PET HATES

Some Don'ts from Animals as Friends and How to Keep Them (by Shaw & Fisher, Dent 1939)

Don't keep a hedgehog in the house.
Don't keep bats unless you can fulfil the items under Cost.
Don't let your mongoose get cold or dirty, or it will die.
Don't try to tame an old fox.
Don't let your fox think you are afraid of it.
Don't keep an otter unless you can afford to give it three pounds of fish a day.
Don't let an otter sleep in a damp hutch.
Don't let polecats escape.
Don't tease badgers, because they have extremely powerful jaws and will give you a bite you won't forget quickly.
Don't keep chipmunks (or chipping squirrels) in a small cage.
Don't pick a dormouse up by the tail or the skin of the tail may come off.
Don't overfeed hamsters, as they store food, and it may go bad.
Don't wear out your female rats by over-breeding. It will only exhaust them.
Don't let your mice get cold.
Don't feed guinea pigs on limp lettuces.
Don't coddle your rabbits - most breeds are hardy.
Don't forget your Angoras like combing.
Don't try to keep any adult deer except a roe doe as a pet.
Don't overcrowd deer.
Don't slit the tongues of crows thinking it will help them talk. This is on a par with burning witches and should be out of date.
Don't leave money, keys or valuable papers around if you have tame crows.
Don't buy a budgerigar which is said to be moulting.
Don't give an owl decayed food.
Don't use nesting pans for doves; open cigar boxes will do very well for them.
Don't keep your terrapins in a dark place.
Don't buy a tortoise unless you have a garden.
Don't forget that you can't cure a sick lizard.
Don't buy a lizard which drops or waggles its head when gently shaken.
Don't believe the old superstition that salamanders like heat or fire.
Don't overcrowd salamanders or they will develop fungus.
Don't keep axolotls with fish or newts.
Don't keep an active little frog in a small box.
Don't buy sick fish.
Don't keep silkworms at all unless you mean to give them lots of attention.
Don't bathe your cat in water. It is quite capable of keeping itself clean.
Don't be surprised if your monkey destroys things outside its cage or becomes spiteful and even dangerous with age.