AY Honors/Small Mammal Pets/Requirements

Small Mammal Pets

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1. Have the Mammal Honor.

2. Keep a small mammal pet for at least six months. (Dogs and cats are not included as small mammal pets.) For a suggested list of pets to choose from, see #5 below.

3. Complete one of the following:

a. If you currently have a small mammal pet, keep a record of the care for your small mammal for one month. Include in your record when it is watered, fed, and when its cage is cleaned.

b. If you do not currently have a small mammal pet, but you have kept one for at least six months, “babysit” someone else’s small mammal pet for at least one week. Record the care that was required.

4. Give an oral report (at least 3 minutes) on what you have observed about your small mammal pet. Include favorite foods, some of its habits, when it is most active, and favorite story about pet, etc.

5. Complete the following:

a. Be able to distinguish between the following groups of small mammal pets:

i. Hamster

ii. Gerbils

iii. Rats

iv. Mice

v. Guinea pigs

vi. Chinchillas

vii. Rabbits

viii. Ferrets

b. Describe the basic care for one of the above list and describe one way the care of another one of the list differs from the one you selected.

c. Which two of these pets are not rodents?

6. Write a 200 word essay on the history and value of one of the above and what characteristics they have that make them good pets.

7. Be able to identify five varieties of hamsters and five varieties of rabbits.

8. Why is it not good to make pets out of small mammals taken from the wild?

9. Rabies: What is it? How is it spread? Can you get rabies from small mammals? Is it curable? How can you avoid getting it? Which small mammal pets can carry it?

10. Why should you not handle your small mammal pets when you have a cold?

11. Find in the Bible three references to animals that we now consider to be small mammal pets. According to the Bible, are they considered to be clean or unclean meat?