[Domestic animals as patients in a small animal practice. 2. Handling, sex determination, blood collection, drug application].

The importance of small pets as domestic animals and patients in veterinary practice increased in the last years. Differences in physiology and behaviour require exact knowledge of appropriate handling and sex determination, techniques of blood collection as well as drug application methods. Therefore, a survey of rabbit, guinea-pig, chinchilla, hamster, gerbil, mouse, and rat as patients in veterinary practice is given.