• There are several colors associated with ferrets: ______o The Sable Rich dark brown guard hairs with golden highlights, with a white to golden undercoat. A black sable has blue-black guard hairs with no golden or brownish cast, with a white to cream undercoat. ______o The albino White with red eyes and a pink nose. (A dark-eyed white can have very light eyes, but is not an albino. These can be white to cream colored.) ______o The Cinnamon Rich light reddish coat with a white to golden undercoat. ______o The panda Black with a white head. ______o Blaze or Badger White stripe on top of the head. ______o Silver Starts out grey, or light with a few dark hairs. Gets lighter with age. ______o Siamese A solid color, with very dark legs and tail and a dark ‘V’ shaped mask.
• Ferrets seldom cause allergies. People who are generally allergic to cats and dogs don't usually have problems with ferrets. • Ferrets are not usually territorial. They actually get along with other ferrets quite well, and with dogs and cats if introduced properly. • Ferrets do not 'go feral' or 'wild'. A loose ferret will typically die of starvation within 4 days. They have no instinctive knowledge of what is or is not food. They will die within 24 hours of exposure as they can not tolerate freezing weather or heat of 90F. There have been no reports of any feral colonies of domestic ferrets in any of the 48 states where they are legal. • Ferrets are classified as domestic animals, who are completely dependent on people for their existence. They are commonly mistaken for their distant cousin, the wild Black Footed Ferret, which is now endangered. To compare a Black Footed Ferret to a domestic ferret is like comparing a toy poodle to a wolf or a domestic short haired cat to a mountain lion. • In Massachusetts, only licensed breeders and research institutions will be allowed to possess whole or unaltered ferrets. • Male ferrets typically weigh from 2-5 pounds and can grow up to 18 inches in length. Female ferrets are typically half the weight of a male and can grow up to 16 inches in length. They come in a variety of colors. Ferrets are very lively animals and their play resembles that of an over exuberant puppy. They are very curious explorers. • A group of ferrets is called a "business". • A female ferret is called a Jill and a male is called a Hob. A spayed female is called a Sprite and a neutered male is called a Gib. • The Massachusetts Colonial Navy has a ferret as its mascot. • Ferrets do not claw or chew on furniture and are very quiet animals that do not make much noise. • Ferrets are easily litter trained. However, for a ferret, close counts! • Ferrets maintain their playful nature throughout their lives and generally live 6-8 years but can reach the age of 10. • Ferrets were given as gifts by Queen Victoria who raised albino ferrets. • Ferrets will never give you a dull moment. They are very inquisitive and playful when awake, but sleep most of the day (16 hours), if allowed to. They easily adapt to their owners schedule and will be awake when they are home and attentive. • Ferrets have been domesticated for thousands of years; in fact, on the walls of some Egyptian tombs there are pictures of ferret-like creatures on leashes. • Ferrets have no inherent fear of humans. • A newborn ferret is so small that it can fit into a teaspoon! • All ferret kits have white fur at birth. • After kithood (6-8 weeks of age) ferrets make very few sounds • The average ferret lives to be 6 or 7 years old. • Ferrets like to crawl into small dark spaces to sleep. • Ferrets are members of the mink family. • Ferrets can sleep so soundly that they cannot be woken up even when picked up and jostled. • A small ferret may be able to squeeze through a hole just over an inch in diameter.
____Rabbits
• The world record for the rabbit high jump is 1 meter. • The world record for the record long jump is 3 meters. That's over 9 feet! • The largest litter of baby rabbits is 24. It has happened twice. Once in 1978 and again in 1999. • The longest ears are 31.125 inches long. They belong to an American rabbit, Nipper's Geronimo. • The longest-lived rabbit was nearly 19 years old when he died• Biggest bunny: 115 lbs. • A rabbit has 18 toenails: 4 on each of the back feet, and 5 on each of the front. • The smallest wild rabbit breed in North American is the Pygmy or Little Idaho rabbit, which weighs slightly less than one pound. • There are over 150 different rabbit coat colors, but only 5 eye colors (brown, blue-grey, blue, marbled, and pink). • President Lincoln allowed his sons to keep many pets in the White House, including pet rabbits. • Rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk. • Rabbits are lagomorphs, not rodents. They are related to hares and pikas. • Rabbits can see behind them without turning their heads. • Rabbits are not indigenous to Australia. • Rabbits were released on deserted islands to give shipwrecked sailors a food source until they could be rescued.
____Big Cats
• In the UK there are known to be at least 154 big cats held in private hands (including 12 lions and 14 tigers), almost 500 assorted monkeys, over 250 venomous snakes and 50 members of the crocodile family. (Big cats in Britain, 2006) • Between 1994-2004, the European Union was one of the largest importers of wild-caught birds, importing a massive 9.5 million birds of species listed in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – equivalent 87% of world trade. However, as a result of the avian influenza outbreak and campaigning by the RSPB¹, APA² and others, July 2007 brought permanent ban on the import of wild birds into Britain and the rest of the European Union. • The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) estimates that in the United States, in 2000 alone, 9 million reptiles were kept as pets. • In the United States it is estimated that there are more captive tigers in private hands than living in the wild in Asia. • In the United States, the number of reptiles, especially iguanas, imported per year has increased considerably to >1 million. The number of human cases of salmonellosis, especially in very young children, increased dramatically in parallel with iguana pet ownership. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that >7% of human infections with salmonellae in the United States are associated with having handled a reptile. (Chomel, Belotto and Meslin, 2007)
____General
• Millions of wild animals, including reptiles, large felines, nonhuman primates, and others, are kept in private possession in the U.S. The trade in exotic animals is a multi-billion-dollar-a-year industry. • Exotic “pets” are wild animals that do not adjust well to a captive environment. They require special care, housing, diet, and maintenance that the average person cannot provide. • It is estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 tigers are kept as “pets” — more than exist in the wild. A tiger can be purchased for as little as $300, or less than the cost of a purebred dog. • Animals enter the exotic “pet” trade from a variety of sources. Some are stolen from their native habitat; some are “surplus” from zoos or menageries; some are sold at auctions or in pet shops; while others come from backyard breeders. The Internet has dramatically increased the ease with which people can find and purchase wild animals for their private possession. • Exotic “pets” purchased as infants are abandoned by their keepers as they age and become impossible to control. Sanctuaries cannot accommodate the large numbers of unwanted “pets.” As a result, the majority of these animals are euthanized, abandoned, or doomed to live in deplorable conditions. • Across the country, privately-held exotic animals held have escaped from their enclosures and have attacked humans and other animals — with sometimes fatal results. • Many exotic “pets” can transmit deadly diseases — including herpes B, monkeypox, and salmonellosis — to humans. • An estimated 90 percent of all reptiles carry and shed salmonella in their feces. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 93,000 salmonella cases caused by exposure to reptiles are reported each year in the United States. As many as 90 percent of all macaque monkeys are infected with herpes B virus, which harmless to monkeys but often fatal in humans. • The American Veterinary Medical Association, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the CDC have all expressed opposition to the possession of certain exotic animals by individuals. • The sale and possession of exotic animals is regulated by a patchwork of federal, state and local laws that generally vary by community and by animal. Fifteen states prohibit possession of at least large cats, wolves, bears, nonhuman primates, and dangerous reptiles. Nine states have a partial ban, prohibiting possession of some exotic animals. Thirteen states require a license or permit to possess exotic animals. Many cities and counties have adopted ordinances that are more stringent than the state law.
____Chinchillas
• Chinchillas are nocturnal, sleeping during the day and very active at night. Also a chinchilla is a herbivore • The gestation period of the chinchilla is 111 days and the female can bear as many as three litters in one year. The average is two or three kits to the litter, but a chinchilla canfour at a time. • Chinchilla young are called "kits". They are born with eyes open, a full set of teeth, and a complete coat of fur. Within a few hours after birth they are able to run and jump Kits weigh from 40 to 75 grams at birth. • Chinchillas are very clean and ordorless. Their fur is very dence making it impossable for fleas or ticks. • Chinchillas love to chew. They can chew on pine or apple branches. • Did you know there are four different breeds of chinchillas? ______o Lanigera - the best production strain, the original animals showed wide range in colour. The colours ranged between a light bluish grey to those showing a distinct brownish colour. ______o Brevicoudata - a large, well furred chinchilla with a good full neck. The fur was thought to be too long as it did not have good strength. ______o Costina - a smaller type of chinchilla with very bluish colour. They had a rather short fur, not too dense, but good strength. ______o North American - most of the better chinchillas today are the result of carefully controlled breeding over the last 60 years combining the best features of the original three breeds. • Rodents are divided into three groups based on the structure of their scull: ______o Sciuromorphs (the group of squirrels). In this group belong, among others, squirrels and beavers. ______o Myomorphs (the group of mice). In this group belong mice, hamsters and lemmings, amongst others. ______o Hystricomorphs (the group of porcupines). In this group belongs porcupines, guniea pigs and chinchillas amongst others. • Each of these three group is broken further down into families. • The chinchilla family is Chinchillidae. This family consists of six species: four Viscacha species and two Chinchilla species. The Viscacha species looks a lot like the chinchilla species but they have black stribes on their heads. Like the chinchillas they come from South America, are nocturnal and lives in the mountains. The following picture shows the common viscacha. • Chinchillas are nocturnal -- they will be very active at night. • Chinchillas are herbivores. • Chinchillas are clean animal and they are practically odorless. • Their fur does not support fleas or other pests, as it is too dense -- 80-100 hairs per follicle. • It does not required a large housing area. • It has an average lifespan of 10-15 years. Some are known to have live over their 20s. • A chinchilla is expensive to acquire and to care for. • Being a nocturnal animal, chinchilla needs to be protected from noise and family activity in the daytime. • Chinchillas are generally not teachable and/or trainable like dogs. Do not expect them to respond to commands. • Chinchilla can never be tamed nor becomes as friendly as a guinea pig. • Chinchillas are friendly pets when they learn to trust you well. This will take time a lot of time and patience. • Chinchillas are not meant for petting. They do and WILL bite if threatened. • Because of the above, chinchillas do not make good pet for children. • There is a possibility that an individual might be allergic to chinchilla hair and its bath dust. • If you are a light sleeper, chinchillas might not be the pet for you. They are noisy and talkative animals, especially if you have 2 or more. They will make a lot of noises at night to get your attention, to express their needs and emotions, move their furnitures, jumping about in their cages, running on their wheels, etc.. • Chinchillas need a dry habitat and need dust baths several times weekly; in fact, a dust bath is necessary to keep a chinchilla's fur soft • A chinchilla needs a multiple level habitat • A chinchilla sounds like a chirp or peep. Chinchillas also cackle, and emit a sound "kee-kee-kee" • Always place your chinchilla's cage in a corner or with at least one side to the wall. • A chinchilla has approximately 90 hairs per hair follicle; humans have 1-2 hairs per follicle • When a chinchilla is grooming himself, he is happy and relaxed • Chinchilla fur is considered the softest in the world and is thirty times softer than human hair. • Chinchillas must regularly bathe in dust or volcanic ash to remove oil and moisture that gathers in their thick fur. • Chinchillas have the highest fur density of any land animal with more than 20,000 hairs per square cm. Their fur is so dense that skin parasites (such as fleas) cannot live on one lest they suffocate. Whereas humans grow one hair from each follicle, a chinchilla has more than fifty hairs from a single follicle. • They are agile jumpers and can jump up to five feet above their head. • Martha Stewart has 15 pet chinchillas. • Chinchillas have no dander, which is the leading cause to pet related allergies.
____Gerbils
• The life span of gerbils is 2-3 years. • Gerbils, although nocturnal (most active at night) actually go through several cycles of activity each night. • Gerbils need a nest box to feel secure • Frequent, gentle handling should keep your gerbil tame. • Gerbils love sunflower seeds. • Gerbils, being social animals, live best in pairs; keeping two same-sex littermates is the best situation. • "Thumping" is an interesting gerbil behavior. The gerbil will pound both hind legs on the ground when he is excited or stressed.• Young gerbils tend to thump even when not stressed. • If you have multiple gerbils, they will all join in on thumping behavior. • When a gerbil rubs his stomach on cage accessories, he is marking his territory. • The common pet gerbil originated in Mongolia.
____Guinea Pigs
• Another name for a guinea pig is a "cavy." Wild cavies live in social groups called "herds." • A male guinea pig is a boar and a female is a sow. Baby guinea pigs are pups. • Guinea pigs are social creatures who need daily quality time and interaction with their human family. • Guinea pigs may live as long as seven to nine years. • Guinea pigs love being petted and will fall asleep in your lap if they trust you. • Guinea pigs can develop social relationships with people or other species of animals. • A guinea pig's ears are very sensitive to loud noises. • If your guinea pig assumes a stretched-out posture, this means that she is in a relaxed mode. • A happy guinea pig may jump straight up and down; this is called "popcorning" in juvenile guinea pigs. • Guinea pigs are unable to manufacture Vitamin C within their bodies; therefore, this vitamin must be supplemented. • A guinea pig's teeth constantly grow, so she needs an appropriate chew toy to keep teeth properly worn down.
____Sugar Gliders
• Sugar gliders get their name from their love of sugar and their innate ability to glide from tree to tree using the webbed area between their body and back legs along with their tails. • The sugar glider is a marsupial, like a kangaroo or wombat. • Sugar gliders only weigh about 40 to 60 grams as full-grown adults • Sugar gliders are able to glide over 150 feet. In the wild, when a sugar glider launches itself from a tree, it spreads its limbs. The gliding membranes from its wrists to its ankles open up and slow its descent, much like a parachute. It can change the curvature of the membrane by moving its legs to regulate its glide, and also uses its tail (which is as long as its body) like a rudder.
____Rats
• Rats are extremely clean pets and are among the most intelligent and curious. • Ancient Romans considered the rat good luck, and in China the rat is considered a sign of prosperity. • Rats, with their long tail, have a very acute sense of balance; therefore, they are excellent climbers. • Rats can swim and many enjoy it. • Pet rats live an average of two to three years. • Male rats are known as bucks, females are does, and babies are pups or kittens. • Rats are very social animals and do best when kept with other rat companions. • The general rule is that male rats are larger with a coarser coat and more laid-back disposition, than females. Females are typically smaller and more active and playful. • Pet rats, or fancy rats, have an interesting history. Many breeders believe that rats were first widely domesticated by the rat-catchers of the 19th Century. It is believed these people, who were paid by town governments to trap rats, started breeding rats to keep themselves in business, only then discovering how intelligent and loyal these pets could be. • Though generally nocturnal, most rats are crepuscular, which means they are most active for a few hours around dusk and dawn, dividing the rest of the day between hours of lesser activity and sleeping. • Rats have starred or appeared in over 400 films and close to one hundred television series.
____Hedgehogs
• Though originally native to Africa and often referred to as the "African Pygmy," the most commonly kept hedgehogs are probably a mix of different hedgehog species and descriptively named by breeders as opposed to being classified by a true species name. • Hedgehogs are considered to be insectivores, relying on insects for much of their dietary needs. They are, however, opportunistic feeders who will eat almost anything they find. • Short, prickly spines cover a hedgehog's entire back. Also known as quills, these defensive tools are really modified, hollow hairs and are not poisonous or barbed. • When threatened, hedgehogs roll into a tight ball, protecting their face, eyes, limbs, and bellies. • If necessary, a hedgehog can run over six feet per second. In fact, many hedgehogs will attempt to escape an attacker before they roll into a protective, spiny ball. • Hedgehogs have very sensitive senses of smell and hearing. They can even hear in the ultrasonic range. • Though many people claim that hedgehogs are immune to toxins that are deadly to humans and other animals, more research is needed to verify these claims. Therefore, hedgehogs should be kept away from all poisons. • Hedgehogs prefer to live apart from other members of their own species, however, can form a tight bond with their human counterparts. • Hedgehogs prefer controlled periods of light and darkness, as well as undisturbed periods of rest. • Hedgehogs thrive in warm temperatures (75° to 80°F).
____Hamsters
• Golden or Syrian hamsters must be kept singly after the age of ten weeks. Though they will bond with their human companions, they are not social with other hamsters or animals. • Though classified as nocturnal, most hamsters divide their days with periods of sleeping and waking. • Dwarf hamsters, unlike their Syrian cousins, are more social with their own species and sometimes live in pairs or very small groups, as long as they are introduced to each other at a young age. • In the wild, hamsters dig extensive tunnels beneath the ground - extending as far as three feet in depth. • In the wild, hamsters will line their tunnels with grasses and wool or hair shed from other animals to help maintain a fairly constant temperature in their burrow (often around 60°F), no matter the outside temperature. • Like other rodents, a hamster's teeth grow continuously throughout their lifetime. To help keep their teeth worn and clean, offer suitable chew toys on a regular basis. • Hamsters typically have poor eyesight and depth perception. To compensate for their poor sight when in unfamiliar territory, hamsters have scent glands on their flanks (and abdomens in Chinese hamsters). A hamster rubs these areas of his body against various objects, and leaves a trail of smells the hamster can follow to return to his home den. • When dwarf hamsters are pregnant, you can determine the sex of the babies! By controlling the temperature in the room the mother is kept, you can manipulate whether she will have more boys or girls. If you keep her in warmer temperatures, she will have more boys. If you keep her in cooler temperatures, she will have more girls. • Hamsters can remember their relatives. • Hamsters can be taught how to come by name. • Dwarf hamsters live about 1.5 to 2 years but can live to be 4. • Dwarf hamsters' breeding season is from April to September. But, if kept in lighting that stays on for eight hours or more a day, they will continue to breed throughout the entire year. • Female dwarf hamsters can give birth as young as five weeks. This is not recommended though. You should wait until she is at least 3 months old. • Campbell's dwarf hamsters are a very new breed. They weren't widely sold as pets until around 1995. • Once baby hamsters are a week old, the parents most likely will not eat them. • Hamsters cannot be spayed or neutered. In order to stop pregnancy, you must separate the male and female. • If your hamster's toe nails are getting long, it is possible to clip their nails at home. Use baby nail clippers and clip off the very ends of the nails. Don't clip too short! Or, try lining the hamster's running wheel with fine grain sandpaper, and the ends of his nails will be worn down while he runs. • Does your hamster avoid his chewsticks and chew on his cage bars? Then try giving him dog biscuits. They're hard, tasty, and wear down his teeth. He will want to chew on the biscuit rather than the cage.
____Mice
• Mice have been domesticated for hundreds of years. The National Mouse Club of Britain was formed in 1895. • Mice are nocturnal animals and are often more active at night than during the day. • Mice are able to see some colors; however, they do lack the pigment that allows them to see red. They see shades of black and white and may be able to distinguish blues. • Though generally classified as herbivores and eat a regular diet of grains and fruit, mice will eat almost anything they encounter. • Many people consider mice to be great pets, thanks to their entertaining antics and - once tame - affectionate behavior. • Contrary to popular belief, mice are exceptionally clean - often organizing their home into areas specific for food, shelter, and bathroom purposes. • The average pet mouse lives between 1-1/2 and 2 years. This is considerably longer than the average life span of wild mice, who often live only for a few months, mostly due to constant predation from other animals. • In addition to the ordinary domestic mouse, other pet varieties include fancy mice (with a variety of coat colors), spiny mice (with shorter, more bristly fur), and zebra mice (with attractive stripes marking their fur). • Though mice are excellent climbers, in the wild, they prefer to remain on the ground and construct paths through the grasses and foliage to link areas of food, water, and nesting supplies with their dens. • Some mice may play dead if they are frightened and cannot quickly escape.
