:This page is about domestic animals. For several meanings of the acronym PET, see PET.A pet or companion animal is a domesticated animal that is kept by humans for companionship or for the beauty of its appearance or utterances, rather than for economic reasons.
While in theory one could keep a blue whale as a pet, in practice a small number of species of mammals, especially dogs and cats, and birds have dominated the pet scene for a very long time. Fish have joined them more recently. With the exception of iguanas and non-venomous snakes, few reptiles and amphibians make good pets.
The glofish, a genetically modified zebrafish with a bright red fluorescent color is the first genetically modified (GM) animal to be engineered as a pet.
A pet can be acquired from a breeder, an animal shelter, a pet store, and sometimes from people who have too many due to births. See also Dog adoption.
1 Pet species
1.1 Mammals
- Horses
- Dogs
- Cats
- RodentMany, see text The order Rodentia is the most numerous of all the branches on the mammal family tree. Currently there are, depending on the authority consulted, between 2000 and 3000 species of rodent—roughly half of all mammal species. Rodents are founds, including hamstersee text A hamster is a rodent belonging to subfamily Cricetinae . The subfamily contains about 18 species, classified in six or seven genera. Most have expandable cheek pouches, which reach from their cheeks to their shoulders. Species of hamsters The bes, guinea pigCavia porcellus Cavia aperea Cavia tschudii Cavia guianae Cavia anolaimae Cavia nana Cavia fulgida Cavia magna Guinea pigs (also called cavies are rodents belonging to the family Cavidae and the genus Cavia''. Currently there is a scientific dispute as tos, miceFor the computer peripheral, see computer mouse. A mouse is a mammal that belongs to one of numerous species of small rodents in the genus Mus and various related genera of the family Muridae. Mus musculus, the common house mouse (or laboratory mouse) is, gerbilAnimalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Rodentia : Cricetidae A gerbil is a small mammal of the order Rodentia. Once known simply as "desert rats," the gerbil family includes 89 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, all ofs, chinchillaChinchillas and viscachas : Eukaryota : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Rodentia Chinchillidae Genera Chinchilla Lagidium Lagostomus Chinchillas and their relatives viscachas are small, nocturnal mammals native to the Andes mountains in South America ands, deguDegu : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Rodentia : Octodontidae Octodon degus Binomial name Octodon degus Molina, 1782) The Degu Octodon degus is a small, caviomorph rodent that is native to Chile. It is sometimes reffered to as the Trumpet-tailed "Rat (as, flying squirrels and rats
- Rabbits
- Ferrets
- Hedgehogs
- Alpacas
- small pigs
- Monkeys
- Donkeys
1.2 Birds
