Small pet

Small Pets

A female Sim, feeding her parrot.

Small pets are pets that live in aquariums or cages and they can be taken out briefly for Sims to play with. They require less attention than cats, dogs, and horses, but have fewer interactions, and are not counted as household members.

The Sims

Some of the small pets available in The Sims

In The Sims, only one small pet was available, the fish in the Poseidon's Adventure Aquarium. Sims have to feed the fish and clean the tank to ensure they remain healthy.

In Livin' Large, the guinea pig was introduced. If the cage wasn't cleaned for a long time, and it bit a Sim, the Sim would become sick. The fastest and easiest way of curing this sickness is to buy the guinea pig painting and look at it.

Many more small pets were introduced with The Sims: Unleashed. Sims were able to go to Old Town and purchase a variety of small pets, including iguanas, turtles, goldfish, and small birds such as budgies and love birds. All of them require feeding and cleaning occasionally, but they don't need as much attention as cats and dogs. However, unlike cats and dogs, they can (with the exception of turtles and iguanas) - and will - eventually die, no matter how carefully they are cared for. Scarlet Macaws and cockatoos can also be bought in Buy Mode, for §939 and §749, respectively. Sims can not only feed them crackers, but also talk to them, which boosts the selected Sim's Charisma.

The Sims 2

Fish

As in The Sims, the only small pets available in the base game are fish, bought with the Aquabox Five-Gallon Aquarium. The aquarium can be stocked by selecting the "Restock" option. Sims must feed the fish and clean the tank regularly, or they will die. The Sims 2: Pets adds another fish tank, which works the same as the base game aquarium.

Womrats and parrots

A womrat

A Sim playing with her womrat

The Sims 2: Pets adds womrats and parrots. They can be purchased by buying the appropriate cage in Buy mode, and then using the cage's "Restock" option, which can only be done if the cage is empty and clean. Womrats cost §75, while parrots cost §400. The womrat cage is called the FMCU 3000 and the parrot cage is called the Tropico Avian Sanctuary.

Small dogs

The Sims 2: Apartment Life adds the Modern Arf Indoor Dog Pen, which allows Sims to keep a small dog in the pen; the pen costs §525, while the dogs cost §500. This pen doesn't require Pets to be installed, and the dog behaves like a small pet, using different meshes, textures and animations to regular dogs.

Butterflies and fireflies

Releasing butterflies

Sims can also keep collected butterflies and fireflies in a jar. If they are not released, they will eventually die and the jar will have to be cleaned. Neither the maid nor the butler will clean it, though.

Caring for small pets

When stocking a cage or pen, the player will have a choice of several fur or feather colors, and will be able to name the pet. Sims must feed small pets regularly; feeding a womrat or penned dog costs §10, while feeding a bird costs §20. Womrats and birds will eventually starve if not fed, but a starving penned dog will be taken away by an Animal Control officer before it can die. Small pets that are hungry may bite, and ones that are starving will have "hungry" thought bubble above their heads. It is also important to keep the cage or pen clean, as a dirty cage not only brings down the room's Environment score, but lowers the small pet's mood, increasing the chances that it will bite. While a womrat is essentially a guinea pig, the Guinea Pig Disease from The Sims: Livin' Large does not exist in The Sims 2.

Sims can play with and watch these small pets, and can carry along the parrot or penned dog. Also, parrots can be taught to talk. Once they've learned to talk, Sims can talk to them to build Charisma skill. Sims will also build Nature enthusiasm whenever they clean the cage or talk to a bird.

Bird cages can be opened. An open bird cage will eventually let the parrot out and it will fly around the house. Nearby Sims will gain fun from this. Sims cannot interact with the parrot while it's flying, and it will not escape and cannot be attacked by cats or dogs.

A womrat or bird can be set free, and a penned dog can be given up for adoption.

Small pets are the only pets that young adults can keep on college lots, or that can be kept in vacation homes.

List of objects

Object name	Description	Price	Size	Stocking price	Pet variety	Game
FMCU 3000	Womrats sometimes bite, which led to the development of the Fuzzy Mammal Containment Unit. Every unit is comprised of shatter-proof plastics that ensure your household's protection, as well as an exercise wheel to keep the inhabitants of the FMCU otherwise occupied. With the FMCU you can safely own and enjoy a womrat...as long as it is contained. Fun: 7	§250	1x1	§70	Black Whitebrown Rex Panda Albino	&EP04
Tropico Avian Sanctuary	Naturalist Steven Crest discovered a species of brightly colored birds while exploring the jungle. He quickly noticed that the birds were talking! Realizing he could socialize with birds instead of Sims, Crest devised the Tropico Avian Sanctuary and brought them home. Whether you're lonely and need a companion or just wish to add some colorful plumage to your home, Crest's birds are the answer! Fun: 8	§500	2x1	§400	White Red Kestrel Green Gray	&EP04
Modern Arf Indoor Dog Pen	Living without a yard is tough - especially for a dog. The Modern Arf Dog Pen is here to help. Perfect for a number of toy dogs, the Modern Arf provides an enclosed space that keeps your dog happy without taking over your apartment. The pen comes with all necessary amenities and is perfect for any urban dog-lover. Fun: 8	§525	3x3	§400	Black Brown White Yellow	&EP08

The Sims 2 (Nintendo DS)

A Sim feeding a Bunyip

In The Sims 2 for DS, there's a few small pets that can be purchased at the Strangetown General Store. The Koi Pond has one carp that periodically jumps about, it can only be admired. The Pet Bunyip will do a back flip each time it has been fed. These pets can only be placed in the player's suite or the hotel guest rooms.

Image	Name	Price	Description
	Koi Pond	§1,000	A puny, placid pond for your cute, Koi carp.
	Pet Bunyip	§3,000	An odd and possibly fake creature from Australia. Please feed it.

The Sims 2: Apartment Pets

In the The Sims 2 Apartment Pets, pets cannot be purchased, and instead the player's apartment comes with several small pets in cages that are pre-named. These include a parrot, rabbit, snake, hamster and guinea pig. All of the pets never need to be fed and cannot run away, and can be cared for by playing with them and dressing them up. The player can play a couple minigames with the pets, namely the Snake Charming and Bird Boogie interactions.

The Sims 3

In The Sims 3 many aquatic animals, including fish, frogs, snails, and crocodiles, and insects can be caught and placed in an aquarium.In The Sims 3: Supernatural, there are storage cabinets suitable to showcase up to 8 insects and butterflies from Sims' inventories.

List of small pets in The Sims 3: Pets

• Ants
• Pet rocks

The Sims 3: Pets feature various kinds of minor pets, which can be caught outdoors like other collectibles. Minor pets can be kept temporarily in the inventory, but they might eventually run away if kept for too long. Minor pets need to be placed in terrarium. Animals in aquariums and terrariums must be fed regularly.

• Birds: Blue Gold Macaw, Catalina Macaw, Cockatoo, Congo African Gray, Crow, Falcon, Spotted Sixam, Yellow Naped Amazon, Cardinal, Eastern Bluebird, Gold finch, Lilac Breasted Roller, Nuthatch, Parakeet, Pigeon, Owl
• Lizards: Anole Lizard, Ancient Dragon, Gecko, Chameleon, Pygmy Komodo Dragon, Agama Lizard, Texas Spiny Lizard, Iguana
• Rodents: Chinchilla, Hedgehog, Squirrel, Rat, Shrew, Womrat, Chipmunk
• Snakes: Yellow Python, Garter Snake, Emerald Tree Boa Snake, Malayan Krait Snake, Yellow Chondro Python, Scarlet King Snake, San Francisco Garter Snake, Iridescent Shieldtail Snake, Mini Python
• Turtles: Barbour's Map Turtle, Spotted Turtle, Eastern Box Turtle, Indian Roofed Turtle, Red Eared Slider Turtle, Pygmy Tortoise, Spiny Turtle, Western Painted Turtle

Holo sprites

The Sims 3: Into the Future features holographic pets called as sprites. They behave similar to minor pets from The Sims 3: Pets, but unlike them, they cannot run away, and cannot die, even if they are not cared for.

A frog swimming in an aquarium.

A crocodile in a fish bowl.

Ten types of butterflies in terrariums.

A lizard.

A parrot.

A rodent.

A snake.

Another rodent.

A spotted sixam bird.

A holo sprite being fed with a nanite.

The Sims 4

The Sims 4 has three types of small pets: fish, frogs, and insects. None have to be fed and they will never die. And there are also minor pets introduced in The Sims 4: My First Pet Stuff and The Sims 4: Horse Ranch.

Fish

See also: Fishing (The Sims 4)

Sims can keep fish they caught as pets in fish bowls or aquariums. Alternatively, there are five types of fish that can be purchased, shown in the table below. Sims have the option of naming their fish, but can't interact with them in any other way.

Image	Name	Price	Notes
	"Captain Fishbones" Bonefish	§15	Can only be bought with "The Boneyard" fish bowl.
	Gummie Guppie	§15	Can only be bought with "The Gumber Fesh Bow" fish bowl.
	Guppy	§15
	Goldfish	§20
	Tetra	§25

Rodents

Rodents are introduced into The Sims 4 through The Sims 4: My First Pet Stuff. This pack introduces hamsters, rats, hedgehogs, and a voidcritter miniature bubalus .

Caprinae

Mini Goats and Mini Sheep are introduced in The Sims 4: Horse Ranch expansion. They can be bought through Ranch Animal Exchange on the phone or the computer and will be added to the Sim's inventory.