i will be getting my daughter, two giant african millipedes for her birthday!
apparently they smell alot less than snails

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You never own a cat unless the cat owns you!

I have been keeping Stick Insects for the past 4 months or so. My son absolutely loves them, but unfortunately, you are looking at a life span of about 12 months with them. But if you intend to breed them then there will be plenty of little ones to replace those that die.

If you go for stick insects a couple of good starter ones would be:-
Trachyaretaon Bruekneri (Giant Thorny)

Don't let the name fool you they do not have any thorns on them, they are a good sized stick insect, eat bramble, or Ivy. These are a nice bulky stick that grow to a nice size (9cm+)

Phaenopharos khaoyaiensis (Bud Wing)
Again a less exotic looking stick but one that grows to a good size (13cm+) and will eat Bramble and Ivy.

Or just as a starter you could introduce him to the good old Indian Stick Insect which will eat a wide variety of plants (Bramble, Privet, Ivy, rose, oak )

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The beginners Guide To Indian Stick Insects:-
http://stickinsects.tazworld.co.uk

My Phasmids:-
001 (Carausius Morosus) x ∞
004 (Sipyloidea sipylus) x 4
105 (Parapachymorpha spinosa) x 6
215 (Phaenopharos khaoyaiensis) x 14
255 (Trachyaretaon Bruekneri) x 4

What about an African giant millipede?
I had one of them for several yrs.They can live up to 10yrs.
They are pretty docile and slow and eat organiz materials,veggies and fruits.They are pretty easy to care for.Mine only recently died and I am in search of another!

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go for a whites green tree frog, they are adorable

they are adorable and easy to keep,
But they are nocturnal!!!
so the kids dont get to see them much on summer nights as they are still asleep when its time for the kids to go to bed.
and they croak loud so not ideal to keep in a bedroom unless a child could sleep through very loud noises.

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You never own a cat unless the cat owns you!

since i was around tht age iv always wanted giant african land snails (and still do) so thats my suggestion
i think they're cute :P
i think the only fault is if you get two they will lay loadsss of eggs
i get to look after some african snails at this new animal care college im going to, so i can post tips and help if you need it

xxxx

Whats all this about snails smelling??!! they dont smell at all ! maybe if you never cleaned them and had them soaking wet they might . I have babys in the classified section if your after snails.Smelly snails indeed and Hayley! they are hamaphroditic so they can self seed,you dont need two to end up with babys,unwanted eggs are frozen before they develop.

Stick insects are fine if you can keep up with the food supply and Millipedes are easy to keep. You could go for a praying Mantis if you're ok with live food?

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Click for pictures of my Tarantulas, Trapdoor Spider, Scorpions, Snakeheads and to read my blog

It really depends on what food stuff they are used to. All my Stick Insects have taken to Ivy which I have in abundance, but Sticks like the Indian Stick Insect (Carausius Morosus) will happily take to a wide variety of food plants (Ivy, Bramble, Privet, Oak, Rose, Hawthorn and various others). So if you have a good supply of either Bramble or Ivy then I have some Bud Wing Stick Insects (Phaenopharos khaoyaiensis) and Indians (Carausius Morosus) of various ages that I would be happy to send to you for the price of next day P&P only.

Closer to Christmas I will have the following nymphs (babies) hatching:-

Trachyaretaon Bruekneri
Phaenopharos khaoyaiensis
Parapachymorpha spinosa
Sipyloidea sipylus
Peruphasma schultei

Just Google them to see pictures and get some info about them. If you can let me know if you have either Bramble or Ivy close to where you live then I would be more than happy to try and get them to feed on your chosen plant.

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The beginners Guide To Indian Stick Insects:-
http://stickinsects.tazworld.co.uk

My Phasmids:-
001 (Carausius Morosus) x ∞
004 (Sipyloidea sipylus) x 4
105 (Parapachymorpha spinosa) x 6
215 (Phaenopharos khaoyaiensis) x 14
255 (Trachyaretaon Bruekneri) x 4