Issue 23 | January 2022 — Small Animals

The Welfare of Captive Fish

Summary: Of all the species we keep as pets, fish are perhaps the least well-understood and least cared about in terms of their behavioral welfare. Recently, however, scientists have been researching fish cognition and learning that these animals have sophisticated...

By Tessa Gonzalez

Issue 16 | January 2022 — Small Animals

The Welfare of Pet Hedgehogs

Although hedgehogs have been domesticated for a significant period of time (dating back to B.C. times), they remain for the most part the solitary, relatively unsocial creatures that they are in the wild.1 Despite their rise in popularity, especially in recent years,...

By Luisa Depta

Issue 12 | April 2020 — Small Animals

Issue 11 | April 2019 — Small Animals

Issue 5 | February 2019 — Small Animals

Pawsimony: Needs Mustelid

We humans are always looking for evidence that our animal friends really do love us. That’s probably why videos like this one, which was described as a ferret mom insistently “showing” her human her new babies by leading him by the hand, are so consistently popular....

By Tiro Miller, PhD

Issue 3 | July 2017 — Small Animals

Spotlight on Research: Rabbits in Shelters

According to the House Rabbit Society, rabbits are the third most commonly surrendered pets in the United States. Rabbits have also been steadily gaining in popularity as indoor pets in many parts of the world, with an estimated one million pet rabbits in the United...

By Clare Ellis, interviewed by the IAABC Foundation Editing Team

Species-Appropriate Enrichment for Ferrets

When I first started volunteering with a ferret shelter, I had owned ferrets for over 13 years, but I still knew very little about them. I understood my own ferrets, but the species and its behaviours were something of a mystery. What I didn’t know at the time was...

By Shannan Skitch

Issue 2 | February 2017 — Small Animals

Pet Rabbits: Further Research Warranted on Behavior and Husbandry

The domestic rabbit is a popular choice among keepers of small and exotic companion animals. Their appeal to the pet-owning public includes the potential to be spayed or neutered and litterbox trained, and that they stay a relatively small size yet possess big...

By Jessica Fritschi