Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Nature/Small Mammal Pets

Cage

A hamster's cage should be at least two square feet or larger. All horizontal floor surfaces (including levels) should be solid. The walls and ceiling can be coated wire with a half-inch (or less) spacing between wires. Keep the cage clean!

Bedding

Aspen wood or paper-based bedding free from scents or oils. Aspen is the only type of wood-chip bedding can be used. Softwoods (pine, cedar, etc) and cat litter should be avoided.

Cage

Gerbils can be kept in a glass tank such as an aquarium. It should have a wire mesh top, and should allow for five gallons of capacity per gerbil.

Bedding

As with the hamster, the only safe wood-chip bedding is aspen. Pine and cedar are toxic to these animals.

Feeding

Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and peanuts are favorites of most gerbils, though they have individual preferences and too many sunflower seeds may result in illness. They also enjoy fruit peels such as orange and banana. In fact, gerbils will eat almost anything; dog biscuits and chews; rat food; rabbit food; guinea pig food; oats; various "special" treats from pet shops, which in fact were not appreciated nearly as much as some parsnip cores. Most weeds dubbed as safe for grazing animals like rabbits or guinea pigs can be eaten by gerbils as well. Pet gerbils will especially enjoy live crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts as food, tearing the insect apart and eating the juicy insides. It is good for you to feed your gerbil vegetables such as celery or carrots or an apple. Take care not to feed them too much of these foods as they contain a lot of moisture and can cause an upset stomach.

Cage

Rats do best in wire cages because they enjoy climbing, and the wire offers good ventilation. A cage that is 2’ x 2’ x 2’ will generally do for a pair of rats, but a larger space would be much appreciated. If you plan to keep more than that, you’ll need a larger cage. The floor should be solid. A large, multi-level cage designed for ferrets can also make a great rat home, as can a large aquarium. If you opt for the latter, you’ll need a screen cover to provide ventilation, and will probably need to clean the cage more often to keep odor problems under control.

Bedding

a bedding of aspen or pelleted recycled paper must be provided. Do not use pine or cedar shavings, which can be harmful to your pets. If you find that your rats like to make nests, provide shredded paper towels or napkins for this purpose.

Feeding

High-quality rodent chow (called rat blocks) should be available to your pet at all times. You can find this at pet supply stores and feed stores— look for a brand with soymeal as the main ingredient.

Offer small, bite-sized bits of fresh fruits and veggies daily.

>> Recommended: peas, broccoli, carrots, apples, bananas

>> Avoid: chocolate, corn, candy, caffeinated beverages, cheese, sticky foods such as peanut butter

Rats LOVE people food, and you can give yours the occasional table scrap, such as cooked pasta or a bit of pizza crust. Limit treats or you’ll have a fat rat!

Toys

A bored rat is an unhappy rat! Provide PVC tubes for your pets to run through, and ladders and tree branches for climbing. Parrot toys, including swings and ropes, are great for rats.

Some rats love exercise wheels. Get one with a solid surface without wire rungs, so your pets’ tails cannot get caught while running. Also, give them appropriate chew toys to help wear down their teeth, which grow continuously.

>> Recommended: unpainted, untreated wood, dog biscuits, safe cardboard and rawhide chews

Cage

Glass aquariums or cages with wire bars and plastic flooring, are the most common types of housing. A span between cage bars of less than 9 mm (0.35 in) prevents young mice from attempting to escape by forcing themselves through the bars, where they may get stuck. This can also help prevent predatory pets such as cats from killing and eating the mice.

Bedding

The best products for in cage bedding are aspen wood shavings or a commercial paper-based material. They should not be given cedar shavings, as the oils in the wood are unhealthy and cause breathing difficulties. Similarly pine shavings can cause respiratory problems. If odor is a serious concern, ask your pet retailer for essential oil-free scented bedding.

Feeding

Food for fancy mice can range from specially formulated feed mix to kitchen scraps, and is usually very inexpensive, although the latter should be avoided as it may not provide a balanced diet. Laboratories keeping mice as experimental subjects almost uniformly use a product called lab block, a scientifically-formulated blend originally designed for mice in laboratories. Dry dog food is another good option when lab block is unavailable, as it offers balanced nutrition for a mouse and helps keep their teeth conditioned.

Cage

Cages with solid or wire mesh floors are used, although wire mesh floors can cause injury and may be associated with an infection commonly known as bumblefoot "Cubes and Coroplast" (or C&C) style cages are now a common choice.

Bedding

Cages are often lined with wood shavings or a similar material. Bedding made from red cedar and pine, both softwoods, was commonly used in past decades, but these materials are now believed to contain harmful phenols (aromatic hydrocarbons) and oils.[39] Safer beddings include those made from hardwoods (such as aspen); paper products and corn cob materials are other alternatives. The Guinea pigs cage should be large enough for him/her to run around and get exercise, if the cage is small, you may consider making a pen for him/her to run around in. (Otherwise you may end up with a plump piggy.)

Feeding

Guinea pigs benefit from feeding on fresh grass hay, such as timothy hay, in addition to food pellets which are often based from timothy. Alfalfa is also a popular food choice; most guinea pigs will eat large amounts of alfalfa when offered it, though there exists some controversy over the feeding of alfalfa to adult guinea pigs. Some pet owners and veterinary organizations have advised that, as a legume rather than a grass hay, alfalfa consumed in large amounts may lead to obesity, as well as bladder stones due to excess calcium, in any but pregnant and very young guinea pigs. However, published scientific sources mention alfalfa as a source for replenishment of protein, amino acids and fiber. Guinea pigs enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables, such as, carrots, lettuce, apple slices, kale, and grapes. (Offer these in small portions.)

Toys

Chew toys are very necessary, considering they are rodents, and their teeth never stop growing. Most guinea pig chew toys are made out of wood, you can find them at multiple pet stores.

Cage

Since chinchillas are very active animals, it is best to house them in a large enclosure, such as a room of their own instead of a small cage. If kept in a cage, the chinchillas need to have a large area replete with shelves or other obstacles on which to play. The cage should be taller than it is wide, as the chinchilla's natural environment is very mountainous. Plastic in the cage should be avoided at all times. Chinchillas are often voracious chewers, and any ingested plastic can cause blockage in the intestines. The cage must have good air circulation. The chinchilla lacks the ability to sweat; therefore, if temperatures get above 25°C (80°F), the chinchilla could get overheated and may suffer from heat stroke.

Bedding

As with most small animals, red cedar bedding should never be used due to its toxic nature.

Feeding

Chinchillas eat and digest desert grasses and cannot efficiently process fatty foods or too many green plants. A high quality, hay-based pellet and a constant supply of loose hay will sufficiently meet all of their dietary needs. Chinchillas have very sensitive GI tracts that can be easily disrupted so it is important to maintain them on a healthy diet. Some Chinchilla feed includes raisins as part of the mix. Fresh vegetables (with high moisture content) should be avoided as these can cause bloat in a chinchilla, which can be fatal. Chinchillas also eat and drink in very small amounts, therefore, overfeeding is easy. This can lead to diarrhea, or in the long term, diabetes. Nuts should be avoided due to their high fat content.

Toys

Chinchillas also need other forms of stimulation, such as hanging wooden toys, large wheels (over 16 in (410 mm) in diameter and not constructed of mesh, as chinchilla legs and toes can easily get caught), or paper towel tubes. Wooden sticks and chew toys are also good options, but conifer woods (especially cedar) should be avoided because of the high content of resins that are toxic for chinchillas. Birch, willow, apple tree or manzanita are all safe woods for chinchillas to chew.

Cage

A pet rabbit should have an indoor pen and a rabbit-safe place to run and exercise, such as a living or family room.

Feeding

Their diets typically consist of unlimited timothy hay, a small helping of pellets, and some fresh vegetables and fruits. House rabbits are very quiet pets.

Other

Rabbits are easily trained to use a litter box and can learn to come when called. They are not well suited for families with unsupervised small children, due to the likelihood of frightening or harming these timid creatures by loud sounds or mishandling.

Cage

Ferret cages and condos are commercially available at pet stores. A ferret cage should have a litter tray, an eating area, and a sleeping area. The sleeping area should be a dark place where the ferret can go to get away from the busy house.

Feeding

Ferrets are obligate carnivores and the natural diet of their wild ancestors consisted of whole small prey, i.e., meat, organs, bones, skin, feathers, and fur. Some ferret owners feed a meat-based diet consisting of whole prey like mice and rabbits along with raw meat like chicken, beef, veal, kangaroo and wallaby. This is preferred in Europe and Australia, and becoming increasingly popular in the United States due to concern over high carbohydrate levels in some processed ferret foods.

Alternatively, there are many commercial ferret food products. Some kitten foods can also be used, so long as they provide the high protein and fat content required by the ferret's metabolism. Most adult cat foods and kitten foods are unsuitable for ferrets however, because of their low protein content and high fiber. Ideally, a ferret food should contain a minimum of 32% meat based protein and 18% fat and a maximum 3% fiber. Low-quality pet foods often contain grain-based proteins, which ferrets cannot properly digest.

Toys

Ferrets are easily entertained and do not require pet toys; however, most kitten toys work well with ferrets. Ferrets love playing tug of war with toys and stuffed animals. Ferrets will also tear open packages and other containers to see what is inside or explore the inside of the package. Ferrets are interested in holes, pipes and other small enclosed areas, and seem compelled to explore holes. Thus a cardboard or plastic tube will be appreciated. Ferrets are especially fond of variety in their toy selection — bell-balls, crinkle tubes, and paper bags will work well. All toys should be mixed up regularly, as ferrets will often grow bored of playing the same games repeatedly.

Other

Ferrets spend 14 to 18 hours a day sleeping and are naturally crepuscular, meaning they are most active during dusk and dawn. Though ferrets sleep more than most other domesticated animals, they are very active when awake and will seek to be released from their cage to get exercise and satisfy their abundant curiosity daily.

Ferrets are energetic, curious, interested in their surroundings, and often actively solicit play with humans, having a repertoire of behaviors both endearing and difficult for some human owners. Play for a ferret will often involve hide-and-seek games, or some form of predator/prey game in which either the human attempts to catch the ferret or the ferret to catch the human. They also have a strong nesting instinct and will repeatedly carry small objects to hidden locations. It is difficult to predict what objects ferrets will attempt to hoard, with owners reporting play toys, socks, bags of onions, pizza slices, keys, calculators, silverware, aluminum foil, shoes, sponges, toilet paper rolls, textbooks, video game controllers, footballs, brooms, pencils, erasers, bouncy balls, etc. Ferrets will seemingly form attachments to certain objects and will repeatedly 'steal' the same object and bring it to their hiding place.

When ferrets are excited, they may perform a routine commonly referred to as the weasel war dance, a frenzied series of sideways hops. This is often accompanied by a soft clucking noise, commonly referred to as dooking. It is often an invitation to play or an expression of happy excitement and is not threatening.

The ferret's posture may become rigid with wide open jaws, momentary eye contact followed by thrashing or turning of the head from side to side, arching the back, piloerection, and hopping to the side or backwards while facing the intended playmate. This is often accompanied by an excited panting sound that may sound like a hiss. Often, this behavior will break into a game of chase, pounce and wrestle. Ferrets in war dances are very accident prone, often hopping into obstacles or tripping over their own feet.

Ferrets tend to nip as kits. Nipping is the act of biting in a playful manner representative of mock fighting and sparring; young ferrets are also more prone to chewing and teething, and have a tendency to bite harder. Older ferrets tend to chew far less frequently and, when trained correctly, almost never nip a human hand or only do so very gently. However, ferrets that have been abused or are in extreme pain may bite a human, and are capable of strong bites which break through the skin.

Ferrets, like cats, can use a litter box with training, but they are not always completely litter box trainable. Their instinct is to spread their waste in order to scent mark a wider foraging territory for themselves; thus, multiple litter boxes may be necessary, and all litter areas should be changed frequently.

A common ferret problem to many pet owners is introducing new ferrets to their population. Senior ferrets may seem excessively violent to unknown ferrets in their home, but adding another ferret to ones population to decrease boredom or for breeding will greatly encourage the morale of the ferret or ferret population one owns. Males and females will exhibit much stronger territorial urges when confronted with a new ferret, and will often treat the new ferret like a toy. After a fighting period which should be monitored but only rarely results in harm to a ferret, the older ferret will show its dominance, often by dragging the junior ferret around by the scruff of the neck to its hoard and leaving it like any other object it values. Given time and careful monitoring, new ferrets will almost always be accepted by the older ferret or group. Young ferrets can actually benefit from having an older house trained ferret around when being taught to use a litter box, take baths, or have their nails clipped.

The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you.

"'Of the animals that move about on the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon."