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ANSC 378 - Companion Animal Behaviour > Final - Small Animal Behaviour > Flashcards

Final - Small Animal Behaviour Flashcards

1
Q

What are 4 common pet species of hamsters?

A
  1. Syrian
  2. Siberian
  3. Roborovski
  4. Chinese
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2
Q

Hamsters are rodents in the family…

A

Cricetidae

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3
Q

Behaviour repertoire for:
Syrian
Siberian
Roborovski
Chinese

A
  1. Nocturnal, solitary
  2. Can be housed together in smaller groups
  3. Sociable and live in groups
  4. Very aggressive
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4
Q

3 components of hamster behaviour biology

A
  1. Known for storing large amounts of food in one place
  2. Predominantly nocturnal
    - small eyes, relying move on hearing, somatic sensation and olfaction
  3. Vocalizations
    - make very few audible calls except when hurt, frightened, handled or fighting
    - teeth chattering hear in interactions btw males (may be related to agonistic tention)
    - may assist with exploration and navigation
    - way for pups to elicit maternal care
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5
Q

Hamster scent communication

A
  1. Vomeronasal organ
  2. Flank gland secretions, ear gland secretions, vaginal secretions, urine, feces, and saliva- all communicate information
  3. Flank gland secretions deposited by arching the back and rubbing its side against vertical surfaces
    - might roll onto side or back to rub flank glands on substrate
  4. Scent marking occurs in both social and non-social contexts
    - non-social: before or after grooming
    - social: sexual or agnostic
  5. Scent communicates species and individual identity info, sexual receptivity, and territory boundaries
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6
Q

How does a hamster regulate its activity?

A

By the amount of light in its environment
- maximum activity twilight to evening
- high light causes movement and exploration to cease

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7
Q

How do hamsters achieve maximum acuity in dim light?

A

All rod retina

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8
Q

Hamster vision

A

Vision is almost panoramic so visual acquisition of objects is done mostly with head and body movements instead of eye movement
- use vision to recognize and approach food

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9
Q

How is social behaviour influenced by visual cues?

A
  • theory that black chest mark in Syrians displayed in aggressive encounters
  • piloerection to increase size
  • recognition of lordosis
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10
Q

What is evidence that hamsters have depth perception?

A

Can find small holes while running; appears to rely on tactile information (forepaws and whiskers)

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11
Q

Reproductive behaviour of hamsters

A

Sexual maturity: 42 days

Female typically reproductively active in the first year of life and on average will produce 4-6 litters

Seasonally polyestrous with 4 day estrous cycles

Sexual receptivity = lordosis

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12
Q

How do hamsters display proceptivity?

A
  • ultrasonic calls
  • immobile pre-lordosis stance
  • vaginal marking
  • allowing male to enter the burrow
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13
Q

Gestation of hamsters

A

16 days
- Young are very altricial

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14
Q

What do hamsters do pre-parturition?

A

digging, gnawing and nest building behaviours

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15
Q

How do syrian and serbian hamsters differ in terms of maternal behaviour?

A

Syrians
- house female alone to reduce risk of young being cannibalized

Serbians
- house the mother and father together as they both actively participate in care for young

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16
Q

Traits of hamster offspring

A
  • Young being eating and drinking 7-10 days of age
  • Weaning at 3 wks
  • 29-34 days old mother becomes aggressive towards pups
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17
Q

How do hamsters live in the wild?

A
  • Natural habitat is dry, rocky steppes or bushy slopes
  • Live in burrows; one adult per burrow
  • Able to tolerate cold well but easily heat stressed above 34 C
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18
Q

What type of housing should hamsters be provided with?

A
  1. Needs to provide for normal physiologic and behavioural needs:
    - resting, nest building, grooming, exploring, climbing, hiding, digging, searching for food, hoarding and gnawing
  2. Climbing and burrowing are predominant behaviours
    - exercise wheel, ramps, plastic, or cardboard tunnels as an outlet
  3. Prefer homes with solid bottoms and deep bedding
  4. Secure; they are escape artists!
  5. Minimum of 48 square inches/hamster of floor space
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19
Q

What subfamily do guinea pigs belong to?

A

Caviinae

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20
Q

Do guineapigs appear in the wild!

A

YES: Cavies
- semi-arid enviros
- socially tolerant
- spend most of day foraging

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21
Q

5 aspects of guinea pig behavioural biology

A
  1. originally from the Central Andes
  2. diurnal behaviour patterns with crepuscular bouts of activity
  3. cover seeking is common
    - in response to visual and auditory cues
  4. social hierarchies stable once established; multiple types:
    - linear
    - despotic
    - females form loose, flexible hierarchies
  5. Locomotion:
    - walking, running, hops
    - when startled, may leap and dash away
    - occasionally climb onto shelters in their enviro
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22
Q

3 aspects of guinea pig vision

A
  1. More rods than cones in their eyes
    - have dichromatic colour vision
  2. Vision is limited to the visible spectrum
  3. No special lighting required when housed indoors on a 12-14:12-10 light:dark cycle
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23
Q

Guinea pig olfaction

A
  1. Scent cues used for individual recognition
    - initiate social interaction with nose-nose investigation, followed by nuzzling the muzzle area
    - leads to aggression or affiliative behaviour
  2. If anosmic:
    - disruption in sexual activity, failure to form species-typical dominance hierarchies, elimination of aggression btw males, and reduced scent marking
  3. Have a vomeronasal organ
  4. Olfactory cues contribute to the formation and maintenance of the maternal-offspring and filial bonds
  5. Perineal gland secretions and urine used to distribute scent
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24
Q

Guinea pigs can detect sounds up to…

A

30-46 kHz
- very sensitive to noise
- note: ultrasound is > 20 kHz

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25
Q

Guinea pig vocal repertoire consists of…

A

11 sounds
- chut, purr, chutter, whine, low whistle, squeal, scream, tweet, drrr, and chirrup
- corresponds with: increased proximity, greeting/maintain proximity, regain proximity, pain/distress, and alarm

Vocalizations also influence the formation and maintenance of the mother-offspring bond
- learning their own pup’s isolation calls
- pup calls convey info about the pup’s condition

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26
Q

Reproductive Behaviour of Guinea Pigs

A

Sexual maturation
- Males: 3-4 months
- Females: 2-3 months
- Estrus lasts 8hrs every 13-24 days and typically 4 litters per yr

Proestrus
- the “rumba”, mounting and thrusting other guinea pigs indiscriminately, and defensive aggression

Estrus
- mounting behaviour but no aggression, lordosis, explorative, scent-marking

Diestrus
- defensive aggression returns
- isolation of male guinea pigs from female guinea pigs will have negative effects on courtship and copulation behaviours

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27
Q

Maternal behaviour of guinea pigs

A
  • Gestation: 65-75 days
  • Litter size: 2-5 pups
  • Rearing enviro does not impact maternal behaviour
  • For the first 4 days following parturition mothers are highly motivated to seek out pups
  • Precocial young- fully furred w/ open eyes
  • Weaning at 14-21 days
  • Mother is more likely to modify nursing behaviour based on her own physical state in contrast to the state of the pups
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28
Q

Does rearing environment impact guinea pig maternal behaviour?

A

No!

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29
Q

What were chinchillas originally domesticated for?

A

Their fur

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30
Q

Chinchillas are paedomorphic, what does this mean?

A

They retain their juvenile characteristics

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31
Q

Chinchilla behavioural biology

A
  • Obligate herbivore, hindgut fermenter & coprophagic
  • Sit on haunches to eat while holding food in forepaws
  • Continuously growing teeth; require extensive grinding
  • Rely more heavily on HEARING compared to vision
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32
Q

What do chinchillas have to assist navigating enclosed environments (since they rely more heavily on hearing compared to vision)

A

Specialized vibrissae (whiskers)

33
Q

Chinchilla social behaviour

A
  • Highly social species that live in groups from a few individuals to hundreds
  • Group living provides safety and contributes to mutual grooming and play
  • Can experience distress if housed alone; ideally a neutered female and neutered male
  • All group members partake in rearing young
34
Q

How do chinchillas primarily communicate?

A

Vocalizations, scent cues, body language
- vocalizations range from humming to barks
- use vomeronasal organ to help determine familiarity, spatial boundaries and predation probability; HAVE BOTH LEARNED AND PREDISPOSED OLFACTORY CUES

35
Q

When alarmed, how might chinchillas defend themselves?

A

Stand on hind lends and defend themselves with a precise stream of urine directed at the threat
- females are better than males at this

36
Q

Chinchilla activity patterns

A
  • very active and great climbers
  • short forelegs for grasping food
  • long hindlegs for bursts of strength when navigating rocky terrain
  • rudder-like tail; balance and leaping
  • kits are very active and often display a variety of play behaviours
37
Q

What does chinchilla kit playing involve?

A
  • bouncing, hopping, vertical leaping, twisting, racing
38
Q

Partental behaviour

A

Both males and females are excellent parents
- engage in grooming, playing with young, and will discipline young via vocalizations

39
Q

Chinchilla housing

A
  • important to avoid dampness, high heat and bright light; ideal temp 10-17 degrees
  • hammocks and raised platforms to encourage climbing and jumping
  • hiding places and novel objects
  • digging boxes (sterilized sand and soil)
  • dust baths twice a wk (ground pumice stone or silver sand)
40
Q

What family are ferrets apart of?

A

Mustelidae

41
Q

What were ferrets originally domesticated for?

A

hunting and pest control

42
Q

Ferret vision

A
  • similar to cats
  • can distinguish red
  • more sensitive to light intensity than colour
  • see best at dawn and dusk
  • lower visual acuity and reliance on olfaction and audible cues is typical of nocturnal species
43
Q

Ferret hearing

A
  • similar to cats
  • sensitive to sound 4-15 kHz
  • can localize sounds well and react quickly
44
Q

What is olfaction in ferrets important for?

A

Hunting and mating

45
Q

Ferrets have a vomeronasal organ, what for?

A

Helps identify individuals and reproductive status

46
Q

Ferrets have a variety of secretory glands that play a role in mediating social behaviour. How do they spread their scent?

A
  1. urine marking
  2. rubbing neck, flank or sides on the ground often followed by rolling
47
Q

How do ferrets establish food preferences?

A

Using their olfactory system for food imprinting

48
Q

Ferret locomotion

A
  • crawl, walk, run
  • ambling gait
  • when running, back is arched giving appearance of hopping scamper
  • can pivot, run backward, jump, and right themselves when falling from a height
  • will slither, slink or slide along the ground on their bellies
  • hope and ‘dance’ when excited or soliciting play
  • can be rough and tumble
49
Q

What are the most common ferret vocalizations?

A

chattering, chuckling, or clucking

  • Extreme agitation or fear induces hissing
  • Females may whimper to encourage young to follow
50
Q

What type of mating system do ferrets have?

A

Polygynous
- hob will mate as many jills as he can
- copulation is noisy and aggressive; conspecific aggression is high during mating season

51
Q

Unlike other mammals that rely on the vomeronasal organ for mate selection, what do ferrets use?

A

Olfactory bulbs

52
Q

What should happen to jills 2 weeks pre parturition and several days after birth?

A

Should be housed along
- avoid novel noises, animals, ppl and extreme temp changes
- kits are born altricial

53
Q

What noise frequencies will lactating female ferrets orient themselves to?

A

Frequencies greater than 16 kHz as kit distress calls can reach 100 kHz

54
Q

Are hedgehogs domesticated?

A

NO

55
Q

What order do hedgehogs belong to?

A

Insectivora

56
Q

What are the 2 main pet species of hedgehogs?

A

European
African

57
Q

What do hedgehogs readily adapt to?

A

Highly populated areas

58
Q

Hedgehog senses: vision, olfaction, audition, taste

A

Vision
- moderately sized eyes with fair to good acuity
- only cone-type nuclei in eyes so poor color vision

Olfaction
- well developed olfactory lobes and vomeronasal organ
- long snout with moist tip
- smell is involved in: foraging, detecting predators, navigation, maternal, and sexual behaviour

Audition
- can detect high frequencies which is important for locating insects and detecting predators

Taste
- don’t like bitter but prefer salty and sweet

59
Q

Hedgehog vocalization

A
  • Snorting, spitting, hissing, huffing, puffing; used for aggression and warning
  • Screaming; extreme distress
  • Whistles and squeaks; young calling for dam
  • Quack; European hedgehogs, unsure of meaning
  • Twitter; African hedgehog, when exposed to unfamiliar surroundings
  • Serenade; African hedgehog, made by males during courtship
60
Q

Hedgehog eating and drinking

A

Opportunistic foragers/predators
- invertebrates; worms, caterpillars, beetles, centipedes
- small vertebrates; baby birds, mice, frogs
- carrion

Lack canine teeth

Feed in multiple short bouts

Water; dew and insects

Will not defecate in nest or near food/water source and often prefer one corner of enclosure

61
Q

What is self-anoiting in hedgehogs?

A

Common but not fully understood behaviour seen in the wild and captivity; when they come across a strong smelling substance or taste they chew it up and coat their frothy saliva all over themselves

62
Q

When not hibernating, do hedgehogs sleep in the same nest every day?

A

Nope!

63
Q

Hedgehog locomotion

A
  • waddling walk or trot
  • can climb and swim
  • short sturdy spines act as a cushion when falling
64
Q

Hedgehog defense

A
  • Threat: erects spines and freezes
  • Nearby threat; flee
  • Close threat; defends face and “boxing”
  • Physical contact: rolls into ball*

*does not occur in encounters with conspecifics

65
Q

Do hedgehogs have their own home ranges?

A

Nope! Overlapping home ranges that they do not defend
- 70-90 acres

66
Q

What hedgehogs exhibit aggression towards each other?

A

Only males
- active fighting
- snorting and huffing

67
Q

In captivity can hedgehogs be housed together?

A

YES, IF:
- only one male per group
- enough resources
- can share nests

68
Q

Reproductive behaviour of hedgehogs

A
  • Promiscuous and polygamous
  • Courtship; lasts an hour, does not often end in copulation, female will assume lordosis if copulation is to occur
69
Q

Maternal and Juvenile Behaviour

A

Mother
- attentive and aggressive
- high mortality rate in young
- builds special nest for her and young

Offspring
- altricial with edematous skin
- can vocalize loudly, crawl around and flip onto their backs (can also nurse on their backs)

70
Q

Hedgehog housing

A
  • smooth materials so toes and limbs cannot get caught
  • tall walls to prevent escape
  • soft absorbent bedding but avoid towels/cloths
  • heavy crockery for food and water
  • shelters for sleeping
  • plastic, solid exercise wheel
71
Q

What is a small, social, and nocturnal marsupial?

A

Sugar gliders
- sugar: prefer sweet sap and nectar
- gliders: gliding is primary means of locomotion
- paedomorphic

72
Q

Social behaviour of sugar gliders

A
  • Highly social and often form colonies of up to 12 adults including 1-3 males
  • Socially dependent; harmonize wake-sleep patterns and grooming
  • Hierarchical structure with one dominant male
73
Q

What is the dominant male sugar glider responsible for?

A
  • Responsible for patrolling, scent-marking and copulations
  • Faster and more agile than subordinate males
  • Higher testosterone levels, but lower cortisol levels
74
Q

Sugar glider communication

A
  • Primarily via scent-marking
  • Males (4 glands) and females (3 glands) have different scent glands that serve different roles
  • Scent is transferred by purposeful contact and predominantly relies on the males sternal and frontal glands
  • Due to sugar gliders highly social nature, they should not be kept in isolation
75
Q

Activity patterns of sugar gliders

A
  1. Nocturnal and considered playful and hyperactive
    - foraging
    - social behaviours
  2. Well adapted to temperature fluctuations via communal living and behavioural changes
    - hot weather they spread out
    - cold weather they curl into balls
  3. Torpor
    - often occurs int he wild when resting in winter
    - not common in captivity
  4. Locomotion
    - great climbers
    - can glide up to 50 m
    - not always accurate in judging distances
76
Q

Reproductive behaviour of sugar gliders

A
  • Seasonally polyestrous
  • Breeding: in the wild, June to Nov, in captivity, year round
  • Two litters are common in the same breeding season; facilitated by fetal diapause
  • 75% of copulations occur via the dominant male
77
Q

Parental and Offspring Behaviour of Sugar Gliders

A

Gestation; 15-17 days
- must break out of amniotic sac and migrate to pouch

Remain in pouch; 70-74 days
- attach to the teat for half this time, exit the pouch tail first

Forced to leave colony: 7-10 months

Males and females will care for the young and carry them on their backs and stomachs

78
Q

Sugar glider housing

A

Housed in at least groups of 2

Should include:
- nest boxes
- branches or rods
- feeding stations that stimulate natural foraging behaviours
- shallow water bowls

Can include:
- nesting materials
- perches, and bird swings
- solid bird or cat toys
- solid plastic exercise wheel

ANSC 378 - Companion Animal Behaviour (18 decks)

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