POCKET PETS

Small animals have gotten "big" as pets. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (www.APPMA.org) survey, there are more than 16.8 million hamsters, gerbils, mice and other pint-sized critters sharing our homes with us today. That's almost equal to the entire human population of Florida.

If these perky little pets could talk to us, most of them would say the same thing, "Let's play!"

In fact, playing is almost as important to the health and well being of a small animal as food and shelter, believes Jeff San Souci, a spokesperson for the Rolf C. Hagen Corp., which makes the Habitrail line of hamster and mouse habitats.

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