Pet

This page is about domestic animals, the Commodore PET was a home computer of the 1970s

A pet or companion animal is a domesticated animal that is kept by humans for companionship or for the beauty of its appearance or utterances, rather than for economic reasons.

While in theory one could keep a blue whale as a pet, in practice a small number of species of mammals and birds have dominated the pet scene for a very long time. Fish have joined them more recently. With the exception of iguanas and non-venomous snakes, few reptiles and amphibians make good pets.

The glofish, a genetically-modified zebrafish with a bright red florescent color is the first genetically modified (GM) animal to be engineered as a pet.

Pet species

Mammals

Dogs
Cats
Rodents, including hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, gerbils, chinchillas, degus, flying squirrelss and rats
Rabbits
Ferrets
Hedgehogs
Alpacas
small pigs
Monkeys
Donkeys

Birds

Budgerigars
Cockatoos
Macaws
and other parrot species
Canaries and other finch species
Doves

Reptiles

Lizards
Iguanas
Snakes
Turtles
Crocodilians, including alligators, crocodiles, caymans, gavials (only can be kept when there young)
Tuatara, a lizardlike reptile related to dinosaurs

Amphibians

Frogs
Toads
Salamanders
Newts
Caecilian, a wormlike amphibian that lives underground

Fish - see Aquarium

Insects

Ants
Crickets
Tarantulas