An exotic pet is a rare or unusual animal pet, or an animal kept as a pet which is not commonly thought of as a pet. The definition is an evolving one; some rodents, reptiles, and amphibians have become firmly enough established in the world of animal fancy to no longer be considered exotic.

Sometimes any unique or wild-looking pet (including common domestic animals such as the ferret and the domestic rat) is called an exotic pet. "Exotic" may also be used for a species which is non-indigenous to the owner's locale.

Many major pet stores and service providers (such as veterinary insurance carriers or online retailers) tend to classify any animal besides cats, dogs, small birds or fish as "exotic".


Alligators
Amphibians
Arctic Fox
Bears
Wolves and wolf/dog hybrids
Fennec Foxes
Tame Silver Foxes
Sugar Gliders
Indian Star Tortoises
Skunks
Degus
Civets
Genets
Kinkajous
Raccoon
Chinchillas
Capybaras
Hedgehogs
Wallaroos
Wild feline cubs such as lions, tigers, bobcats, servals, and ocelots
Reptiles such as snakes, turtles, tortoises, and lizards
Arthropods like spiders, praying mantises, and scorpions
Rare birds
Hyenas
Non-human primates

It has been estimated that as many as 15,000 non-human primates are kept by private individuals as pets in the United States. Nine states ban the keeping of non-human primates, but no federal law regulates ownership. In 1975, the Center for Disease Control prohibited their import into the US for use as pets.

The breeding industry uses descendants of animals imported before 1975. Non-human primates of various species, including those listed as endangered, such as cottontop tamarins, baboons, chimpanzees, Diana monkeys, lemurs and gibbons are still available for purchase in the US.

Many professionals, including veterinarians, zoologists, humane societies and others, strongly discourage the keeping of non-human primates as pets, as their complex emotional and social needs and other highly specialized requirements may be difficult to meet by the average owner.



Although the breeding population has been largely isolated from wild populations outside the US, they still have the potential to transmit zoonotic disease. There is a considerable risk of Monkey B virus from rhesus macaques.

Research workers have died from this disease contracted from non-human primate research subjects. Additionally, there is considerable risk to the non-human primate pet through transmission of human disease. One such example is herpes simplex virus, which can be deadly to certain smaller monkeys.

Rexes require low to medium activity levels. They are equally content sitting on someone's lap and acting out their perfect pet part. These incredibly soft creatures do require a physical show of affection, in the form of petting or stroking.

Though, a lot of fun, they require lots of attention, if their non-destructive and friendly temperament is to be maintained in the long run. Lastly, it is essential to keep the cage size, in accordance with their size - i.e. large!

Rexes feed. No, I do mean feed. There will be times that you will think that you have pet horse. The good thing however, is that their food is easily available and does not tax the budget. Rexes mostly feed on commercial rabbit pellets, timothy hay, lucerne hay, fresh greens and fresh fruit.

They need up to a quarter cup of pellets per day, for every 5 pounds of their body weight. Fresh greens can comprise the main portion of the rest of their diet.

Fruits should be limited for their high sugar content and for that you need a heart of steel. After all, how else can you deny him his favorite food, when he looks at you with big watery eyes begging you give it.

Healthwise, Rex rabbits are generally sturdy. They are prone to colds and flus, so it is best to keep them indoors during extreme weather. They have fragile skeletons, so proper care should be taken, while handling them. Males should be neutered after about 4 months of age, to prevent the aggression arising out of sexual maturity.

Females can also be neutered, as this reduces the risks of uterine cancer. Both the males and females live longer (8-11 years) after spaying. As long as, the standard ear mites and fleas are taken care of, your Rex should be a really healthy pet. It is also essential that your Rex is vaccinated against calicivirus at a young age.

House pets are impulsive purchases for most of us who just love the sight, sound and feel of anything adorable, soft and furry. But, if you are making a planned purchase and a rabbit is what you have zeroed in on, a Rex could be the breed for you.

This breed originated as a natural mutation (crossbreed) of the gray rabbits found in the wilderness of France. They were discovered in 1919, but were bred commercially for their fur and meat after attaining popularity. They made a successful debut at the Paris International Rabbit Show in 1924 and later made an entry into the U.S.A. Today, they are one of the most popular house pets in the world.

Rexes come in various colors, namely black, white, blue, castor, chocolate, sable, tortoise, seal, brindle, etc. Their peculiarity is the thick, upstanding fur that looks and feels like velvet. It ranges between 1.3-2.2 centimeters in length and the guard hairs are actually the same length as the undercoat.

This makes the coat thicker and gives it its plush-like feel. It must be remembered that these low maintenance mammals do not require combing at all. In fact, the only grooming they require is regular nail trims.

An average Rex weighs anything between 6 to 10.5 pounds, making it a fairly large rabbit in its family. Its broad head has pert upright ears that suit its fairly rounded body. These plump fur balls are generally friendly, curious and playful and make perfect foster moms for any other rabbits that you may own.

They can be litter-trained easily, but (like us, human beings) do need proper incentives to learn anything new. A happy Rex can live up to 6 years (despite being in human company).

Pet rabbits kept indoors are referred to as house rabbits. House rabbits typically have an indoor pen or cage and a rabbit-safe place to run and exercise, such as an exercise pen, living room or family room. Rabbits can be trained to use a litter box and some can learn to come when called.

Domestic rabbits that do not live indoors can also often serve as companions for their owners, typically living in an easily accessible hutch outside the home. Some pet rabbits live in outside hutches during the day for the benefit of fresh air and natural daylight and are brought inside at night.

Whether indoor or outdoor, pet rabbits' pens are often equipped with enrichment activities such as shelves, tunnels, balls, and other toys.

Pet rabbits are often provided additional space in which to get exercise, simulating the open space a rabbit would traverse in the wild. Exercise pens or lawn pens are often used to provide a safe place for rabbits to run.

A pet rabbit's diet typically consists of unlimited Timothy hay, a small amount of pellets, and a small portion of fresh vegetables. Rabbits are social animals. Rabbits as pets can find their companionship with a variety of creatures, including humans, other rabbits, guinea pigs, and sometimes even cats and dogs.

Animal welfare organisations such as the House Rabbit Society recommend that rabbits do not make good pets for small children because children generally do not know how to stay quiet, calm, and gentle around rabbits.

As prey animals, rabbits are alert, timid creatures that startle easily. They have fragile bones, especially in their backs, that require support on the belly and bottom when picked up. Children 7 years old and older usually have the maturity required to care for a rabbit.

Rabbits are herbivores who feed by grazing on grass, forbs, and leafy weeds. In consequence, their diet contains large amounts of cellulose, which is hard to digest.

Rabbits solve this problem by passing two distinct types of feces: hard droppings and soft black viscous pellets, the latter of which are immediately eaten. Rabbits reingest their own droppings (rather than chewing the cud as do cows and many other herbivores) to digest their food further and extract sufficient nutrients.

Rabbits graze heavily and rapidly for roughly the first half hour of a grazing period (usually in the late afternoon), followed by about half an hour of more selective feeding. In this time, the rabbit will also excrete many hard fecal pellets, being waste pellets that will not be reingested.

If the environment is relatively non-threatening, the rabbit will remain outdoors for many hours, grazing at intervals. While out of the burrow, the rabbit will occasionally reingest its soft, partially digested pellets; this is rarely observed, since the pellets are reingested as they are produced.

Reingestion is most common within the burrow between 8 o'clock in the morning and 5 o'clock in the evening, being carried out intermittently within that period.

Hard pellets are made up of hay-like fragments of plant cuticle and stalk, being the final waste product after redigestion of soft pellets. These are only released outside the burrow and are not reingested. Soft pellets are usually produced several hours after grazing, after the hard pellets have all been excreted. They are made up of micro-organisms and undigested plant cell walls.

The chewed plant material collects in the large cecum, a secondary chamber between the large and small intestine containing large quantities of symbiotic bacteria that help with the digestion of cellulose and also produce certain B vitamins.

The pellets are about 56% bacteria by dry weight, largely accounting for the pellets being 24.4% protein on average. These pellets remain intact for up to six hours in the stomach; the bacteria within continue to digest the plant carbohydrates. The soft feces form here and contain up to five times the vitamins of hard feces. After being excreted, they are eaten whole by the rabbit and redigested in a special part of the stomach.

This double-digestion process enables rabbits to use nutrients that they may have missed during the first passage through the gut, and thus ensures that maximum nutrition is derived from the food they eat.

This process serves the same purpose within the rabbit as rumination does in cattle and sheep.
Rabbits are incapable of vomiting due to the physiology of their digestive system.

Dutch:
This breed of rabbits were originally bred in Netherlands. The markings present on their body includes a white wedge down the face, round colored circles around the eyes, white markings on the hind feet and a line extending under the belly. Dutch rabbits make excellent pets, show rabbits and do rather well in the sport of rabbit hopping.

Himalayan:
This is a very old breed of rabbits that are very common in the Asian countries in the Himalayan Mountains. It is the most widely distributed rabbit in the world and is also known as by many other names like Chinese, Russian, Egyptian and the Black Nose.

 
They are delicately built and have a long body resembling a tube and are famous for their general temperament. They make excellent pets especially for the children and an ideal choice for a first time rabbit owner.

Lionhead:
This is one of the newest breed of domesticated rabbits and it was originated in Belgium. It is reported to be a cross between a miniature Swiss Fox and a Belgian Dwarf.

It has been so named because it has particularly long hair surrounding the face that resembles the mane of a male lion. The other characteristics include a round head and ears shorter than most breeds of rabbits.

English Spot:
This breed of rabbits is mostly white and they have a butterfly mark on their nose, colored ears and chains of colored spots along its sides including a herringbone stripe down its back.

English Spots are a very active breed of rabbits and require a minimum of two hours of running time everyday. They are generally docile and make good pets and also tolerate other pets like guinea pigs, cats and dogs.

Various varieties of domestic rabbits are bred through selective breeding or natural selection. At this article, I will list a few common breeds of rabbits that are recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association along with a brief description.

Rabbit Breeds

American: This breed was standardized early in the 20th century. The two categories available are the blue and white. The sub-varieties available under this breed are:

• American Fuzzy Lop: This breed was derived by breeding two Holland Lops each carrying a recessive wool gene. The rabbits belonging to this breed have lopped ears and their body is covered with thick wool.
• American Sable: The rabbits belonging to this breed have different levels of sandy (sable) coloring.

Angora: This breed consists of the oldest types of domestic rabbits that originated in Ankara, Turkey. The rabbits belonging to this breed are used for their long wool which is removed by shearing or plucking. The sub-varieties available under this breed are:

• English Angora: This breed has been derived from French Angoras and are gentle in nature but require a lot of grooming.
• French Angora: This breed has guard hairs on the surface and wool as an undercoat.
• Satin Angora: This breed is so named because of its extremely soft texture of its wool. These are very easy to groom and the wool they produce is very strong. 

Beveran: This breed consists of the oldest and largest of the fur rabbits. The color of their coats can vary from blue, white, black, lilac or brown. A rare variety in this breed is the Pointed Beveren which has the same color but have white tipped hairs.

Blue of Ham: This breed of rabbit was very popular during the first few decades of the 20th century but became extinct during the sixties. However, a Belgian breeder was able to recreate the rabbit by using off-springs.

Britannia Petite: This breed of rabbits weigh about 2.5 lb and are thought to have been derived from small wild rabbits. They have a wild temperament and are not suitable for pets. However, if handled properly these rabbits can be calm.

American Chinchilla: This breed of rabbits are bred for their meat. They are a hardy pet and do not require regular grooming. They have a medium length body which is slightly curved. Their ears are straight and erect. These rabbits are also good breeders and on an average their litter consists of 7 – 10 babies.