Hello everyone and welcome back to The Pet Corner! Thank you for all the positive comments in the first post and special shoutout to Morgana Rosenberg for suggesting this week’s topic, the Pygmy Puff!

Pygmy puffs are small, fluffy, round creatures about the size of a small ball. They are thought to be mini versions of Puffskeins which are also popular pets within the wizarding world. The first pygmy puffs were bred by Fred & George Weasley in two colors, pink and purple, and were met with a very high demand. Of course, the reasoning behind this high demand is very simple: THEY ARE SO CUTE! The behavior of these adorable furballs only increases their cuteness factor, rolling around while making tiny squeaks. Like their bigger Puffskein counterparts, pygmy puffs do not mind being thrown around or snuggled with. But, unfortunately, also like their counterparts, they are known to use their long tongues to eat bogeys from sleeping wizards. I_I You can buy these fluffy furballs on WoP in the Magical Menagerie at Diagon Alley with the complete color choices of pink and purple.

Fun Fact!

Did you know there is a belief that Pygmy Puffs sing on Boxing Day (December 26)?

How to Take Care of Them

Food:

Pygmy puffs eat just about everything due to their ancestral nature of scavenging from food scraps to bugs (which also explains their bogey eating habit). This lack of food pickiness is one of the many reasons why pygmy puffs are easy to take care of as opposed to many other common pets. You can buy food for your beloved friend from the Magical Menagerie.

Shelter:

Pygmy puffs are known to live just about anywhere they can call a home from school bags to buckets to the small space underneath your living room couch. Since there are no known key predators, the shelter you choose for your pygmy puff can be as flexible as you wish. However, for the safe side, I would recommend buying a small cage for the creature just in case if you know there is something prowling about or need a safe way to travel. Besides these scenarios though, I’d say feel free to make your bed or even your shoulder as its home.

What is it Like Having One as a Pet?

As I am too young to own one of these cuties, I’ve interviewed some older students on what it’s like to be the caretaker of a pygmy puff. Librarian Elizabeth Osborne, describes her pygmy puff, Jupiter, “Jupiter's such a sweetheart. She never gets angry or bites anyone, and she squeaks and giggles whenever someone cuddles her or plays with her. She never bothers my other pets, but she does love to play with them when they let her.” Third year Gryffindor Sarina Lovagato describes her Uma as “[having] quite a sweet tooth and enjoys candy and peppermint leaves.” Ravenclaw prefect Avalon Harrington expresses her Mushu as “[having] a rather...loud personality.”

 

Reasons for adopting a pygmy puff seem to vary between individuals as Osborne recounts, “[Jupiter] she jumped onto my hand and refused to get off and I’ve wanted a Pygmy Puff since the first day I learned about them [because] they look so cute, like sweet little balls of fluff...also known for being friendly and easy to take care of” while Lovagato states, “because I just love pink, fluffy, and adorable things you just can’t resist them.” However, it also seems that these adorable fluff balls also capture the hearts of those who didn’t have the mindset of adopting one. Harrington recalls her pink pygmy puff, Mushu “just jumped on my shoulder out of the new litter that just came in at the Magical Menagerie.”

 

The daily lifestyle of taking care of a pygmy puff is described in detail by Harrington: “Mushu enjoys his fur brushed in the morning and right before bed. His favorite snack is apple slices with peanut butter or just regular peanut butter. Pygmies have really long tongues and the ones in Professor Rowan's class like to eat our earwax. Mushu prefers boogers....as I found out. Unwillingly. One night. While I was asleep...His favorite spot is my pocket or he crawls in and out of my messenger bag, he's quite adept at squeezing himself into small places. I had magically reduce his size one day because he got himself stuff in a glass bottle.”

 

For those of you that have many pets like I do (eight and still counting :) ), you’ll be glad to know that pygmy puffs tend to get along with most pets. From my time with current pet owners, it seems there is a general consensus that the only creatures pygmy puffs tend to avoid are large animals, such as owls and cats with some being “shy” and some being “rather aggressive when it comes to owls or cats.” However, there are a few that seem to get along with all kinds of creatures, including owls and cats, most likely due to personality differences.

 

I guess the final conclusion is that pygmy puffs come in all sorts of personalities and funny habits. Maybe there might be one out there that matches with your personality...

Last Thought/Advice

Here is some advice from current pygmy puffs owners for those of you who wish to adopt this cute creature.

 

Elizabeth Osborne: “You should absolutely do it! They're fantastic pets. They require very little care and don't need a cage. Just give them lots of love, and maybe adopt a couple of other pets for them to play with.”

 

Sarina Lovagato: “For the people who want to buy a cute, little Pygmy Puff, I would say that they like to eat and play so when you’re off in class, you need to make sure that they have things to keep them occupied.”

 

Avalon Harrington: “You have to be willing to give them a lot of attention. They aren't like flobberworms where you can just leave them on their own, and a Pygmy Puff can be quite adventurous if given the chance.”

 

Thanks for reading this installment of The Pet Corner! If you wish for me to mention a specific pet, please comment below or owl me and remember to write down the specific species if applicable.

 

This blog post has been written by:

Hannah Windsor