ANS 105 Rabbits and Pocket Pets

Rabbits

• 3rd most common mammalian pet

• shelters don’t know how to take car of them

• 50 breeds in ARBA (american rabbit breeders association)

• heavy, (french lop) average (grand chinchilla), lightweight (dutch), small (polish)

• descendants from European wild rabbits

• gest. 30-33 days

• cannot vomit

• hindhut digester… need a lot of fiber in their diet

• Coprophagy

• urine cancer is common cause of death

• pasteurellosis common medical problem

Guinea Pigs

• 8 species but 13 breeds are used as pets

• hindgut digester

• need vit. c

• over 85F can overheat

• lice, mites. ringworms, alopecia, resp. disease, streptococcal pneumonia

Mice and Rats

• 35 species of mice one 1 common as pet

• 500 species of rats only 2 common as pets

• social animals

• mice live about 1-2 yrs

• rats 2-3 yrs

• pick mice from the base of the tail and scruff for balance

• pick rats up behind shoulders if tame

Ferret

• ferrenting

• ferret racing

• ferret legging

• were used to run cables through airplane and skyscrapers

• mate male mink to female ferret but infertile hybrid

• not legal in DC, hawaii, or california

• domestic ferret is not the same species as the endangered wild US ferret

• carnivore

• high protein and high fat

• high levels of zinc are toxic

• distemper virus 100% fatal

• aplastic anemia= ferrets not going to be bred should be neutered

Gerbils

• mongolian gerbil is most common

• conserve water= little urination

• robust and fewer disease that other rodents

• gerbils= long tails

• hamster= short/ stubby tail

Hamsters

• golden hamster is most frequent per and chinese hamster is second

• hibernate at temps bellow 5C

• wet tail diarrhea

• females= aggressive and dominant to males

• Gest. 16d and cycle every 4 days

• after mating… remove from male cage

Biggest and Oldest

• Rabbit LE= oldest

• Mice LE= youngest

• Rabbit= long Gest.

• Hamster= short Gest.