I'm so glad that Stephanie posted that thread about dwf hampsters. They sound like little monsters!
Our family has moved into a new house and we promised our 6 year old that he could have a hampster after the move was complete.

After reading that thread, I'm having second thoughts about hampsters. or is it just the dwf ones that are real biters?

Any suggestions for a small, friendly pet that would be suitable for a 6 1/2 year old (with supervision, of course)?

A mouse they are friendly my sister all of her kids have one.

They are the size of dwarfs. But friendly.
Thats my experence. from my sister owning them

she has a 2 year old and a 6 year old
the mouses are male also

Guinea pigs? They're the neatest creatures, I have two (brothers....they are pack animals), and they're absolutely hilarious, they have a tonne of personality. My brother will come up into my part of the house just to hang out with them. They need to be supervised in non-GP-proofed areas of course.

A lot of people get rabbits, but in my experience, they're actually more work than cats. (used to be involved in rabbit rescue w/special needs rabbits, currently I have 2 of my own, including a former foster who nobody would take b/c he was so violent from fear aggression - yes, a rabbit - only pet of mine I have scars from, even Teagan hasn't done that) They can be litter-trained and kept freely, but there is a lot of proofing (especially around electrical stuff) that needs to be done, and they need to be supervised in non-proofed areas.

To be honest, I think a lot of small animals are more work than people think, if they are cared for optimally. The easiest species I've ever cared for is cats.

Your right there get a cat.

even this girl is hard.

Rabbits live as long as dogs do to.
My cat is the easiest of my bunch and i have had all kinds of pets.

I hate cleaning the cage
I would clean a litter box over a cage any day

Cats are out (although I love them) since husband and Chula are not cat people.

Jennifer, do Guinea pigs need a lot of exercise? (Hey, i'm serious here!) Will they do well with just short times out of their 'home'?

Stephanie, I may consider getting a mouse (or two). Do they do well on their own, or are two better?

A Rat.

I had a rat for almost 9 yrs. She was the sweetest "pet" I have owned.

Make sure to get a young one, and you can marker train them as well i am sure.

Misty would sit up, roll over, and when I went to get her out I would just stick my hand in her tank and she would crawl up my arm and curl up on my shoulder.

 Quote: carol boche

A Rat.

I had a rat for almost 9 yrs. She was the sweetest "pet" I have owned.

I might be able to get away with that, as long as I call it a 'Short-haired Guinea pig'!

I'll second the rat.

9 Years on Misty! Wow!

They are incredibly smart and fun to have around. When I would ride my bike, she insisted on (climbed down from my shoulder on my arm) sitting in between the gears and holding on, face in the wind. Very net pet.

It was also fun to catch a bunch of moths by the light outside at night and open the jar in her cage and watch her go...she was quick.

I've never had a rat, though I handled them when I volunteered for a shelter here - they are neat, smart animals.

Guinea pigs aren't like dogs in terms of exercise needs - a large living area (pen....maybe not w/chula?, large rabbit cage, condo (like at http://www.rabbitcondo.com/, http://www.leithpetwerks.com/) that they can run around in is ideal, with things to keep them mentally/physically occupied is ideal. Mine like to run around and explore while they're out, but it's as much the playing and exposure as anything.

You can get hairless guinea pigs (or 'skinny pigs' as they're sometime called). My first guinea pig rescue was a skinny pig who'd been abandoned outside a pet food store near where I lived (the owners knew I did rescue....I took him on as a foster, but he just captivated me. Unfortunately Ralph passed away a year ago.).

Some pics:
Ralph
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a384/mitchthecat/Ralph181.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a384/mitchthecat/Ralph42.jpg

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Arthur Arlo and Haemish, the GP brothers, on photobucket other than their animal control pics, so they're kind of old.

Arthur Arlo
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a384/mitchthecat/39dc8e41.jpg

Haemish
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a384/mitchthecat/c81fc994.jpg

Though, if Chula is not good with cats b/c of prey drive, you'll need to be careful w/guinea pigs, or any small animal. Teagan thinks the brothers are popcorn.

Guinea pigs also squeak at the same frequency as Cuz toys....Teagan and the guinea pigs (from a safe place) used to 'talk'.

I would also have to vote rat.

I have had several over the years. The one I have now is really sweet, she goes everywhere with us- camping, visiting the family, grocery store, etc.
Alice pic

Mike & Alice