Animals commonly kept as pets. You could keep an elephant as a pet if your parents let you, but this section only has the animals you'd normally be able to buy in a pet store.
A budgerigar, or budgie for short, is a very small parrot that many people keep as pets. They are very friendly, and like most parrots they can be taught to talk. Budgerigars are originally from central Australia, and were once only green and yellow. All the other colors have been created by people selectively breeding them.
Canaries are small songbirds closely related to finches. They eat seeds and have a pretty song. Most canaries are yellow. Wild canaries are more mottled or yellow-green than pet canaries.
A cat is a small, meat-eating animal that is often kept as a pet. Cats are good at hunting mice. Most dogs don't like cats, and are often seen chasing them up trees. Cats spend over half of their time asleep. A baby cat is called a kitten.
People have been keeping dogs as pets for thousands of years. Dogs can be used to herd animals like sheep, and if they are well trained they will obey commands like sit and fetch.
Dogs come in a huge variety of different colours and sizes, from tiny Chihuahuas right up to huge dogs like the Great Dane. A female dog is called a bitch and a baby dog is called a puppy. Modern dogs were domesticated from wolves, and were originally kept as hunting companions.
Frogs can be found around fresh water, including in deserts when it only rains every few years. They can breathe through their skin when they are in water. Frogs lay eggs, which hatch into tadpoles. Frogs come in a great variety of colours and can range in size from as small as a fingernail up to about 30cm long. Frogs that are very warty are often called toads.
Goldfish are a kind of freshwater fish that was bred to be a pet. There is no such thing as a wild goldfish. Goldfish were descended from a kind of carp, and they were specially picked for their yellow and orange color.
Goldfish are the most popular pet fish, and are very commonly found in ponds in people's yards and in fish tanks in people's houses.
Guinea pigs, also called the cavy, are a small rodent originally from South America. They were first domesticated as a food source, but today guinea pigs are kept as pets. They have a quiet nature and don't mind being handled.
Hamsters are a small rodent that is often kept as a pet. Hamsters are originally from Syria. They have a large fur-lined pouch on either side of their face that goes all the way to their shoulders that they can fill with food. In the wild, they usually eat seeds and nuts.
Hermit crabs are not actually true crabs, but are distantly related crustaceans. Hermit crabs don't have a shell of their own, so they need to find the discarded shell from another creature to wear. As they grow, they have to find another shell to replace their old one.
Hermit crabs are found all over the world, and many people keep them as pets.
