two great alternatives to the classic pet. Our colleague Britta kept snails as pets with her family. An exciting experience, especially for the inquisitive offspring.