Beaphar

behaviour

Rabbits
The Rabbit is a mammal that belongs to the Hare family. Initially the Rabbit only lived in West Africa, in the Sahara. In Roman time, the environment where they lived was extended to South Europe. In South Europe the environment was also warm. Later on the Rabbit became more and more a household pet. Rabbits display some characteristic behaviour. With these behaviours they have a better chance of survival. You can recognise these behaviours in your own rabbit. If the rabbit is scared it will stamp with his legs. This is a warning sign and also a sign for other Rabbits that there is danger. If the Rabbit is frightened it will lie on the ground with his ears flat to the back. In this way they are not visible to enemies. You will also recognise this behaviour when a Rabbit is relaxing.

Often a Rabbit will sit on his bottom with his head and forefeet in the air. The Rabbit has a better view and he can smell and hear more. When a Rabbit wants to sleep, it will lie down on its side, stretch it legs and start to close its eyes. The same behaviour can be seen when a Rabbit is exhausted or when it is very hot. When a Rabbit is carefully pushing his head to you, it can be a sign of greeting or a request to cuddle. If he pushes you away with his head, this can be a sign to stop cuddling.
Rabbits rub objects with their chin to ‘mark’ their territory. Under their chin they have a gland, which secretes a fragrance.
A Rabbit can be “potty-trained”, as they usually seek a specific spot to defecate.
Rabbits must gnaw, for physical and mental reasons. Rabbits don’t only gnaw to shorten their teeth (teeth will get shorter by normal eating), but to discover the world around them. They are gnawing to taste and to discover the structure of their surroundings, for stronger jaw muscles and because it is fun! Be creative with your Rabbit. Offer him a cane basket (untreated, not toxic), pieces of wood, carton, paper, straw and pineapples. Rabbits must have diversity otherwise they will get bored and will become a naughty Rabbit. Older Rabbits, which are already used to their environment and know the taste and structure of it, will gnaw less.

Chinchillas
Chinchillas live in the Cordillera Mountains and the Andes in South-America. They live at great heights - up to 5,000 metres, near the snow line - in cracks and caves on rocky hillsides in which they hide during the day. In the evening and at night they are very active.
They have a dense coat that provides plenty of insulation to protect them from extreme temperature changes in low humidity areas. Their behaviour resembles that of squirrels, and when they hop away, they often look like Kangaroos. But actually, you cannot compare them to other animals. They have short forelegs and long, strong hind legs. Chinchillas will never be completely tame, not even when you buy them at a very young age (between 9 and 13 weeks). You cannot teach them very much, they have their own, wilful character. It is good to be aware that Chinchillas are not big fans of cuddling. Chinchillas are active in the evening and at night. Chinchillas are social animals and normally they live in colonies. Therefore it is better to keep more then one Chinchilla. A single Chinchilla will feel lonely and lifeless and can develop an attitude disorder. Chinchillas do not produce bad smells, and they live a lot longer than other rodents. Chinchillas are great fun to watch. They are amusing at play, and exhibit interesting activities and social behaviour. They do not breed easily, but when they litter they show a lot of interest in the new born.

Guinea pigs
In the wild, Guinea Pigs live almost entirely in South America. Guinea Pigs are social animals. They prefer to do everything together. Guinea Pigs communicate by all sorts of sounds like squeaking, grunting and chattering. In this way, they let each other know how they feel. Despite the fact that Guinea Pigs are group animals, they can be kept separately as well. If you keep several Guinea Pigs in one cage or run, they will establish a “pecking order”. Surprisingly, Guinea Pigs with different hair colours and coat types often have different characters. Short Haired Guinea Pigs are generally much more lively than Long Haired Guinea Pigs and Rex Guinea Pigs. The quiet Guinea Pigs will often be white, cream or black. Of course, there are always exceptions. Guinea Pigs are relatively easy to keep, although they do like to have a lot of attention from their caretaker. If you pay close attention, you will discover that your Pig has a lot of character. This is what makes keeping Guinea Pigs such a pleasure.

Hamsters
Most Hamster species live a solitary life. Hamsters are usually very aggressive towards one another. However, some Hamster species can live together very well, like the different sorts of Dwarf Hamsters. A Hamster is very fond of hoarding. This means your Hamster will put food in its cheek pouches, take it to its favourite place, and can take the food out of the pouches with brushing movements of its forelegs. When a Hamster hears a strange or unfamiliar sound it will stand on its hind legs and ‘sniff’ the air. In the wild, Hamsters hibernate when it gets cold. In captivity, they only do so if the temperature falls below 10 ºC.

Rats
Rats are very social animals; they can live together in large groups, young and old, male and female, without fighting. They play together and groom each other. So keeping Rats together is very important. Males and females often differ in character. Most males are cuddlier and emit a stronger scent. Females are generally quicker and livelier. Initially, Rats are nocturnal animals, but often they will adjust their activities to the circumstances and rhythm of life of the person or persons in their surroundings. Tame Rats are known for their affection and their loyalty. If a Rat is well tamed, it may love to sit on your shoulder or to sleep in the sleeve of your sweater.

Ferrets
A Ferret is playful, mischievous and incredibly nosy. This makes keeping Ferrets fun. Ferrets are cheerful and affectionate animals. They love to be picked up and cuddled. A Ferret also loves to take a nap on your lap after it has been playing. Much of its behaviour is learned and education by the mother plays a very important role in this. Therefore, it is important that you don’t remove Ferrets from their mother too early. This can only be done after 8 weeks. A Ferret needs to spend time out of its cage, preferably several times a day to play in the room. Ferrets are usually very tolerant towards each other. After an initial meeting, they will play together happily and fall asleep together afterwards. Nevertheless, you have to be very careful before putting 2 or more in one cage (in case they cannot live together), because they cannot escape from one another. It is important when you buy a new Ferret to let it become accustomed to its new surroundings before you put it in the communal cage. We also recommend not making the group of Ferrets too big. Six Ferrets in one group is more than enough. Larger groups will cause too much stress, which is not beneficial to the health of the Ferrets.

Gerbils
Different kinds of Gerbils are situated around the whole world, especially in dry Savannah areas and deserts. Gerbils also live in North Africa, Russia, Turkey, India, North China and Asia. Gerbils are active and nosy rodents. If you buy one Gerbil, it will get lonely. For this reason, we advise you to have at least two. When you have more than one Gerbil, it is also fun to see them playing together and looking after each other. Gerbils naturally live together in families but if a strange Gerbil joins a family, it will almost always be attacked. The reason for this is that it has a different smell to that of the family. Usually a Gerbil will not survive such an attack. Gerbils are easy to tame, but they will never be really cuddly animals. Gerbils are too small for this. They can also jump extremely well. When a Gerbil senses danger, it will drum its hind legs on the floor to warn the other Gerbils of the approaching danger. If you keep several Gerbils, you will notice that they answer each other’s drumming.

Mice
Colour Mice are active and curious animals. At daytime, they are quiet and sleep a lot. In the night they become more active. If they are active at daytime, they take some rest time in between. Colour Mice are good climbers. They use their tail as a kind of rudder, which they can twist around things. Colour Mice are group animals. For this reason it is better for them to be kept together in a group. Fighting hardly occurs in a group, on condition that they know each other from childhood.