From Budgies and Yabbies to Rabbits and Rats.

Don't you have enough space for a dog or a cat, or does the landlord not allow them? How about being entertained by a ferret, a cricket or some snails? Maybe you prefer to be seen with a cool, black-hooded rat. Or are yabbies and axolotis more your style? Of course, you could always opt for a more conservative look and keep a rabbit, a couple of green tree frogs or some silkworms!

If you are interested in unusual pets, this is just the book for you. Did you know that

• ferrets can be house-trained, and taught to sit, stay and retrieve, just like a dog?
• blue-tongued lizards love to eat strawberries and snails?
• goldfish can be taught to swim through a hoop?
• or that land hermit crabs love to move house?

As well as such fascinating snippets, Alternative Pets provides invaluable advice on pet selection and on keeping pets healthy and happy, including information on feeding and on building them a suitable home.

BUT READ ON AND DISCOVER ...

• A yabby smart enough to turn a slice of carrot on its side in order to roll it through the narrow entrance of its den.
• A drake that believes its a dog, gardens with its owner, and guards the house.
• Lilac-and-blue mice living in a pink mouse palace and playing in a miniature adventure playground.
• Cockatiels that recite nursery rhymes and telephone numbers.
• A stumpy-tailed lizard that licks peoples noses, loves being stroked under the chin and eats pieces of banana from its owners hand.

Author : Robin Stewart