Grandchild

[ianinoz]

What are the recommendations on the best match for a herp pet gift for a very young child (my grandson) ?

I'm thinking either a tree frog or a bluetongue or a breaded dragon (nice robust but very easy to tame, not aggressive once tamed and used to the owner's attentions and easy to handle and look after) for the child when he gets to about 3 yrs old.

Seeking your collective advice and any experience with children and frogs or lizards.

(A snake is out the question .... not that I've anything against snakes, the mother and grandmothers are scared witless of snakes.

 

[snakes123]

Bearded dragon would be the best i would think. East to look after and i know young kids that have bearded dragons.

 

[Sarah]

my youngest is 6y and i wouldnt let him handle my bearded dragons unless he is sitting down and keeping still . Bearded dragons require quite a bit of maintenance i gather the parents would be doing all of that .

 

[Asharee133]

hmm i'd wait till hes a bit older just so he can learn that they are animals and they feel pain

 

[snakes123]

I have a cousin that is 6, and he understands that they feel pain, and to treat it the same way we treat each other. After he saw my beardies he now wants one and his parents are thinking of getting him one. So i think if you can get them to realise that they have feelings and show them how to handle, find great get them one and they will love it.

 

[joelly116]

id get a yrling anything younger can somtimes be abit defseive and bite and id rather get bitten by a snake then a berdie

 

[Kimberlyann]

Im buying my brother his reptile license and a beardie for his 16th birthday/christmas this year just to get him started

 

[GeckPhotographer]

I would say with that age get them some green tree frogs, which definitely will not harm him. Of course have the cage locked at all times and have parents do maintenance until he is older. I think having pets like these from a young age is a great way to gradually teach the child responsibility. Care just needs to be taken while they learn about the animal. A recent thread was about a small child squeezing a bearded to death, one must be very careful this cannot happen in a situation where people have delicate animals around young children. I would go a bluetongue before a beardy by the way.

 

[ajandj]

i have a 4 year old daughter and 11 year old son. There is no way l could let my daughter handle Yoda. He is small and fragile and she likes to touch and feel everything. I let her hold Yoda once and she nearly squeezed the life out of him. When my son was 5 we had a blue tongue and he was ok with it but l would probably go with the frogs and take a look but don't touch approach to begin with

 

[BigWillieStyles]

Blue Tongue is probably the easiest reptile to keep. You could build an outside pit or avairy which it could live in or have it free insiide the house with a box where it can shelter. They freely eat dog food from a can and tolerate handling well.

A bearded dragon will need to have a proper heated enclosure and are a little more complicated than the Blue.

 

[wiz-fiz]

Not a frog. Frogs are more of look and don't touch animal because of their delicate skin. I would suggest a beardie, because from what I have heard the are 'playful'.


Will

 

[ajandj]

Blue Tongue is probably the easiest reptile to keep. You could build an outside pit or avairy which it could live in or have it free insiide the house with a box where it can shelter. They freely eat dog food from a can and tolerate handling well.

A bearded dragon will need to have a proper heated enclosure and are a little more complicated than the Blue.

I would have to agree that the care of a bluey is alot less involved than with a beardie

 

[GeckPhotographer]

Not a frog. Frogs are more of look and don't touch animal because of their delicate skin. I would suggest a beardie, because from what I have heard the are 'playful'.


Will

Exactly to begin with it is better to have a less touchy animal. Besides a Green Tree Frog is touchable. Beardies usually do not like being restrained, squirm a loot, are spiky, can bite, are fast. While many are tame and make great play pets I don't think I would label one the ideal starter for a 3yr old, I would much sooner argue a bluey which although can bite, are less of a hassle in my opinion to pick up and have one sitting on you or held. A bluetongue is also more forgiving if held slightly wrong although that would of course be discouraged.

 

[ajandj]

Our Bluey "maximus" was so friendly he loved to sit with Jack (son) who was 4 in these pics. We had the cloth these cause Jack was so very worried that Maximus was going to poop on him

 

[K3nny]

as robust & tolerable blue tongues are, do remember their fat heads can and are used to crush snail shells... that on a 3 yr old's finger might not be a pretty sight, not saying its gonna break or anything but more on the traumatic/shock factor involved and the possibility of the animal being hurt as well (and parents going berserk).

As tame as an animal is there is always a possibility of a bite regardless, heck a GTF i kept tried to gum my finger. Perhaps an older/more robust GTF may be suitable, but do keep in mind there needs to be some ground rules (like the usual "pet are not toys" etc)

if you do pick any, an older animal is always preferable compared to a hatchy, and since the kid's three do have locks and well, childproofing. That way handling the animal is done (hopefully) with supervision, but reckon you already thought of that one

 

[Nik]

When my son was 3 I got him a turtle, he'd loved it (still does, the turtle is 4 now and lives outside in a pond). They aren't a play with pet when they are little but will come to the glass to be fed and are great to watch. As the turtle and my son grew, they would sit outside in the sun together. I guess the biggest consideration is the cost of setting up the tank.

 

[Jen]

While I think introducing children from a young age to reptiles is a nice idea, all I can think of is that thread not long ago where the little kid washed the beardy in soapy water and it ended up dying as she then got to it again and squished it.

 

[Crystal..Discus]

Just Plain Nuts started a thread about three weeks ago where a friend's child had taken the beardie out for a "bath" (read: drowned it) and they tried to help, but didn't lock the enclosure and the child ended up squeezing it to death.

Reptiles for children under 8-9 years old is a bad idea imo (Are his parents into reptiles?) Get him a gold fish, that way he can start to learn about the concept of looking after an animal (feeding, cleaning...)

 

[ajandj]

we started with goldfish. My son was allergic to anything with fur and feathers which meant that it was fish or reptiles. As l said we started with gold fish and betta fish and then upgraded to bluey. My enclosure is fully lockable and child proof (thankgoodness), otherwise my 4 year old would be in there any chance she got. Strict supervision is the only way to go. No matter what way you go, you have to make sure that hands are washed properly. I made the mistake of not washing my hands after making cookies, maximus decided that my finger smelt sooo very yummy and he latched on. He actually did a death roll (like you see crocs do) and even tho they don't really have teeth, it bloody hurt.

 

[BigWillieStyles]

When my son was 3 I got him a turtle, he'd loved it (still does, the turtle is 4 now and lives outside in a pond). They aren't a play with pet when they are little but will come to the glass to be fed and are great to watch. As the turtle and my son grew, they would sit outside in the sun together. I guess the biggest consideration is the cost of setting up the tank.

A turtle would be a pretty good reptile for a youngster.