Quote Originally Posted by lute
chinchillas aren't the best pets for children. rabbits are awesome. your brother already has experiance with them. why not get another bun? rats are great! be sure to get atleast two. they are socail animals and need the company of another rat. gerbils and hamsters aren't the best for children either. they can bite and some kids don't know how to properly handle such a small animal. i'm glad a ferret is out of the question. they are not good with small children. they need a lot of attention, lots of room and yes, they can smell. a parakeet makes a nice pet. they don't need a lot of room, are easy to keep and feed. be sure that your brother knows how to properly handle a small bird though.

GOOD LUCK!!!
Actually, gerbils are more known for NOT biting. They are extremely friendly and sociable. Most can be hand tamed. I know mine are completely comfortable with me picking them up, moving stuff around while they are there, etc. That's one of the things that appeals to people.

Ferrets, if kept up with *properly*, do not smell as many say. I have had two ferrets. Their blankets were washed every week, their food and water was always freshed, complete litter change out every other day, complete cage hose down every week, etc etc. They also had baths.

I have to agree on hampsters. I feel they are not good with children because they scare so easily and are prone to heart attacks. When I was working at PetZone, I got bitten twice by hampsters for putting my hands in their cages while they were sleeping (all cages were cleaned every day and this includes complete food/water (plus vitamins) changes).