Animal Humane Society hoping families adopt pocket pets who still need a home

The Animal Humane Society (AHS) is asking pet lovers to consider bringing home a group of pets that are not getting any attention. 

They call these groups of pets: pocket pets. The group consists of rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, and hamsters. 

"We have many waiting to be adopted and we are offering them for adoption as they become ready to go to homes," said AHS. "These little animals are awesome for teaching responsibility to young children and they can often be easier to handle than a cat or dog."

Photo credit: Animal Humane Society 

AHS gave out more detail of some of the pocket pets: 

• Gerbils are very gentle and rarely bite or nip. They are very active during the day and love to play. Gerbils do need to be handled very gently, so they may not be the best choice for extremely young children. It's ideal to get your gerbil a friend, as these little guys can get lonely without roommates.
• Guinea pigs are tame and friendly, and make wonderful first pets for young children. Piggies rarely bite and enjoy being played with and petted. They love vegetables and other treats but do need attention and playtime.
• Hamsters are cute and playful. They are somewhat nocturnal and tend to want to play at night. They're quite friendly and sociable and like to be held and petted. Hamsters tend to have very soft and silky fur.

Photo credit: Animal Humane Society 

AHS also has lots of rabbits of various sizes, including some that need to be adopted in pairs. 

According to AHS, pocket pets do have specific requirements regarding feeding, treats, and toys, but they encourage families to do thorough research before making a decision to adopt any pocket pet animals.

AHS's website has information on the available animals up for adoption on our critter page. This page is updated continually with new animals becoming available every day.