AVS 201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Food Storage, Conjunctivitis, Epithelium
13 Dec 2015
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Various species: chinchillas, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, ferrets, rabbits, mice, rats, degus. Few left in the wild: hunted excessively for their fur. Good pets because they are social and not aggressive. Very active: like climbing so should have many levels in cage, will chew almost anything. Open rooted teeth can lead to malocclusion. Picking up: grab by base of tail or scoop, do not scruff fur slip for defense. Carrying: support under the animal, lose hold of tail for control. Seasonally polyestrous: 32-42 day cycle, nov. may in n. hemisphere. Females are more aggressive: will fight with male if they don"t want to breed, can collar female to protect male so he can escape her if needed. Treat/prevent with hard pelleted foods and trimming teeth: dermatophytosis. Prevents from retracting and can cut off circulation. Leads to urinary obstruction and sometimes death. Do not cut off: bacterial diseases. 3 species as pets: golden (syrian) hamster. All have a dorsal stripe: european.
