All About Pets Quiz

Question: About how many species of gerbils are there?

Answer: A gerbil is any of more than 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, all of which are adapted to arid habitats. 

Question: For about how many years have dogs lived with humans as hunting companions, protectors, or pets?

Answer: For more than 12,000 years the dog has lived with humans as a hunting companion, protector, object of scorn or adoration, pet, and friend.

Question: What is the name of the sharp, backward-directed spines on a cat’s tongue?

Answer: A cat’s tongue has a patch of sharp, backward-directed spines called filiform papillae near the tip.

Question: What is the shared identifying detail of all 18 species of hamsters?

Answer: A hamster is any of 18 Eurasian species of rodents possessing internal cheek pouches. 

Question: All chinchillas currently in captivity are descended from how many chinchillas?

Answer: All chinchillas in captivity are descended from 13 animals taken into the United States in 1927. Once very common, chinchillas were hunted almost to extinction for their luxurious coats.

Question: What is the average lifespan of a pet canary?

Answer: The average life span of a caged canary is 10–15 years; some have survived for more than 20 years.

Question: About how many years of selective breeding have led to the canary’s colouration and vocal powers?

Answer: Canaries owe their distinct coloration and sustained vocal powers to 400 years of selective breeding by humans.

Question: About how long ago was the earliest known association between cats and humans?

Answer: The earliest known association between cats and humans dates possibly as far back as the origins of agriculture in the Middle East, about 9,500 years ago. A cat skeleton accompanying that of a human dated to that time was discovered in southern Cyprus.

Question: About how much does a pygmy rabbit, the smallest species of rabbit, weigh?

Answer: The smallest species of rabbit is the pygmy rabbit  (Brachylagus idahoensis), at only 20 cm (7.9 inches) in length and 0.4 kg (0.9 pound) in weight.

Question: About how many times per day do puppies need to eat before they are weaned?

Answer: Puppies need to eat three or four times a day from the time they are weaned until they are about six months old. Thereafter they can be fed twice a day until maturity and once daily after that.

Question: About how many hours do cats sleep per day?

Answer: Cats sleep an average of 15 hours per day. Some of them stretch that toward 20 hours, especially older cats and kittens. 

Question: How many toes do guinea pigs have in total?

Answer: Guinea pigs have 14 toes in total. There are four toes on the forefeet and three on the hind feet.