Which websites satisfy my zoological enquiries?

Asked by Anatelostaxus (1428

) June 2nd, 2012

At the moment I am mainly interested in learning as much as possible about ideal/possible/practical/productive animal companionship combinations.
For instance, would it be at all positive to let my pet rat and one of my rabbits get acquainted?
I’ve experimented quite a few already: Ducks/Hens, Ducks/Rabbits (quite pleasant when they become friends and eat together, but not very sanitary); Dog/Cats; Cats/Dog/Rabbits, Rabbits/Goats (also nice to see when bonding, but initially stressful to both AND not sanitary if kept together in one stable).
One thing I’m trying to achieve is to optimise their good moods and productivity, stimulate their curiosity/interests and social skills, and so on.
Their productivity notably varies from combination to combination, therefore I wish to eventually have them settle with their ideal mates.
Now, who to put with my young, lonely rat, without any sort of trauma?
Of course, as first answer I already know it all depends on the approach, etc. ..
Cheers!

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4 Answers

Here are some photos that may be of interest to you . . . It looks like “frog” is a possibility for your rat! Here is a book of unusual animal friendships (cover photo was included on the prior link). This link has some interesting thoughts on the subject.
This references a Time Magazine article on the subject, written by the author of the article, and mentions scientific literature on the subject.

Kayak8 (16457

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Why do you want to keep mixed species together? What is your objective? Novelty?

Horses love donkeys and goats. Goats and sheep blend well with Llamas and I have a female goose that is in love with the neighbors sheep. They are pals but are not housed together in the same pasture. Your rat should have another rat as a companion. Other small animals are not suitable such as mice, hamsters or Guinea pigs.

You also increase the risk of illness by keeping different species together such as rabbits and ducks. Chickens and waterfowl and turkeys should never be housed together. Turkeys carry many diseases that can effect chickens and are much less hardy.
Waterfowl muck up the feed because they must have water to eat and create a nasty wet mash that is not appealing to chickens.

If your objective is some sort of personal experiment in novelty it’s really not a great idea.

Coloma (47190

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