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Small House Pets: More than Just Cats and Dogs

Although cats and dogs are at the top of the list of the most popular household pets in America, not all pet lovers are able to own these pets. People who rent their homes and those who suffer from allergies, for example, may simply be unable to have them. But that doesn't mean these people are unable to own a pet. Animals such as fish, birds, hamsters, rabbits, and other small house pets may be the perfect choice for many.

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But just like cats and dogs, these animals also require special care and attention. They require proper nutrition and water, a place to sleep and suitable amounts of playtime so that they can lead content, disease-free lives. Some small house pets even have other special requirements:

Fish require clean, dechlorinated water. If the water contains chlorine, it can prove to be toxic to the fish.
Cockatiels require large cages in order to move around freely.
Ferrets have an extraordinarily high metabolism. Due to this high metabolism, they need to eat about every four hours.
Hamsters may love you, but they hate sharing their habitats with other hamsters. Hamsters are solitary creatures, so if you have more than one hamster, you need to keep them separate.
Rabbits should always be kept indoors where you can control the temperature. Large changes in temperature can prove harmful to the health of your rabbit.

It's always a good idea to arm yourself with information about a pet's costs, needs and preferred habitat before making the decision to own any of the small house pets. How else would you know that you shouldn't give rabbits baths, that ferrets are related to skunks or that cockatiels can fly with just one grown flight feather? The old adage applies: "Better to be safe than sorry."

This section is divided into multiple articles, covering topics such as ferret care and rabbit care, with each listed in the menu to the right. To research other pet topics, please use the morefocus search tool, or see the related topics listed right.

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