Pet - Definition and Overview

This page is about domestic animals. For several meanings of the acronym PET, see PET.

A pet or companion animal is an animal that is kept by humans for companionship and enjoyment, rather than for economic reasons. The most popular are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics or their beautiful appearance or song.

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 other animals such as birds have dominated the pet scene for a very long time. Fish have joined them more recently. Many of these are domesticated while others, often considered novelty pets, are not. 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 pet store, an animal shelter, a breeder, and sometimes from people who have too many due to births. See also Dog adoption.

Pet species

Mammals

• Horses
• Dogs
• Cats
• Rodents, including hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, gerbils, chinchillas, degus, flying squirrels and rats
• Rabbits
• Ferrets
• Hedgehogs
• Alpacas
• small pigs
• Monkeys
• Donkeys
• Skunks

Birds

• Budgerigars (parakeets)
• Cockatoos
• Macaws
• other parrot species
• Canaries and other finch species
• Doves
• Cockatiels

Reptiles

• Lizards
• Iguanas
• Snakes
• Turtles
• Crocodilians, including alligators, crocodiles, caimans, gavials (can usually only be kept as pets when they are young)

Amphibians

• Frogs
• Toads
• Salamanders
• Newts
• Caecilian, a wormlike amphibian that lives underground

Fish

See: Aquarium

Arthropods

• Ants
• Crickets
• Tarantulas
• Emperor scorpions

Mollusks

• Cuttlefish (see also Aquarium)

Rocks

• Pet rocks

See also

• Novelty pet
• Digital pet

External link

• Wikibooks:How to choose your pet and take care of it