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Sure, cats and dogs dominate the pet marketplace, but they aren’t the only animals in town. Children and families looking for a different pet have many options — as long as everyone does their homework before bringing them home.

The American Veterinary Medical Association reports 44.6%of households in the United States own a dog and 26% own a cat. After that, the numbers drop dramatically. The next most popular pets are fish at 2.7%, followed by birds in 2.5% of households. Reptiles, gerbils and rabbits are found in similar numbers of households (about 1.3%). But some 10% of households have one or more species, from large to tiny.

“There are a lot of options. You can go with birds, small animals, reptiles, amphibians, fish,” says Allyson Smith, owner of Savage Serpents in La Grande. “The most important thing is do your research. You have to decide if this is something your family can undertake.”

Choosing a pet means committing to caring for that animal for its entire life — which brings a lot of responsibility to bear. If your family adopts a betta fish, for instance, be prepared for family discussions when that pet passes on in two to three years. On the other hand, adopting a tortoise, which can live 80 to 150 years, means committing your children and grandchildren to the pet.

“Lifespan is a huge thing to consider. A lot of people will say, ‘I want to get a tortoise for my kid,’” Smith remarks.

“Sure, but they’re going to have it until they’re 70,” says Rod McDougall, of Wild West Pets in Pendleton.

He says staff question each customer to make sure the pet is a good fit and the potential owners know what to expect. “We really want people to know what they’re getting into,” he says. “We want them to do the research, know what an animal eats, know their behaviors, how long they’ll live and how big they’ll get.”

Good questions to consider:

• Why do you want a pet and what are you looking for?

• How much money and time can you spend on care for your pet?

• How much attention are you willing to give it? Does family travel or other commitments often keep you away from home?

• Which family member will care for the pet and what happens if they can’t (or won’t)?

• Will the new pet fit into your family?

McDougall also brought up interaction between pets, because not all animals get along. “Ferrets sometimes are not good with dogs and cats, for example. But if they grow up together – if they’re puppies or kittens and the ferret is young — it can be a different story.”

The care and keeping of the animal can also vary greatly. Some are low maintenance while others, like birds, require significant care. “A lot of the birds live quite a long time, especially the bigger birds,” McDougall points out, with some reaching 20 or 30 years in age. “They’re kind of a commitment, too, because they’re messy, so they require maintenance.”

Both Smith and McDougall recommend reptiles — geckos, snakes, bearded dragons — as good pets for those who thoughtfully choose them.

“Leopard geckos are really easy for beginners to get into,” says McDougall. They’re small, inexpensive and simple to tend. “Bearded dragons are pretty hardy, pretty easy to care for. They’re kind of self- contained.”

Smith agrees bearded dragons are popular, but adds that people still need to know “how much you have to feed them, maintenance, proper lighting, habitat sizes.”

Smith also sees a large demand for salamander-like axolotls, because of their appearance in pop culture, such as Minecraft. If a child is familiar with an animal and excited about it, they may stay engaged. But children have short attention spans and the life of an animal does not always line up.

Parents need to be prepared to stick with the commitment the whole way, Smith observes, and “make sure they care for this animal appropriately. When they don’t, the job falls to you.” Some kids will absolutely love their animals, she says, but if they can’t pull it out and play with it their interest may fade.

A few more stats: pet livestock and horses are tied at 0.2% and another half percent claim poultry as pets — but those numbers are probably higher in Eastern Oregon than the national average. Easter is coming and chicks will be available, but be careful gifting chickens or rabbits for the holiday. The same rules apply to making sure the family is prepared for any animal brought home.