ANS- Exam 2

• Cats

• Most popular U.S. cat breed- Ragdoll

• Scottish Fold has a controversial breeding regimen. If you breed two cats with folded ears, half will die. 25% will die in utero and 25% will die after birth.

• Rabbits

• Rabbits have 4 size classes

  • Heavy: French Lob

  • Average: New Zealand White

  • Lightweight: Himalayan

  • Small: Polish

• Rabbit’s ancestors originated in Asia (45 million years ago)

• Rabbit gestation period: 30-33 days

• Practice coprophagy- body makes vitamins directly from anus

• Stress can cause cardiac arrest and paralysis

• Chew items to avoid excess incisor growth

• Cannot throw up- needs to be brushed

• Guinea Pigs

• 8 species of guinea pigs, 13 breeds

• Scientific name: Cavia Porcellus

• Continually growing teeth- can cause malocclusion

• GP’s don’t have metabolic fill- can’t feel when they are full

• Nocturnal

• Females need to be bred prior to 7 months of age or the pelvic bones will semi-fuse and a C-section is needed

• Pocket Pets

• Fits in your pocket- yet rabbits are still included

• Mice and Rats

• 500+ species of rats, only 2 are commonly kept as pets

• Poor husbandry- most common cause of ill health

• Water should be ad lib(constant access)

• Gestation: 19-24 days

• Keratin sheet on mouse tail- don’t pick up by tip or it could be pulled off

• Ferrets

• Not legal in some states and in many counties b/c people are worries about the invasive threats of ferrets

• Domestic ferret is not the same species as the endangered wild U.S. fetter (black footed ferret)

• True carnivore

• Gestation 38-44 days

• Distemper virus is 100% fatal in ferrets- a canine disease, don’t bring things home to other animals

• Gerbils

• Considered the best beginner pet- don’t pee a lot, get sick less, friendly with others

• Gestation: 24-26 days

• Very small stomachs

• Hamsters

• Golden hamster is most frequent pet

• Will hibernate at temps below 5 degrees (may think its dead, but just hibernating)

• Wet tail diarrhea

• Catch colds easily

• Gestation period: 16 days (SHORTEST PERIOD)

• Exotic Pets

• Not domesticated

• Chinchillas

• Fur is extremely soft

  • Chinchilla fur has 60 to 80 hairs per hair follicle

• South American rodent (most commonly from the Andes mountain range)

• Can get malocclusion

• Need baths with finely ground powder to rid their fur of excess oils and moisture (volcanic ash is used in the wild)

• Gestation period: 111 days - LONGEST PERIOD

• Easiest exotic pet to have

• Hedgehogs

• Insectivore mammals (insects primarily, but also slugs, spiders, small eggs, birds, etc.)

• European and African(smaller) are most common for pets

• Very primitive animals

• Let them walk & eat along baseboard- to not get obese

• Nocturnal

• They can get external parasites (mites are life-threatening) and lung worms

• Constipation- common problem in hoglets

• Beware of their spines

• Practice anointing behavior- they foam at the mouth & distribute saliva over themselves (defenses/smell behavior and maybe good for their skin)- some people allergic to amino acids in saliva

• Wash under the faucet but this should be INFREQUENT

• Prairie Dogs

• NEED BUDDIES

• Diurnal animals

• Were illegal to purchase in the US from 2003-2008 due to Monkey Pox outbreak- stemmed from rat species in Ghana. Can carry Tularemia and the Bubonic Plague

• Gestation period: a little over a month

• Sugar Glider

• Small but need A LOT OF SPACE (most out of companion animals)

• NEED BUDDIES

• Native to Australia and New Guinea (a marsupial)

• Hardest animal to feed

• Gestation period: 17 days

• Degu

• Should NOT be fed any additional sugars

• Became companion animals b/c they are used for diabetes and cataract research

• Originally from Chile

• Very good vision w/ special sensitivity to UV light- can use it to communicate

• Gestation period: 90 day

• Men try to attract females w/ big stick piles

• Herbivores- no caffeine or sugar

• Be careful of tails- keratin sheet

• Coprophagy- anus vitamins

• Lives in burrows

• Coatimundi

• Related to the raccoon, can be aggressive, and highly driven by scent

• Reptiles and Amphibians as Companion Animals

• U.S. is the world’s largest consumer of live reptiles JUST for pets

• Annual income from reptiles and related products is approx $2 billion

• “Herptiles” -a reptile or amphibian

• At least 3% of US homes have reptile or amphibians

• At least 14 mil reptiles and 14 mil amphibians in US homes

• Have the Jacobson’s organ (Flehmen reaction)

• Many species naturally carry salmonella on their skin

• Absorb things into their skin- make sure hands are clean when handling a herptile

• Amphibians

• Around 7,000 species

• Most common pets: African-clawed toad, axolotl, tree frogs, poison dart frogs (have to eat a wild diet to have poison)

• First thought they evolved from primitive fish 350 million years ago

• All cold-blooded

• Most species need a vivarium (with land and water)

• Water conditions are very important- like a fish tank

• Diet varies with life stage (most born herbivores and become carnivorous as adults)

• Main classes:

  • Anura (tailless adults such as frogs and toads)

  • Caudata (adults with tails such as newts and salamanders)

  • Apoda (tropical and legless)

• Reptile Classifications

• Order Chelonian-shelled reptiles (Testudines) : 341 species

  • Terrapin: Fresh water

  • Tortoise: Land

  • Turtle: marine

• Order Squamata (Lizards and Snakes)

  • Suborder Lacertilia (Sauria) = Lizards ~ 6000 species

  • Suborder Serpentes = Snakes ~ 3500 species

  • Suborder Amphisbaenia (Worm lizards) ~ 188 species

• Order Crocodylia (Alligators and Crocodiles) ~ 25 species

• Order Rhynchocephalia (Tuatara) - one species (some say 2)

• Tortoises

• Carapace on top, Plastron on bottom

• Scutes- shapes on back

• Long lifespan

• Front claws go straight down for digging

• US enacted a ban on Jan 17, 2012 on 4 snakes: Burmese python, yellow anaconda, northern and southern African python. Ban is because of invasive species threat (fed law was repelled in 2017 but import & local laws still exist in many places.

• Tegus have become a problem a problem in Fl (similar to overpop of iguana and dome species)

• Chelonian- shelled reptiles

• Diets vary, some herbivores, some carnivores, others fall in between

• Chelonians hibernate and will not eat during this time

• They need water esp after hibernation

• Can be hard/dangerous to hold (for both man and animal)

• Sexing: males have longer tails and longer nails/claws. Males also have a little bubble in their shell so they don’t flip over when on a female

• Common problems: cataracts, blindness, eggbinding, nutrition problems, obesity, anorexia, etc.

• Should be housed indoors if they are a pet and should not be taken from the wild

• Lizards

• Handling can be difficult (teeth, long tails, feed are dangerous)

  • Green iguana has a tail it can whip you with

• Almost all housing is same as snakes

• Various diseases are prevalent, but modern medicine is improving this

• Large diet variety

• Diet supplementation is almost always required (ask vet for recc, over-supplementation can be as bad as under-supplementation)

• Some have clumps of pigment in the dermis of their skin that disperse or congregate to change color (intentional or bc illness)

• Some practice autonomy- lose their tails

• If reptiles are too cold after they eat, food will rot in their insides

• Metabolic Bone Disease in an Iguana

• Reptiles need to absorb UV light rays. This is needed for calcium metabolism, vitamin D synthesis, and pigment formation

• Poor husbandry, malnutrition, and lack of sanitation are the biggest pet reptile killers

• MBD: deformed legs and back, face changes so they have trouble eating. (seen in reptiles and great danes)

• “Evil” The Iguana→ She ate her brother and has metabolic bone disease. Dr. A’s Aunt and Uncle’s pet.

• Tokay gecko: aggressive and not a good pet although it is still common and cheap in the US. High pitched screeching

• Snakes

• Entirely carnivorous

• Snakes can become obese and this should be monitored

• Dead vs live prey can be a problem because live prey can hurt the snake and some only eat alive prey

• If obese, scales can spread apart and hurt

• #1 killer of snakes is poor husbandry

  • Others: malnutrition & lack of sanitation

• Cannot hear but feel vibrations

• Handling can be interesting as they may be venomous and large. Do not hold them around your neck

• Housing: make sure multiple snakes have similar requirements (arboreal, terrestrial, burrowing, or aquatic and, similar temps.)

• Venomous snakes: very bad idea to keep venomous snakes as pets

  • What is the difference between poison and venomous? Poison is ingested and venom is injected

• King Snakes

• Good beginner snakes

  • Moderate size (3 to 6 feet) and like a temperature that many people like to keep their homes at

• Lays eggs

• Can only house a single snake because King Snakes eat other snakes

• Can live over 20 years

• Corn Snakes

• Good beginner snakes

• Moderate size (4-5 feet)

• Docile, egg layer

• Come in numerous colors and patterns, live up to 20 years

• Ball Pythons

• Excellent beginner snakes commonly live 20+ years in captivity

• Moderate size (4-6 feet)

• Defense mechanism is to roll up into a ball instead of striking → makes people less scared

• Red Tail Boa Constrictors

• NOT a great beginner snake

• Can be 7-12 ft long

• Live birth

• Selecting Your Pet

• Captive bred or captive hatched

• Alert → clear eyes, grips firmly

• Longer held in captivity, the happier pet will be with you

• Power feeding is BAD- feeding animal too much in hopes of it growing longer

• No obvious respiratory problems

• Because they are tame and NOT domesticated, it is important to spend time with animal

• Enclosures

• Escape-proof

  • Better to open from the font

• Glass cages

  • 40 gallon glass case with a lid works well for 1 to 2 corn snakes

• Racks

  • ½ to ¾ sq foot of cage per foot of pet

  • Size of pet is not limited by size of the enclosure- animals will grow & should grow to natural size

  • Should have 2 tanks, one for relaxing, and one for eating - so they know when to strike

• Enclosures

  • Sweater box, critter cage, custom built, rack system

• Furnishings

  • Gradient heat should go up & down like the wild

  • Overhead light should be rotating

  • Heat tape works well for sweater boxes and racks

  • Thermal burns: need a buffer & should not use a primary heat source

    • Heat rocks - cheap ones may stay hot!!!

  • Lighting

    • UV must be appropriate for species

    • Appropriate for day length

    • Timer- need to be warm, not cooked

  • Diseases/health conditions

    • Get many diseases including obesity, egg binding, and more

• Birds

• When buying a bird, buy from a source that has bred as many generations of tamed animals as possible

• Bringing wild-caught birds into the US as pets was outlawed in 1993

• In your will, you can’t leave money to your animal b/c they are considered property

• Some species can outlive humans

• Dependent on their owners and can have numerous self-destructive behaviors if neglected

• Birds may also bond with only one member of the household and can become jealous. Typically smart and need attention

• Classification of Common House Birds

• Order Psittaciforms (most common pet grouping) - 350 species

  • Parrots, cockatoo, rainbow lori

• Most popular and most known species kept as companion animals

• African Greys, Alex and Griffin are so smart, Alex is smarter than the Border Collie

  • Color coordination, beaks matching w/ words

• Order Passerifomes - most birds in the wild

  • “Perching birds” over half of all living species

  • Canary, waxbill, cardinal, mynah, finch

  • Can’t keep cardinal as pet in NC

• Orders Clumiformes & Galliformes

  • Examples: dove, quail

• Bird Housing

• Proper aviary could be about $2,000 - expensive pets

• Keep cage at human head height for safety reasons as they know they are prey (unless bird is ground species)

• Bird should be able to stretch their wings and if perched, tail should not hit the floor- animal welfare act

• Dangers: toilets, boiling water, vacuum cleaners, essential oils, perfumes

• Natural branches of varying size are best so they can use their feet in different ways

• Don’t use sandpaper on perches- uses it to file down bird’s nails which is bad because they can start bleeding

• Keep water and food above the perch to avoid contamination from waste

• Shallow (1 cm) water tubs for bathing are good

• Allow natural sunlight if possible- not too hot

• Common Illnesses

• Bacterial infections from contaminated water bowl

  • Malnutrition- not getting enough of a nutrient, can look healthy

  • Polyoma virus- there are vaccines but the formula is not changed enough

• Chlamydiosis- parrot fever, zoonotic (transferable between birds and humans), carried by feces, bacteria lives and reproduced in host- lime green feces

  • Aspergillosis- fungus in lungs

• Unhappiness can be big problem- birds don’t suffer in silence

• Boredom

• Some large birds said to have mental abilities of a 3 to 4 year old human child. They need stimulation

• Caged birds need SAFE toys

• Rotate toys so birds don’t get too attached

• Cage binding- cage seems safe and outside world is scary, hard to readjust

• Nutrition

• Chronic malnutrition is common in pet birds

• Some have hard bills for seeds and others have breaks for nectar/fruits

• Nutrition requirements vary greatly

• Birds are conservative feeders

• Insectivores should have live prey as a diet (monitor Ca:P dietary ratio - CALCIUM SHOULD BE HIGHER)

• Handling

• Do not squeeze abdomen and sternum together or you may suffocate the bird, necks are actually quite mobile

• Fingers can be amputated by large birds

• Reproduction Factors

• Failure may be disease related

• Stress can cause infertility

• Let them choose their own mates

• Need appropriate nestbox/nesting materials

  • Male hornbills make mud casing to protect female and babies

• Birds of Prey

• Sport of falconry started approx 12,000-15,000 years ago

• Need a federal or state license

• Humans, dogs, and birds have been working together for so long

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