Summarize the uses of rabbits, ferrets, and pocket pets.

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Summarize the uses of rabbits, ferrets, and
pocket pets. Describe the major breeds of
rabbits, ferrets, and pocket pets.
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Pocket Pets are not defined by breeds rather they
are grouped by colors and/or color patterns.
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HAMSTERS
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2 types of hamsters

• Golden/Syrian
• Dwarf/Chinese

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• Golden hamster Native to the desert areas of
  Syria.
• Has rich mahogany or orange color on the back
  with a white or creamy colored underside and
  legs.

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AKA Syrian Hamster
Mesocricetus auratus
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SYRIAN/GOLDEN
Its average life span is 2½ - 4 years. They
tend to make the best choice pet hamsters for
children because of their docile nature, and
easiness to tame.
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A black patch is usually present along the
side of the cheeks. Can be Long-haired or
teddy bear hamsters with long, silky fur.
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TEDDY BEAR SYRIAN
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Syrian Hamster also come in other colors
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The Long Haired coat mutation occurred in 1972 in
the USA.
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• Syrian Hamsters
• - Black Bear hamsters
• Teddy Bear hamsters
• - Fancy hamsters.
• They can have several different color and coat
  types.

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Black Bear Syrian Hamster, since 1985
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• Syrian Hamsters
• Reach lengths of 6-7 inches.
• Has expandable cheek pouches which can carry up
  to half its weight in food and/or bedding.

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• The Syrian hamster is solitary, (as adults) and
  will fight or even kill another hamster in its
  territory

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Hairless Syrian Hamster
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• The litter consisted of 12 young hamsters, and he
  took these, as well as the mother, back to his
  laboratory in Jerusalem. 
• However, only three of the young hamsters made
  it, but they were in excellent health.

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When they were mature, these babies were
interbred and produced many litters.  Several
litters were taken to laboratories in France,
England, and, in 1938, to North America. 
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The word "hamster" come from the German word
associated with the storing of food hamsters are
known for filling their cheek pouches with food.
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b. Dwarf/small desert hamster light gray with a
dark stripe down the back.
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Aka CHINESEHAMSTER
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• They can be friendly little hamsters and often
  have good temperaments 
• You can keep them in pairs but if they fight they
  will need to be separated. 
• They are quite small when fully grown and look a
  bit like a mouse except they don't have long
  tails.

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Hamster Basics

• Feed commercial hamster food.
• Water fresh water available at all times in
  water bottles
• Bedding Aspen or Pine shavings. Changed 1 -2
  times/week
• Treats sparingly
• Cage secure! chewproof

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Gerbil Coat Colors
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ORIGINS The common pet gerbil originated in
Mongolia.
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a. Mongolian Gerbil reddish brown to dark brown.
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The Mongolian Gerbil's wild type color is agouti.
Agouti means he is golden brown with a black
ticked fur pattern.
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Gerbils became popular pets after 1954, when
twenty breeding pairs of gerbils were brought to
the U.S. from eastern Mongolia for scientific
testing. Almost all pet gerbils today are
descended from these 40.
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Average Lifespan  2-4 years
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• ECOLOGICAL IMPACT
• Gerbils originally lived in the desert, and can
  cause great harm if released in warm climates.
• California and New Mexico have laws against
  importing gerbils.
• Despite these laws, some gerbils have escaped
  into the wild where they have bred like rabbits.

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Gerbils are highly social and do not like being
alone at all, not like the solitary
Syrian hamster. If you're getting
gerbils you must get at least
two.
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Pied Agouti notice the arrows
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Polar Fox
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Black
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Ruby eyed White
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Gerbil Basics

• Feed commercial gerbil food.
• Water fresh water available at all times in
  water bottles
• Bedding Aspen or Pine shavings. Changed 1 -2
  times/week
• Treats sparingly
• Cage secure! chewproof

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Rat Coat Color Types
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• Rats come in a wide variety of colors and
  patterns, from solid black to white, from dark
  browns to warm tans to creams, from slate grey to
  pale blue.
• Rats can display patches of white. The variation
  is immense!

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• a. Black tail is longer than the head and body,
  and the ears are about half as long as the head.
• Color is usually black or dark gray with a brown
  or gray-white underside.

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• b. Brown larger than the black rat and the tail
  is always shorter than the head and body.
• Thicker and more robust with short and more
  rounded ears and fur is dark to gray brown on the
  back with lighter colors on the underside.

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Hooded Rats
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Dumbo Rats
the presence of a mutation - causes its broadened
ears to sit low on its head
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Hairless Rat
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Rats normally prefer to have cage mates.
Male rats are called "bucks" and are more placid
than the female "does", and babies are called
"kittens"A group of rats is called a
"mischief"
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Rats are nocturnal so can be most active and
noisy at night time They live for around 2 years
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Unlike most hamsters, rats almost never bite
(unless provoked), love to be handled, and are
great for kids
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• Rats are clean!
• Contrary to popular belief, rats are very clean
  animals.
• They are constantly grooming themselves and keep
  their coats very tidy.

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Rats are intelligent!  They can learn tricks and
even their own names. 
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Mine detecting rats!

• Rats have been trained to locate land mines by
  smell.
• Have also been trained to identify tuberculosis
  from samples

http//arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070912-of-m
ice-and-mines-trained-rats-search-for-explosives-t
uberculosis.html
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Rat Basics

• Feed commercial rat food.
• Water fresh water available at all times in
  water bottles
• Bedding Aspen or Pine shavings. Changed 1 -2
  times/week
• Treats sparingly
• Cage secure! Chewproof! large

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MICE COLOR COATS
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• There are two types of mice raised today the
  fancy (pet) mouse and the laboratory mouse.
• The pet mouse originated around 1900 and since
  then it has developed into 60 colors and
  varieties.

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a. Self colors one color
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b. Tans- any color with tan belly c. Piebald or
pied marked mice- mice with spots, patches or
broken patterns
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d. Satins- any color or markings with satin
coat e. Any other variety
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• Mice are by nature,
• timid, and social.
• They have two speeds, on and off.
• Most live approximately 740 - 1000 days (2-3 yrs)
• Two males kept together tend to fight

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Mice became domesticated in the 1300's in China.
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• Over the years, mice have been given a bad
  reputation, and they have been considered dirty.
• Domesticated mice are constantly grooming their
  fur and are in fact quite clean.

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Mouse Basics

• Feed commercial mouse food.
• Water fresh water available at all times in
  water bottles
• Bedding Aspen or Pine shavings. Changed 1 -2
  times/week
• Treats sparingly
• Cage secure! chewproof

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GUINEA PIGS
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They originated from South America, where they
still live in the wild today. AKA Cavy
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In Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador - roasted Guinea
Pig is a common food.
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On average guinea pigs can live to 5 - 6 years.
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• Abyssinian-
• rough, wiry hair coat. The hair is made up of
  swirls or cowlicks called
• rosettes.

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b. American- hair is short, very glossy and fine
in texture.
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c. Peruvian Longhaired variety. Looks like an
animated mop.
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d. Satin- coat is fine, dense, and soft, and has
sheen.
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e. Silkie- a long-haired without frontal sweep
over head, instead it has a mane that sweeps back
from the head, between the ears, and back over
the back and down the sides.
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f. Teddy- short, kinky hair, with short,
resilient fur.
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g. White crested- short hair with a crest and
resembles the American.
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Hairless Guinea Pigs!
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Guinea Pig Basics

• Feed commercial feed.
• Water fresh water available at all times in
  water bottles
• Bedding Aspen or Pine shavings. Changed 1 -2
  times/week
• Treats sparingly
• Cage large.

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CHINCHILLA
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• Standard Grey blue-gray that is most popular.
• Color of wild chinchillas

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Chinchillas

• All colors other than Standard gray are called
  MUTATIONS

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• b. White mutation with black or pink eyes
• Pink white (White Beige genes)
• Pink ears pink eyes
• Lily
• NO HOMOZYGOUS WHITES! lethal genes

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White Ebony (white ebony genes)- dark eyes
and dark earsAspen
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Mosaic (White Standard genes)
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Mosaic
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c. Beige pearl colored to pastel colored
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• Hetero Beige (beige standard genes) darker in
  color. Salem Winnie
• Homozygous Beige lighter in color. Pink eyes

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d. Ebony (black) has a black undercoat, very
narrow gray-white band, jet-black veil (tips of
fur) and high density
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Ebony

• Homozygous Ebony Dark shiny black coat. Dark
  eyes. Taz

• Hetero Ebony mix of black and gray fur.
  Ceasar

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Black Velvet (Standard Grey with Touch of Velvet
Gene (TOV)

• Although largely black, the color transitions to
  grey on the sides and to white for the belly
  area. They have dark ears and dark eyes. The
  first black velvet chinchilla was born 1956 .
• There is a lethal factor attached to the velvet
  gene which means that one should not breed black
  velvets with other chinchillas with the velvet
  gene.
• Black velvet x Black velvet death

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Black Velvet Charlotte
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Brown Velvet

• Beige gene with TOV (touch of velvet) gene

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e. Sullivan violet clear white belly and a
lavender center back strip.
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Violet

• Light hint of violet. Solid violets are generally
  darker. Violets also have dark eyes with almost
  dove grey ears.
• The first violet chinchilla was born in Rhodesia,
  Africa in 1960 and was later sold to Loyd
  Sullivan's farm in California
• Rare

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Tan

• Beige x Ebony genes
• the colour wraps around all under the belly so
  there is no white fur. 
• Ears are pink and the eyes are red.

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Sapphire

• Similar to Violet but more blue in color.
• Very rare

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Goldbar

• This is a very rare recessive gene.
• There are very few found in the world today
• A very beautiful chinchilla with a real 'golden'
  appearance

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Blue Diamond

• Sapphire x Violet
• Rarest color!

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General Chinchilla Care

• Food high quality feed such as Tradition,
  Mazuri or Oxbow brands.
• Hay A LOT of it. Timothy is best. Small amounts
  of alfalfa can be fed. (too much diarrhea)
• Water fresh water at all times. In bottles (not
  bowls)
• Bedding Aspen or Pine shavings

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Chinchilla care

• Cage The bigger the better! Tall cages with
  wooden shelves are best. Will chew plastic. Wire
  ramps and shelves are hazardous to their feet
  (amputation)

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• What can happen if chinchillas are kept on wire
  floors!

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Chinchilla Mansion
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Breeding runs
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Chinchilla care

• Handling Chinchillas are fragile. Their bone
  density is the strength of pencil lead. Not
  cuddly animals. Pick up by scooping them or at
  the base of their tail and support.

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• Chinchilla 150 - 500
• Cage 100 - 400
• Feed, treats toys 150/year

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FERRETS
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• The life span of the ferret is 5-7 years on
  average in the United States.
• There have been several cases of ferrets living
  to be over 10 years of age.

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• Common Sable- ranges from light to dark,
  depending on the shade of both the under fur and
  guard hairs the under fur ranges from white to
  beige

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b. White red-eyed is referred to as a true
albino and there are a few black-eyed white
ferrets (rare)
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c. Sliver Mitt- under fur of white or off-white
and guard hairs of black and white, which gives a
silvery appearance
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d. Sterling Silver- similar to Silver Mitt but
with more white guard hairs
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e. White-Footed Sable- marked like regular sable
but have four white feet and a white bib
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f. Butterscotch- under fur is same as sable but
the guard hairs, mask, and hood colorings are
butterscotch instead of black
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g. Cinnamon- Under fur is white or off-white and
guard hairs that are rich red-brown or cinnamon
color
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Ferret Basics

• Feed commercial ferret feed.
• Water fresh water available at all times in
  water bottles
• Bedding Aspen or Pine shavings. Changed 1 -2
  times/week
• Can be litter trained
• Treats sparingly
• Cage secure! Large

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Ferrets

• Ferrets kept as pets are descented and
  neutered/spayed.
• Very curious, playful and social
• MUST have out of cage playtime
• Typical ferret behavior
• play-sleep-eat-play-sleep-eat
• Have high metabolism must eat frequently

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• Ferret 75 - 200
• Cage 100 - 400
• Vet Care 100/year (exam, vaccines)
• Feed, treats toys 150/year