Pocket pet is a term used to refer to a small pet mammal commonly kept as a household pet. The most common pocket pets are rodents such as hamsters, gerbils, degus, sugar gliders (a marsupial), fancy mice, fancy rats, chinchillas, and guinea pigs. The term also includes very exotic pets like flying squirrels, pygmy opossums, and hedgehogs (which have been bred as house pets in the United States for the last 15 years). An expanded definition would also include larger pets like rabbits (Lagomorpha) and ferrets (a carnivore).
Other small animals, like reptiles, birds, fish, and amphibians, e.g. lizards, snakes, turtles, goldfish, canaries, and frogs, may not be considered pocket pets.
Many of these small pets are prohibited in certain areas for being invasive. California, Hawaii, and New Zealand are notorious for their strict regulations to protect their native environments and agricultural operations. Gerbils, degus, ferrets, sugar gliders, and hedgehogs all have multiple prohibitions on their ownership. Rats and rabbits are outlawed in at least one place in the world.
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History
The domestication of small mammals is a relatively recent development, arising only after large-scale industrialization. Historically, when western society was more agrarian than it is today, rodents as a whole were seen as a nuisance, as they were carriers for disease and a threat to crops. Animals that hunted these pests, such as terriers and cats, were prized.
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Types
Guinea pig
Guinea pigs have perhaps the longest tradition of pethood among rodents (note that rabbits are not rodents). While they served as a foodstuff for the native Inca, they were imported to Europe as early as the mid-16th century, shortly after Spain conquered Peru. As an oddity from the New World, they were afforded a special status, and seen as house pets, rather than vermin or food. While their popularity was initially limited to the wealthy, their prodigious reproductive habits ensured that they spread throughout the middle classes shortly after their introduction, with guinea pig burial places (not scattered bones, as would be found with an eaten animal) found in archaeological digs in medieval middle-class suburbs.
Fancy mice
Fancy mice were popular pets in Japan during the 18th century, due in large part to the abundance of color mutations in wild mice. In 1787, a book on this hobby called The Breeding of Curious Varieties of the Mouse was published by Chobei Zenya, a Kyoto money exchanger. Over time the tradition spread from Japan to Europe, and 1895 saw the establishment of the National Mouse Club in England.
Fancy rat
Fancy rats first became popular pets in Victorian England during the 19th century, being selectively bred for unusual colouration or temperament.
Hamster
Hamsters first gained popularity as pets in the 1930s, with virtually all modern Syrian hamsters tracing their lineage back to a single litter of hamsters taken to Palestine for scientific research in 1930. Shortly thereafter, in 1938, hamsters were introduced to the United States.
Gerbil
It wasn't until 1964 that gerbils became standard in the pet industry.
Comparison
References
Further reading
- Pills for Pets: The A to Z Guide to Drugs and Medications for Your Animal ... - Debra Eldredge - Google Books
- Veterinary Assisting: Fundamentals & Applications - Beth Vanhorn, Robert W. Clark - Google Books
- Lobprise, Heidi. "Dentistry Quarterly: Challenges in Pocket Pet Dentisty". Veterinary Practice News. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
- Pocket Pets
- What are pocket pets? | PETA.org
- Christopher Carter Pocket Pets
- Pocket Pet Diseases and Resources « CFSPH
External links
- Pocket Pet Care. American Animal Hospital Association.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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