Nearly every variety of animal contains an albino variant. The word “albino” is derived from the Latin /albus/, meaning white, but not every albino animal is white, and not every white animal is albino. Knowing the difference can help you choose the right pet for you. The rarity of albinism makes some albino animals popular as pets. Albino ferrets are often in high demand by pet owners, and albino cats, dogs and snakes are routinely sought as well. Sadly, since white-furred rabbits are so common, albino bunnies are often overlooked at pet stores and shelters.

Albinism is a genetic condition which limits the formation of melanin, the substance responsible for pigment levels in skin, hair and eyes. It also affects vision, as melanin is involved in the development of ocular features such as the retina, iris and optic nerve. Albino animals, therefore, have irises that are either pink or reddish in color, or a very pale blue. An animal with any other eye color, even if the rest of it is completely white, is not albino.

Some people consider the rarity of albinism to be a sign that an animal with this condition is a harbinger of good fortune; others just think it looks creepy, especially if the animal has pink or red eyes. Whatever your preference, it is important to realize that although an albino looks very different from other animals, they are basically the same. They require the same nutrients, care and attention as any other pet. Contrary to popular belief, albinism is not a sign of malady or disease. Albino animals do not have any higher rate of immune deficiency or digestive sensitivity than their colorful counterparts. They do, however, have poorer vision than healthy non-albino pets, and care should be taken that they have an especially safe and hazard free environment in which to live and play.

Winterize your pets? Isn’t it enough that they have fur (and maybe a little extra fat this time of year)?

Though nature does equip animals with winter survival gear, there are also some things we can do to make the season a better one for our pets and the other animals around us.

These tips comes from Sheri Bolda, a technician at Ellsworth Veterinary Clinic, on Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota:

• When your pet comes indoors, check its paws for snow, ice, salt, or de-icing chemicals they may have picked up. These can get stuck in the pads, risking frostbite – or sickness, if the animal licks chemicals off its paws.
• If you think your pet does have frostbite, warm it up with a blanket.
• Before driving away, bang on the hood of your car and check underneath. Cats and wild animals sometimes crawl into these spaces to shelter at night.
• Wipe up spilled antifreeze, which tastes sweet but is harmful. If you use the kind with propylene glycol, however, it won’t harm animals that accidentally swallow a small amount.
• Make sure outdoor water bowls don’t freeze over – you can get heated bowls to prevent this.
• Speaking of water, don’t let your pet drink from the Christmas tree stand. That water may contain fertilizer or bacteria.
• Holiday decorations made of real plants – mistletoe, poinsettia, and holly – are dangerous for pets to eat. (Cats especially seem to want a few greens sometimes. Try getting yours some live cat grass.)
• Less well-known: Long, thin objects, like ribbons, can get into an animal’s digestive tract and cause serious problems.
• And, of course, don’t feed the pets table scraps. Get them some pet treats, and keep the turkey, stuffing, and pie for yourselves.

Pets definitely are not allowed to inhabit the place where I live, but after my friend offered me a kitten for $30 that was medicated and came with food, litter, and a litter box, my roommate and I started to think about how we could house a cat in our 8 person suite. Well, all of our hopes and dreams came crashing down when one of the suitemates told us that she was allergic to cats, but that we could get a dog. Yeah, let us hide a Golden Retriever. The next animal we looked into getting was a chinchilla. This was because we heard that they were easy maintenance and that they did not smell.

How are chinchillas as pets? Well, they are little and weigh about a pound.  They are very furry and soft with cute ears and do not make annoying noises, but they are very energetic. As for the noises that they do make, they have the ability to chirp, squeak, and bark, so they are pretty interesting creatures. They are partially nocturnal and do not enjoy being disturbed during the day. They are high strung and have short attention spans. This makes them pretty skittish and most of them do not like to be held–making them not so suitable for children. Once a chincilla is accustomed to its owner it could become very attracted to this owner and allow the owner to freely touch its soft fur.

Chinchillas like to eat desert grasses because they cannot efficiently process fatty foods, high protein foods, or too many green plants. A lot of chinchilla owners feed their pets high quality, hay-based pellets, and they keep a constant supply of loose hay in order to sufficiently meet all of the chinchilla’s dietary needs.

The best thing about chinchillas is that they do not typically smell because they do not sweat. What this does mean is that chinchillas do not fair well in hot (over 80 degrees F) or humid weather because they can get overheated and may suffer from heat stroke. They clean their fur by taking dust baths. This dust that they roll around in is special chinchilla dust made of fine pumice.

Chinchillas can be gray, beige, white, ebony, and many other colors.