What are Most Popular Pets in America? The American people own 88.3 million cats and 74.8 million dogs besides 142 million freshwater fish and 24.3 million smaller animals.
Although the number of dogs in ownership is lesser than cats, it is still the most wanted and most loved pet in any average American home and family. Pets serve as companions and help fight boredom. They can fill in the emptiness in someone’s lonely life.
Ferrets
During the reign of Queen Victoria, ferrets gained their popularity when the Queen not only commissioned the building of special cages for ferrets, but also started gifting ferrets to the visiting heads of state. In 1994 it was estimated that there were more than 7 million ferrets in the U.S as pets in households.
Ferrets have qualities of both cats and dogs (although there are big differences too) which is why they are becoming popular. They are small yet playful and remain so during all their lives. Unlike dogs, they do not need to be taken for a walk at 2 a.m. and yet they are extremely social and litter trainable. Ferrets sleep around 15-20 hours a day and depending on their neutered state, they go by different names.
Iguanas
Although they appear to be quite scary, Iguanas can be phenomenal pets. Besides the merit of being lazy around them and not taking them for walks, these pets are long lasting and make a person responsible. They can live for up to 20 years with proper care, food and shelter showing that these are tough animals.
Most Iguanas live happily in their terrariums but since they grow, there needs to be enough space for them to move around. It loves basking in the sunlight (it is a desert animal!) and if no sunlight comes in the home, pet doctors recommend artificial light.
Snakes
If given proper care, snakes can have a lifespan of over 40 years. Because of the increasing demand for pet snakes, an attractive snake breeding industry has come to life in the U.S. particularly concerning the docile species like ball python and corn snakes.
A snake does not have to be fed frequently and requires food every five to fourteen days. Snakes that are born in captivity and bred so, are considered to be better pets as they are more tamed than those caught from the wild. Snakes can be very low maintenance pets. The most common species do not exceed five feet in length and they require minimum space.
Birds
It was more than 4,000 years ago that birds were first caged for their beauty. Birds have always been associated with dinner but there are many bird species that are kept as pets. In fact a few types of birds are very pretty and rare for example birds from the Macaw family.
The most commonly kept birds in the home as pets are the canary and the parrot. Certain species like cockatiels, doves, budgerigars, finches and lovebirds, can thrive as pets with proper care but other species like the macaw are better left in the wild. Birds can make wonderful companions and the larger ones can live for up to dozens of years. The bird’s nutrition, attention needs and care factors must be taken into account before taking one as a pet.
The Guinea Pig
In the early 1900’s the British immigrants brought the first Guinea Pigs with them to the United States. They have been popular pets ever since because they have a friendly temperament with no tendency to bite. Their caging requirements are quite easy to handle since they can’t jump or climb. They are relatively sturdy pets with fewer health problems. Newborn Guinea Pigs are fully developed with their eyes and mouth open so they are fun to play with and easy to breed. Not only is pork popular food for non-Muslim Americans, it is also a popular farm animal in the countryside.
Mice
The domesticated descendants of mice first originated in China. They were kept in the Royal Palaces but today they are all over the world. Normally a mouse can live up to 3 years. Why that didn’t surprise Ronald Weasley when his garden rat lived for twelve years surprises us too, but we shall forgive the loophole in favor of the awesomeness of Harry Potter. Mice are the most widely distributed mammals after human beings. The mice that live in homes are nocturnal. They feed on insects, small plants and seeds. The female mouse can give birth to 4-7 younglings every thirty days but because of the high number of predators, these younglings don’t survive for much longer.