Capybaras aren't small rodents - they're the big ones.
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Typically 50kg +/- about 15kg.
You may be thinking of chincillas which are small and very fluffy
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What are some exotic or non traditional pets that could have become commonplace?
Edit.
Typically 50kg +/- about 15kg.
You may be thinking of chincillas which are small and very fluffy
Australian Possums - Ringtails or Brushtails or Sugargliders would make ideal pets if tamed properly. My father once brought home to his mother a Sugarglider which lived in the house for four or five years in a flower vase quite happily. Ringtails or Brushtails are larger, about the size of a cat, Sugargliders are about the size of small Guinea Pig. All are herbivores, eating mainly fruit. Very common downunder living mainly in trees and occasionally in roofs of buildings, quite territorial.
Capypharas is not small rodent. IIRC it is largest modern day rodent.
Other intresting rodents might are beavers or squirrels. Altough beavers might are some level ristk for wooden furnitures. Not sure would squirrels be problem.
I recently read that black* squirrels were commonly kept as pets by Canadian pioneers.
*black fur is just a mutation common to both Eastern Grey and Fox squirrels, so I'm not sure why they in particular were specified.
*black fur is just a mutation common to both Eastern Grey and Fox squirrels, so I'm not sure why they in particular were specified.
Oh, I had not realized that because of the lack of an '/S' or anything like that...
I originally found it odd that anybody had suggested those two...
Wolves aren't exactly non-violent creatures themselves, and there are plenty of dog breeds that still keep a hefty amount of aggression as it was useful for what they were bred for (guard breeds, fighting breeds). And I know there were places in Asia that used tame, trained otters to fish. I could see some of the smaller otter species being domesticated if that practice becomes more widespread.
True. Since wolves are top predators like big cats them have to be violent at least towards their prey. Probably depends about subspecies but at least grey wolves are quite aggressive. There is even some cases that wolves have attacked on people. Fortunately we have on some degree planted for them health fear of humans so them shouldn't very often come around humans. But there is still problems with high wolf population. For example recently in Finland has been some wolf attakcs on sheep farms where several sheep were killed.
Ocelots--Salvador Dali owned one. I feel there's a large potential for these smaller cats to end up a common exotic pet given they're cute and catlike but still very distinct. They have the same utility as cats in terms of pest control, but even better--they can munch down a bag full of mice and can easily take out a rabbit, squirrel, chipmunk, etc. Of special note is the Asian leopard cat since it actually was domesticated at one point several thousand years ago.
If it counts, then Australian feral cats which appear to regularly grow longer than 1 meter and have evolved a distinct gait and musculature. Some call them "panthers", although they don't seem to grow larger than a lynx. If left to their own devices, they'll probably evolve into a cat version of the dingo within a few thousand years. They could easily be a small, niche export of Australia as a new breed of cat which may be the largest breed of cat in the world.
If it counts, then Australian feral cats which appear to regularly grow longer than 1 meter and have evolved a distinct gait and musculature. Some call them "panthers", although they don't seem to grow larger than a lynx. If left to their own devices, they'll probably evolve into a cat version of the dingo within a few thousand years. They could easily be a small, niche export of Australia as a new breed of cat which may be the largest breed of cat in the world.