Books on Animals

Rabbits and Rodents

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See also:
Advice on rabbits and rodents
Stories and information about small and furries

Care for Your Guinea Pig

Tina Hearne
Collins
ISBN 0 00 412549 5

The revised edition of Tina Hearne's clearly-written guide to keeping guinea pigs, or cavies, as they tend to be called in the US. It's the official RSPCA guide to guinea pig care, which is short (48 pages) but packed with information which is presented in a way that's easily accessible to children. It covers all aspects of guinea pig care from choosing your guinea pig through feeding, grooming, exercise and health care. Guinea pig fanciers may want more, but there's enough information here for a child with a first guinea pig.

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Collins Family Pet Guides: Guinea Pig

Collins
Peter Gurneyy
ISBN 0 00 413388

Peter Gurney is a guinea pig specialist and enthusiast, who writes well and conveys his enthusiasm in a way that's appealing to children as well as adults. This book is well set out and well illustrated, and covers all aspects of care for guinea pigs, with especially useful information on guinea pig healthcare. This book is a very good introduction, though owners who are breeding guinea pigs may also want to read 'The Sex Life of Guinea Pigs.'

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The Sex Life of Guinea Pigs

Peter Gurney
Kingdom Books
ISBN 1 85279 133 0

Well worth reading for anyone breeding guinea pigs, Peter Gurney's book deals with all aspects of guinea pig breeding, including care of mother and babies. It is well illustrated, and well written, and very funny in parts. This book is suitable for both adults and children.

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The Proper Care of Guinea Pigs

Peter Gurney
TFH Publications
ISBN 0 7938 3151 2

Peter Gurney, the guinea pig guru, explains how to care for guinea pigs in a way that appeals to children as well as adults. He covers the main areas, such as health and breeding guinea pigs, and enlivens his manual with numerous anecdotes. This book is well-illustrated with photographs of different guinea pig types. It has enough information to appeal to experienced owners as well as novices with their first guinea pigs.

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Living with a Houserabbit

Linda Dykes and Helen Flack
Ringpress Books
ISBN1 86054 207 7

This is a gem of a book about keeping pet rabbits, focusing on the particular needs of the house rabbit. House rabbits are increasingly popular and can very easily become part of family life in the same way as a cat or a dog, even down to training them to use a litter tray! There are detailed chapters about everyday care such as feeding, grooming, health, training and behaviour, as well as good ideas on rabbit proofing your home – essential before bunny is let loose in the living room! These are interspersed with real-life case histories throughout, which are fascinating. The book is written by two of the founder members of the British Houserabbit Association (BHRA), now the Rabbit Welfare Association (RWA), and will appeal to both new and experienced rabbit keepers.

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Training your Pet Rabbit

Patricia Bartlett
Barron’s
ISBN 0 7641 2092 1

This book is much more comprehensive that the title suggests and doesn’t just cover training, but all aspects of rabbit keeping, including housing, feeding and healthcare, making it a great buy for the novice rabbit owner. The chapter on understanding rabbit behaviour gives a great insight into rabbit sounds and signs and also provides helpful advice on how to introduce your rabbit to other pets, how to train it to understand simple commands and how to eliminate bad behaviours.

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House Rabbit Handbook: How to Live With an Urban Rabbit

Marinell Harriman
Drollery Press
ISBN 0940920123

This is an American guide for owners of houserabbits, which takes bunny care to higher levels, with a focus on how to understand rabbits and give them interesting lives, as well as basic feeding and healthcare advice. It's well written and gives practical advice on keeping your house rabbit safe as well as stimulated. There are some lovely photos of bunnies. UK readers may find this book a little too geared to the US market in terms of style, and the health information has major omissions for Europeans, such as lack of information on how to protect bunnies from the dreaded mxy. Overall, despite the omissions, this book is well worth reading for its insights into the delights of living with house rabbits, and the suggestions that can help you give your bunny a life that's suited to his needs.

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Rabbitlopaedia

Meg Brown and Virginia Richardson
Ringpress Books
ISBN 1-86054-182-8

This book is an absolute ‘must have’ for any rabbit owner, experienced or not. It covers the principles of rabbit keeping in great detail, including feeding, housing and breeding, with lots of practical advice for novices. There is a section on caring for a house rabbit, which is becoming a popular way to keep rabbits now; and it offers invaluable advice on rabbit-proofing your home, exercise and house training. The health care section is full of fascinating information, even the anatomy and physiology section, which, let´s face it, a lot of us gloss over to get to the more interesting bits, is presented in a way that it is never boring.. There is an A-Z of rabbit diseases, which may seem a bit daunting at first, but each disease or ailment is explained in easy to understand terms. Rabbit breeds and exhibiting are also covered, and there is an important section on poisonous plants, with illustrations. Meg Brown is a lifelong rabbit owner and breeder, while vet Virginia Richardson runs a rabbit clinic within her veterinary practice. I cannot praise this book highly enough, and sincerely wish it had been available when I kept rabbits myself.

Review by Gillian Harvey

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The Right Way to Keep Rabbits

Roy Robinson
Elliot Right Way Books
ISBN 0 7160 2117 X

The information in this book comes from a lifetime of keeping rabbits and explains everything you need to know about keeping and breeding them, in a straightforward and entertaining way. It covers aspects of handling, housing, feeding, exhibiting and discusses some common ailments. The chapters are accompanied by clear illustrations.

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Care for Your Rabbit

Tina Hearne
Collins
ISBN 0 00 412546 0

The official RSPCA guide to rabbit care, updated with new illustrations and sections. Tina Hearne writes well, and the book is well-illustrated. The key topics are covered, such as choosing a rabbit, feeding, housing, grooming, exercise, health care and breeding rabbits. This is a short, but informative book. It is an excellent introduction for children, though owners of house rabbits are likely to want more help with influencing their rabbit's behaviour, and experienced rabbit-keepers are likely to find little they do not already know.

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Guide to Owning a Rabbit

Anne Lindsay
TFH Publications
ISBN 0 7838 2156 8

This book is very well illustrated with glossy photos, and is likely to appeal to children in particular. It is a slim volume (64 pages) and is a basic guide to choosing and caring for a rabbit, set out in short chapters. The book is geared to the US market, and there are photos of US pet products. Adults are likely to want more information, but this book is likely to be treasured by children for its numerous pictures of bunnies of all shapes and sizes, and the short chapters are likely to encourage them to read.

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Why Does My Rabbit...?

Anne McBride
Souvenir Press
ISBN 0285635506

A useful book for any rabbit keeper who does more than keep their bunny in an outside hutch. There is a general section on behaviour counselling for rabbits, which explains influences on rabbit behaviour, and a second section on wild rabbits, showing how the behaviour of domestic rabbits is influenced by their behaviour in the wild. The bulk of the book consists of some 80 pages with questions and answers on rabbit behaviour, arranged according to topics, such as 'digging' in alphabetical order. There are also three appendices, on plants poisonous to rabbits, how to teach dogs to leave rabbits alone, and how to build a run for a rabbit. Help on relations between rabbits and other pets, such as cats, is also provided in the alphabetical section. This book is accessible to older children, and helps them to understand rabbits' needs, such as the need for a safe place to hide.

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Hamsters

P. Hollmann
Barron's Educational Series
ISBN: 0764151606

This is an excellent guide to hamster care, which goes beyond the basics of choosing, feeding and housing a hamster. There is a good section on hamster ailments. There's also a lot of help with handling hamsters, understanding hamster behavior, and how to give your hamster an enjoyable life, keeping him safe while letting him have some freedom to explore. It's also set out in a way that is accessible to younger readers. It costs a bit more than Tina's Hearne's book, but is worth it, for the extra enjoyment you will get from your hamster, from understanding how hamsters think, and why they do the things that they do.

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Care for Your Hamster

Tina Hearne
Collins
ISBN 0 00 412545 2

Another pet guide from the excellent series of official RSPCA pet care guides. This edition was written by Tina Hearne, and has been revised and extended. The book is short (48 pages) but covers all the main aspects of hamster care, such as feeding, housing, hygiene and breeding. There is great stress on the need to respect the hamster's lifestyle, and its desire to sleep in the day, which is linked to an explanation of how hamsters live in the wild. The book is well-illustrated, with both photos and drawings, including a cross-section showing a hamster's burrow. There is some information on Russian and Chinese hamsters, which are more sociable than the Syrian hamster. Most of the book focuses on the Syrian hamster, which is a solitary animal, tending to fight intruders. Owners of Russian and Chinese hamsters may need more information, but it is a complete guide for Syrian hamster owners. Children are likely to enjoy this book.

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Chinchillas: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual

Maike Roder-Thiede
Barron's Educational Series
ISBN 0 7641 0934 0

A good introduction to chinchilla keeping, though it is fairly short. It is well-illustrated, with both photographs and drawings, and is well written. It is accessible to children, though chinchillas are a long-term commitment and are very shy, so are not the best pets for younger children. The main aspects of chinchilla care, such as feeding, housing, and health and disease, are well explained.

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Breeding and Caring for Chinchillas

Egon Mosslacher
TFH Publications
ISBN: 0866228047

This is a more in-depth guide than 'Chinchillas', which is useful for experienced as well as novice owners, and will provide you with helpful information to enjoy your pets and give them a good life, whether or not you plan to breed from them. It costs a bit more than 'Chinchillas', but is worth investing in if you plan to do more than skim the surface of chinchilla knowledge. It's also well-written and easy to follow, despite the owner's obvious expertise.

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Guide to Owning a Rat

Susan Fox
TFH Publications
ISBN 0 7938 2157 6

A very good, short (64 page) introduction to rat care, especially suited to children. It is well-illustrated and clearly written, and many of the photos feature children. It covers taming and training rats in a way that will appeal to children, as well as the usual areas of housing, feeding and the like. There is some help with breeeding rats, but this section is not as strong as the advice provided in Nick Mays 'Proper Care of Fancy Rats', since the focus is on care of does and pups rather than selection for particular characteristics.

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The Mouse - An Owner's Guide to a Healthy, Happy Pet

Stephanie Shulman
Howell Books
1 582450 006 4

This guide is a very good introduction for children with their first mice. It is well set out and clearly explained, with good illustrations. There is enough information for owners who only want to keep a few mice, though more experienced owners wanting to breed for particular characteristics are likely to want more information.

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The Pet Owner's Guide to the Chipmunk

Chris Henwood
Ringpress Books
ISBN 1 86054 068 6

This is a very good introduction to keeping chipmunks, written by Chris Henwood who is a rodent specialist with a particular interest in chipmunks. Children will find this guide easy to follow, though chipmunks are best suited to older children and adults, since they are such shy creatures and are very difficult to handle.

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Gerbils

E. Kotter
Barron's Educational Series
ISBN 0 7641 0939 1

A well-written introduction to keeping gerbils which is suitable for both children and adults. This book is well set out for easy reference, with good illustrations. Experienced gerbil owners may want more in-depth information, but this guide certainly covers enough ground to meet the needs of the average gerbil owner.

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The Gerbil: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet

Betsy Sikora Siino
Hungry Minds Inc
ISBN:1582451567

An excellent guide to keeping and understanding gerbils, which can provide young owners with an in-depth knowledge of their pet. There is information on how gerbils live in the wild, which helps owners understand their gerbil's needs, including the need for play, and to have an interesting life. There is help with basic care for gerbils, such as housing, feeding and health. Owners are also given a glimpse of life through gerbils' eyes, which both helps to ensure their gerbils are happy, and makes keeping gerbils more enjoyable. This costs a little more than Kotter's book, and also gives more in-depth information.

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