sea monkeys are disappointing. how about caterpillars? they eat leaves and if you keep them alive long enough you might get a butterfly. that’s kinda cool.

Snakes.

We’ve had a Ball python for a year now and my 4 y/o loves it! Skynard’s only about 3-4′ long and is extremely easy to maintain. Great for a pre-schooler as the only daily activity necessary is misting the cage w/ a water bottle.

I feed him once a month, change his cage every 6, and he sheds two or three times a year. What’s not to love?!?!?

Also, on Show & Tell day, my kid is the envy of the class cuz his mama lets him have a snake!!!! *lol*

We have a snake. Really. It’s a ball python. I never knew that they were sooooooo low maintenance. Like not-eating-for-six-months low maintenance (sometimes she’ll eat weekly, but she’s gone the better part of a year without food, too). We throw some water in her bowl every couple of weeks, but other than that…

I’ve had plants that require more care.

Gerbils are great – they are fairly low maintenance (clean cage once a week, fresh water and food daily) and they don’t smell like other rodents…. plus kids just love watching them chew up toilet paper rolls.

We’ve had a lot of pets over the years:

1) Hermit crabs: Very low maintenance but you MUST give them a sponge to drink water. Not especially cuddly though. Ours lived over a year which seemed pretty good for a hermit crab.

2) Guinea pigs: Super sweet but a lot of work. They don’t bite and are pretty cuddly. They prefer to live in pairs so make sure you get two of the same gender. The worst job involved with them is trimming their nails, which is essential to their health, but changing their litter is no picnic either.

3) Cockatiels: Our only current “small pet”. They live a long time, so they’re a big time commitment, but they’re adorable. They make a fair amount of dander dust, so they’re not so good with people with allergy issues. Cleaning their cages is a 10-minute job twice a week–no big deal. Ours is really pretty and is not obnoxiously noisy.

I’ve also had hamsters (ours bit and was cute but not very cuddly or interactive), frogs (cool but they eat mealworms and crickets which can be gross), fish (we’ve had varying degrees of success), cats (wonderful but shedding is a pain in the ass), and dogs over the years. Anyone thinking of a dog who’s never had one before consider this: I’d heard from various friends that dogs are happier in pairs. But seriously–twice the poop, twice the food, twice the (expensive) vet bills? Really? But it’s totally worth it. We have two dogs and while they’re not biologically related, they’re brothers in every sense and are a lot happier when they’re left alone.

Hopefully this is more informative than “Bee in a jar”.