Random (Exotic) Pet Thread

[Walking Void]

I think it is time for another of my aimless threads to capture 1 of my stray thoughts before it escapes through the fence.

A pet thread! And maybe You thought that first sentence was a purposeful segue into a discussion about pets, but believe it or not I subconsciously made that animal-themed analogy without actively intending to do so...

Now, the theme of this thread is exotic pets. You do not have to own an exotic pet to gain admission (people like me barge in anyways). So let us talk about all sorts of exotic pets and maybe share what kind of pets You might be interested in keeping. "Dream pets", perhaps. But please try to be realistic. Tyrannosaurus Rex is not coming back. The dodo is not coming back (unless cloning is an option). Sorry to make You cry. An exotic pet can be any pet exotic to the individual. That means if You live in Australia, a pet crocodile is not anything new. Now, a house cat, hoo hoo is that ever exotic!!

Now instead of rambling, I am going to show You a list of animals I would consider having as pets, given the right conditions.

1: Ferrets.



Ferrets are weasels. Ferrets are carnivores. Ferrets have no fear. Ferrets will come at You. They will come at your dogs, your cats, so hide your wife and hide your children. But ferrets are not plain old monsters (they are little monsters). Ferrets sleep for periods over 12 hours and are often active during the dark hours. Ferrets are domesticated! They have been used as rabbiters (I made that word up) to hunt rabbits. Ferrets will never back down from a challenge. A group of ferrets is called a business, and I am their CEO.

2: Green Iguanas.



Green iguanas are... iguanas (the genus). And iguanas are lizards. Green iguanas are vegetarians, basically that means they are not vegans. They have been observed eating birds eggs, like me. So if You have a salad You could not finish because You were too full... do not give it to the iguana. You probably have some sort of vinegar infused dressing on it, asshole. Iguanas do not want that shit on their veggies. They eat it raw, like me when I tried to drink an egg... and succeeded! It can grow to reach up to 1.5 meters. That means if You stretched 1 out lengthwise like some sick-hearted bastard and compared the measurement to the height of a 3rd grader... the green iguana would probably be taller, and more sophisticated. They are aquatic, and if You try to scare an iguana and it does not pull out a Smith and Wesson, it will try to escape and find a body of water to hide in. Green iguanas bob their heads to communicate. So if You tell it a funny joke, You are always funny to the iguana. They have a frill underneath their chin, and they use it to express emotion. What could be sexier than a neon lamp on your body?

3. Mudskippers.



Mudskippers are gobies. Gobies are fish. I had some gobies once. They sucked. But mudskippers, they suck mud... and spit it out elsewhere. The difference between your uncle and a mudskipper is that mudskippers do this to prepare their own mud pits to live in. Your uncle does this to get attention. Mudskippers are amphibious. This means that they live on land and in the sea. Mudskippers can shut off their gill chambers while on land, this prevents their gills from drying up, similar to humans when scuba divers keep an oxygen supply to breath while underwater. These fish do it backwards. They can also jump about half a meter into the air, because they do not give a shit. Mudskippers are very social animals. When a rival male encroaches too close upon another male's burrow of mud, your uncle is not there to be the life of the party. Mudskippers are very territorial and will attack any competition. They will size each other up by gaping the biggest gape You have ever seen. If You saw these gapes at work You might get fired instantly. They also compete to court with females, often flexing their dorsal fin or headbutting. Mudskippers eat, travel, and court on land. They travel by water too, but so what? Their eyes are parabolic, and like a parascope on a submarine, they can see the world above without refracting light from water. Mudskippers use their treasured burrows as nests. And the female will lay her eggs in that burrow. If You ever trespass on their property, You might not live.

Here is a funny video about mudskippers:





What about You?

[Fruity]

I love snakes. I also love frogs and turtles, but mostly snakes. I go once a week to an exotic pet store to spend time with a few there. The owners know me and expect me to go regularly already. I discovered the place when I took a few clients to volunteer, and never stopped visiting since then. I'd welcome one into my home if it wasn't because they eat mice and I saw on a documentary that a man got a bad bacteria from mice into his eye which caused his skin to rot for months. I hate mice as much as I love snakes.

[rexbeccarox]

I had a couple of ferrets, and they were really fun, but stinky. My cat loved playing with them.

I had a neighbor with iguanas and various other lizards. They were pretty cool, and really social.

I fostered a small boa constrictor for about six months, and hurried along the adoption process because of the way he ate. No frozen rodents for that guy! He usually took his time to eat, so I had plenty of time to get out of the room after feeding him, but I happened to walk by just as he had snapped it, and his jaw unhinged. Yikes!

I would love having a chinchilla, a meercat or, dare I say, a monkey, but I think my San Diego Safari Park season pass will suffice

[Owlix]

Well Ferrets I guess can be that vicious if you're beastmaster? But I've owned ferrets, they're smelly but otherwise good pets; just keep up on those shots, because whether the little furry things like it or not, they're carriers of rabies.

ON a cheerier note:

I have owned several and would love to own again; sulcata tortoises. They are amazing creatures.



Chinchillas are sooooo soft, and more like bunnies than the mouse this picture seems to be

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Martins I think are also cute, for lack of a better word right now.

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*poster reserves the right to return to thread and post other exotic pets as sees fit, unless said thread is dead*

[Sheather]

Oh pets: I love animals.

Well, on my future list would definitely be an emu. Emus are such amazing animals. I mean, pretty stupid, but also sweet as can be (if the few I've handled at various petting zoos are any indication - the things just loved pets and scratches), giant and scary to strangers, and also pretty cheap as far as exotics go. Easily fed too, just grains and chicken food and some scraps.

I'd also love some exotic birds, like mandarin ducks or pheasants. And a magpie or a crow, but not in a cage. One who can come and go as it pleases outdoors would be amazing.

Right now I have a few finches (the species in my banner, the spice finch), some rats, fish, shrimps, dogs, and a cat, so I'm good on pets for now but maybe in the future.

[Whateverist]

I used to keep finches and softbills in outdoor aviaries. I built three of them along the side of a shed in the garden .. before there was a garden. When I started planting the aviaries I discovered plants and set out to landscape the side and back yards for the birds .. the wild birds. I've kept Waxbills, Cordon Bleus, Zebras, Star Finches, White Hooded Nuns, Weavers, Button Quail, doves, a canary, Pekin Robins and a Mesia at various times. Below you can see a family of weavers sharing a flight cage with the Mesia. Below that is a close up of the Mesia. Below that is my Hell Hound.

[Sheather]

Oh, nice! I would love a large aviary but my two birds are just housepets with a quaint cage, though I'd love to give them bigger quarters eventually.





Their names are Pepper and Nutmeg.

What breed (mix) of dog is he/she? I love the different eyes.

[Walking Void]

Well Ferrets I guess can be that vicious if you're beastmaster?

Hhehhehe, You are too much Owlix! I was playing on the premise that ferrets lack fear, especially with other pets.

[Darth]

I used to have a pet rock









It was awesome, it rocked.










Till it ran away

[Whateverist]

Oh, nice! I would love a large aviary but my two birds are just housepets with a quaint cage, though I'd love to give them bigger quarters eventually.





Their names are Pepper and Nutmeg.

What breed (mix) of dog is he/she? I love the different eyes.

Oh she is pure Hell Hound. Nah, she is a heeler/aussie cross.

You've really given your birds a nicely planted environment. I'll bet they use that nesting basket, provided you've got one of each sex there. Have you had any babies yet? (The names are very apropos).