User:MarketBoiCYM/New sandbox

Outline

The lead section and Comparison section may require some adjustments but the main problem lies in the History section. Several animals referenced in the lead section do not appear in the history section and very disproportionate representation is present between each animal.

1. Add to Guinea pig
   • Guinea pigs are pack animals which travel in groups, or herds, savaging for grass and other vegetation. They do not store their food and are commonly active at dawn or dusk where they are less likely to encounter predators (crepuscular).
   • The average weight of an adult Guinea pig is 1.5 -2.6 lbs.
   • A domestic Guinea pig typically has one or more companions and are kept in cages.
   • Guinea pigs feed on grass hay and food pellets, typically synthesized from timothy hay. Like humans, Guinea pigs can not synthesize their own vitamin C making food their only source of this vitamin; a lack of vitamin C will cause often fatal scurvy.
   • At merely four weeks old female Guinea pigs become fertile and may produce as many as five liters a year. With an average gestation period of 59-72 days, a female Guinea pigs may become pregnant again in as few as 6 hours prior to giving birth.
2. Add to Fancy Mouse
   • Nocturnal animals who utilize borrowing and hiding to evade prey due to their general defenselessness. Mice avoid light when ever possible through the utilization of burrows.
   • Mice live in families with developed social structure and territorial boundaries between families.
   • Mice have very highly developed senses of smell, hearing, and feeling; however, their sense of sight is poor due to odd location of their eyes on their head. Mice can hear pitches inaudible to the human ear and communicate with squeaks, some of witch reach pitches humans can only hear through the use of a oscilloscope. Their smell is highly developed and many mice can recognize if another mice is part of their family group based on smell alone. Their sense of touch is also highly developed; due to their poor eyesight a lot of movement is interpreted through the utilization of whiskers and guard hairs to orientate themselves and determine their surroundings.
   • Male mice organize themselves into a social hierarchy in which the most dominant mouse becomes the "lead buck" , or the one at the top of the social ladder. Only the lead buck mates during mating season, all other mice are restricted by the lead buck or downright rejected by the female mice.
   • Female mice have a gestation period of 19 to 21 days and may have up to 15 litters a year; due to their ability to become pregnant again within 24 hours of giving birth. The average litter size is 10 to 12 pups who are born deaf and blind; within 2 weeks the litter will appear as if small adult mice.
3. Add to fancy Rat
   • Rats like to keep company of their own kind; it is common to keep domesticated rats in pairs of the same sex because they need a companion but if a pet owner houses two rats of the opposite sex together they will have a lot of baby rats. Female rats may become pregnant at as early as five weeks old; producing a litter of about 8 young each time, and are able to become pregnant again within 24 hours.
   • Rats have sharp teeth that never stop growing, in order to combat this rats will chew on things such as wood to shave down their teeth to an appropriate length.
   • Non domestic rats have differing diets depending on location. Rats are opportunistic eaters; in the wild they will scavenge for seeds, plants and fruits. Due to a lack of produce in the city, city rats will eat just about everything ranging from trash to meat.
   • Domestic rats tend to live around 4 years, whereas, wild rats tend to live around 2 to 3 years.
4. Add to Hamster
   • There exist 18 hamster species, with the average weight of a hamster being between 1 and 2 ounces.
   • Hamsters are not native to the Americas, in the wild hamsters live in wide open areas such as deserts, planes, and fields.
   • Hamsters scavenge for food and feast on a diet containing primarily grain. Hamsters may store their food in the large cheek pouches and store their food in their burrows.
   • Territorial by nature, Hamsters do not run in packs and react aggressively towards a member of their own species.
   • Hamsters typically are nocturnal or crepuscular, though it is not impossible for a hamster to be active during both night and day.
   • Hamsters breed at accelerated rates with the potential to produce two to four litters a year. Gestation takes 15 to 22 days and the new born hamsters only require nursing for approximately three weeks. The number of domestic hamsters remains large; however, despite there quick reproduction abilities the number of wild hamsters is diminishing due to habitat destruction and their place near the bottom of the food chain.
5. Add to Gerbil
   • As desert dwellers Gerbils dig long burrows in order to escape the harsh temperatures; however, unlike hamsters, Gerbils are not nocturnal. Gerbils are active most during the evening and morning, times in which the weather is calmest.
   • Gerbils are naturally curious, social and non violent animals, making them more suitable for children than most pocket pets. Gerbils have an average lifespan of two to four years.
   • Adult male gerbils are very territorial and the larger the gerbil the larger their burrow typically is, and the more territory they scent mark.
   • Gerbils communicate through the use of thumping their back legs and whistling sharply, thumping can be both a communication of excitement and anxiety.

Sources

1. Pet Experts agefh (2002). Guinea Pig Care. TFH Publication; they also store their food. s. p. 6. ISBN 0793810256
2. Bradford, Alina. “Guinea Pig Facts.” LiveScience, April 28 2015, https://www.livescience.com/50658-guinea-pig-facts.html
3. Pockmann, Virginia. "Mouse Keeping: Understanding Mouse Behavior." Rat and Mouse Tales. 2007: p. 15-17. Print
4. Quesenberry, Katherine. "Breeding and Reproduction of Mice." Merck Veterinary Manuel. 2010, https://www.merckvetmanual.com/all-other-pets/mice/breeding-and-reproduction-of-mice
5. Poor, Allison. "Cricentinae (hamsters)". Animal Diversity Web, 2005. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cricetinae/
6. Talia Starkly. "Gerbil Behavior". Pet Place. 2015. https://www.petplace.com/article/small-mammals/general/gerbil-behavior/

History (This section was copied from the original article)

The domestication of small mammals is a relatively recent development, arising only after large-scale industrialization. Historically, when western society was more agrarian than it is today, rodents as a whole were seen as a nuisance, as they were carriers for disease and a threat to crops; animals that hunted these pests such as terriers and cats were prized.

A black adult American Crested guinea pig

Guinea pig

Guinea pigs (cavy) have perhaps the longest tradition of pethood among rodents (note that rabbits are not rodents). While historically they served as a foodstuff for the native Inca people, they were imported to Europe as early as the mid-16th century, shortly after Spain conquered Peru. As an oddity from the New World, they were afforded a special status, and seen as house pets, rather than vermin or food. While their popularity was initially limited to the wealthy, their prodigious reproductive habits ensured that they spread throughout the middle classes shortly after their introduction; guinea pig burial places (not scattered bones—as would be found with an eaten animal) have been found in archaeological digs in medieval middle-class suburbs.

Pet mouse, 3 months old

Fancy mouse

Fancy mice were popular pets in Japan during the 18th century, due in large part to the abundance of color mutations in wild mice. In 1787, a book on this hobby, The Breeding of Curious Varieties of the Mouse, was published by Chobei Zenya, a Kyoto money exchanger. Over time, the tradition spread from Japan to Europe, and in 1895 the National Mouse Club was established in England.

A pet blaze rat

Fancy rat

Fancy rats first became popular pets in Victorian England during the 19th century, being selectively bred for unusual colouration or temperament.

David, a pet Golden hamster

Hamster

Hamsters first gained popularity as pets in the 1930s, with virtually all modern Syrian hamsters (the most common pet species) tracing their lineage back to a single litter of hamsters taken to Palestine for scientific research in 1930. Shortly thereafter, in 1938, hamsters were introduced to the United States.

Mongolian gerbil

Gerbil

It wasn't until 1964 that gerbils became standard in the pet industry.

Male adult degu (goo) with babies

Common degu

After initial interest into common degus as research subjects, they have become popular as pets, though until recently^[when?] they were seldom found in pet shops.

A pet grey male chinchilla, about 7 years old

Chinchillas

Chinchillas have been used in research since the 1950s. They are popular pets, but require much care. The domestic chinchilla is descended from Chinchilla lanigera, the long-tailed Chinchilla, and so have thinner bodies, longer tails and larger ears.

Two shuggies eating mealworms

Sugar glider

Around the world, the sugar glider is popular as an exotic pet, and is sometimes considered a pocket pet. Most states and cities allow sugar gliders as pets, with some exceptions including California,^[72] Hawaii,^[73] Alaska, and New York City.^[74] In Australia, sugar gliders can be kept in Victoria, South Australia, and the Northern Territory. However, they are not allowed to be kept as pets in Western Australia, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland or Tasmania.^[70][71]