I’ve had a lot of experiences with animals, as I owned pets in the past like bunnies, ferrets, turtles, ducks, and many more. During quarantine, I’ve seen a lot of people have gotten themselves pets to keep them company. Maybe you are thinking about getting one too.

Choosing the right pet for you is important so you don’t end up giving it away or not taking care of it properly. Since I have a lot of experience with pets myself, I decided to make a list of a few animals and rank them based on how sensitive and how much attention the animals need.

Pets for Beginners

It’s no surprise that the two easiest animals to take care of are dogs and cats. They are the cheapest to get and don’t need as much knowledge as other pets. This is the best to get if you are looking for a family pet or are looking to get one for a little kid.

Fishes are also easy to take care of. You don’t need to clean their tanks as often if taken good care of properly. It might get a little expensive buying the supplies but once you get them you won’t have to replace them for a few years. The mistakes I see with first time fish owners are that they assume they are easy to take care of, so they don’t do research. They might end up buying a 3-gallon tank for their betta fish or using tap water for the fish which could both be extremely harmful.

Low Maintenance Pets

Bunnies, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats, hedgehogs, and other similar small animals are common pets for little kids and first pet owners. These types of animals are easy to take care of, but even so, I don’t recommend them to kids younger than 13. Most people do little to no research when getting these animals. They usually end up dying in less than a year due to the very poor conditions.

Birds are also another pet that are easy do take care of. You don’t need to feed them nor clean the cage as much, and they have an easy seed-biased diet. The downside about birds is that they need a lot of attention and could get loud. Also, they are usually grumpy, so they might bite.

Middle Maintenance Pets

I don’t recommend middle maintenance pets for any first-time pet owners. These pets need a lot of cage cleaning and some even need specific temperature or special UVB light. Some even need to be fed really strict diets of raw animals. These things might be confusing and hard if you have never had a pet before.

Snails, geckos, and turtles don’t need much attention; therefore, they don’t like being handled that much, so they also don’t need a lot of playtime like other pets. They are quiet and don’t make much noise. The hardest thing about these animals is that they do require a lot of supplies and the owner must clean the tank often. These animals usually dirty the tank a lot and could get illnesses from it. Another downside to this type of animal is that they require a specific temperature and moistness in the tank.

Ferrets and chinchillas could be extremely cute and playful, but I don’t recommend them. Ferrets could be more playful than dogs. They run around like crazy which makes a lot of people want them. They have gotten popular recently on Tik Tok and a lot of new pet owners really want one. However, ferrets and chinchillas aren’t pets for first time exotic pet owners. They require a crazy amount of playtime like no other animals. They are social animals, so they need another friend animal to keep them company. You have to clean their cage every day and follow a strict diet. They get sick easily for eating any small thing they aren’t supposed to.

High Maintenance Pets

Snakes and iguanas and some types of reptiles are easy to take care of and they don’t need any playtime at all, but they are still considered high maintenance pet due to their diet and environment. Some of these animals you must feed them raw mice and rats which are expensive. They need a specific type of temperature and UVB light. Most of them grow to be more than a foot long so you will also need a big cage for them. All of this keeps adding up and, the cost could be pretty high.

Before Getting a Pet

Before getting a pet, no matter if it’s a fish, dog, or cat, you should always do a lot of research. Make sure you don’t end up getting a cage too small or food that isn’t healthy for them. Always have saved up emergency money in case your pet gets sick. Make sure you do research from where you are getting them from. You should always adopt and not buy from companies like Petco, PetSmart, or any big brand companies because many of the animals are raised by abusive breeders and often are sold sick. Instead, you could look in apps like “Pet finder” or “Adopt a pet.”

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