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Does anyone have a pet for their daycare? I want to get something but I don't know what. Fish, Hamster, Lizard.... I just don't know. I want it to be something they can help feed/water and possibly be able to hold as well. Does anyone have any good ideas?
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You need to check your regulations as to what is allowed. Here we can not not have exotic animals, birds or lizards, i'm not even sure we are allowed to have hamsters or gerbils. I have 3 cats & a dog & I have to keep a copy of their vet record on hand at all times. -
Yep - agree on checking regulations..we have a list of what we cannot have.
We have a dog..I got him last year and the kids love him, help let him out, feed him and play with him - he is a great dog with kids though !Comment
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check regs first, but I have:
white's tree frogs
salamanders
ball python snake
red eared slider turtle
fish
lizards
skink
hamster
dog
I love our creatures and so do the kids!Comment
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I have a LARGE dog, and a cat. My dog is AMAZING with kids, I'm actually thinking about getting him licensed as a therapy dog. His breed is typically a livestock guardian, and the kids are his "livestock"! When we are outside, he makes sure to know where all the kids are and runs with them on their bikes, etc... Indoors, he stands guard to make sure no intruders come into his home! But he's also great with the daycare parents as well. One of my DCM's wants to take him home!Comment
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We have a Large German Shepherd (105 lbs.) that is great with the kids and a 6lb. chihuahua
. They're best buds and both love the kids. We also have a cat (de-clawed, we got him this way) that loves the kids. The kids love to help feed them, brush them, etc.
In a month we're getting a Chin Chin (chinchilla). I wasn't sure if we wanted a hamster or guinea pig. Originally I wanted to get a rat but I wasn't sure how well received that idea would be with the other parents. They're actually great pets if you take care of them and handle them properly but there's that idea that rats are dirty animals and can carry diseases so in the end I decided I'd have a hard time re-programming the parents so we decided on a Chin Chin instead. They're expensive but a lot like a bunny except that you could train them to potty in a litter box, don't have to give them water baths and they live a lot longer (15 years) vs a hamster or guinea pig (3-5 years).
Just check with your regs and no matter what you get, follow all sanitary procedures like hand washing before handling the pet (so the pet doesn't get sick) and washing after handling the pet.
That's a shame that some areas don't allow exotic pets. Water dragons are another great pet to have. They're a lot like iguanas but grow nowhere near as big as them. Bearded dragons are also great to have (like an over-sized horny toad) and are easy to care for and are very calm and lazy. There are lots of options out there. Check your regs first and once you know what you can't have, choosing a pet that you can have will be a lot easier. This is a topic I feel comfortable with since I have lots of pet experience (I love animals) and my parent's used to own a pet store. At one point in my teens I had well over 100 pets at once including birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, rodents and dogs ... and yes I took care of them myself
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I have a small (10lb) dog, four cats and a hamster. Up until this week I was fostering cats/kittens for the SPCA which I loved but I had to stop due to my own cats' reactions. Our SPCA pays for all medical care, food and supplies. All you have to provide is a warm home, a lap and some love. The children absolutely loved watching our first set of foster kittens grow and get playful, nurse then wean. It was an extremely rewarding experience for us all and I'm disappointed that we couldn't continue. None of my cats are declawed but they're all spayed/neutered and up to date on all vaccines, as is my dog. Home daycares are not typically licensed here in Ontario so I don't have that to worry about. It's possible to do so but is extremely limiting in your ability to provide care with little to no benefit.Doing what I love and loving what I do.Comment
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I've had many - Guinea pigs, by far, are the best for the preschool age.Comment
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Before I did DC & My DS was young. I bought him a guinea pig. He loved it! We had it less then a yr before I gave it to my niece. I felt sorry for it. DS would put it in his dump trunk & push it around (not the sad part) but there was a few times were he carried it & dropped him. I didnt want him to to get hurt one of the times he got droped so I gave him to my niece. He lived to be more 12 or 13 yrs. I was glad I gave him away so he could live a full life.Comment
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yeah our g-pigs are for the kids to see and feed and occasionaly I will take it out so they can pet it - but they aren't allowed to handle them for those exact reasons.Comment
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I was thinking about adding a pet to our group too!
Next week our theme is pets and I think they would go nuts if we had a little guinea pig when they got here on Monday.
I'm definitely considering it
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not to be negative, but seriously look into gp before you do, Im sure you already have,..and I know the kids will be so so excited. however my sil is the reason I say this,... she got one for my nephew and didnt know it made alot of noise at night,.... ended up letting it go in the backyard,... shes about as bright and shiny as the paint on an army hummer. Also,.... my regs say I have to notify all parents first and give them time to find alternate care should they not want their kids around one. Let us know what you decide,.and the kids reaction if you get one!. we have a dog as our daycare pet. Well,.. he looks like a dog, eats like a dog, but thinks he is a day friend who gets to sleep on Miss Jills bed.
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We have a fish tank and the kids love it. It's up high so they have to only view from a distance but they also can't get in it or the food and mess anything up. I used to have mice but all the kids wanted to hold them constantly and it drove me nuts. The mice all got sick and died within a year as well so I was happy that I had removed them from the daycare first and never had to take out a dead mouse and explain it to the kids. I also have a cat and she keeps her distance most days.Celebrate! :
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