exotics

Rabbits

• 3rd most common mammalian pet

• pet rabbits are more common in the US than in other countries

• overpopulation concerns like cats and dogs

• most shelters do not know how to properly care for them and/or do not have proper facilities

• more recognizable breeds of rabbits than cats

• bred for meat, pets, wools, & lab animals

• originated in Asia (45 million years ago)

• common rabbits descended from Europe in Middle ages

Heavy (rabbit)

• greater than 5 kg

• french lop

• flemish giant

Average (rabbit)

• (3.5-4.5 kg)

• new zealand white

• grand chinchilla

Lightweight (rabbit)

• 2.5-3 kg

• himalayan

• dutch

Small (rabbit)

• 1 kg

• polish

rabbit gestation

gestation 30-33 days

hindgut digester

rabbit

Guinea Pig

• 8 species

• 13 breeds commonly used as pets

  • abyssinian, abyssinian satin, American, American Satin, Coronet, Peruvian, Peruvian satin, Silkie, Silkie Satin, Teddy, Teddy Satin, white crested trexel

• originally from andes mountains

• bred for meat

• female: sow & male: bear

• born physically mature and can eat adult food immediately

• avg life span: 4-8 years

• females need to be bred young or pelvic bones will fuse & a C section is a must

• continuously growing teeth

• obesity is common

• monogastric but enlarged cecum, therefore a hindgut digester

  • herbivores

• require vitamin c in diet

• practice coprophagy

• problems: lice, mites, ringworm, alopecia, respiratory disease, streptococcal pneuomonia

• check food and water daily, keep clean and avoid stress & watch for signs of trouble

Guinea Pig

Cavia Porcellus

Pocket pet

• small size (<3 lbs)

• fits in your pocket

• can be kept in a cage

• limited care input

  • small food quantity

mouse & rats

• the larger the cage the better and make sure it is escape proof

• remember they can chew through wood and some plastics

• rats are very intelligent & fun to watch & they are very clean

• house indoors

• poor husbandry most common cause of ill health

• water should be ad lib

• bedding: corn cob, wood, tissue

• clean cage 2-3 times per week

• on average mice live about 1-2 years while rats live 2-3 years

• prone to obesity and live longer if thin

• resp problems & tumors common w/ rats

  • pick rats up behind shoulders if tame

Rat/mice geestation

gestation period 19-24 days

Ferreting

rabbit hunting using ferrets

ferret racing

12-16 m of plastic pipe with 2-3 windows

ferret legging

how long you can keep ferrets in your pants

current uses of ferrets

• domestic pets

• can mate male mink to female ferret but infertile hybrid

• biomedical research

ferrets

• reputation as unpredictable, but usually quite tame

• can be trained to use litter boxes

• tolerate dogs & cats well

• not legal in D.C., Hawaii, or California & in many specific countries or cities

• domestic ferret (Mustele pulorius furo) is not the same species as the endangered wild US ferret

• true carnivore

• can feed cat food but not ideal (need very high protein & high fat)

• commercial pelleted food with water ad lib

• beware, high levels of Zinc are toxic to them

• LE: 5-11 years

• males = hob, in season jan to aug

  • females = jill, seasonally polyestrus last week of march to september

ferret gestation

gestation is 38-44 days and litters are 5-13 kits

distemper in ferrets

distemper is 100% fatal in this animal

female ferrets

due to a condition referred to as apalastic anemia, those that are not being bred yearly should be neutered

Gerbils

• LE: 3-5 years

• mongolian gerbil is most common

• they are primarily nocturnal, fairly quiet & monogamous,

• they rarely bite & tame easily

• avoid metal cage bars

• they conserve water very well and therefore urinate little

  • evolutionarily from a desert environment

• they reproduce quickly & their young are born helpless

  • diet should be balanced

• pretty robust and have fewer diseases than many rodents

• they live comfortably in hamster cages although they need more toys since they are more active

difference between hamsters and gerbils

most gerbils have long tails and most hamsters have very short/stubby tails

Hamsters

• golden hamster is the most frequent pet and the Chinese hamster is second

• they will hibernate at temps below 5 degrees celsius

• sensitive to noise and may fight if housed together

• they will bite. Do not sneak up on them. handle with care

• Wet tail diarrhea is a common disease and it can be very serious

• females are typically more aggressive & dominant than the males

• nocturnal animals with little to no tails

• lifespan of 1-3 years is avg

• catch colds easily

  • cages need to be teeth proof & commercial diets are best for them

hamster gestation

gestation period is 16 days and females cycle every 4 days

Chinchillas

• south american rodent

• have been used for over a thousand years

• primarily nocturnal animal - best handled at night & by a calm, quiet person

• if fed correctly and kept stress free they are usually very healthy

• keep only 1 chinchilla per cage

• they need chew toys and places to hide

• they need baths - with finely ground powder to get rid of excess oils and moisture in the fur

• need commercial food

chinchilla gestation

gestation is 111 days & they average 2 babies per litter

Hedgehogs

• insectivore mammals

• other mammals that are closely related to a hedgehog include moles, voles, & shrews ~ very primitive animals

• The European & African _______ are the most common as pets

• popularity started in the 1980s and was helped by cartoons (Hazel and Sonic)

• they weigh b/w 250-600 g

• nocturnal animals & should be fed to increase foraging behavior

• commercial diets are available & mealworms are a great treat

• health problems: external parasites, lungworms, constipation is a common problem & can be serious in young hoglets (dental and skin disease also common)

• they are burrowing animals & therefore need somewhere to hide in their cages

• practice anointing behavior (use their own saliva as a type of body lotion)

• cages need to be warm

• they can live up to 10 years

• washing frequently is not a good idea

Prairie Dog

• weigh .5-2.2 kg & their housing needs are similar to that for rabbits except they need lots of substrate for digging & some PVC pipe to hide and play in

• social animals, they do not do well at all housed alone and they are diurnal animals - self mutilation

• should always have grass hay (not alfalfa as adults) & if commercial diet not available rabbit type chow is okay

• diseases include: obesity, dental disease, & respiratory disease

• they can be fixed & it should be done when they are young

• in the summer of 2003 prairie dogs were the center of bad attention

  • monkey pox, obtained from the Ghana rat

• prairie dogs carry the bubonic plague

Sugar Glider

• native to australia & new guinea

• lots of subspecies and can live up to 12-14 years in captivity

• they can glide up to 50m & their tails are not prehensile

• they are highly social and should not be kept as single pet - may self mutilate

• scent mark, this is slowed but not stopped when neutered

• bird cages are not suitable, need a 6×6×6 with lots of items to play with & jump around on 

• diet is difficult - commercial ones are available & definitely the best choice but they still need a lot of work

• common health problems: nutritional stress, cataracts, skin problems, & more

sugar glider gestation

gestation period 17 days

Degu

• originally from Chile

• often called the “brush tail rat”

• used for diabetes and cataract research - you cannot give them sugar 

• very social animals and communication is very important 

• born relatively mature

• have very good vision with a special sensitivity to UV light

  • urine and stomach fur are UV reflective

• LE: up to 15 years in the wild and possibly 10-13 in captivity under the right conditions (5 is more realistic)

• live in burrows

• herbivores who also practice coprophagy

• be careful of their tails

• no foods high in sugar & no caffeine

• herbivores

Coatimundi

• same family as racoon

• used as search & rescue animals

Order Chelonian

341 species (have shells)

terrapin

freshwatert

tortoise

land

turtle 

marine

Order squamata

lizards and snakes

suborder lacertilia

lizards, 6000 species

suborder serpentes 

snakes, 35000 species

suborder Amphisbaenia

worm lizards, ~188 species

order Crocodylia

alligators and crocodiles, ~25 species

Order Rhynochocephalia

Tuatara, ~1 species (some say 2)

Chelonian

• sexing: males have longer tails & perhaps longer nails/claws. He is curved and she is flat

• common problems: cataracts, blindness, egg, binding, nutrition problems, obesity, anorexia, etc.

• should be housed indoors if they are a pet & they should not be taken from the wild - some NC chelonians are now endangered due to this

Lizards

• handling can be difficult (teeth, tails, & feet are dangerous)

• almost all housing info is the same as for snakes

• various diseases are prevalent & modern medicine is improving in this area

• large diet variety

  • includes: herbivores, insectivores, carnivores, frugivores, & omnivores

• Diet supplementation is almost always required

• some have clumps of pigment in the dermis of the skin that disperse or congregate to change color (can be intentional or illness)

• some practical autotomy - casting off of a body part in response to a threat (ex. dropping a tail)

reptiles

need to absorb UV light

• needed for calcium, metabolish, vitamin D synthesis, & pigment formation

• special UV lights are available and can be recommended by your exotic vet