Weird Facts about Pets

A household domesticated animal or we call pet or companion animal, is kept for a pet owner’s enjoyment, as to set an adversary to laboratory animals, working animals, livestock and sport animals which are raised and kept for financial purposes. Most pet owners, kept pets  for their attractive appearances, expensive breed pets and for their loyal or playful personalities. Most of pet owners raised their pets and provide them with benefits, such as companion pets to the adults or elderly, who no longer have enough social interaction with other people. However, the physical and emotional benefits of owning a pet, is verified in most medical studies by the scientists, and was later confirmed that pets are best therapy animals, commonly the pet dogs, where they are brought to visit people in confinements. The Pet therapy utilizes trained handlers and trained animals to achieve physical, social, cognitive, and emotional goals with patients. Most of the pet owners, achieve fresh air, exercise and social interaction every time they take their pet dogs for a walk. Numerous people owns dogs and cats for a pet, while some loves town exotic and weird pets, such as gerbils, hamster, chinchillas, guinea pigs, or avian pets, reptiles, aquatic pets such as tropical fish or frogs or even insects. Although there are cities that prohibit owning exotic pets especially those who are in the list of endangered species, but some pet shops sell these animals secretly for business purposes. There are also forbidden or restricted exotic certain breeds of dogs such as pit bull and Rottweiler which is commonly banned in some places for breeding illegally used for “dog fighting” or exotic cats like the Savannah. Some cities or locations, owning “pets”animals by their owners but are classified legally as livestock such as pigs, horses, cow, kangaroo, deer, or fowls may be banned from being kept within the city limits or restricted to property due to larger size of animals or exhibits wild behavior and appearances from domesticated animals. 

  Pet Dog

The ancient type and breed of domesticated dog, known as Tibetan Mastiff, (Canis lupus familiaris) which originated in Central Asia with nomadic cultures. The Tibetan Mastiff or Do-khyi meaning home guard, door guard,”dog which may be tied“, or “dog which may be kept“, reflecting as its use as a guardian of herds, flocks,tents, villages, palaces and monasteries. But the do-kyi is traditionally run loose at night in nomad camps and in villages.

Pyrenees Dog

Companion and Lap Dog Pet

Bichon meaning curly lap dog is a Bichon type of  small breed of dog, non-sporting category dog breeds. They were popular pets with the same appearance but larger than the Maltese breed, all bred to be pleasant companion dogs with alert temperament and friendly pets.

Toy Dog

The Pomeranian also called Pom or Pom Pom,is a Spitz type of dog breed, named after Pomerania region in Central Europe, now known as northern Poland and eastern Germany part. The Pomeranian is classified as a toy dog breed because of its small size, and are typically friendly and lively breed of dog. The Pom Pom breeds love to be always around their pet owners which they are aware to be protective of them, and alert, always aware of environmental changes and barking on any new stimuli that can develop into excessive barking habits in any situation. Pomeranian and their pet owners bond quickly, and if not trained to spend time alone, they can suffer from separation anxiety. The Pom Poms are sometimes defensive of their territory and bark whenever  they hear noises outside their areas. Pomeranians breeds are intelligent dogs, easy to train and learn, and can  successfully get what they want from their owners, but if they are not trained, they can be quite aggressive and dominant. The Pomeranians life expectancy is 12 to 15 years. Merle (pattern in a dog’s coat) colored dogs may suffer from mild to severe deafness, intraocular pressure increasing, ametropia (light error in focusing by the eye),  microphthalmia (eye developmental disorder or small eye), and coloboma (a hole in one of the eye structures, such as the retina, iris, choroid or optic disc). Pomeranian colored dogs born from parents who are also both merles may suffer additional skeletal abnormalities, cardiac and reproductive systems. A patella or knee cap condition in which are dislocated or moving out of its normal location, and is one health issue in the Pomeranian breed is known as luxating patelle, trick knee, subluxation of patella, floating kneecap or floating patella. .

Chihuahua Toy Dog

The smallest breed of dog in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico is called the chihuahuas which comes in variety of colors, sizes, head shapes and coat lengths. Choosing Chihuahuas as pets, owners to be must know that this breed must be taken care of well, as the temperament of its owner can make a difference in the temperament of the pup, and when ill tempered, they can be easily provoked to attack, thus, generally unsuitable for small children at home. Chihuahuas requires attention from expert veterinarians such as dental care and birthing, and commonly prone to neurological genetic anomaly, such as seizure disorders and epilepsy, some with hydrocephalus disease. Chihuahuas is often diagnosed  having an abnormally large head, or hydrocephalus, during the first stages months of life, although some symptoms are more noticeable since a broad descriptions of  “a large head”.

Animal Assisted -Therapy 

Most therapist use a form of physical, speech and occupational therapy known as Hippotherapy, a peculiar quality movements of a horse providing a careful graded motor and sensory input, in which an established foundation to improve the patient’s sensory processing and neurological function, which the daily activities can be generalized to a wide range. It is different from learning specific riding skills or the therapeutic horseback riding, the horse movement is a means to a treatment result when hippotherapy will be utilize as a treatment strategy.

Animals as pets can be used in a different settings such as nursing homes, prisons, mental institutions, hospitals and at home. Disabled persons with different kinds of disabilities can be assisted and help the patients navigate outside their homes by pet dogs, and call them Assistance dogs. Bonding between the dog and the patient must be develop by introduction  using verbal commands such as stay and sit , and interaction between the patient and the assistance dog. Most Therapist use trained animals as a form of motivation for the patient, where the patient is asked to “perform a tasks”, such as feeding food and drinking water for their animals to improve motor functions like walking. Positive social interactions with animals, can give best results to positive human interactions. The Patients are then given right to choose their animal assistance as their therapy partner, thus, the treatment is compete after the patient can interact with their assisting animals.

Guide dogs

Guide dogs are also named assistance dogs trained to lead or guide the visually impaired people or blind around that stands in the way. Although trained dogs can navigate various standing the way for the blinds, dogs are partially color blind , red color to green color, and guide dogs are not capable of interpreting street lights signs. Based upon the dog skills acquired from mobility training, the blind human and guide dog team does the directing, which the blind person is compared to a navigator of an aircraft, who must know how to get from one place to another, and the pilot is the guide dog, who gets them at their destination safely. Guide dogs, along with service and hearing dogs, in several countries, are exempted from regulations against the presence of animals in places such as restaurants and public transportation. Dog trainers began to to learn from studies, which breed of dogs are most appropriate for guide work, nowadays, the Golden Retrievers, Labradors and German Shepherds are commonly chosen to be trained as guide dogs, but they consider other breed of dogs such as Yorkshire Terriers, Standard Poodles, Collies, Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, Papillons, Vizslas, Dobermans, Rottweilers, Boxers and Airedale Terriers. Most of the Guide dog breeds are chosen according to height at the shoulder level against gear or tackle length and the blind person’s height.

The American psychologist known as Elliot Aronson, best known for the Jigsaw Classroom invention as a method of reducing interethnic form of emotionally and heated angry behavior and unfavorable opinion, research for cognitive dissonance and influential social psychology books. In 2000, Aronson was diagnosed with macular degeneration or (AMD) age-related macular degeneration, a medical condition which usually affects older adults and results in blindness or vision loss in the center of the (macula) or visual field, because of damage to the retina and totally became blind in 2003. In 2010, Aronson decided to work with a guide dog to cope with his blindness, and applied at Guide Dogs for the Blind.and trained with a guide dog called Desilu, nicknamed Desi. Aronson graduated from the program on February 12, 2011, and crack a joke, “They worked us 14 hours a day, until we were almost as smart as our dogs.”

Breed of Dogs Trained as Guide Dogs

Therapy Dogs

A trained dog that can provide affection and comfort to patients confined in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, hospices and retirement homes is called a therapy dog. These trained therapy dogs also help people with learning difficulties, and stressful situations, such as in disaster areas.

Pet Cats

American Curl Cat

A breed of cat described with weird ears, that curls back from the cat face toward the center of the back skull is called American Curl. An American Curl’s ears should be taken care of carefully because the ear cartilage may be damage with rough handling, and their ears require frequent cleaning, gentle handling to prevent from infections and damage. The American Curl breed originated in Lakewood, California, as the spontaneous mutation result.

Scottish Fold Cat Breed

The breed of Scottish Fold cat, is a natural dominant-gene mutation that makes the cartilage of the ear contain a fold, causing the ears to bend forward and down towards the front of their head, which described this breed with an “owl-like” appearance. The Scottish Fold breed, is known as lop-eared or just lops originally, named after the lop-eared rabbit, and was later called in 1966 as Scottish Fold . They have various names according to registry as long-haired Scottish Folds, Highland Fold, Scottish Fold Longhair, Longhair Fold and Coupari. Folds are also known for sleeping on their backs, sitting with their legs stretched out with their paws on their belly, which they called Buddha position, have soft voices and display a complex set of voices of meows and purrs not found in popular-known cat breeds.

Polydactyl cat

A cat breed with congenital physical anomaly is called polydactyl cat, or hyperdactyly or polydactylism, a cat body type genetic mutation, resulting the cat to be born with more toes of its paws than the usual number of toes. This genetically inherited trait with cats are most commonly found  in the United States and Canada, South West England and Wales. The spread of Polydactyl cats are contributed by sailors have been popular as ship’s cats, were known to value polydactyl cats because of their abilities to climbing and hunting abilities as helping in catching rodents on board the ship. Polydactyl cats are considered as good luck by the sailors when at sea.

Maine Coon

The Maine Coon, is a domestic cat breed also known as American Longhair, with hunting skills and distinctive physical appearance, and considered as one of the oldest natural breeds of Maine coon cats native to Maine state and in North America, and became the official state cat of Maine. The Maine Coon cat breed is known for its long flowing fur coats, large bone structure, and rectangular body shape, and long, flowing coat. The breed of the Maine coon or American Longhair cat is seen in variant colors is known for its gentle and soft personality and intelligence.

Turkish Angora Cat

The ancient natural breed of domestic cats originated in Ankara Region in central Turkey, known as Ankara cat, Angora cat or Turkish Angora (Ankara kedisi in Turkish  term). In the early 1600s the breed is documented and is believed to be the origin of the mutations for both the white gene coloration which is dominant which is in truth the absence of color and long hair. The Turkish Angora cat breed is referred sometimes Angola‘s obsolete works or just simple  Angora or Ankara cat.

Ragdoll Cat

The cat breed with blue eyes and with distinct soft and silky semi-longhair coat colorpoint cat is called the Ragdoll cat. The Ragdoll breed of cat is developed by Ann Baker, an American breeder, which is known for its docile or easily managed, calm and peaceful temperament and affectionate nature. The Ragdoll name, is derived from the individual’s tendency from the original breeding stock to go limp and at eased when picked up.

Burmese Cat

A breed of domesticated cats split into two subgroups of the American Burmese and the British Burmese breed and called this breed the Burmese Suphalak meaning lucky, beautiful, and gorgeous appearance, has gold or yellow eye colors, and the coat is most short-hairs, satin-like glossy finish and do not requires grooming, but should not be confused with “Sacred Cat of Burma,” or the Birman breed of cat. The Wong Mau, is a female cat believed a descendants of the ancient Burmese breed which was brought from Burma in 1930 to America.

Birman Cat

The domestic cat breed called the Birman, is best known as the “Sacred Cat of Burma“. It is not the same as the Burmese cat breed, and should not be confused with the Birman cat breed.The Birman cat breed, has medium-long hair, a colored pale body with dark points and deep blue eyes.  The Birman cat have white glove to protect its pointed paws.

Persian Cat

This long-haired breed of cat, described with round face and shortened muzzle (the head projection an animal, including jaws, mouth, and nose), is called the Persian cat. The name Persian is derived from the former name of Iran now known as Persia, where similar cat breeds are found. The Persian cat is called the Longhair or Persian Longhair in Britain. The Persian cat’s selective breeding supported out by breeders allowing the wide variant colors of coat development, but has also increased the creation of the flat-faced Persian breed of cat. However, the polycystic kidney disease became hereditary, and is dominant in the breed, and affected the population of the Persian cat breed in some countries.

Exotic Short-hair Persian Cat

The short-haired Persian cat breed version is called the Exotic Shorthair cat breed. The Persian cat and the Exotic Shorthair is similar in many ways, including temperament and their structures.

Himalayan Breed Cat

Meanwhile, the long-haired breed of cat which is identical type to the Persian cat is known as the Himalayan cat or better known as Colorpoint Persian, with the blue eyes exception and its coat coloration with a pale body and relatively darker extremities, which were derived from the crossing of the Siamese cat and the  Persian cat. Although the breeds has similarities, these breeds have existed for hundreds of years, and now known as the Colourpoint Persian, that begun in the 1950s in Europe.

Siamese Cat

The Siamese cat breed, is one of the first recognized Oriental cat breeds with distinctive structures.The Siamese cat breed which originated in in formerly Siam, now Thailand, where they are one of the numerous native cat breeds and known as the Wichian Mat (วิเชียรมาศ) which means moon diamond. 

Canada lynx

The Canada lynx or Canadian Lynx (Lynx canadensis) is from a cat family in the North American mammal group and a close relative of the Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx).  But the Canada lynx characteristics is more similar with the bobcat  (Lynx rufus) than the Eurasian Lynx. With the subspecies recognized, these breeds ranges across Canada to Alaska and some part of the northern United States. The ruffed face and tufted ears with a dense silvery-brown coat, thus, the Canada lynx resembles the other mid-sized Lynx family species. The Canada lynx is larger than the bobcat, with shared ranges parts and twice over the domestic cat’s size.

Ocicat Breed

The Ocicat is a domesticated breed of cat which have similarities from a wild cat but there are no DNA in its gene pool, and known to be an outgoing breed of cat. Often times the Ocicats was considered to have the dog’s spirit in a cat’s body. Most of the Ocicat breeds is easy to train to fetch, walk on a chain, rope, or strap attached to the collar and gear or tackle, approach when called, speak, sit, lie down on command and an array of other dog-related tricks.

Bengal Cat

The hybrid of domesticated cat from a cross bred result with an Asian Leopard cat and called the Bengal cat.

Sphynx Cat Breed

The Sphynx is a breed of cat, described for its lack of a coat or fur in their body. The Sphynx‘s contemporary breed is known also as the Canadian Sphynx, which is distinguished from the Russian Sphynx breeds such as the Don Sphynx and the Peterbald.  However, the Sphynx is not actually hairless but it appears to be a hairless cat. The Sphynx cat’s skin texture has a chamois leather appearance. Because the Sphynx cats have no usually undressed skin with its hair, wool, or fur or pelt to keep them warm, and they gather together against other animals and people, to protect themselves.

Exotic Animals to Own as Pets

A domesticated South American camelid species called alpaca (Vicugna pacos), that resemble like the Llama in structure or appearance.

Llama pet

A well socialized and trained to a rope with a noose and lead after weaning or withdrawing from mother’s milk, and a very pleasant and friendly generally known as a group called the Lamoids, or llamas which are pleasant to be around. The llamas are extremely curious and mostly can easily approach people. However, the llamas fed by bottle, over protected as young llamas or over-socialized will become extremely difficult to handle when matured, when they start to treat humans as they treat each other, which is characterized by match or contest of spitting, kicking and neck wrestling. So it is advisable to people who wants to take care of llamas, bottle feeding should be limited  and the contact to its owner will be minimal and should stop sooner to avoid close attachment behavior between human and the growing llamas.

Ferret Pets

The domesticated mammal which are sexually dimorphic (combining qualities of) predators with male ferrets being  ferret (Mustela putorius furo) with males being considerable size larger than females. The ferrets are have mixed furs or typically have brown, black, white.

Prairie Dog

The prairie dogs are primarily black-tailed animals, which was captured from the wild as an exotic pet trade in Canada, the United States, Japan, and Europe.  Every spring season, most of the prairie dogs pups were retrieved from their underground burrows, using a large vacuum device. The prairie dogs, breed well in zoos but difficult to breed in captivity, when removed from the wild, which is the common method of supplying the demands in market. The prairie dogs are difficult to train as pets, which requires regular attention and grass diet and hay. Each year, The prairie dogs go into a period called estrous cycle or rut, (containing the reappearing of physiologic changes that are induced by mammalian therian females reproductive hormones) lasting for several months, where the prairie dog’s personalities changes drastically, which they can be defensive or even aggressive often. Despite the prairie dog’s need, they can be social animals and can seem to as though they treat humans as their colony members, and response to barking and chirping, and even come near when called by their given name.

Hedgehog Pets

The four-toed hedgehog or the white-bellied hedgehog  ( Atelerix albiventris) are the most common pet species of hybrids hedgehog  (Atelerix albiventris) and the (A. algirus) North African hedgehog, which is smaller than the European hedgehog, and sometimes called the African pygmy hedgehog. The Indian long-eared hedgehog (H. collaris) and the (Hemiechinus auritus) long-eared hedgehog are the other hedgehog species  that could be kept as pets.In some US states and some municipalities in Canada, hedgehog breeding, keeping or owning as pets is illegal and is required to have licenses. But in most European countries, there is no such existing restrictions with the exception of Scandinavia, however, the wild hedgehogs are considered endangered in the UK and it is illegal to keep hedgehogs as a pet.

Goat Pets

The Angora breed of goats produces long, curling, glossy mohair locks, which constantly grow to four inches or more in length. The Angora crossbreeds, like the nigora and the pygora breed, have begun to bred to produce mohair or cashgora on a smaller, goats which is easier-to-manage. They shorn (shear) the wool twice a year, with an average produce by a natural process of about 10 pounds. The Cashmere goats in Asia is known as pashmina from Persian word which means “fine wool’. The goat’s life expectancy is between fifteen and eighteen years, and have an intelligent nature and intellectually curious, that they will explore anything new or unfamiliar in their surroundings, and goats is easy to train to walk on leads and pull carts.

Pot Bellied Pig

A breed of domesticated pig that originate from Vietnam is known as the pot-bellied pig or Lợn ỉn in Vietnamese. The recent popularity as fad pets increase in keeping pot-bellied pigs, has led to abandonment or giving up their pet pigs, when owners discover that the pigs actually grow to larger sizes and require more care than they believed and due to local ordinances of their communities.

The almost 300 lb Max, the potbellied pig who lived with the Hollywood actor, George Clooney as his pet in Hollywood Hills home, has died in 2006. Max lived with George Clooney for 18 years, but later suffered partial blindness and arthritis.

Kunekune Pig

The small breed of domestic pig from New Zealand known as kunekune, which means fat and round in Maori language, the native Maori people of New Zealand. . The kunekune pig is hairy with a dumpy build and may bear  piri piri or wattles which can be seen hanging from their lower jaw. The kunekune color ranges from black and white, ginger, cream, gold-tip, black, brown and tri-colored. Just like the pot-bellied pig, they are kept as pets, because of their friendly and calm nature. The Kunekune are suitable for a new pet owner as they are calm, friendly, love human company, easy to train because they are intelligent.

Rabbit Pets

The Angora rabbit is a domesticated bred of rabbit variety for its long,  and thick soft wool, and one of the oldest domestic rabbit types that originated in Ankara, Turkey (formerly known as Angora) along with the same breed of Angora goat and Angora cat, and the Angora rabbit became most popular pets. The Angora rabbit, just like the Angora goats, are widely bred for their long Angora wool, which may be removed by combing, shearing and plucking.

American Fuzzy Lops is a domestic social breed of rabbit, with many personality such as playful, active, fuzzy and enjoy their owner’s attention, as well as the other rabbit’s company. The American Fuzzy Lops or AFL’s loves and enjoy playing toys such as a plastic ball, any plastic toys or stuffed toys.The American Fuzzy Lop is the mix breed of Holland Lop and the French Angora, and this AFL breed makes a perfect pets.

Rodent Family Pets

A species of hamster in the genus Phodopus, known as Djungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus), also known as the Siberian hamster or Russian winter white dwarf hamster. The Djungarian or Siberian hamster, has a ball-shaped features and typically half the size of the Syrian hamster, and was named a dwarf hamster along with all of its kind.The Djungarian hamster’s fur changes its color in the winter, if not in captivity and run in the wild. The hamster behavioral characteristic is hoarding food carrying their food in their spacious cheek pouches to their underground storage chambers. When their cheeks are full, they can make their heads double or three times in its regular size. Most hamsters are strictly solitary. The hamsters can occur acute and chronic stress if caged together,and they may fight fiercely, sometimes leading to fatal death. Most of the male Russian hamster or Djungarian become very depressed when separated from their female mates, becomes inactive, showing weird behaviors and eat more and can lead to obesity. The Djungarian or Russian hamster are known monogamous with their mates.

The Syrian longhair coat type hamster due to its bear-like features, it is often called teddy bear hamster. The male teddy bears have longer fur from the hips down forming like skirt, more than the female teddy bear hamsters.

Guinea Pigs

The Guinea pigs can be an excellent pets, they can remember accurately, but learn complicated their ways to food,for months. While guinea pigs can jump slightly, they are poor climbers, and are not active or slow movement. They easily startle, and will either freeze in a corner for long periods or run rapidly for cover, to shoot a quick look motions when they sense danger. The group of startled guinea pigs, running in no directions and cause stampede, as a way of confusing predators. The guinea pigs may repeatedly perform popcorning or little hops in the air when excited, a movement similar to the war dance by the ferrets. The guinea pigs are also good swimmers, and sometimes participate in social grooming like any rodents family, and make regular self-grooming.

Weasel War Dance

The weasel war dance is an informal term for ferrets and weasels excited behavior . The war dance is speculated  used by weasels or ferrets to confuse or disorient their predators or prey if they are in the wild. While the domesticated pets, the war dance is commonly an enjoyment from a play or successful capturing of toys from stolen objects. The weasel war dance may make a ferret look like startled or angry, they are  just excited and are harmless to their pet owners.

Pet Birds

The Monk Parakeet, also known as the Quaker Parrot, with features of forehead and breast are pale grey with darker scalloping and the rest of the underparts are very-light green to yellow. The flight feathers are dark blue, and the tail is long and thinner toward one end and their bill is orange. The chirping call is a loud and throaty screeches. As pets, the Monk Parakeets are extremely intelligent, social birds and can develop large vocabularies, and learn words and phrases. The Monk Parakeet or Quaker Parrot is overtaking the cockatiel as the favorite bird to teach to talk, due to early speaking abilities. The Quaker Parrot’s other asset is that they have much more reasonable price and life span than the African Grey’s or the Yellow Naped Amazon’s.

Gang Gang Cockatoo

In the wetter and cooler forests particularly in the alpine bushland of Australia’s woodlands, the beautiful species of Gang-gang Cockatoo,can be found. Mostly, the Gang Gang cockatoo are mild grey in color with some lighter scalloping or in females,small fluffy grey crest and buffish colors, while the males has a red head and red crest. The name Gang-gang originated from Ngunnawal or Wiradjuri, a New South Wales Aboriginal language or might the both languages groups named it gang gang.

The Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo also known as Leadbeater’s Cockatoo or Pink Cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo restricted to extremely dry  and semi-dry inland of Australia areas, but listed as endangered species.

Macaw Pets

The large, red, yellow and blue parrot from South America, known as the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao), a member of Neotropical parrots,  a large group known as macaws. The Scarlet macaws is native to South America’s tropical humid evergreen forests.

The colorful bird of Latin American toucan family member called Keel-billed Toucan also known as Sulfur-breasted Toucan or Rainbow-billed Toucan. Keel-billed Toucan is the national bird of Belize.  The Keel-billed Toucan’s feather’s is mainly black with a yellow neck and chest. Molting or changing of old feathers to new feathers, occurs once a year. They have blue feet and the tip of their tail is red feathers. The bill is green with a red tip and orange sides. The Keel-billed toucans have their feet with toes facing different directions or known as zygodactyl feet, two toes face forward and two face back. Like any other toucans, the Keel-billed is known as a very social bird, mostly flock in group and rarely seen alone. The Keel-billed Toucan is a poor flyer, and hopped mostly through trees.

Turkey

The Bourbon Red is a domestic turkey breed named for its unique reddish feathers and commonly found in Bourbon County, Kentucky.  The domesticated turkey’s average lifespan is ten years. The snood is the fleshy protuberance atop the beak, and the wattle is the one attached to the beak’s underside

Peafowl

Peafowl are three Asiatic flying bird species in the genus Pavo of the Phasianidae pheasant family. The peacock, the male peafowl is best known for his extravagant weird eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship, while the female is called a peahen, and the offspring peachicks.

Fancy Pigeon Pets and Racing Pigeons

The breed of fancy pigeons known as the Pigmy Pouter produced of selective breeding for many years. The Pigmy Pouters, along with other domesticated varieties of pigeons, are all from the Rock Pigeon’s descendants (Columba livia).

Fancy pigeons are domesticated from the Rock Pigeon family, with over 300 breeds of Fancy Pigeons, bred by pigeon fanciers for  different traits according to size, shape, color, and behavior, The fancy breeders of these variant pigeon species, exhibit their birds at fairs, pigeon shows, and other livestock exhibits.

Fish Pets

The Siamese fighting fish also named as Betta, is a popular freshwater aquarium fish species, with its name derived from a local Malay dialect, ikan bettah.

The panda moor is a fancy goldfish with a color of black and white pattern characteristic  and protruding eyes.

The Fantail goldfish is the Ryukin western form that possesses an egg-shaped body, a high dorsal fin, a long quadruple caudal fin, and no shoulder hump.

The Japanese pearlscale or chinshurin , is a spherical-bodied fancy goldfish with whole set of fins similar to the fantail.

Anteaters

The silky anteater, or pygmy anteater, is a species of anteater from Central and South America.

The banded anteater or the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus),also called the walpurti, is a marsupial animal commonly found in Western Australia. The numbat’s diet consists almost exclusively of termites.

The short-beaked echidna is one of four echidna living species and the only member of the genus Tachyglossus. The short-beaked echidna is covered in fur and spines with distinctive snout and a specialized tongue which the echidna used to catch its prey at a great speed. Like the other in existence of mammals that lay eggs, the short-beaked echidna lays eggs, and the only group of monotremes or group of mammals to lay eggs.

Pangolin Pets

A pangolin referred to as a scaly anteater or trenggiling, is a mammal of the Pholidota order, with its physical appearance marked by large, hardened, plate-like scales. The newborn Pangolin’s scales are soft, but soon they grow older, their scales harden, which are made of keratin, the same material of the human fingernails and four-limbed claws are made. The pangolin can curl up into a ball when startled and threatened, with its overlapping scales acting as armor or shield with its face tucked under its tail. Pangolins are nocturnal animals which use their well-developed sense of smell to find insects, while the long-tailed pangolin is also active by day. Other pangolins species spend most of the daytime sleeping curled up into a ball. Pangolins are known as good swimmers. Similar to skunks, the Pangolins can also emit a noxious-smelling acid from glands near the anus, although the Pangolins, are not able to spray this acid, just like the skunks’ ability to spray their predators.

Fennec Fox Pets

The fennec fox or fennec (Vulpes zerda) is a small nocturnal fox, usually found in the Sahara, North Africa. The fennec fox’s most distinctive feature is its peculiar large ears, which serve to drive away the heat. The North African indigenous people, valued the  fennec’s fur, and in some parts of the world. The fennec fox is considered an exotic pet. 

Genets are related to civets, linsangs, fossa and mongooses of the Old World mammals. The only viverrid common genet present in Portugal. Genets are highly characterized by quickness creatures, with quick reflexes and exceptional climbing skills, and are the only viverrids that are able to stand constant adjustment of balance. The genets (male and female) can exhibit scent marking, and can able to walk, trot, run, climb up and down trees, and jump.

Koala Bear Pet

The koala bear is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial animal found commonly in Australia. The koala has similarity in appearance to its closest living relative called the wombat, but has a thicker coat, much larger ears, and longer limbs. The koala has large, sharp claws to assist with climbing tree trunks. The koala lives entirely almost on eucalyptus leaves.

Wombat

Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials, which is native to Australia. Wombats dig extensive burrow systems with rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. Wombats are herbivores, and their diet are consists of grasses, sedges or flowering plants, herbs, bark and roots.

A wallaby is any of about thirty species of the Macropodidae family. The wallaby is an informal designation for any macropod generally, which is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo. The wallabies are forest-dwelling are known as pademelons and dorcopsises. 

A wallaroo is any of the three closely related species of moderately large macropod, middle range in size between the wallabies and the kangaroos. The name wallaroo is a portmanteau or combination of wallaby and kangaroo.

Pademelons are small marsupials of the Thylogale genus, commonly dwelling in the forests. The Pademelons, wallabies and kangaroos are very similar in body structure and some features. The wallabies were divided into small and large wallabies originally, but a more suitable name was needed to differentiate between the three. Pademelon meat used to be valuable by early settlers and the aboriginal groups were eaten for a long time. Although the pandemelons meat, like that of all kangaroos, which is very low in fat and cholesterol. 

Mink Pets

The European mink and the American mink are the two living species referred to as “mink” The American mink fur was valued and cherished for its expensive price used for clothing, with hunting giving way to farming.

 

In the United States, the mammals known as polecats,or the Skunks best known for their ability to secrete a strong foul odor liquid and they are capable to spray it to their predators. The skunks general appearance alter from species to species, from most common color is black and white, brown,grey or cream colored. The stink badgers are the closest relatives of the skunks. All skunks are striped, since their birth. Skunks are omnivorous, eating both plant and animal material and can change their diets as the seasons change. They also eat insects, larvae, grubs, earthworms, lizards, salamanders, frogs, snakes, moles birds and eggs and small rodents. They also eat plants berries, roots, leaves, grasses, nuts and fungi.

Marmoset Monkeys

The marmosets are extremely active,dwells in the upper canopy of forest trees, and feeding on insects, leaves and fruits. The marmosets have long lower incisors, allowing them to harvest the gum inside the holes in tree trunks and branches and chew,  some of the marmosets species are specialized feeders on gum.

Slow Lorises Monkeys

 

Slow lorises are a species of the group of strepsirrhine primates, commonly found in South, Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, Northeast India and in the west to the Philippines, in the east from Yunnan, China to Java Island in the south. There was a little knowledge about the slow lorises monkey’s social structure, but they generally spend most of the night searching for foods alone.

Celebrities and Pets

Bubbles (born 1983) is an ordinary chimpanzee, kept at the Jackson’s family Encino, Los Angeles, California home, and was moved to Neverland Ranch in 1988. Bubbles slept in Michael Jackson’s bedroom in a crib, share toilet with the late singer, and traveled with MJ most of the time. Bubbles had matured into a big and aggressive adult chimp unsuitable as a companion animal and Bubbles was removed to an animal sanctuary fearing the chimp might attack Jackson’s newborn son, Prince Michael I.  La Toya Jackson visited Bubbles in 2010, at the Center for Great Apes in Florida. Michael Jackson also owns a tiger, he named Thriller, but died of lung cancer.

Reese Witherspoon‘s pets, Donkeys

Reese Witherspoon got a pair of donkeys named Honky and Tonky , the donkeys are not Witherspoon’s only weird and odd pets also owns two pigs, three goats, 20 chickens, three dogs, and her very own pony and a horse.

Nicolas Cage most bizarre of his allegedly over spending of $276,000 for luxurious cars which includes his pets of two king cobras, he named Moby and Sheba, and an octopus, Nicolas Cage claims that he purchase the octopus, thinking it would help him with his acting, but unfortunately he had to get rid of his octopus pet due to some issues.

Leonardo DiCaprio purchase a 10 year-old Sulcata tortoise, around 38lb in weight worth $400.

The boxing legend, Mike Tyson, has always love pigeons since he was young boy, and now the boxer is raising homing racing pigeons. Mike Tyson, said in an interview that he fell in love with pigeons since he was a young boy. He said he actually punched a neighbor when he was bullied and killed his bird.

In the United Kingdom’s latest  teacup pig craze, Rupert Grint, better known as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter film, bought one of the teacup pig, which can be purchase as expensive up to $1000 or more. Just like George Clooney love for pet pig (he owned a pot-bellied pig). But then, there was a rumor that Rupert Grint was actually scammed and bought an ordinary pig instead.