h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A674705

A64705 How to select a small animal as a pet.


usefull info based on exp working in pet shop.

I'm surprised I'm the first to reply...(well it is christmas day) but I liked this.

However don't write off the not immediatly friendly ones. I once had a hamster called Houndini who bit me the first two days I owned him however once he got to know me he was always playful and curious, as well as an excellent weapon. The same was true of my brothers cockatiel, althought it took the shop assistant around 15 minutes to catch him, once he was tamed he was a great character.

If you are evan a little nervous of animals I wouldn't suggest you select a "challenge" as a first time pet, yet if you are used to specis and have plenty of spare time to let them get used to you, they can make wonderful companions.

Nice content here. I'm not the pet expert of the world, so I can give little help as far as anything that you have missed. What you have written, however, has many spelling and gramatical errors. If this isn't your high point that's ok, as the sub-editors will fix this up. However, for their sake, why don't you run the text through the spell/grammer check on your word processor?

-Strider

The article discusses some of the abuses common to less savory pet stores, but people looking for an animal companion should be made aware of some of the other dark aspects of the small pet market....

You may want to include a brief sentence or two on the global trade in small animals...... such as the illegal traffic in exotic birds, and inbreeding of animals that simply should not be kept as pets in any case.

Unscrupulous breeders have created a novelty market for some animals, such as hedgehogs, and the results are genetically weakened, sad little creatures that live short, miserable lives, in cramped cages or terraria, when their wild relatives are known to roam for miles in a single nights foraging.

Smugglers 'pack' small exotic birds in special pockets in their clothes. Many of these birds suffocate or are crushed or injured during the trip..

I think it this article has a great deal of potential, and I would like to see it expanded.



Tal

Hi

This is a good entry. I won't comment on the typos - putting the text through MS Word, and then through MS Notepad, and finally back into the guide entry form will take out typos and wierd characters. (Thank goodness for copy/paste, eh?).

But there is an odd verbal construction:

"it should not be too thin, have smooth and even scales" might be better worded "it should not be too thin and shoud have smooth and even scales"

Good luck with the entry.

Ben

I think all of you have good points, and this is the reason I submitted the entry to peer review.

Talesin though... I think exotic animal smuggeling probably deserves it's own entry, although I will try to fit in a mention of the importance of checking that an animal is not on any endangered or prohibited lists.

This entry is basically aimed at first time pet owners and seeks to ensure that they don't wake up to a dead pet the day after they brought it home. Or end up with one that is very unfriendly, putting them off owning any more in the future.

Incidentally... what's the point of putting a rough draft through spell check?


thank you

This is a good entry, but it needs more! I think that you should offer a very small amount of advice on particular animals:

Guinea Pigs need company - you should never have one on its own. You should make sure to buy two of the same sex, unless you want to breed them.

Hamsters are solitary creatures and should always be kept on their own.

Mice are unsuitable as pets, as they have no bladders and drip urine constantly. You are unlikely to find them in pet shops these days but there may be still some shops selling them.

I don't know anything about gerbils or rabbits but a few words about each wouldn't go amiss.

I agree, exotic animal smuggling should definitely have a separate entry, and wild/endangered/prohibited animals should definitely not be kept as pets, for legal and environmental reasons.

But while I certainly would not want to discourage anyone from adopting a small animal companion, I think certain species, even though they may be bred in captivity, are not suitable for the role we humans have forced upon them.

I don't know what the practise is in Great Britain, but in Canada and in the US there is very little control or monitoring of the breeders of even standard domesticated animals, such as dogs, cats, and horses etc..

Inbreeding in those animals has resulted in serious genetic weaknesses and defects, ranging from inherited neurological disorders in dogs to crippling and sometimes lethal allergies in horses.

Hedgehogs are a perfect example of an animal that, in my opinion, simply should not be 'domesticated' There are hedgehog breeders in this country who boast about 'breeding for color!' Most of them are breeding the South African hedgehog...

Innocent people, seeking a small, quiet, cute and manageable pet, buy these creatures, usually keeping them in tiny terraria. In the wild, these hedgehogs foage for miles in a single evening. Most people who purchase these animals are city apartment dwellers..

But most importantly, inbreeding has resulted in an increase in inherited defects, including the 'wobbly' disease.

Perhaps its not the same for gerbils or hamsters, and no doubt there are many other small animals, such as lizards or snakes, that are not so much at risk, genetically speaking, and are also content to live within a constrained artificial environment.

I am not suggesting you write multiple paragraphs on this aspect, but one or two sentences suggesting the prospective small pet buyer take a moment to consider the antecedents of the individual animal they are considering, as well as the characteristics natural to the species itself.

Given a choice, I think most people would prefer to make a decision based on humane considerations, in addition to legal and environmental ones.

And, of course, it is your article, and you have every right, as usual, to ignore whatever I or anyone else, suggests here

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Peer Review' to 'How to select a small animal as a pet'.

This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review Forum because your entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

You can find out what will happen to your entry here: http://www.h2g2.com/SubEditors-Process

Congratulations!

Congradulations


Dancer

Congrats!

YAY!!!



Though, honestly, I was planning to re write some bits, and heed some of the suggestions, but I had a tich of trouble getting onto the internet for awhile, and when I came back my entry had been accepted... (not that im going to complain)

Incidentially, I don't know what kind of mice other people have had as pets, but I've had 3 of them and none of them ever peed on me unless I had them out of the cage for excessive time.

I also realized that I should have added a bit about avoiding pregnant rodents.... (best bet, buy one with testicles)

oh well, maybe whomever is editing will read this and touch it up accordingly.

Anyhow, thank you all very much.

If you were to mention reptiles you might also mention that they're expensive and require alot of care...