Exotic Pets

11 species listed on Pet Listings.

11 pages written

C

CapybaraThe largest rodent alive, and a semi aquatic one: it swims, and it grazes. South American herds run to a dozen or more, so one kept on its own does badly.

CoatimundiA raccoon relative with a long ringed tail it carries upright and a nose that swivels. Females travel in bands and the adult males live alone.

F

Fennec FoxThe smallest fox there is, and the ears are the reason: they shed heat in the Sahara. Nocturnal, so the household hours are the ones it sleeps through.

G

GenetSlender, spotted and built for climbing, from Africa, and not a cat despite the shape. Nocturnal, and it hunts from branches more than from the ground.

K

KinkajouA rainforest animal with a prehensile tail it uses as a fifth limb and a long tongue for nectar. Nocturnal, and it lives high up rather than on the floor.

M

MarmosetOne of the smallest monkeys, and one of the few with claws rather than nails, because it gouges bark for gum. Twins are the usual birth, not the exception.

S

ServalThe longest legs of any cat relative to its body, and ears that find rodents in long grass. It hunts by leaping, and it clears several feet straight up.

SkunkThe spray comes from two glands under the tail and carries up to six metres, about twenty feet. Pet skunks are usually descented, and they are omnivores that dig for grubs.

Slow LorisThe only venomous primate: it mixes a secretion from a gland on its arm with saliva. It moves slowly and deliberately, and it is awake at night.

T

TamarinA small New World monkey, moustached in several species. Twins are usual, and the father does most of the carrying between feeds.

W

WallabyA kangaroo relative built smaller, and a marsupial, so the joey finishes growing in the pouch. It grazes, and it moves by hopping rather than walking.