Uncommon Pets 107 
The price of civets natu- 
rally varies according to the 
size and condition of the 
animal, but from thirty-five 
to seventy shillmgs would 
be about what one would 
have to pay to become the 
possessor of one of these 
animals. The cage should 
be of as large a size as 
room can possibly be spared 
=p ae for, and preferably situated = 
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., N. Finchley. out ot doors or in an out- Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., N. Finchley. 
AFRICAN CIVET. building, although I knew INDIAN CIVET. 
one that was kept for many years in a living-room in a cage not much larger than a 
rabbit-hutch—so small, in fact, that the animal rubbed both ends in turning round. As 
civets do not usually take kindly to strangers, the wire parts of the cage must be of 
very close mesh—no farther apart than ogi birdcage wires—so that the fingers of 
inquisitive friends may be kept outside the cage in safety. Civets are rather 
undemonstrative and quiet, as well as clean, in captivity; to those who have the looking 
after them they show some slight signs of affection if treated with constant attention and 
kindness. ‘Teasing these creatures, either by their owner or his friends, must be carefully 
guarded against; nor should they be awakened durimg the daytime if sleeping, as it has a 
tendency to render them morose and treacherous. They are nocturnal in their habits to 
a great extent and do not get very lively before the evening hours; during the night 
hours of darkness their eyes glow with a beautiful brilliancy almost surpassing that 
of a cat’s eyes. Should it be necessary from want of out-door accommodation that 
the civet be kept in the house, every irritating influence should be removed from the 
animal’s notice, so that the creature never is excited to such an extent as to cause 
it to emit its odoriferous secretions. A civet can be kept, with care, indoors so that 
its presence can hardly be detected unless one’s attention be drawn to the fact that 
there is such an animal in the house; fortunately the scent is unpleasant to only 
a few, and most people get to like it after a very short time. 
The floor of the cage should be covered with fine gravel or sand, and over that 
a layer of sweet hay or straw which the civet will bunch up into a corner to form 
a sleeping-couch; there is no need to partition off any part of the cage to form a 
sleeping-compartment, as would be necessary for other animals. The feeding is not a 
difficult matter, eggs, dead sparrows, fowl-heads, horseflesh, fresh fish and a little rice 
forming the staple diet; of course, changes must be rung so that the diet may be varied 
day by day. Milk should also be given at meal times. 
The best species for the ordinary pet-keeper to have are the African civet (Viverra 
civetta), the large Indian Civet (Viverra zibetta), the Malayan Palm Civet (Paradoxurus 
hermaphroditus), and the Himalayan Palm Civet (Paradoxrurus grayi). The Rasse 
(Viverra malaccensis) 1s a very agile tree climber, and is the only member of the 
civet tribe that may be said to be all arboreal m its habits, tinels differing from the 
other species, which are unable to climb. pee = 
Civets, when wild, feed on small mammalia as welll as birds, and this trait can be 
utilised to keep down mice and rats in the house if the civet be allowed to roam about 
at night time, provided that cats and dogs, small birds, or any other pets are kept 
quite out of the way. A civet is much quicker in killmg a large rat than a terrier 
ordinarily is; and as all the civets are temarkable for their lithe and agile 
