What Are Some Good Gluten Free Pets?

[Guhlia]

My daughter's preschool is getting a pet for the classroom. They are doing fish first and I'm going to be making gluten free fish food so my daughter can be the "vet" (the one who feeds them). After the fish they are planning on getting another pet and they have asked me for my input so that perhaps it can also eat gluten free. Any suggestions? It has to be smaller than a rabbit (no bunnies allowed). It can't be something that needs a lot of space to run around. It has to be able to live in a small cage. The kids have to be able to feed it relatively safely and no super gross food... Any input would be appreciated so that I can get back to her teachers ASAP.

[missy'smom]

I don't know for sure if they're gluten-free, but what about a hermit crab or two. They're so cute. Some kids I tutored had a couple with colorfully painted shells.

[kbtoyssni]

Most standard "pellet" food for small rodents contains gluten. With some research, I think you could feed a rodent more of a fresh veggies and dried alfalfa diet, though.

[ang1e0251]

How about a turtle? It's been a long time since we had one & I don't know about it's food but if your finding out about fish food, turtle food shouldn't be that hard to figure out. They will eat lettuce as a supplement also.

[tarnalberry]

I would highly encourage they not get a bird - even a parakeet - thinking it's low maintenance. It's not high maintenance, but they need appropriate care and interaction. They're at least "moderate maintenance". (Not to mention that a good diet for a bird is either going to have gluten or be a non-trivial undertaking, just seed isn't healthy.)

[Juliebove]

  ang1e0251 said:

How about a turtle? It's been a long time since we had one & I don't know about it's food but if your finding out about fish food, turtle food shouldn't be that hard to figure out. They will eat lettuce as a supplement also.

We had a turtle and it ate worms.

[Phyllis28]

I would suggest a trip to the pet store. Pet food has a list of ingredients on the back. Also, someone in store should be able to give you a quick lesson on the feeding and care of each animal you are considering. I don't think birds are an option. Most of the bird food has gluten unless you order expensive bird seed and make your own bird seed mix. You might want to check turtles, small reptiles, guinea (sp??) pigs, hampsters or mice. If the commercial food all has gluten then ask about a natural diet.

[larry mac]

Guhlia,

Who is the celiac, you or your daughter? And does this pet also need to eat casein/soy/corn/rice/nut/egg/apple free food?

best regards, lm

[Guhlia]

  larry mac said:

Guhlia,

Who is the celiac, you or your daughter? And does this pet also need to eat casein/soy/corn/rice/nut/egg/apple free food?

best regards, lm

I have two daughters. My 4 year old, Tori, is gluten intolerant at the least. She is currently gluten free and thriving. We treat her as though she has Celiac just to be safe since she is double DQ-2 and symptomatic. The pet is for her preschool classroom. She has no other allergies/intolerances that we know of.

My other daughter, Annika, has multiple allergies (casein/corn/rice/apple/etc.). She is also gluten free and will be until we get her genetic testing done and the rest of her allergies figured out.

I can see how you got confused. lol

I am planning on going to the pet store and inquiring about different pets, their practicality, and their food. I just thought maybe somebody here had a gluten free pet at home that they thought would be perfect for a classroom.

I'm afraid that turtles wouldn't fly as pets due to the whole salmonella thing (though I'm going to ask). Schools are really funny about stuff like that. They had a rabbit last year, but they felt as though he didn't have enough room to run, so no more rabbits.

[JNBunnie1]

  Guhlia said:

I'm afraid that turtles wouldn't fly as pets due to the whole salmonella thing (though I'm going to ask). Schools are really funny about stuff like that. They had a rabbit last year, but they felt as though he didn't have enough room to run, so no more rabbits.

Huh? Since when are turtles a salmonella threat?

[lovegrov]

"Huh? Since when are turtles a salmonella threat?"

From the CDC:

Did you know that turtles can carry a harmful germ called Salmonella? Turtles' slow movements and tough, colorful shells may make them seem like the perfect family pet. However, if there are infants or small children in your home, turtles might not be safe pets for your family.

Salmonellosis is a serious infection of the gastrointestinal tract. (Information on this infection is also available in Spanish.) Diarrhea is the most common symptom of Salmonella infection, but other symptoms such as fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting can also occur. Salmonellosis can be very serious and sometimes fatal for young children, the elderly, and persons with weak immune systems. Therefore, families with children aged 5 years or younger in the home should avoid keeping turtles as pets.

richard

[blueeyedmanda]

We have a hermit crab but they dont eat very often at all.....Not daily. The only thing I know about hermit crabs from experience and from working in daycares is they can bite, so even though you are able to hold them if you move quickly they can get scared and bite.....

What about a hamster if you can make the food for that as well?

[Phyllis28]

Angie,

You might also check with your local animal shelter. I know ours has more that just dogs and cats. They may have additonal ideas.

[JenPen]

Hello-

Ok, I'm getting ready for all the "gross" and "you can't be serious" remarks, but how about Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches? I was pretty freaked out myself when my husband wanted to start keeping them as tarantula food. It turns out they are really easy to keep, and they have huge "kid appeal" due to their size and the hissing noise they make. They'll eat whatever you throw them and they honestly do not have an odor as long as you take out food they didn't finish after a few days. They are social, so I'd recommend at least two of them. The males and females are quite easy to tell apart, so most breeders should be able to hook you up with only males. Even if you ended up with females, they don't exactly readily reproduce unless you keep the temp over 80 degrees and keep the tank quite humid. We had a colony, but could control the breeding easily. You can put them in a critter cage or a smaller rectangular fish tank. It doesn't even need a lid. You can put a band of Vaseline around the top of the tank and they can not crawl through it. They do not fly or bite, but their legs are a little bit spiny, which can feel a bit scratchy on your hands. I haven't been around other cockroaches, but the adult hissers do not seem as fast moving as what I imagine other species to be. If you drop one, there is plenty of time to recapture it...and they do not fit into tiny cracks as they have thick bodies. We got our first roaches through mail-order, but every once in a while you'll find a pet store that sells them. Seriously, these are a very easy and kid friendly pet

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Thanks,

Jennifer

[Adelle]

Guinea pigs!!! We used to have them a few years ago (they got sick and sadly couldn't be saved). We got ours from the local humane society. The shavings you use for the bottom of the cage is gluten-free and when we went gluten-free we just fed them vegi bits instead of the pellets (they are glutenous and bad for them anyway!). They are adorable and there are too many (lots of bad breeders and they have lots of babies) so local humane societies tend to have them. They can live a long time depending on how old they are when you get one (we got ours as adults, probably fairly old).

They are TOO CUTE!! TOTALLY!

[oceangirl]

Not to sound abrasive, but, I sure hope the "pet" is being thought of first. ( which is often not the case.) I have had numerous and multitudinous pets in my life and, frankly, I don't think humans always do a very good job of harboring animals. Birds, need to FLY. Animals, (insects, amoebas and probably all others are leagues ahead of humans in their intuitive brilliance and spiritual evolution.) Please consider the animal first- it is our obligation as big-brained, less-than-brilliantly-evolved humans. I'm sure you are. I don't mean this in any way to be snide- just not a big fan of humans' dominance over the animal kingdom.

take care,

lisa