Small Pets Breed Encyclopedia

The Abyssinian is the rosetted guinea pig: at least eight whorls of coarse, short to medium fur set across the shoulders, back and hips, giving every animal its own tousled pattern in colours from black, white, cream and red through tortoiseshell-and-white and roan. Adults weigh around 700 to 1200…

Size

small

Lifespan

4-7 years

Care Focus

Social guinea pig breed that does best with compatible companionship and gentle handling.

Type

guinea pig

The American is the short-coated cavy, the classic guinea pig: a dense, smooth coat lying flat against a stout, compact body of about 700 g to 1.2 kg and 20 to 25 cm, with short legs and no visible tail. Colours range from solid black, white, cream and red through agouti, roan and brindle, and…

Size

small

Lifespan

4-7 years

Care Focus

Social guinea pig breed that does best with compatible companionship and gentle handling.

Type

guinea pig

The Angora is a long-coated rabbit from Turkey, grown for a dense, soft wool that covers the whole body and, in lines such as the English Angora, the face and ears as well. Angoras are medium rabbits of roughly 2.5 to 5.5 kg and typically live seven to twelve years. Temperament is calm and gentle…

Size

medium

Lifespan

7-12 years

Care Focus

Social rabbit breed that needs gentle handling, secure housing, and daily enrichment.

Type

rabbit

The Chinchilla is a dense-furred rodent from the Andes of South America, active mainly at dawn and dusk and unusually long-lived for a small pet at fifteen to twenty years. Adults weigh roughly 400 to 800 grams, with a body of 25-35 cm plus a bushy tail, and coats running from the standard grey…

Size

small

Lifespan

15-20 years

Care Focus

Active animal sensitive to heat; needs calm handling, enrichment, and dust-bath access.

Type

chinchilla

Dumbo rats are fancy rats with large, low-set ears — the same species and the same care needs. Pet rats are legal in NZ, but the dumbo ear type is not present in New Zealand's closed rat gene pool (importing rats is banned) — NZ pet rats are standard-eared. They need company of their own kind,…

Size

small

Lifespan

2-3 years

Care Focus

Active rat variety that needs enrichment, secure housing, and appropriate companionship.

Type

rat

The Dutch Rabbit is a compact, boldly marked rabbit of roughly 1.8 to 2.5 kilograms, placid and even-tempered enough to suit families wanting a calm small pet. Its pattern is the giveaway: a white blaze running up the face between the eyes and a white saddle across the shoulders and back, meeting…

Size

small

Lifespan

8-12 years

Care Focus

Social rabbit breed that needs gentle handling, secure housing, and daily enrichment.

Type

rabbit

Fancy mice are legal to keep in New Zealand and are the smallest of the common pet rodents here. They need genuinely secure housing, deep bedding to burrow in, and careful, patient handling — they are watchers more than cuddlers. Health issues to watch are respiratory infection, skin mites and…

Size

small

Lifespan

1-3 years

Care Focus

Active mouse variety that needs enrichment, secure housing, and careful handling.

Type

mouse

Fancy rats are the standard pet rat kept in New Zealand and are legal to keep here. They are highly social and need company of their own kind plus daily out-of-cage time — a single rat in a bare cage is a welfare problem, not a saving. The two health issues to plan for are respiratory infection…

Size

small

Lifespan

2-3 years

Care Focus

Active rat variety that needs enrichment, secure housing, and appropriate companionship.

Type

rat

Ferret is a small ferret originating from Europe. This animal has verified NZ restriction or pest context; check MPI, DOC, EPA, and local council rules before keeping, moving, breeding, selling, or sourcing one. Typical lifespan is 5-10 years.

Size

small

Lifespan

5-10 years

Care Focus

Curious and active animal that needs secure housing, enrichment, and experienced handling.

Type

ferret

The Flemish Giant is one of the oldest and largest domestic rabbit breeds, traced to Belgium in the 16th century and widely known as the gentle giant. Adults carry a long, semi-arch body of roughly 6 to 10 kg, erect ears reaching up to 20 cm, and a dense, glossy coat in seven recognised colours:…

Size

large

Lifespan

5-8 years

Care Focus

Social rabbit breed that needs gentle handling, secure housing, and daily enrichment.

Type

rabbit

Hairless (Sphynx) rats are a coatless fancy rat variety. Pet rats are legal in NZ, but hairless rats are not present in New Zealand's closed rat gene pool (importing rats is banned) — NZ rats come in standard and NZ Angora coats only. The missing coat is not just cosmetic: skin dryness, cuts and…

Size

small

Lifespan

1-3 years

Care Focus

Active rat variety that needs enrichment, secure housing, and appropriate companionship.

Type

rat

The Holland Lop is a compact lop-eared rabbit developed in the Netherlands in the 1950s by crossing French Lops with Netherland Dwarfs, and it remains one of the smallest lop breeds at roughly 1.4 to 1.8 kilograms. Its signature ears hang alongside a broad, short head, and the dense rollback coat…

Size

small

Lifespan

7-12 years

Care Focus

Social rabbit breed that needs gentle handling, secure housing, and daily enrichment.

Type

rabbit

The Lionhead is a small rabbit named for the woolly mane that rings its head, ears and chin, and on some individuals runs down the chest and flanks; a single mane sits around the head alone, while a double mane carries far more wool. Developed in Belgium during the 1990s from a Swiss Fox and…

Size

small

Lifespan

7-10 years

Care Focus

Social rabbit breed that needs gentle handling, secure housing, and daily enrichment.

Type

rabbit

The Mini Lop is a compact, stocky rabbit developed in Germany from the German Lop, easily known by the broad ears that hang either side of the head. Adults weigh about 1.4 to 2.7 kg, carry a dense soft coat in solid, broken and shaded colours, and often live seven to fourteen years, so this is a…

Size

small

Lifespan

7-14 years

Care Focus

Social rabbit breed that needs gentle handling, secure housing, and daily enrichment.

Type

rabbit

The Mini Rex is a small American rabbit breed developed from the standard Rex in the late 1980s, weighing about 1.6 to 2 kilograms and living 7 to 10 years. Its defining feature is the coat: the guard hairs sit at the same length as the undercoat, giving a dense, plush, velvet-like fur quite unlike…

Size

small

Lifespan

7-10 years

Care Focus

Social rabbit breed that needs gentle handling, secure housing, and daily enrichment.

Type

rabbit

The New Zealand White is a calm, well-muscled medium rabbit with a dense, pure white coat; most are albino with red eyes, though blue-eyed whites also occur. Adults usually weigh 4 to 5.5 kg and live 5 to 8 years. The breed was developed through crosses in the United States, with ties to New…

Size

medium

Lifespan

5-8 years

Care Focus

Social rabbit breed that needs gentle handling, secure housing, and daily enrichment.

Type

rabbit

The Peruvian is the long-haired guinea pig, its silky coat growing continuously to 15 to 20 cm or more, sweeping forward over the head into a fringe or mop-top and backwards from the rump; underneath sits a compact, cobby body of roughly 700 g to 1.2 kg. Coats come in solids, bi-colours and…

Size

small

Lifespan

4-7 years

Care Focus

Social guinea pig breed that does best with compatible companionship and gentle handling.

Type

guinea pig

The Rex is a medium rabbit from France whose coat sets it apart: a natural mutation shortens the guard hairs to the length of the undercoat, so the fur is dense, plush and feels like velvet. It appears in solid blacks, whites and reds as well as broken and Californian patterns, with adults weighing…

Size

medium

Lifespan

5-6 years

Care Focus

Social rabbit breed that needs gentle handling, secure housing, and daily enrichment.

Type

rabbit

Rex rats are fancy rats with a curly coat and curled whiskers — the same species and the same care as any pet rat. Pet rats are legal in NZ, but the rex coat is not present in New Zealand's closed rat gene pool (importing rats is banned) — NZ rats come in standard and NZ Angora coats only. They…

Size

small

Lifespan

2-3 years

Care Focus

Active rat variety that needs enrichment, secure housing, and appropriate companionship.

Type

rat

The Skinny Pig is a near-hairless guinea pig, smooth-skinned apart from a little fuzz on the muzzle, feet and legs, and it comes in colours ranging from pink to black, chocolate and spotted. Developed in Canada, it keeps the stocky build and sociable habits of a coated guinea pig: gentle, curious,…

Size

small

Lifespan

4-6 years

Care Focus

Social guinea pig breed that does best with compatible companionship and gentle handling.

Type

guinea pig

The Teddy is the crinkle-coated guinea pig: short, dense fur that stands upright rather than lying flat, giving the plush, soft-toy look behind the name. Adults weigh about 700 g to 1.2 kg, measure 20 to 30 cm and typically live 4 to 6 years, with coats in solids, agoutis and Himalayans and short,…

Size

small

Lifespan

4-6 years

Care Focus

Social guinea pig breed that does best with compatible companionship and gentle handling.

Type

guinea pig