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Pets

Pets live closely with people and need suitable food, space, care and attention. They include familiar mammals, birds and reptiles, as well as less familiar animals.

Which pets are featured here?

The category includes dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, parrots, pigeons, tortoises, iguanas, lizards, chameleons and snakes. Their needs differ greatly. Before choosing a pet, learn what the species needs.

African grey parrot with a black bill, pale face and grey feathers perched on a branch

African grey parrotPsittacus erithacus

Blue-and-yellow macaw in flight with spread wings and a black bill

A central bearded dragon with a triangular head, sturdy limbs and a long tapered tail resting on a rock

Bearded dragonPogona vitticeps

Blue and red betta fish with long, spread fins in an aquarium

Betta fishBetta splendens

Dark grey Ancistrus with pale spots resting on gravel at the bottom of an aquarium

Bristlenose plecoAncistrus

A green budgerigar with a yellow head, blue cere and black throat spots

BudgerigarMelopsittacus undulatus

A yellow domestic canary with folded wings and a narrow tail perched on a branch

CanarySerinus canaria

cat

chameleon

ChameleonChamaeleonidae

A grey chinchilla with rounded ears, dark eyes and long whiskers

ChinchillaChinchilla spp.

Grey cockatiel with an orange cheek patch and raised crest feeding on a branch

CockatielNymphicus hollandicus

White sulphur-crested cockatoo with a yellow crest and dark bill perched on a sloping branch

CockatooCacatuidae

A common clownfish with an orange body, three white bars and a rounded tail beside an anemone

Common clownfishAmphiprion ocellaris

Brown common degu with rounded ears and a tufted tail standing on a branch

Common deguOctodon degus

Orange corn snake with black-edged red blotches coiled on moss

Corn snakePantherophis guttatus

Corydoras catfish with a dark white-spotted body and orange fins on the aquarium floor

Corydoras catfishCorydoras

Blue discus with a round body, red eye and fine fin markings

DiscusSymphysodon

dog

DogCanis lupus familiaris

Silver freshwater angelfish with orange patches and dark markings beside aquatic plants

Freshwater angelfishPterophyllum scalare

Giant African land snail with a striped brown conical shell crawling on a green leaf

Giant African land snailLissachatina fulica

Goldfish (Carassius auratus) with orange scales

GoldfishCarassius auratus

Silvery-blue gourami with a dark spot on its side and white-spotted fins

GouramiTrichopodus

A short-haired guinea pig with a rounded muzzle and small folded ears

Guinea pigCavia porcellus

Male guppy with blue-green markings and a patterned yellow tail among aquatic plants

GuppyPoecilia reticulata

hamster

HamsterCricetinae

iguana

IguanaIguanidae; Iguana for green and Lesser Antillean iguanas

Bright orange koi with black spots swimming in grey water

KoiCyprinus rubrofuscus

A leopard gecko with dark spots, visible eyelids and a tapering banded tail on rough rock

Leopard geckoEublepharis macularius

Lionfish with red and white stripes and long feather-like fins on a dark background

LionfishPterois

lizard

LizardSquamata (lizards)

Rosy-faced lovebird with green plumage and a pale bill perched on a branch

LovebirdAgapornis

Grey, finely spotted mollies swimming among green aquatic plants

MollyPoecilia sphenops

Brown Mongolian gerbil with pale underparts sitting upright at a burrow entrance

Mongolian gerbilMeriones unguiculatus

Neon tetra with a bright blue stripe and red lower rear half

Neon tetraParacheirodon innesi

Large dark Oscar fish with orange patches and a red eye on a black background

Oscar fishAstronotus ocellatus

parrot

ParrotPsittaciformes

pigeon

PigeonColumba livia (domestic and feral forms)

rabbit

RabbitOryctolagus cuniculus

A brown rat, Rattus norvegicus, with whiskers and a scaly tail curved on the ground

Water turtle with yellow stripes and a red patch behind the eye on a rock

Red-eared sliderTrachemys scripta elegans

snake

Yellow platy with red tones, a red head and black-edged fins on a dark background

Southern platyfishXiphophorus maculatus

Long, thin brown stick insect with twig-like legs among fern leaves

Stick insectPhasmatodea

Small grey sugar glider with a black head stripe and large eyes on a branch at night

Sugar gliderPetaurus breviceps

turtle

TurtleTestudines

Several small, slender zebrafish with blue and silver stripes along the body

ZebrafishDanio rerio