I’m not really talking about the species we used for hunting or mousing, like dogs, cats and ferrets, I’m talking about the smaller animals we keep as pets…rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils and rats. Why do you think we chose these species? Why didnt we choose, say, squirrels and possums? The argument that they dont really adapt well to cage life doesnt really fly, because plenty of rabbits are still very wild and many people have tame pet possums (ie, sugar gliders) and squirrels (usually the gliding sort) all over the world.
For my part, I believe rabbits and guinea pigs were domesticated from the meat trade, I guess people just thought they were cute and would make good pets…but then wouldnt we have pet mink if that were the case, and wouldnt chinchillas be much more common?
So what do you think made us choose to domesticate the species we did? And do you think in a few hundred years the likes of sugar gliders and flying squirrels will have become much tamer and available in every pet shop all over the globe?
*rolls eyes* God rattie haters just get so boring. Rats are good pets because they are intelligent (much more so than most small “cute” fluffies), funny, friendly, can be taught tricks, fun to watch, cuddly and yes, cute. Rattie haters are just crazy and prejudiced.
