Small Furry Pets
Small animals as pets extend beyond cats, dogs, fish and birds. Rodents or other small mammals
such as ferrets, mice, rats, chinchillas, gerbils, hamsters, or rabbits commonly make excellent pets.
Other unusual small animals such as potbelly pigs, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, skunks, sugar gliders, raccoons, monkeys, and even tarantulas can be considered small pets. Their size and ease of
management make them desirable, but health considerations, as well as legal concerns need
exploration before purchase.
Pocket pet is a term commonly used to refer to any small mammal kept as a pet. This includes mostly
rodents such as hamsters, gerbils, fancy mice, fancy rats, chinchillas, and guinea pigs. However,
non-rodent pets such as ferrets, sugar gliders, and rabbits are sometimes categorized as pocket pets.
The group is slowly expanding in scope as well, with the recent surge in popularity of the Degu.
The physical ability to fit an animal into one's pocket is not necessarily a requirement to call it a
pocket pet.
Natives of the South American Andes at 10,000-20,000 foot altitudes, Chinchillas are gentle, friendly, soft,
low-maintenance, simple feeding and easy to handle pets. Being rat relatives, they are raised for fur,
breeding stock, and pets. They are small and playfully inquisitive, but they have a long memory, are shy,
and don?t trust easily. Careful attention is a must. Chinchillas are nocturnal, herbivores, clean, almost odorless, flea (and other pests) resistant and require little housing space.
Chinchillas are rabbit-sized, crepuscular rodents native to the Andes mountains in South America.
Along
with their relatives, viscachas, they belong to the family Chinchillidae. The animal (whose name
literally
means "little Chincha") is named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who wore its soft
and dense fur.
By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become quite rare due to hunting for
their fur. Most
chinchillas currently used by the fur industry for clothing and other accessories are
farm-raised.
In their native habitat, chinchillas live in burrows or crevices in rocks. They are agile jumpers and
can
jump
very high, up to 5 feet. Predators in the wild include hawks, skunks, felines, and canines.
Chinchillas
have a variety of defense tactics including spraying urine and releasing fur if bitten.
In the wild chinchillas
have been observed eating plants, fruits, seeds, and small insects, though
this diet could irritate the
digestive system of a domestic chinchilla whose diet should be primarily
hay-based.
more information from wikipedia.org
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Online Information
To shop for books, magazines, or videos about pet chinchillas, please click here.
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more information from wikipedia.org
To view free articles about small furry pets, please click here.
For other free and fun stuff, please click here.
Online Information
To shop for books, magazines, or videos about pet mice, please click here.
To shop for products and supplies for pet mice, please click here.
more information from wikipedia.org
To view free articles about small furry pets, please click here.
For other free and fun stuff, please click here.
Online Information
To shop for books, magazines, or videos about pet rats, please click here.
To shop for products and supplies for pet rats, please click here.
Other Online Pet Information
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