I know several people who have exotic pets like snakes or iguanas. They are Neat to look at, but I have to admit that they give me the chills. They also seem to be more high maintenance than your typical house pet, but I could be wrong about that since I don't have any first hand experience with them. Is anyone on the forum the proud parent of an exotic pet and how expensive are they to maintain?
I don't have an exotic pet, but my brother is thinking about buying a pet ball python. Surprisingly, it doesn't cost you much to keep them as pets! You need a terrarium or something similar for it to live in and a heat pad to keep his home warm enough throughout the day. Heat pads are cheap and you can build the rest out of wooden planks if you don't have the money to spend on a proper terrarium. Feeding the snake shouldn't bee too much of a problem either. You can buy frozen mice in bulk and for cheap. Snakes don't eat that much anyways! I hope I managed to answer most of your questions.
Exotic pets like pythons can be dangerous too. I read a story about a pet python which killed two boys when it fell on them. It had got free from where it was kept and somehow it had got into the boys' room and when it fell on them thinking it was in danger, it's constriction instincts took over. Too high a price to pay for an exotic pet if you ask me. Should you need an exotic pet then I guess one needs to remember that something like this can happen. Why not go for harmless exotic pets like the Madagascar hissing cockroach?
I have 4 mice, they sometimes are classified as exotic pets. But in reality there are not the same type of pets you are talking about. I have owned a snake a long time ago, the maintenance and constant concern of what would happen if it escaped made it not really worth the while overall, so I gave it away. I love pets so am always tempted by different types, I love bearded dragons and often think about buying one. I need to be strong and resist, I really do not need the hassle that's for sure.
The snake involved in that incident was a rock python that can grow to an enormous size. I wouldn't want to have that species at home. Ball pythons, however, don't grow longer than 6 feet (less than 2m) and couldn't possibly kill a human. They aren't venomous either, they kill their prey by squeezing them so tight they suffocate. Eww, I would much rather have a ball python than a cockroach, since they are both harmless.
I'm too scared of exotic pets like tarantula, snake, etc... I was able to meet my sister's friend who owned a foot-long snake. And the owner said that he only feeds it once a week with a live mice (the snake won't touch it if the mice is dead according to the owner). So I guess it's really cheaper to own it unlike with dogs that you have to feed, buy shampoos, vitamins, injections, etc..
Personally, I've never owned an exotic pet. When I was a bit younger, I wanted a snake, but with my two tiny chihuahua's, I don't think it'd be a great idea, because if it ever got out of it's tank, my puppies would be a nice snack for it, so I think for now, I'm going to hold off on something like that.
I use to have gecko and iguana at home until my brother freed them to a nearby mini jungle in the middle of the city. I didn't got them for free for these kind of pets by the way cost more than $50. What i have currently is an alligator gar which is a kind of fish from dino era.
I've never owned an exotic pet and can't imagine doing so really. Like with a cat or dog they're more cute and cuddly but snuggling up to a snake? Can't picture it. Plus I've heard that iguana's carry semolina and I would be concerned about especially if I had kids. And feeding a snake is a whole other story! I'd be freaked out to bring home live mice to feed it. Grooooosssss....
I have 6 ferrets. Four boys and two girls. Just like dogs and cats, they too suffer from mass breeding from mills for stores like PETCO. I can proudly say all my fuzz butts come from shelters or rescues. If you ever consider a ferret, just like a dog or cat.. Please consider adopting.
I don't want to own an exotic pet, there are just too many cons than pros when you think about it. They can kill you, like snakes. Although I know some birds are considered exotic, I think that's as far as I will go as far as owning an exotic pet is concerned.
I don't really understand the appeal of exotic pets. I am not afraid of snakes or spiders. It's just that for me, they are not fun. They do not play with you, and you can't cuddle them. They just stay in their cages. My sister wants to have a snake though. I said no because I have cats. I'm scared that my cats might get eaten by the snake by accident.
I had a ferret that I got from a shelter. She was a handful, but fun unfortunately she got bronchitis's and died. The vet said that some colds we get the ferret could get to. I thought about getting some more ferrets but I have little ones now and I don't think a ferret is a good pet to have with toddlers terrorizing everything. I scared my ferret one time and she bit me, and she could bite pretty hard to. Though it was my fault that she did it.
When I lived in the tropics, I had a python that lived in the roof of my house for many years. It was very docile, and often liked to curl up and sleep in the jasmine bush that was covering half of my veranda. It also liked to visit me in the kitchen, taking care of mice and rats. I liked having it around, as it wasn't tolerating any other snakes, and thereby keeping away the dangerous ones from the house.
I don't have one but I've been growing more and more interested in non traditional pets lately. The only problem is that the animals I'm growing an interest for really aren't very suitable for making into pets. What I'm talking about here is the animals that tend to grow very large after a few years like lions and tigers. I find them so magnificent looking that I just want to have one or a few nearby but seeing as it's deadly I think it's one dream that I might just have to let go.
No, we don't have any exotic pets at home. It looks interesting, though. Just something to break the norm and to make life more fun. However, my family is a bit conventional and would definitely scream at me if I take home an exotic animal, all the more if I choose to keep it as a pet.
Are monkeys considered exotic pets? If so, then yes. I do have one. I love having my monkey because he is very protective. He doesn't really live in the house, but he lives outside on the compound. He comes inside ever so often. His maintenance is not very expensive because he eats lots of fruits and vegetables and those are already growing on my compound. So, the food he eats is free. I don't own any lizards or geckos, but when you live in tropical areas, they are always around and sometimes they get in your house, especially the geckos. I don't feed them.
Well my brothers used to keep this really large lizard, commonly called as gecko. They either placed it inside a cage or dragged it around on a leash. As it happened, the only reason they raised it for a while was because they wanted its skull for some "art project" or something. It was terrible, what they did to that lizard. They only fed it for a few weeks then let it starve. When it died, they let the body rot until the skull showed itself. Oh, the things people do during their growing-up years. I'm glad they've already stopped their awful art projects. Now, we're limited to cats, dogs, fishes and chickens.
I have seen a lot of people having various kinds of exotic pets. But in person I have never seen people have one. I always dreamt of having exotic pets but never had the opportunity to have one. I believe that the exotic pets are quite costly.