Types of Pets

While many people have kept many different species of animals in captivity over the course of human history, only a relative few have been kept long enough to be considered domesticated. Other types of animals, notably monkeys, have never been domesticated but are still commonly sold and kept as pets. There are also inanimate objects that have been kept as "pets", either as a form of game, or humorously .

Domesticated

Domesticated pets are the most common types of pet. A domesticated animal is any animal that has been tamed and made fit for a human environment. They have consistently been kept in captivity over a long enough period of time that they exhibit marked differences in behavior and appearance from their wild relatives.

Mammals

 

·         Alpacas

·         Cows

·         Donkeys

·         Dogs

·         Cats

·         Domesticated silver foxes

·         Sheep

·         Horses

·         Goats

·         Rodents including fancy rats, fancy mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, and chinchillas

·         Ferrets

·         Llamas

·         Pigs

·         Domestic rabbits

·         Domesticated hedgehogs

Birds

·         Companion parrot like scarlet macaw, blue and gold macaw or green winged macaw

·         Domestic canary

·         Chickens

·         Domestic turkeys

·         Domestic ducks and geese

·         Domestic pigeons and doves

·         Finches

Fish

·         Goldfish

·         Koi

·         Siamese fighting fish

·         Barb

·         Guppy

·         Betta

·         Molly

Wild animals

Wild animals are often kept as pets. The term wild in this context specifically applies to any species of animal which has not undergone a fundamental change in behavior to facilitate a close co-existence with humans. Some species listed here may have been bred in captivity for a considerable length of time, but are still not recognized as domesticated.

Exotic mammals

·         Anteaters like southern tamanduas

·         Canidae like Arctic foxes, coydogs, dingos, fennec foxes, gray foxes, and wolfdogs

·         Civets like binturongs and genets

·         Deer like leaf muntjacs

·         Duikers

·         Elephants

·         Felidae like bobcats, ocelots, margays, and servals

·         Marsupials like opossums, gliding possums, koalas, short-tailed opossums, wallabys, and wombats

·         Mongoose

·         Mustelids like badgers, minks, skunks, and otters

·         Primates like capuchin monkeys, chimpanzees, guenons, lemurs, macaques, marmosets, slow lorises, spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, sykes' monkeys, tamarins, and vervet monkeys

·         Procyonidae like cacomistles, coatimundi, kinkajous, raccoons, and ringtail cats

·         Rodents like chipmunks, degus, dormouse, flying squirrels, groundhogs, patagonian cavys, pouched rats, and prairie dogs.

·         Sloths such as two-toed sloths and pale-throated three-toed sloths

·         Monotremes such as platypus and echidnas

Birds

·         Crows, ravens, and magpies

·         Parakeets, parrots, and other talking birds

·         Toucans

·         Peafowl

·         Birds of prey

·         Aquatic birds

·         Types of Old World Quail and New World Quail

Reptiles

·         Iguanas

·         Lizards, including bearded dragons, leopard geckos, green anoles, blue tongue skinks, monitor lizards, and green iguanas

·         Snakes, including corns, kings, milks, and ball pythons

·         Tortoises

·         Turtles

Amphibians

·         Frogs

·         Newts

·         Salamanders, including Axolotls

·         Toads

Fish

·         Angelfish

·         Barb

·         Cichlid

·         Corydoras

·         Danio

·         Discus

·         Gourami

·         Live-bearer

·         Loach

·         Mbuna

·         Rainbowfish

·         Rasbora

·         Tetra

·         Blenny

·         Boxfish

·         Butterflyfish

·         Chromis

·         Clownfish

·         Damsel

·         Goby

·         Tang

·         Triggerfish

·         Wrasse

Arthropods

·         Ants

·         Caterpillars

·         Centipedes

·         Crabs and hermit crabs

·         Millipedes

·         Praying mantises

·         Stick insects

·         Sea-Monkeys

·         Triops

·         Tarantulas and other spiders