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Almost no one, except perhaps the richest people, can provide a wild animal with all its necessary conditions. Exotic animals have unique needs. For example, wild tigers need a large territory to roam around in. A venomous Monocled cobra, which can be legally bought in a number of states for a puny $100, will repeatedly strike when feeling in danger. A bobcat can hunt a prey eight times bigger than itself. Chimpanzees and other primates require a lot of space for climbing, and sea mammals need vast water basins to swim freely. The examples are numerous. These needs require specific living conditions—or at least housing structures. Can an average American citizen afford keeping an exotic pet? Not just for a year or two, but for 25 or 50 years? Just for an example, the annual cost of keeping a tiger (in a cage) approaches $6,000. Clearly, being a keeper of a wild animal is beyond the capabilities of an average citizen ( National Geographic ).

If the previous paragraph did not persuade you, consider the danger of biological contamination. According to different estimates, at least one in three reptiles (which are among the most popular exotic pets—iguanas, for example) is a host for salmonella and shigella bacteria; the overall percentage with salmonella is probably up to 90 percent. According to data provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 90 percent of imported green iguanas carry unfamiliar strains of intestinal bacteria. Other species are not safer. About 25 percent of both imported and domestically-bred macaques are reported to have had the herpes B virus. Among other diseases carried and transported by wild animals, one should mention such infections as chlamydia, yaba virus, giardia, tuberculosis, measles, marburg virus, hepatitis A, campylobacteriosis, rabies, streptothricosis, and a lot of other malicious microorganisms, including worms ( ASPCA ).

In addition, wild animals can pose a direct physical threat to their owners. During the last 10 years, there have been dozens of attacks committed by captive big cats, such as lions and tigers; in one of the saddest incidents, a tiger killed a three-year-old boy, who was its guardian’s grandson. In another case, a Bengal tiger has bitten off an arm of a four-year-old boy. Since the beginning of the century, four people were hunted down (and killed) by wolf hybrids. This is not to mention the cases when wild animals attacked other domesticated pets—cats, dogs, and so on ( PETA ).

Along with well-known ecological problems—such as the extinction of species, or the destruction of rainforests, there is also another significant issue: people tend to keep exotic wild animals as pets. This is a bad practice, since wild animals require unique conditions that an average American cannot afford; exotic animals carry and transmit exotic diseases, which can pose a threat to owners; and there were numerous incidents when a captivated wild animal attacked its owner, or members of their families. All this is solid proof in favor of the claim that wild exotic animals should not be kept as pets.

There are many examples of persuasive essays like this on the Internet. However, according to the best website for assignment help , the best samples can be found on the specific platforms with academic works. So, don’t limit yourself from checking those out.

“Wild at Home: Exotic Animals as Pets.” Nat Geo WILD. N.p., 03 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Aug. 2015. <http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/animal-intervention/articles/wild-at-home-exotic-animals-as-pets/>

“Exotic Animals as Pets.” ASPCA. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2015. <https://www.aspca.org/adopt/adoption-tips/exotic-animals-pets>

“Exotic Animals as ‘Pets'” PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2015. <http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/exotic-animals-pets/>

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The Dangers of Exotic Pets: Why It's Best to Leave Them in the Wild

Leave exotic animals in the wild.

The allure of owning an exotic pet is undeniable. The idea of having a unique and fascinating creature in our homes can be enticing. However, when it comes to owning exotic animals as pets, there are numerous reasons why it's best to resist the temptation. In this blog post, we will explore the inherent challenges, ethical concerns, and potential dangers associated with keeping exotic animals as pets.

Unsuitability of Domestication: Exotic animals are not naturally suited for domestication. Many of these animals have complex social, environmental, and dietary needs that cannot be adequately met in a home environment. Their instinctual behaviors, which may include marking territory, aggression, or hunting, can pose risks to both the owner and the animal itself. It is nearly impossible to recreate the natural habitat and social structure that these animals require for optimal physical and psychological well-being.

Ethical Concerns: The exotic pet trade often involves illegal trafficking, smuggling, and inhumane breeding practices. Many animals are captured from their natural habitats, resulting in the depletion of wild populations and disruption of ecosystems. The journey from their natural habitat to a pet owner's home often involves stress, trauma, and cruel handling. By supporting the exotic pet trade, we inadvertently contribute to the suffering and exploitation of these vulnerable species.

Public Health and Safety: Owning an exotic pet can also pose risks to public health and safety. Many exotic animals carry zoonotic diseases, which can be transmitted to humans. Handling or close contact with these animals increases the likelihood of exposure to potentially dangerous pathogens. Moreover, some exotic species, such as large carnivores or venomous reptiles, can pose direct physical risks to owners, family members, and the community at large.

While the allure of owning an exotic pet may be tempting, it is essential to consider the long-term welfare of the animals and the potential risks involved. These creatures are best appreciated in their natural habitats, where they can thrive and contribute to the delicate balance of ecosystems. By avoiding the exotic pet trade, we can support conservation efforts, preserve biodiversity, and promote a more ethical and responsible approach to our relationship with wildlife. Let's admire exotic animals from a distance, with respect and appreciation for their rightful place in the natural world.

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ExNOTic: Should We Be Keeping Exotic Pets?

Rachel a. grant.

1 Animal Behavior and Welfare Research Group, Department of Animal and Agriculture, University Centre, Hartpury, Gloucestershire GL19 3BE, UK; [email protected]

V. Tamara Montrose

Alison p. wills.

2 Animal Health Research Group, Department of Animal and Agriculture, University Centre, Hartpury, Gloucestershire GL19 3BE, UK; [email protected]

There has been a recent trend towards keeping non-traditional companion animals, also known as exotic pets. These pets include parrots, reptiles, amphibians and rabbits, as well as small species of rodent such as degus and guinea pigs. Many of these exotic pet species are not domesticated, and often have special requirements in captivity, which many owners do not have the facilities or knowledge to provide. Keeping animals in settings to which they are poorly adapted is a threat to their welfare. Additionally, owner satisfaction with the animal may be poor due to a misalignment of expectations, which further impacts on welfare, as it may lead to repeated rehoming or neglect. We investigate a range of commonly kept exotic species in terms of their suitability as companion animals from the point of view of animal welfare and owner satisfaction, and make recommendations on the suitability of various species as pets.

1. Introduction

A pet can be defined as an animal kept for companionship or pleasure. There has been a trend in recent years towards keeping pets other than traditional domesticated species such as dogs and cats [ 1 ]. Dogs have been associated with humans for thousands of years, and through artificial selection have become well adapted to life as a human companion or worker [ 2 ]. Cats are commensal and retain more natural behavior, but again, there has been a long and mutually beneficial relationship with human beings [ 3 ]. Dogs and cats are not generally confined to small enclosures, information about their care and welfare is plentiful, and there are numerous veterinary practices that have the expertise and facilities to treat them [ 4 ]. In the past two decades, non-domesticated species of pets such as reptiles, exotic mammals (e.g., degus), amphibians and exotic birds (usually parrot species) have become popular as pets [ 5 ]. These pets are not always easy to care for as they may retain more wild behavior than, for example, dogs and cats, which are adapted to live with humans. While dogs and cats do exhibit behavioral problems and are not always treated in ways conducive to optimum welfare, they are not fundamentally unsuitable as pets, and large amounts of information is available on their proper care. In contrast, many exotic pets have specialized requirements in captivity that are beyond the scope of many pet keepers to provide [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Even some pets that have traditionally been seen as good children’s pets, such as rabbits and small rodents, may actually provide poor owner satisfaction in the long term due to innate behaviors that may be misaligned with owner expectations [ 7 ]. The welfare of these exotic pets is often at risk through a combination of factors, including a lack of accurate information available on their care, incorrect husbandry, and the unrealistic expectations of owners. This is often compounded by a lack of specialist veterinary care [ 4 ] and a lower propensity for owners to avail themselves of such care [ 10 ]. In this commentary, we review the suitability of a range of exotic species, from the point of view of animal welfare and owner satisfaction, and make recommendations on which taxa can make suitable companion animals.

2. Parrots and Cockatoos

Parrot species (Aves: psittaciformes) differ in their suitability as pets. Large parrots (e.g., Amazona spp.), macaws and cockatoos are highly intelligent, have a long lifespan and often exhibit neurosis-like personality traits and a predisposition to stereotypy and abnormal behavior indicative of poor welfare states [ 8 , 9 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. This means that it would be difficult to provide for their needs in captivity, and as companion animals they are likely to suffer reduced welfare to some extent [ 8 , 9 , 14 ]. African Grey parrots ( Psittacus erithacus ) have been the subject of several studies on intelligence, cognition and referential communication, [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ] and providing for their advanced cognitive and social needs can only be achieved by the most dedicated of pet keepers. Amazon parrots ( Amazona spp.) have also been shown to suffer poor welfare when caged without appropriate enrichment [ 19 , 20 ]. Unsurprisingly, the aforementioned large parrot species are also the most prone to stereotypic feather mutilation, an indication of psychological distress and poor welfare [ 8 , 9 , 21 , 22 ]. The larger parrots and cockatoos also have a long lifespan (up to 80 years), meaning they may need to be rehomed several times during their lives [ 9 ].

Pet parrots vary in the extent of their domestication, with most being either wild caught or first or second generation [ 9 , 23 ]. There is an illegal trade in wild parrots that continues to cause significant welfare issues during capture, transport and at the eventual destination [ 24 , 25 ]; therefore, keeping wild-caught parrots is unethical and is not recommended for any reason. First or second generation captive bred parrots cannot be considered domesticated and are genetically identical to wild parrots; as such, their ethological needs coincide with those of wild birds [ 9 ]. Wild parrots spend most of their time flying, foraging and interacting with conspecifics [ 26 ], and although there are species-specific differences in behavior, their needs in captivity are broadly similar. In the authors’ opinion (based on many years of keeping parrots and research into their behavior), the major welfare concerns in pet parrots are social isolation, flight restriction, poor diet (including lack of foraging enrichment) and hand rearing (which is effectively social, parental and filial deprivation).

Most wild parrots are highly social and these prey species are protected from predation by flocking (through predator dilution and vigilance) [ 9 , 26 ]; therefore social isolation is likely to cause severe psychological distress. The flock is important not just for protection from predation but also for mate choice, communal foraging, allogrooming, and offspring socialization. Several studies have found solo housing to be linked to stereotypic behavior and poor welfare, and there is evidence that parrots suffer less when kept in pairs or groups [ 27 , 28 ].

Flight restriction occurs when birds are confined to a cage and/or when wings are clipped. Over-caged birds (i.e., those kept for 10 or more hours per day in the cage) are likely to suffer and exhibit abnormal behavior such as repetitive locomotion and bar biting, which has been directly linked to barren cage environments [ 20 ]. It has been estimated that 50% of pet parrots are kept in enclosures that are too small to promote adequate welfare [ 9 ]. Based on their natural history, parrots have ethological requirements for space to fly and social interaction, and the authors recommend that psittacines need a minimum of 4–6 hours of daily flight time out of the cage, preferably socializing with other parrots. Owners may want to consider housing psittacines in indoor or outdoor aviary-style accommodation instead of a cage. Wing clipping, as well as being a threat to welfare, is also unnecessary as birds can easily be trained to obey most requests from their owners [ 29 , 30 ]. Although safety is cited as the main justification for wing clipping [ 31 ], wing-clipped birds may be less safe, as they are unable to escape from danger. Wing clipping also deprives parrots of a source of exercise and the ability to carry out natural and highly motivated behavior [ 30 ]. Removing an animal’s main method of escape from danger could cause them to suffer negative mental states, such as fear [ 30 ]. Expression of normal behavior (such as flight) is a criterion for adequate welfare; therefore, we believe that wing clipping is generally undesirable, but must be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Parrots also have specialized dietary needs, which many owners are not aware of. Captive diets consisting of all-seed traditional parrot mix are nutritionally inadequate [ 32 ]. Furthermore, appropriate levels of enrichment, in particular foraging enrichment, are not always provided for pet parrots, which can cause abnormal behavior and impaired welfare [ 9 , 20 ].

Hand rearing is the practice of deliberately raising and feeding the parrot chick away from its parents and other conspecifics and is mainly done to increase the tameness of the parrot, and make it imprinted onto humans and more dependent on human companionship [ 33 ]. Parrots are flock animals that learn social skills through extensive interaction with conspecifics and these “cuddly tame” hand-raised parrots that have not had this early experience are in demand by pet owners. However, on reaching sexual maturity they do not behave normally [ 34 ], and may be more interested in human companionship than that of other psittacines [ 35 ]. Williams et al. [ 28 ] found that hand-reared parrots in a zoo setting showed more stereotypy and less interaction with enrichment than parent-reared birds, and hand rearing is also reported to cause abnormal fear and phobic reactions to develop [ 35 ]. Indeed, although hand-reared birds are preferred by owners initially, later there can be reduced owner satisfaction due to behavioral problems such as aggression, fear and unwanted sexual behavior directed towards owners [ 36 ]. The purchase of hand-reared “cuddly tame” parrots from breeders only perpetuates the welfare problems that these human-imprinted birds face in captivity. The best parrot pets, both from the point of view of the birds’ welfare and the long-term satisfaction of owners, are in the authors’ opinion likely to be parent-reared birds that have been socialized to humans through careful handling (pers obs). Warwick et al. [ 4 ] have developed the EMODE system, which scores the level of difficulty of meeting the biological needs of pets. Birds generally are scored as moderately to extremely difficult to keep, and parrot-type birds, especially those with a long life span and that have been imprinted onto humans have a high score using this method, meaning it would be difficult to fully meet their needs in captivity.

Having said that, keeping parrot-type birds provides many benefits, with owners’ perception being that they receive love, emotional support and companionship from their birds, as well as considering them a member of the family [ 37 ]. The needs of parrots are likely to vary by species, but few studies have investigated species-specific personality and behavior differences in psittacines. It is clear that the larger parrot species are fundamentally unsuitable as pets for reasons already outlined [ 8 ]. As long as the ethological needs for social interaction, space, enrichment, flight and diet are provided for, some of the smaller parrot species such as lories, lorikeets, caiques, Pionus and Poicephalus species, cockatiels, conures and budgerigars may make suitable pets [ 8 , 22 ].

As the smaller species are also more economical to buy and feed, it becomes easier for owners to address their social and spatial needs [ 38 ]. Having said that, the individual species must be researched fully, since for example, some conure species are extremely vocal, and lorikeets require a specialist nectar diet. Also, smaller birds may be seen as disposable because of their lower cost, and therefore the threats to their welfare may be different, yet as acute as the larger parrots [ 9 ]. Budgies, for example, being a popular pet, may be kept by owners who are not informed of the bird’s needs, so smaller parrots may suffer more from ignorance of their captive needs [ 14 ]. It is concerning that a survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) showed that in 2001, 11.7% of bird owners in the USA reported at least one veterinary visit, compared to 83.6% of dog owners and 65.3% of cat owners [ 10 ].

The Netherlands has banned hand-rearing psittacine birds [ 39 ], but other European countries have not yet followed suit. The UK put in place the more general Animal Welfare Act in 2006, which means that owners have a “duty of care” to allow the expression of normal behavior [ 40 ]. Wing-clipping, over-use of a cage and social isolation are clearly contrary to this, but the law is highly unenforceable, with many parrots being kept this way (pers obs) and few prosecutions occurring to date. United States legislation is inadequate at both state and federal levels [ 9 ]. Clearer, species-specific legal guidelines are required for parrots.

3. Reptiles and Amphibians

It is difficult to quantify the extent of herpetological pet keeping, but it is thought to be extensive and involve at the very least tens of millions of animals [ 6 ]. For example, the USA alone is thought to import two million reptiles annually, and also exports 2–4 million baby “pet” turtles, with an estimated 12 million reptiles being kept in private homes [ 6 ]. The European Union is also a large market for the reptile trade, with estimated imports of 6.7 million live animals of various species between 2005 and 2007 [ 6 ]. Many authors have expressed concern in terms of ethics and welfare about the growing trend for keeping these animals [ 6 , 41 , 42 ], which has created demand for their removal from the wild and is responsible for huge mortality and morbidity [ 6 , 41 ].

As well as the ethical concerns surrounding the trade of these animals, reptiles and amphibians require specialized care and do not make suitable pets. Reptiles and amphibians have species-specific thermal, hydrological, dietary and behavioral requirements, and most owners lack a basic understanding of their needs in captivity. Whilst there are a number of exceptional hobbyists who are knowledgeable and scrupulous about providing for the needs of their animals, the vast majority of pet reptiles are kept in inadequate enclosures with poor husbandry and a lack of understanding of their biological needs [ 43 ]. Toland et al. [ 44 ] estimate that 75% of reptile pets die within a year of acquisition, and although other sources report a much lower figure [ 42 ], the welfare issues in capture, transport and husbandry are still significant. The issues are multiple, but include calcium deficiency (and associated metabolic bone disease), incorrect humidity levels, trauma due to escape attempts, thermal stress, inappropriate handling, and poor diet. Unlike dogs and cats, reptiles and amphibians are usually restricted in their movements in inadequately sized enclosures [ 6 , 43 ]. Social isolation, however, is less of a problem with amphibians and reptiles than with other, more social taxa. In addition to the welfare threats to the animals, reptiles and amphibians often carry zoonotic diseases, primarily salmonellosis, which is a particular concern if there are children or pregnant women in the household [ 45 , 46 , 47 ]. The Internet contains numerous care sheets and other information on keeping reptiles and amphibians in captivity, but misinformation and erroneous statements abound, particularly relating to the ease and suitability of keeping the animals [ 6 , 43 ]. There is the perception that certain species are easy to keep, and that they may be less demanding than larger pets and require less space, none of which are supported by the available evidence [ 6 , 43 ]. Owners are not generally knowledgeable enough to recognize the signs of stress and poor welfare in reptiles and amphibians, and many veterinarians do not have the specialized knowledge required to treat these species [ 4 ]. There are no reptiles or amphibians that are “easy to keep” [ 4 , 6 , 43 ], and for these reasons we do not recommend these animals as suitable pets.

4. Rabbits and Rodents

4.1. rabbits.

Rabbits are a popular pet in the UK [ 48 ] and the USA [ 49 ], with the estimated pet population ranging from 0.8 to 1.2 million rabbits in the UK alone [ 48 , 50 ] and three million in the USA [ 49 ]. Rabbits are also becoming popular companion animals in Mediterranean countries such as Spain, where traditionally they have been kept for meat or fur [ 51 ]. Despite their popularity, rabbits are not always kept appropriately, with owner knowledge of correct housing, preventative medicine, diet, handling and their pet’s behavioral needs frequently being lacking [ 50 , 52 ].

The UK’s Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) [ 52 ] recommends that rabbits be housed in hutches of a minimum size of 1.83 m × 0.6 m × 0.6 m (with a floor area of 1.10 m 2 ) which should be attached to a secure run of at least 2.44 m × 1.83 m (4.5 m 2 ) [ 52 ]. These dimensions are proposed to allow rabbits to move, stand up and separate feeding, resting and excretion areas [ 52 ]. It has been reported that smaller enclosures (0.6 m × 1.47 m/0.88 m 2 ), equivalent to a standard rabbit hutch size, have been found to inhibit rabbits’ behavioral repertoire, with greater inactivity and less interaction with environmental objects shown compared to those housed in larger enclosures (2.28 m × 1.47 m/3.35 m 2 ) [ 53 ], which supports the RWAF’s recommendations. A survey of the English population by Rooney et al. [ 54 ] recently found that 27.5% of rabbits were kept in enclosures smaller than 0.88 m 2 , as well as only 23.5% of rabbits having continual access to a run. These are clear areas of concern considering the RWAF recommendations [ 52 ] and the detrimental welfare effects of restricted enclosures [ 53 ].

Rabbits commonly contract a range of diseases including dental disease, gastrointestinal diseases, skin conditions and myiasis (fly strike) [ 55 , 56 , 57 ]. Many of these issues can be addressed if they are detected early on via health checking by owners. The UK Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) [ 58 ] advises daily general health checks and more thorough weekly checks, but currently the prevalence and frequency of rabbit health checking by owners is unknown. Myxomatosis and Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease are usually fatal to rabbits, and also result in pain and suffering prior to death [ 59 ]. Yearly vaccination is advised [ 59 , 60 ]; however, 30–52% of owners have not vaccinated their rabbits against these diseases [ 50 , 54 , 60 ].

Rabbits should have a diet predominantly consisting of hay [ 61 , 62 ]. Rabbit muesli should be avoided due to concerns regarding selective feeding, obesity and dental disease [ 63 , 64 , 65 ]. Within the UK, whilst the majority of owners feed their rabbits hay, fresh greens or pellets, 32.5% still feed rabbit muesli (all of which is not eaten in 52% of cases) and 10% do not feed hay on a daily basis [ 54 ]. This is a clear concern, as the diet that the rabbit receives can influence the development of dental disease and obesity, as well as diseases such as myiasis [ 64 , 65 , 66 ].

In the wild, rabbits are prey to many other animals, and this can be an important consideration when handling pet rabbits. Rabbits should be approached and picked up in a non-threatening manner, ideally not from above in order to avoid inducing fear [ 67 ]. Full support of rabbits when handling is necessary to help avoid stress in the rabbit and prevent falling [ 68 ]. Correct handling and restraint is also important to avoid back injuries in rabbits [ 69 ]. Unfortunately owners may use inappropriate handling techniques, which induce stress or provide inadequate support. Rooney et al. [ 54 ] report that the majority of rabbits (61%) do not respond calmly when handled by their owners, suggestive that this handling may be causing stress to the animals.

Wild rabbits live in large social groups, are very active [ 61 ], dig extensive warrens [ 7 ] and have relatively large home ranges [ 70 , 71 ]. Domestic rabbits display similar behaviors to wild rabbits [ 72 , 73 ] and are likely to have similar behavioral needs. Despite recommendations that rabbits should be socially housed [ 68 , 74 , 75 ], 57–58% of rabbits are kept alone in the UK [ 50 , 54 ]. Issues can arise from solitary housing, such as abnormal behaviors [ 76 ] and a reduced lifespan [ 77 ]. In addition, whilst there are a number of studies documenting the welfare benefits of providing rabbits with environmental enrichment such as gnawing sticks and boxes [ 78 , 79 ], and clear husbandry advice regarding this provision [ 80 , 81 ], many rabbits’ behavioral needs are not met. The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals [ 50 ] reports that only 49% of rabbits get daily play with toys, 46% get play in the run, 40% get play in the garden, and 24% get opportunities for daily digging. Meeting the behavioral needs of rabbits is crucial to avoid abnormal behaviors and behavioral problems, and enhance their welfare [ 76 , 79 , 81 ].

Whilst there are a number of concerns associated with keeping domestic rabbits, they are not fundamentally unsuitable as pets as long as potential owners research rabbits and appropriately consider their health and husbandry needs.

Degus ( Octodon degus ) are social, long-lived, diurnal rodents native to Chile [ 82 ], although most pet animals are captive bred. As with all species, requirements in captivity reflect wild behavioral ecology. The RSPCA considers degus vulnerable in captivity because of their specialist needs [ 83 ]. In particular, they are susceptible to heat stroke. In the wild they live in the Andes, sometimes at very high altitude, so their enclosure needs to be maintained below 20 °C. They also need to be kept away from draughts, as they are susceptible to respiratory disease. As a prey species, degus may suffer fear of being swooped on from above, so a solid cage top is recommended. For the same reason, degus may not rate highly on owner satisfaction, particularly as a children’s pet, as they do not like to be handled and doing so will cause them stress. Degus are highly social [ 84 ], and, like parrots, rely on vigilance and the collective detection of predators [ 85 ], so should not be kept singly. Degus also require a specialized diet low in sugar to prevent diabetes. A study of 300 degus presented to a veterinary clinic found that most disease in the species was caused by poor husbandry and handling, including acquired dental disease, alopecia caused by fur chewing (self-mutilation), cataracts, trauma, diabetes mellitus, and hyperthermia [ 86 ]. It was concluded that owners’ knowledge levels were not sufficient to properly care for their animals in most cases. Degus may be suitable companion animals, but only for someone willing and able to devote significant time and resources to learn about and cater for their complex requirements. We particularly do not recommend degus as family pets; other rodent species may be more suitable as pets for families with children.

4.3. Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs are popular pets, with 0.7 million kept in the UK and 1.36 million in the USA, making them the second most common small mammal after rabbits [ 87 , 88 ]. Guinea pigs are also often selected as pets for children due to their placid, docile temperament and ease of handling. As guineas pigs are socially tolerant animals [ 89 ], most reputable pet stores will only sell guinea pigs in pairs to avoid welfare concerns associated with social isolation.

Although not strictly classed as exotic pets, guinea pigs have specific husbandry requirements that differ from those of other rodent species and rabbits. When their physiological and behavioral needs are adequately met, guinea pigs can make rewarding pets that are neither expensive nor difficult to keep. Guinea pigs require a dietary source of Vitamin C; however, a number of recent studies have reported that owners are aware of this and many supplement their animals in addition to providing dietary materials high in Vitamin C [ 90 , 91 ]. Similarly to rabbits, guinea pigs require a high fiber diet in order to maintain good gastrointestinal health and avoid gastrointestinal stasis [ 92 ]. Owners need to be aware that guinea pigs require constant access to high quality hay in order to prevent the development of disease. Other common issues that affect guinea pigs include dental disease, ocular disorders and ectoparasitic infections [ 91 ].

Whilst some of the common disorders affecting guinea pigs are relatively simple and cost effective to treat (e.g., parasites), others such as dental disease require ongoing treatment and management [ 93 ] that owners may be unwilling to financially invest in. This is particularly the case when affected animals have a guarded prognosis, which may lead owners to believe that euthanasia is the best option. Problems such as dental disease are most successfully treated when diagnosed early, but when guinea pigs live in an outdoor hutch with conspecifics, it may be difficult for owners to identify subtle signs, such as a decrease in food consumption [ 94 ]. Further issues include the lack of confidence of some veterinarians in diagnosing and treating dental disease in guinea pigs [ 91 , 95 ]. It has been reported that a lack of dietary fiber is the primary cause of dental disease in rodents [ 94 ]; however, the only experimental study to investigate this in guinea pigs failed to relate tooth wear to dietary abrasiveness [ 96 ]. It is recommended that guinea pig owners consult a veterinarian experienced in treating exotic pets if their animals show signs of ill health.

Many of the health problems that affect guinea pigs occur in older animals [ 97 ]. By this point children may have lost interest in their pets, and if animals are not routinely handled, signs of ill health may not be observed. The incidence of oral cavity disease is higher in older animals [ 98 ] and geriatric males often suffer impaction, which may require daily owner intervention to manage.

Guinea pigs are also susceptible to respiratory tract infections, but the reported prevalence varies quite considerably. It has been identified that the development of pneumonia is linked to housing animals in damp or dusty conditions [ 99 ]. Pathogenic causes of respiratory disease include viruses and bacteria, but mortality rates are high regardless of the etiological agent [ 100 ]. The RSPCA recommend that in temperatures below 15 °C, guinea pigs are moved indoors unless their outdoor accommodation is suitably insulated. There is limited research on whether owners prefer to house their guinea pigs indoors or outdoors, but it could be hypothesized that an indoor environment protects against the fluctuations in temperature that can lead to the development of disease. It would seem likely that most outdoor-housed guinea pigs are not routinely brought indoors when the weather is colder. Unlike rabbits, guinea pigs are not readily litter trained, which means that they cannot be kept as house animals. However, guinea pigs still require space to exercise and their welfare may be compromised if they are predominantly left in their hutch or enclosure. The floor of guinea pig cages should be smooth and solid as housing guinea pigs on wire mesh can cause injury to the feet and subsequent pododermatitis [ 101 ].

Behavioral problems are uncommon in guinea pigs [ 89 ]; therefore, these seem an unlikely cause of owner dissatisfaction. Bonding mature males can be challenging, but this can be easily overcome by keeping neutered males with females or by introducing same sex pairs when young.

We recommend that guinea pigs can make good pets if they are kept by interested adults who are aware of their potential lifespan and husbandry requirements. Whilst the temperament of guinea pigs makes them a good pet for children, it is imperative that an adult takes responsibility for their welfare and appreciates the potential costs associated with health problems that they may experience in later life.

5. Conclusions

In conclusion, whilst there are increasing numbers of exotics being kept as pets, this unfortunately does not reflect increased public understanding of their needs. The difficulties of keeping these animals are also often underestimated by owners. Whilst some exotic animal species such as budgerigars, parakeets, rabbits and guinea pigs are likely to be suitable as pets as long as owners conduct research into their lifespan, husbandry, ethological and health requirements, meeting the needs of exotic pets such as large parrots, reptiles and amphibians is likely to be challenging in captivity. In particular, we feel that the lack of accurate and comprehensive information on keeping these pets and the difficulty in finding specialist veterinary care for exotics puts them at risk of both behavioral and physical problems. Whilst exotics are not the only pets that can suffer welfare problems when not properly cared for, there is much more information available on the needs and proper care of cats and dogs. This stands in stark contrast to the situation for many exotic pets, and we believe that not only careful research and planning, but also much greater consideration of whether an exotic animal should be kept as a pet at all, is needed before owners acquire them.

Acknowledgments

We thank four anonymous reviewers whose comments greatly improved the manuscript.

Author Contributions

Alison P. Wills, Rachel A. Grant and V. Tamara Montrose conceived the idea; Alison P. Wills wrote the section on rodents; V. Tamara Montrose wrote the section on rabbits and Rachel A. Grant wrote the section on parrots and herps.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Should Exotic Animals Be Kept As Pets? Pros and Cons

Whether exotic animals should be kept as pets is a longstanding and multifaceted issue. It intertwines concerns about animal welfare, legal implications, environmental impacts, and ethical considerations. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the various aspects of exotic pet ownership, the pros and cons of keeping exotic animals as pets, and provide a balanced perspective on this controversial subject.

Table of Contents

What are exotic pets.

Exotic pets are animals that are not traditionally domesticated. This category includes a wide range of species, from birds like parrots to reptiles like snakes and mammals like ferrets and sugar gliders. The definition can vary based on legal frameworks and cultural perceptions.

Also Read: Do Owning Exotic Animals Make Good Pets?

Exotic Pets: A Status Symbol to a Controversial Choice

Historically, owning exotic animals has been seen as a status symbol. Ancient Egyptian pharaohs kept lions, while European royalty flaunted their wealth and power through the menageries of rare exotic animals.

However, as society’s understanding of animal welfare and environmental conservation has evolved, so has the view of keeping exotic animals as pets.

Legal Considerations

The legality of owning exotic pets varies drastically. In some regions, it’s strictly controlled or outright banned; in others, it merely requires obtaining the appropriate permits. This legal patchwork complicates the issue, as what is permissible in one area might be illegal in another.

Also Read: Exotic Pet Laws By State in the United States

Pros and Cons of Keeping Exotic Animals as Pets

Pros of keeping exotic pets.

• Unique Companionship: For many, the appeal of exotic pets lies in their unique nature. These pets offer a distinctive companionship that is different from traditional pets.
• Conservation Efforts: Some argue that breeding exotic animals in captivity can aid conservation efforts, particularly for endangered species.
• Educational Value: Learning about exotic species’ unique behaviors and care requirements.

Cons of Keeping Exotic Pets

• Ethical Concerns: The ethics of keeping a wild animal in a domestic environment is a significant point of contention. It raises questions about the impact on the animal’s welfare and psychological health.
• Safety Risks: Exotic pets, due to their inherent wild nature, can pose significant safety risks to their owners and the public.

Why is it Cruel to Keep Wild Animals as Pets?

Keeping wild animals as pets is often considered cruel for several reasons:

• Natural Behavior Suppression : Wild animals have instinctual behaviors and needs that are deeply ingrained. In captivity, especially in a domestic setting, they cannot fully express these natural behaviors. This suppression can lead to psychological stress and abnormal behavior.
• Inadequate Environments : Most private individuals lack the resources and knowledge to provide an environment that mimics a wild animal’s natural habitat. This can result in inadequate space, improper diet, and lack of environmental enrichment, leading to poor physical and mental health.
• Health Risks to the Animal : Wild animals often require specialized diets and care that are difficult to replicate in a domestic setting. Inappropriate care can lead to malnutrition, illness, and in some cases, premature death.
• Safety Risks : Wild animals, even when raised in captivity, can be unpredictable and may pose safety risks to their owners and others. Their natural behaviors, such as biting, scratching, or more aggressive actions, can be dangerous.
• Ethical Concerns : Many argue that it is unethical to remove wild animals from their natural environment or to breed them for life in captivity. This practice can disrupt local ecosystems and contribute to the decline of wild populations.
• Socialization and Loneliness : Many wild species are highly social and live in groups or packs in their natural habitat. Isolation in a domestic setting can lead to loneliness and mental distress.
• Propagation of Illegal Wildlife Trade : The demand for exotic pets often fuels the illegal wildlife trade, which is a major factor in the decline of many species worldwide. This trade is often cruel in itself, with animals being captured and transported in inhumane conditions.

Keeping wild animals as pets is generally considered cruel due to the significant physical and psychological harm it can cause the animals, coupled with ethical and conservation issues. It’s crucial to prioritize the well-being of these animals and acknowledge that their needs are best met in their natural habitats or, when necessary, in specialized sanctuaries or rehabilitation centers.

Environmental and Ecological Impact

The impact of keeping exotic pets extends beyond individual welfare concerns. There’s a significant environmental and ecological aspect to consider, especially when these pets escape or are released into non-native environments, becoming invasive species that threaten local ecosystems.

Animal Welfare and Ethics

The central argument against keeping exotic pets revolves around the idea that many of these animals have specialized needs that are difficult to meet in a domestic setting and can lead to physical and psychological problems for the animals, raising severe animal welfare concerns.

Alternatives to Exotic Pet Ownership

For those fascinated by exotic animals, there are alternatives to ownership that can be equally fulfilling. Engaging with wildlife through sanctuaries, zoos, and digital platforms can offer a connection with these animals without the complexities and ethical dilemmas of ownership.

Case Studies and Real-Life Examples

Examining case studies, such as the Zanesville, Ohio incident , where dozens of exotic animals were released, offers valuable insights into the potential consequences of exotic pet ownership. These real-life examples highlight the complexities and unforeseen challenges that can arise.

In conclusion, whether exotic animals should be kept as pets is a complex answer. It is a complex issue that requires a thoughtful and nuanced approach. While the allure of exotic pets is undeniable, potential owners must consider the legal, ethical, environmental, and welfare implications before deciding to bring an exotic animal into their home.

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About the author.

Austin Cannon

Austin Cannon, editor for The Spruce Pets and Daily Paws, is a seasoned journalist with a background in award-winning reporting for publications. Austin joined The Exotic Pets in December 2023. Austin holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science from Drake University (2016). He edits and produces most of the site’s content and trending stories, giving pet owners daily joy and knowledge.

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The keeping of non-domestic species as pets, companion animals or part of ornamental or specialist collections is becoming increasingly popular. Numerous species of mammals, birds, herptiles, fish and invertebrates are available in the exotic animal trade. However, it is important to carefully consider the suitability of such species for a captive environment and research the […]

Ethical challenges and welfare considerations for keeping exotic animals as pets: five key principles

Considerations of a species suitability to a captive environment and diligent research on their needs and requirements is crucial before the decision to keep exotic and wild species is made

The keeping of non-domestic species as pets, companion animals or part of ornamental or specialist collections is becoming increasingly popular. Numerous species of mammals, birds, herptiles, fish and invertebrates are available in the exotic animal trade. However, it is important to carefully consider the suitability of such species for a captive environment and research the needs and requirements of these species diligently before the decision to keep them is made.

Alongside the “regular” exotic pets such as corn snakes ( Pantherophis guttatus ) or bearded dragons ( Pogona vitticeps ), more specialised wild animals that require a dangerous wild animal (DWA) licence are also kept in the UK. Estimates suggest that nearly 2,500 DWA-registered species are housed in England alone (Tovey, 2022).

What makes wild species different to domesticated ones?

Unlike domesticated breeds of dog, cat, chicken or goldfish, exotic animals are not so far removed from their original wild ancestors. Their behaviour patterns will be more aligned to a life of freedom rather than one lived in a human-created environment. As such, behavioural disturbances (such as pacing, self-damaging and displacement or redirected activities) that indicate negative welfare experiences are more common in a captive environment.

It is a greater challenge to provide sufficient and appropriate opportunities and outlets for adaptive traits and highly motivated behaviours to be performed (ie characteristics and behaviours that have evolved for a specific survival reason) when a species has not been domesticated and, therefore, has not been moulded or changed to be best suited to life around humans ( Figure 1 ).

Even if an exotic species is captive-bred, it has not been domesticated. “Captive-bred” simply means the individuals in the pet trade have been produced from other captively housed animals rather than being sourced from the wild. These captive-bred animals are more likely to be tame and acclimatised to human care, but they are not markedly changed from their ancestors and therefore are not domesticated.

Captive-bred animals are more likely to be tame and acclimatised to human care, but they are not markedly changed from their ancestors and therefore are not domesticated

Dogs, wolves and sugar gliders: a study in captivity

The gulf between our understanding of the needs of domesticated breeds compared to exotic species kept as pets is probably best illustrated by the evolutionary history of the domestic dog ( Canis lupus familiaris ) and the sugar glider ( Petaurus breviceps ), a marsupial mammal from Australia.

Genetic research published in 2015 suggests that dogs first split away from ancestral grey wolves ( Canis lupus ) potentially up to 40,000 years ago (Skoglund et al. , 2015), with domestication following shortly after this. This highlights the intensity and longevity of the relationship between dogs and humans. In fact, the dog is the oldest of all domesticated breeds (the next being the sheep, Ovis aries , around 8,000 to 9,000 years ago). Because of this long association, we know what to provide for a pet dog, we know how to interact with them and there is a deeper level of communication and understanding between us and our canine companions.

Our manipulation of dog reproduction has not only caused them to look completely different from wolves from the outside, but it has also changed the structure of different brain regions

Our manipulation of dog reproduction has not only caused them to look completely different from wolves from the outside, but it has also changed the structure of different brain regions (Hecht et al. , 2019), which has resulted in different behavioural specialisation desired by humans.

Conversely, the sugar glider first appeared in the US exotic pet market in the 1990s (Brust, 2009). It is not domesticated, and we have had just over 30 years of experience with its husbandry care. Sugar gliders are difficult to look after properly and are often seen by specialist exotic vets because of husbandry-related pathologies (Lennox, 2007). They have a poor tolerance for pain and will often eviscerate themselves by chewing on the stitched area following surgery (Ness, 2012).

Sugar gliders are difficult to look after properly and are often seen by specialist exotic vets because of husbandry-related pathologies

Perhaps what best illustrates our challenges of providing correct sugar glider care is that many of the sugar gliders available for sale may not actually be sugar gliders but a closely related species of possums in the same Petaurus genus (Campbell et al. , 2019). If we struggle to correctly identify the species that we are keeping, we have even less of a chance of providing the right environment and care needs.  

Five key principles for keeping wild animals in captivity  

Before considering an exotic species as a pet or companion animal, it is important to remember the following five key principles to be welfare-positive and ethical in our approaches to exotic pet care.

1)     Housing needs and life-long care

• What area is required for roaming, daily movement and performance of essential natural behaviours? Can these be replicated in an enclosure?
• Can we provide the required resources easily to promote behavioural diversity and good welfare?
• Do housing needs extend to the regulation and control of heating, lighting, ventilation, humidity and other climatic parameters at different times of the day/night? Can these environmental aspects be controlled/managed?
• Is there a veterinary specialist nearby who can provide appropriate treatment and healthcare for the species in question if needed?

2)     Social group and space

• Is the species naturally social or solitary? Do the social preferences of the species change with age and development?
• Can a natural sex ratio and minimum number of animals be maintained easily in a captive environment?
• Can an enclosure provide sufficient space for different/all members of the group to come together and/or remove themselves from the group as and when desired?
• How big does the species grow when mature? Can this size be easily accommodated for all individuals in a social group?
• How much space does each individual animal require to be comfortable in a social group (if applicable) or to fully engage with the environment around it, and can this amount of space be provided?

3)     Nutrition

• Can an appropriate diet for each life stage of the animal be easily provided?
• Are there alternative ingredients that are readily accepted by the species if wild foodstuffs cannot be sourced?
• Has a captive diet been nutritionally analysed to ensure its suitability?
• Will captive diets (including any substitute ingredients) promote important natural feeding and foraging behaviours?

4)     Source population

• Are individuals in the trade captive-bred? Is this captive population sustainable and well-managed?
• Does the breeder keep records? Can they verify the source and origin of all animals under their care?
• If the species is wild-caught, is this sustainable and conducted in an ethical way?
• Can relevant paperwork and documentation be sought and verified (eg CITES paperwork) where required according to a species’ status?

5)     Behavioural needs

• Are the behavioural needs and natural time-activity budget of the species documented to evidence the appropriateness of a captive environment to behavioural outputs?
• Can all natural behaviours be performed in captivity?
• If some behaviours cannot be performed, what are the welfare implications of this? Are the welfare implications known?
• If the species is prone to abnormal repetitive behaviours (such as stereotypic pacing, self-directed behaviours or behavioural disturbances that impact health), can these be treated and rectified with changes to husbandry, use of enrichment or positive reinforcement training?

Final thoughts

Owners (both potential and actual) should ask themselves if they have the answers to all these questions under each of the five points listed above ( Figure 2 ). If answers cannot be found, and the owner is then ignorant of such key aspects of an exotic species’ biology, behaviour and care needs, it is best (from an animal welfare and ethical perspective) to err on the side of caution and not keep the species in the first place.

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Should Exotic Animals Be Kept As Pets Argumentative Essay Example

Many exotic pets, such as big cats, are one of the many animals close to extinction. Lately, there has been a debate on whether people should be able to have ownership of exotic pets or be banned from owning them. Many people who have owned exotic pets have struggled with keeping proper care of them. The simple answer is that the United States should ban people from being able to take ownership of such exotic animals because the animals are too expensive and hazardous to maintain for an individual; the common home does not offer the proper habitat or nutrition for the animals; and many conflicts would arouse from trying to license people rather than banning it all together. 

To begin with, exotic animals are too expensive and hazardous to maintain for an individual. In the past, there have been multiple times where exotic pets have killed or injured their owner. A big cat in the wild only knows how to protect themselves so if you spook the animal, their automatic instinct is to protect themselves no matter what or who it is. Mike Tyson, a famous fighter, took ownership of some cats and was unable to acquire proper licensing for them (“Ban Ownership of Exotic Pets”). Therefore if a rich man cannot pay the expenses, an individual with less money would not be able to support an exotic animal either. 

Secondly, a common home does not have the space to house an exotic animal or provide the proper nutrition for one. Imagine being kept in a backyard and not being able to go anywhere a person would want to go and being fed food that does not meet a human's needs. The habitat an exotic animal needs is not available in a suburb. They belong in the wild where they have room to wander and get the daily exercise they need. Not to mention, the nutrition an animal requires is very expensive and hard to come by. The article “Ban Ownership of Exotic Pets” states, “Unable to satisfy the animal’s needs for space and nutrition, which often happens, the owner becomes, in effect, an abuser.” (“Ban Ownership of Exotic Pets”). Lastly, many conflicts could arise from trying to license owners instead of just banning it all together. 

In conclusion, these are a few of the many reasons exotic pets should not be owned by individuals. According to the article “License the Cats,” some people can afford to maintain exotic animals and give them a proper place to live and proper nutrition. However, it is not fair to the animals to be in a place where they do not belong. Animals deserve to be in the wild where they have their own freedom to wander, hunt, and have a happy and suitable life. The United States should take away the opportunity to have the right to own such beautiful, wild animals. Put the exotic animals in their natural habitat and let them roam freely.

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Keeping Exotic Pets and Negative Consequences Essay

Introduction, works cited.

Specific Purpose: To convince conscious pet-owners that keeping exotic pets harms the latter, the solution is to advocate for better regulations because I do not want to play God and would rather start being responsible for protecting the environment.

Central Idea: To be convinced not to keep exotic pets.

• Many exotic pets die even before being sold, and the rest suffer in an unsuitable environment.
• Not making inquiries before buying such an animal results in insufficient resources and a pet’s death.
• Everyone in the audience probably has a pet and can feel empathy towards a non-human being.
• After researching the topic properly, I hope to convince you that keeping exotic pets is harmful to them, so the solution is to advocate for better regulations because I do not want to play God and would rather start being responsible for protecting the environment.

(Transition: Before I tell about advocating for better regulations, allow me to explain the issue with exotic pets).

Keeping exotic pets can be harmful to them due to inadequate care (problem). According to PETA, most of them die during capture and transportation, and those who survive the ordeal suffer the same fate at people’s homes, barely living for more than a year. Such pets require specialized diets and facilities, which are not easily available or affordable (Henn). Some impatient owners may leave them outdoors to solve the issue, but it is equally lethal for the animal (PETA). It may also become too distressed and try to escape, leading to a similar outcome (Henn). Meanwhile, several stakeholders, including smugglers, sellers, and other indifferent owners, appear to benefit from the situation.

The problem is rampant due to inadequate legal regulation regarding exotic pets, so the best solution would be to advocate for its improvement (solution). Better laws can remove the loopholes used by traders and make it mandatory to monitor animal lives to prevent abuse by smugglers or owners (Nuwer). The advocacy can be done through starting petitions or signing the existing ones, appealing to the local government, or joining forces with the Wildlife Conservation Society or another organization (Nuwer). As a result, exotic pets will not be openly sold, and their lives will be spared; moreover, a potential owner may avoid being incriminated for illegally possessing one and will opt for a safer option.

(Transition: As you have the understanding of the issue and its potential solution by advocating for better regulations in the field, I will share why it resonates with me).

I do not want to play God and would rather start being responsible for protecting the environment (emotional appeal). People buy exotic pets simply because they are unique or beautiful without caring for their survival, which is a consumerist approach to nature, and I cannot accept it. I believe that those animals are living beings deserving of freedom, and by leaving them alone, we will eventually learn how to save the planet, too.

I am out of time, but I am certain that now you see why it could be very beneficial to advocate for better regulations concerning exotic pets instead of keeping them.

Henn, Corrine. “Here’s Why Exotic Animals Belong in the Wild, Not as ‘Pets’ in Our Backyards.” One Green Planet , 2021, Web.

Nuwer, Rachel. “Many Exotic Pets Suffer or Die in Transit, and Beyond—and the U.S. Government is Failing to Act.” National Geographic , 2021, Web.

PETA. “Exotic Animals as ‘Pets.’” PETA , Web.

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Should exotic animals be kept as pets? Should the ownership of wild animals be banned?

Source: Composite by G_marius based on M. Dolly 's image.

Should people be allowed to keep exotic animals as pets? Should we ban the ownership of wild animals? Do true animal lovers keep exotic pets? Check out the pros and cons and share your opinion!

On netivist we have many open debates and petitions concerning animal abuse and protection (e.g. bullfighting , dolphin hunting , gorillas in zoos ). Let's discuss the possession of exotic pets.  Keeping exotic animals as pets has always been a subject of controversy. We are not only referring to the eccentricities of some celebrity owning a lion or a tiger. Exotic pets are very diverse and increasingly common in homes.

Should exotic animals be kept as pets?

Animal lovers are divided. For some of them having an exotic pet is a cool thing and a display of love for the animal. Some owners of unusual pets put great effort into all the paperwork necessary to get their animals authorized as pets. Moreover, they spend a lot of money and time taking care of their pets .  Owning a pet  is always a responsibility, but owning a dangerous or wild animal more so.  For others, allowing exotic pets means endangering wildlife. Snakes, spiders, chameleons, scorpions and monkeys have become increasingly common pets. The owners of these pets in generally treat them with great care and argue these pets have a very pleasant life at their homes. However, the ownership of  exotic pets is also highly controversial. Keeping exoti c animals as pets threatens public health and safety as well as animal welfare. Wild animals can harm humans and spread diseases.

Pros and cons of exotic pets

Let’s have a look at the arguments proposed by people in favor of  exotic pets ownership: 

• Many of these pets don’t need neither much  space , nor daily  walks  or shows of  affection , for example reptiles, spiders, insects…
• Dogs and cats usually live many years. Some exotic pets have shorter lifespans , which means they are less of a long term commitment for their owner.
• As some exotic pets, such as amphibians or reptiles, don't have fur they are more convenient for people with  allergies.
• Some exotic pets have other advantages like pest control (lizards), fiber production (alpaca), eggs (quails), etc.
• There is a great  diversity of wild animals, so any owner can find a pet that suits her/his needs.
• Owners of exotic animals usually learn a lot about them so that they can take care of them properly. Knowledge usually makes people more open minded and interesting.
• Adopting wild animals can be a good way of  protecting some endangered species which otherwise would struggle to survive in their original habitat.

Many activists and animal rights advocates staunchly oppose keeping exotic animal as pets and argue:

• Exotic animals are wild animals. They have not been domesticated and selected during thousands of years like dogs (30.000 years) and cats (5.000 years). So even if they are owned since birth and tamed, they are still wild, with their own instincts and needs . In consequence, they often suffer while being kept as pets
• Some of these animals are very dangerous . If they escape, they can endanger family and neighbors.
• Some wild animals may carry infections and diseases.
• Some animals (parrots, for example) have very long lifespans and mean a very long term commitment for owners.
• Many of exotic pets have specific needs, not only physical (temperature, light, food, space, housing) but also mental needs (monkey, parrots). If any of these needs is not fulfilled, they will suffer. If these animals develop mental disorders they may become violent and destructive.
• It is sometimes difficult to find the right professional or veterinary doctor  who could advice on the best ways to take care of the exotic pet.
• There is an important  illegal market around wild animals and exotic pets. There are criminal organizations that are hunting and mistreating animals in order to serve the demand for these fancy pets. Some endangered species are particularly sensible to this threat.

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Premium Content

Wild Obsession

The perilous attraction of owning exotic pets.

All across the nation, in Americans’ backyards and garages and living rooms, in their beds and basements and bathrooms, wild animals kept as pets live side by side with their human owners. It’s believed that more exotic animals live in American homes than are cared for in American zoos. The exotic-pet business is a lucrative industry, one that’s drawn criticism from animal welfare advocates and wildlife conservationists alike. These people say it’s not only dangerous to bring captive-bred wildlife into the suburbs, but it’s cruel and it ought to be criminal too. Yet the issue is far from black or white.

At least not to Leslie-Ann Rush, a horse trainer who lives on a seven-acre farm outside Orlando, Florida, a place where the wind makes a rustling sound when it whips through the palms. Rush, 57, who has a kind face and hair the color of corn, breeds and trains gypsy horses she houses in a barn behind her small petting zoo, a wire enclosure where three male kangaroos, four lemurs, a muntjac deer (originally from Asia), a potbellied pig, a raccoon-like kinkajou called Kiwi, and a dog named Dozer all live—the lemurs leaping freely, the kangaroos sleeping on their sides, the petite pig rooting in the ground, the Asian deer balancing its rack of antlers on its delicate head.

Rush weaves in and around her exotic pets with ease and cheerfulness and Cheerios, doling them out to the lemurs. They thrust their humanlike hands into the open boxes and draw out fistfuls of O’s, which they eat almost politely, one by one, dining daintily while the drool gathers in the corners of their mouths.

Rush has a ring-tailed lemur, Liam; two ruffed lemurs, Lolli and Poppi; and a common brown lemur named Charlie. While many lemurs are threatened, the ruffed lemurs are considered critically endangered in the wild. Rush believes that by caring for these captive-bred creatures she is doing her part to help keep lemurs alive on Earth, and she cares for her animals with a profound commitment that consumes her days and even her nights. As darkness falls, she moves from the small enclosure into her home and takes her favorite lemur with her; he shares her bed, coiled up on a pillow by her head.

Because kangaroos are active typically at dawn and dusk, the animals look lazy in the daylight, dun-colored beasts lying on their sides in cylinders of sun, their thick tails trailing in the dry dirt. But come evening they hop up on their hind legs and press their faces against the large glass window, looking in on Rush in her home: Let me come in, they seem to say. Rush does not let them in, although she did when they were babies. “I have all of these amazing animals of different species, from different continents, and the thing is, they play together,” she says, and she sweeps her hand through the air, gesturing to her multicolored menagerie sunning, sleeping, snacking. She has filmed and posted videos of them playing on YouTube, the lemurs leaping over the kangaroos, which hop and twirl and chase the primates around the yard.

Despite occasional reports of wild kangaroos attacking humans in Australia, Rush’s pets display not a hint of aggression. This may have something to do with the fact that kangaroos are naturally somnolent during daytime hours, and it may also have something to do with the fact that Rush’s kangaroos are no longer truly wild: They were bred in captivity; two of them have been neutered; they are used to human contact. Rush raised each kangaroo in diapers, bottle-fed it, and, touching the sleek suede fur continually, accustomed each animal to human hands.

For Hungry Minds

The $35 that Rush charges to visit what she calls her Exotic Animal Experience helps defray the costs involved in keeping her pets. Some exotic-animal owners spend thousands a year on fresh meat, for carnivores that dine daily on raw steak, for primates—omnivores with complex dietary needs—for snakes, which eat rat after rat after rat. In Rush’s case her kangaroos consume huge quantities of grain, while the lemurs eat mounds of fruits and vegetables.

Rush herself lives a lean life, much of her own money poured into feeding her herd. And then there’s her time. She puts abundant hours into caring for her exotics. “They’re 24/7,” she says, and then goes on to add, “but they’re my family. They need me. I can’t explain to you what that feels like. I wake up every morning and come out here, and all my animals come rushing up to greet me. I feel loved, and that feels great.

“My family,” she repeats, and a shadow sweeps across her face. “All my life,” she says, “people have let me down. My animals never have.”

Privately owning exotic animals is currently permitted in a handful of states with essentially no restrictions: You must have a license to own a dog, but you are free to purchase a lion or baboon and keep it as a pet. Even in the states where exotic-pet ownership is banned, “people break the law,” says Adam Roberts of Born Free USA, who keeps a running database of deaths and injuries attributed to exotic-pet ownership: In Texas a four-year-old mauled by a mountain lion his aunt kept as a pet, in Connecticut a 55-year-old woman’s face permanently disfigured by her friend’s lifelong pet chimpanzee, in Ohio an 80-year-old man attacked by a 200-pound kangaroo, in Nebraska a 34-year-old man strangled to death by his pet snake. And that list does not capture the number of people who become sick from coming into contact with zoonotic diseases.

The term exotic pet has no firm definition; it can refer to any wildlife kept in human households—or simply to a pet that’s more unusual than the standard dog or cat. Lack of oversight and regulation makes it difficult to pin down just how many exotics are out there. “The short answer is, too many,” says Patty Finch of the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. It’s estimated that the number of captive tigers alone is at least 5,000—most kept not by accredited zoos but by private owners. And while many owners tend to their exotic pets with great care and at no small expense, some keep their pets in cramped cages and poor conditions.

Commercially importing endangered species into the United States has been restricted since the early 1970s. Many of the large exotic animals that end up in backyard menageries—lions and tigers, monkeys and bears—are bred in captivity. Today on the Internet you can find zebras and camels and cougars and capuchins for sale, their adorable faces staring out from your screen; the monkeys with their intelligent eyes; the big cats with their tawny coats. And though such animals are no longer completely wild, neither are they domesticated—they exist in a netherworld that prompts intriguing questions and dilemmas.

From his experience in providing sanctuary for exotic animals in need of new homes, often desperately, Roberts says that exotic-pet owners tend to fall into multiple overlapping categories. Some people treat their animals, especially primates, as surrogate children, dressing them up in baby clothes, diapering them, and training them to use the toilet. Some own exotics as symbols of status and power, the exotic animal the next step up from a Doberman or pitbull. There are impulse buyers who simply could not resist purchasing a cute baby exotic. Still others are collectors, like Brandon Terry, who lives in Wake County, North Carolina, in a one-bedroom apartment with 15 snakes, three of them venomous. And then there are wild animal lovers who may start out as volunteers at a wildlife sanctuary and end up adopting a rescued animal in need of a home.

Denise Flores of Ohio explains how she acquired her first tiger. “I went to a wild animal park one day, and someone put a baby tiger in my lap. My heart melted; it just melted. I was hooked,” says Flores, who ended up caring for eight rescued big cats, including two white tigers so beautiful they looked like fluid ivory.

Some people seek wild animals as pets as a way to reconnect with the natural world. They believe their exotics set them apart, the relationship made all the more intense by the unintended social isolation that is often the result of having an unpredictable beast as a companion. “Yes, of course my exotics make me feel unique,” Rush says. Though anyone can own a cat or dog, exotic-pet owners take pleasure in possessing an animal that has, for hundreds of thousands of years, refused the saddle of domestication: They take the uncivilized into society and in doing so assert their power.

“I wanted something different, something unusual,” says Michelle Berk, formerly of Palisades, Florida, who bought her kinkajou, Winnie, on craigslist. “She was there for me to make my own. We didn’t get a dog because there’s nothing cool or outstanding about owning a dog. A kinkajou—now that seems untouchable. And who doesn’t want the untouchable? They say don’t touch it, so you want to touch it.”

Tim Harrison understands the allure of owning exotic pets. Thirty-two years ago he worked as a public safety officer in the city of Oakwood, Ohio, and kept a menagerie in his house. He had snakes wrapped around lamp poles. He had rhesus monkeys leaping from counter to couch. He had lions sunning themselves on his gravel driveway. He had capuchins and bears and wolves, which were his favorites.

After a hard day of chasing criminals or a boring day of ticketing cars, Harrison would change out of his uniform and drive home to his animals. He always went to the wolves first. His body aching, his mind numbed, he’d let the canines come to him, weaving around his legs. He’d drop down on his knees and then lie flat on his back, the wolves clambering over him. “I would just lie there and let them lick me,” Harrison says, “and it was one of the best feelings in the world.”

Now the animals are gone. Harrison will never again own anything wild or exotic. He believes ownership of all potentially dangerous exotic animals should be banned and is working to make that happen. He underwent a profound transformation, his entire outlook shattered and put back together again in a new way.

What happened is this: After decades of being an exotic-pet owner, Harrison went to Africa. He drove over the open plains and grasslands, and he can remember, all these years later, the giraffes’ long lope, the lions’ hypnotic canter, the elephants sucking water up their trunks and spraying themselves so their hides glistened. Harrison gazed upon these wild animals, and he says it was as if his eyes had been blistered shut and were suddenly opened as he witnessed these mammals moving in such profound harmony with their environment that you could hear it: a rhythm, a pulse, a roar. This, Harrison suddenly realized, was how wild animals are supposed to live. They are not supposed to live in Dayton or any other suburb or city; they are creatures in and of the land, and to give them anything less suddenly seemed wrong.

Harrison says he understood then that he didn’t really own wild animals. What he had back in Dayton was a mixed-up menagerie of inbreeding and crossbreeding that resulted in animals that had almost nothing to do with the creatures before him now. He felt that he’d been no better than a warden and that he needed to change his ways. When he returned to Ohio, one by one he gave up his beloved wolves and primates and cats and handed them over to sanctuaries where they’d at least have safety and space. It hurt him to do this. He knew his wolves so well he could howl a hello, and a goodbye.

Today Harrison is retired from the police force. He puts as many hours as he can into Outreach for Animals, an organization he helped found to rescue exotic pets and place them in one of the sanctuaries he trusts. Many of the so-called wildlife sanctuaries in this country are actually using their animals to make a profit, commercially breeding them or allowing public contact. The few that operate solely for the benefit of the animals are already overloaded, says Vernon Weir of the American Sanctuary Association, an accrediting organization. “I have trouble finding space for wolf-dog mixes, potbellied pigs, some species of monkeys—many retired from use in research—and all the big cats and bears,” Weir says. “A good sanctuary will take in only what they can afford to care for.”

Harrison’s agency fields hundreds of calls a month from law enforcement officials dealing with an escaped animal or owners overwhelmed by the cost and responsibility of an animal’s care. He has been on more than a hundred big cat rescues in the past year and over his lifetime has rescued close to a thousand exotic felines. He was there when a man in Pike County, Ohio, named Terry Brumfield finally agreed to give up his beloved but ill-kept lions. He is currently working with a man who owns a bear that bit off his finger. The owner can’t yet bring himself to let the bear go.

“I meet people where they’re at,” says Harrison. “If an owner isn’t ready to give their exotic up, I help them care for the animal in the best way possible. I help them build a better enclosure or get the best kind of feed. I don’t judge. My hope is that, with the right kind of support, the person will eventually see that owning this animal is a dangerous drain and will voluntarily choose to give it up.”

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Harrison feels empathy for wild animal owners, whose affection he so well understands. He loved his animals. He believed, as most owners do, that his animals loved him. He believed that having a thriving menagerie made him special. “But I was deluded,” he says. “I used to believe there was no animal I could not tame, no animal I was unable to train, and that any animal living under my roof was receiving the best of care.” The delusion, rooted in a deep desire to commune with wild animals, has lingered long after the beasts were gone. Every time he participates in a rescue he has to stop himself from taking the animal home. “I try to keep my contact with the animals I rescue to a minimum,” Harrison explains, “because my addiction can come back at a moment’s notice.”

The state of Ohio has become ground zero for the debate over exotic-animal ownership, and here’s why: In October 2011, outside the city of Zanesville, in Muskingum County, a man named Terry Thompson let 50 of his wild animals, including lions and tigers, out of their cages and enclosures before killing himself. The local sheriff’s department had little choice but to shoot most of the animals, which were dodging cars, loping across backyards, and posing a threat to public safety. Prior to the Zanesville incident, Ohio was one of a handful of states that required no license or permit to keep an exotic or wild animal as a pet.

The Zanesville tragedy woke Ohio up. In response to the outcry over the sight of exotic carcasses lined up near Thompson’s property, the governor of Ohio signed an executive order cracking down on unlicensed animal auctions. The state now requires owners of “dangerous exotic animals” to have a permit, to microchip their pets, to establish a relationship with a veterinarian, and to buy insurance.

“I couldn’t afford the insurance,” Flores says, and so she sent her big cats to live in accredited sanctuaries, which is exactly what state officials hoped would happen. “These are beautiful animals, yes, but let me tell you,” says Flores, “I had the common sense to know to never get in the cage with them. I’d pet them through the bars, if that. That was all.”

Sheriff Matthew Lutz was the one who gave the order to shoot the animals after Thompson released them from their cages. The incident continues to haunt him. He has joined forces with animal rights activists who have lobbied for years, to no effect so far, for a federal law that would prohibit the private possession and breeding of large cats except by zoos and other registered facilities.

Like Rush, many exotic-pet owners and private breeders say they are motivated by a desire to preserve and protect threatened species. “Climate change and human population growth could wipe out a species in record time, so having a backup population is a good idea,” says Lynn Culver, a private breeder of felines and executive director of the Feline Conservation Federation who believes that “those who do it right should have the right to do it.”

But advocacy groups like Born Free USA and the World Wildlife Fund say that captive breeding of endangered species by private owners—whether for commercial, conservation, or educational reasons—serves only to perpetuate a thriving market for exotic animals. That, in turn, results in a greater risk to animals still living in their natural habitat. Conservation efforts should focus on protecting animals in the wild, they assert, not on preserving what are often inbred animals in private zoos.

If a federal law ever passes, violators could face a fine and time in jail, as well as have their animal confiscated. That prospect enrages some exotic-animal owners, who argue that the number of incidents involving injuries from exotic pets pales in comparison to the number of people who visit the emergency room for dog bites each year.

“Placing bans on wild animal ownership will only increase the population of illegal exotics out there,” says Zuzana Kukol, who co-founded REXANO (Responsible Exotic Animal Ownership) to oppose bans on the private ownership or use of animals. “Bans do not work. We’ve seen this with alcohol and prostitution.”

Kukol and co-founder Scott Shoemaker live on ten acres of land an hour’s drive from Death Valley, in the state of Nevada. They own two bobcats, two African lions, two cougars, four tigers, one serval, and one ocelot. They point out that wild animal ownership has existed throughout history and in all cultures—“by monarchs, kings, monks, nomads, and peasants”—and insist that most owners today treat their animals well and keep them from harming people. When it comes to risk and its management, she is very clear: “I’d rather die by a lion than by some stupid drunk driver.”

Local people, including farmers, give the couple their ailing cows and horses, which Shoemaker kills with a simple gunshot to the head, then butchers into small pieces and feeds to the menagerie, including Kukol’s favorite pet, a male African lion named Bam Bam. She has always gravitated more toward animals than people. “Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to surround myself with animals,” she says. “I never wanted children.”

It’s true that even in states where wild animal ownership is explicitly banned, existing laws are not well enforced. The market for exotics is so alive and thriving that to call it underground is a bit misleading. “The worst offenders are the tiger petting zoos that churn out 200 cubs a year so people can have their picture taken with them,” says Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue, an accredited sanctuary.

At the raucous auctions held in muddy fields or paved parking lots, auctioneers hold out adorable tiger cubs with scrumptious soft scruffs or display tiny chimps in baseball hats and T-shirts that say, “I (heart) you.” But people don’t realize that all too soon that adorable tiger will outgrow its role as family pet and end up confined in a chain link enclosure.

It’s backyard breeders that Tim Harrison believes are to blame for most wild animal abuse. He’s been to auctions where cages are stacked one on top of the other, cramped with cougars and other big cats, mostly cubs; the tents awhirl with people whose pockets bulge with cash; snakes and primates being sold for thousands of dollars. The parking lots are filled with everything from shining Cadillacs to rusted trucks, the public pouring in to see and touch.

The breeders stand to make hundreds of thousands of dollars during an auction. They coach their auctioneers—the middlemen—to tell prospective buyers that their animals, usually babies, are harmless, and they are correct. “The problem comes,” says Harrison, “when the animal reaches sexual maturity and its natural predator instinct kicks in.”

Remember Michelle Berk and her kinkajou? Like so many other wild animal stories, Winnie’s came to a sad end. For years Berk kept the kinkajou in peace, but when the animal went into her first heat, her behavior changed. She tried to eat her own tail as Berk and her family tried to protect themselves while stopping the kinkajou from tearing herself to pieces. After that Berk turned Winnie over to a sanctuary. “It’s like we lost a child. She’ll always be our baby. Now she has gone to a place where she’ll finally get to be a kinkajou,” says Berk, who seems at peace with the decision. “I’ve learned that Winnie never really needed us. She didn’t need to be our pet. She didn’t need to be locked up. We got her because we needed her.”

So yes, the infant animals are docile, but docile is different from domesticated. Of all the large land mammals that populate the planet, just over a dozen have been successfully domesticated. No matter how tamed or accustomed to humans an undomesticated animal becomes, its wild nature is still intact.

When making the case against exotic-pet ownership, animal rights advocates tend to highlight the dangers these formerly wild creatures pose to humans; wild animal owners underscore the inherent rights of humans to own exotics. Back and forth the argument goes, but what can get lost is what’s best for the animals. If only it were possible to look at the issue from the animal’s point of view.

Yet perhaps we need only look more closely, with our own human eyes, at even a model example of responsible wild animal ownership. Here we are, back at the ranch owned by Leslie-Ann Rush, the marsupials still snoozing in the sun, the pig still rooting in the earth, the fruit trees heavy with papayas.

In all ways Rush has done a fantastic job. The enclosure where she keeps her animals is clean. Despite the financial pressures, they are well fed and content. She is 100 percent committed and, on top of that, has managed to carve out for herself a life that suits her, a sustaining interdependent community of breathing beings, and this is no small thing.

Like most exotic owners I spoke with, Rush does not believe her animals pose a danger to herself or anyone else. “I don’t have predators,” she says. “I’m not that kind of wild animal owner.” But perhaps danger to humans is not really the point.

A rabbit runs through the yard, a newcomer, or simply suddenly visible. The potbellied pig sniffs and snorts. One kangaroo lifts a lazy eyelid and then lowers it and starts to slumber again. Only the youngest kangaroo is awake, and now, suddenly, he perks up. His ears fork forward and his eyes take on a sheen.

Hauling himself up on his hind legs, he sniffs the pig’s mottled hide as it trots by, then starts to hop behind the animal, lowering his pointed nose to get a whiff of the pig’s rear. The pig turns around and snarls. The kangaroo, the youngest one, which hasn’t been neutered, doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the snarl—why would he, since he’s been raised to comprehend not animal but human language—and continues to pursue the pig, which picks up speed. The kangaroo is now in hot pursuit, trying to mount the pig.

“Look!” Rush says. “They’re playing!” But the animals do not seem to be playing. The pig’s snarl grows more threatening. There is, all of a sudden, in what was a peaceful enclosure, a series of misunderstandings. Although it seems evident to me that the kangaroo is trying to mate with the pig, Rush later tells me it was grooming. Whatever is happening, the pig is having no part of it and trots away as fast as his little legs will go. Of course, a kangaroo cannot successfully mate with a Vietnamese potbellied pig. Yet here, in this wired enclosure, the natural order has been altered.

Adam Roberts of Born Free USA says his organization’s mission is to keep wildlife in the wild, where it belongs. When humans choose to keep what are supposed to be wild animals as pets, we turn them into something outside of wild, something for which nature has no place. In the famous children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, a boy sails on a boat to an island where he dances with beasts born from his own imagination. In the end what we learn from exotic-pet ownership is that when you take the wild out of the wild, you eradicate its true nature and replace it with fantasy—the fantasy being ours, we humans, the animals at once the most and the least tamed of all.

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Animal Consultants

Should Exotic Animals Be Kept as Pets?

Many people like the idea of owning an exotic animal for a pet. However, these animals are not a good choice for domestication and should never be attempted as a pet unless it is by an experienced professional or someone with many years of experience. Many people who buy these animals soon after decide to get rid of them because they found out that the animal is not easy to care for or keep as a pet.

Should you get an exotic pet?

In short, you should not own exotic pets as it leads to animal abuse and encourages illegal activities of removing wild animals from their natural environment. Many of these animals do not survive the journey as traffickers do their best to hide their cargo from authorities which often means a lack of food and water. Smugglers also tend to cram too many animals into small spaces which can also lead to death from disease or suffocation. In addition to the horrific treatment these animals receive, removing wild animals from a given ecosystem can throw said ecosystem all out of whack.

Related Reading

• How to Be an Adovocate for Animals in Need?
• Should We Ban Zoos?
• Can Rescued Injured Wildlife Ever Be Returned
• How to Report Peopple That Abuse Animals

The following information is only provided because we know some people will still try to obtain exotic animals. By providing some of the pros and cons of exotic pets, we hope would-be owners do their research and make the right choice.

Choosing the right animal to keep as a pet

Before anyone decides to get an exotic animal, they must be aware that it is not just a pet but is a living creature that will require specialized care.

Everyone had heard stories about people who tried to keep exotic animals as pets and then gave them up or were forced to give them up for health reasons when the animal became ill and died. If a person decides to keep an exotic animal as a pet, the animal should be well-taken care of and treated as if it were any other living thing.

Determining whether the animal is suitable for domestication

The first step in deciding whether or not an exotic animal is suitable for domestication is to determine if it could live in captivity. Unlike pets that people keep at home, wild animals must be able to survive in their natural environment, which can be difficult or nearly impossible to recreate in captivity. Some animals are also not suitable to live as pets because they may be dangerous to humans, such as large predators and poisonous animals.

Making sure the animal is healthy

Exotic animals kept as pets need to receive proper veterinary care and be healthy to be suitable for living in a home environment. Domestic animals are usually bred for domestication, so they can live in a controlled domain without getting sick or stressed out. Pets kept in captivity typically receive veterinary care when they are sick to live in a home environment.

The exotic animal owner needs to be prepared to take care of it if it becomes ill or is injured. It is challenging for people who have had little experience dealing with animals to take proper care of an animal that requires special veterinary care and expense.

Finding a location for the animal

Like any other pet, exotic animals need a safe place to live from things that could harm them. For many exotic animals, their natural habitat needs to be available to feel comfortable and secure. If an animal is used to being out in the wild, keeping it in a cage or home will make it anxious and stressed out. It is also unsafe for people to keep an animal anywhere. It can easily escape and cause damage or harm to people or other animals in the area.

Keeping the animal within the law

Since these animals are not domesticated, they cannot be kept as pets legally in many places. Since many exotic animals can be hazardous if they are stressed or upset, it is necessary to keep them in a controlled environment with proper care and veterinarian attention until they can be released back into the wild. If people decide to keep these animals as pets, they must make sure that they follow the laws and regulations of their state or country.

Determining whether it is safe to keep the animal

Owning exotic animals could be very dangerous. Many exotic animals are big and powerful, which makes them able to hurt or even kill a person seriously. Many of these animals can also cause severe damage to a home and surrounding property if they escape from captivity.

Positive effects of keeping exotic animals as pets

Many of these animals are very intelligent, allowing them to recognize their owners and be very affectionate towards them. These animals also come in many different colors and shapes, making it possible to own an animal that is different from other pets.

Many exotic animals are also excellent, making it easier to enjoy the animals and their presence in the home.

Some exotic animals are kept as pets, and some are used as exotic livestock, such as buffalo, llamas, and zebras.

There are also times when people who keep exotic animals may benefit from their services. Some exotic animals can be used for meat or by hunters for recreational purposes. Also, some people are interested in owning them to raise money to aid in conservation efforts for endangered species.

Adverse effects of keeping exotic animals as pets

Many exotic animals are not suitable for domestication, making it necessary to keep them in captivity. Although many people may disagree with keeping these animals as pets, it is necessary to do so if they are used to living in their natural habitat. Keeping exotic animals as pets can also cause harm to themselves and the environment around them if they harm or kill other creatures that live in their natural habitat.

Although owning an exotic animal can be very enjoyable, caring for it is not easy because of the specialized care it requires. Dealing with the specialized care and regulations involved in owning exotic animals can also be distracting to people who want a pet as a companion.

Exotic animals kept as pets are very interesting to own, but they require specialized care, shelter, and handling. It is essential to know that people can’t domesticate these animals and that they will always be wild. It is also necessary to make sure the animal stays in captivity so that it doesn’t harm another person or animal while in its natural habitat.

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Op-Ed Contributor

Exotic Animals as Pets: An Unregulated Risk

By Peter Laufer

• Oct. 20, 2011

IMAGINE the panic and terror experienced by the monkeys, bears, lions and leopards that ran loose in Ohio earlier this week as they were chased and then killed by the police. Imagine the heartbreak of the police officers who were obliged to destroy the rambling menagerie. Officers are not trained to stalk big game and bring them in alive with tranquilizer darts.

Why was there no law regulating the animal collection of Terry Thompson, who freed his animals and then apparently killed himself?

I’ve spent the last few years prowling America in search of people who share their lives with great apes, big cats and long snakes. Mr. Thompson is not unique.

Monkeys seem particularly ubiquitous; a cursory online search can connect you with a purveyor. Exotic animal auctions are crowded with buyers, and the Captive Wild Animal Protection Coalition — which opposes the practice — estimates the number of exotic fanciers in the millions.

Owners who bond with their pets as cubs or kittens, bottle-feed and cuddle them, often convince themselves that their relationship is special and their full-grown bear or cat will never turn on them. Yet it’s not just about cuteness and beauty; controlling an animal that arouses fear in other people can be appealing. That’s why those with egos that need feeding, from Kublai Khan to William Randolph Hearst to Mexican drug traffickers, are connected by the desire to stock their personal zoos.

Most apes, cats, bears and other animals change when they reach adolescence. They become stronger, more aggressive and less predictable. But is their potential to cause trouble enough reason to regulate or prohibit keeping them as household pets? If we allow ourselves to keep dogs (which can be out of control and vicious), why not other animals like chimpanzees, even if they also might exhibit violent behavior?

Champions of exotic pet ownership insist that their rights to enjoy the animals outweigh the risks. “This was not an animal getting out because of a failed cage,” Zuzana Kukol, an exotic-animal owner, told me when I checked in with her after the Ohio massacre. “The cage was fine. This was a deliberate act of terror.”

I visited her and her partner, Scott Shoemaker, on their Nevada desert spread, far removed from their neighbors and home to Bam-Bam, their 500-plus pound lion, and an assortment of other cats. The two lobby against laws restricting animal ownership. Their isolated compound seems a rare example: well fenced, with animals rescued or bred in captivity, apparently healthy. It’s hard to imagine a better alternative for Bam-Bam and their other animals.

Yet this week’s events in Ohio and other tragic cases prove that exotic animals present challenges. Nationwide, the laws on keeping wildlife as pets are a confusing patchwork. Enforcement of those that exist is haphazard, and penalties for violations are rarely severe.

“Exotic” is a fluid term for pets, but we ought to be able to agree on a list of animals that historically do not cohabitate with humans and pose such a threat that they must be caged. Then it’s an easy step to come up with federal laws to protect the animals and their neighbors. It’s past time to regulate the wild beasts: us.

Peter Laufer, a professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, is the author of the trilogy “The Dangerous World of Butterflies,” “Forbidden Creatures” and “No Animals Were Harmed.”

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Should People Be Allowed to Keep Exotic Animals as Pets?

The issue of keeping exotic pets is a divisive one. Animal rights activists are up in arms over it, while there is also no consensus among experts. This PetPonder article will shed some more light on this debate.

Did You Know?

By some estimates, a yearly average of 3.5 people die from exotic animal attacks. Since this number also includes deaths occurring in zoos, this number is not worrisome at all for exotic pet owners, considering the statistical negligibility of 3.5 people among an American population of more than 316 million (as of 2013).

Everyone (well, most of us) loves pets. While most of us limit that love to more conventional animals such as dogs, cats, budgerigars, and fish, there are many who extend it to animals such as snakes and chimpanzees. This gives rise to the debate over keeping exotic wild animals as pets.

In an age of the rising influence of various animal rights movements, the ever-growing trade in exotic pets is an obvious culprit, and regularly finds itself under the microscope. The reason why the debate over exotic pets has rumbled on for so long is that there is no simple answer. There are equally sound arguments on both sides of the debate, and a conclusion is hard to reach. Here’s an attempt to do just that.

Pros and Cons of Keeping Exotic Pets

One of the main problems in settling this debate is the variable definition of ‘exotic pets’. By the strict definition, even non-native animals that are bred locally and legally, and not taken from their natural environment, are ‘exotic’. Similarly, while the term ‘exotic animals’ usually sets alarm bells ringing, not all exotic animals are a threat to society. Pythons and chimpanzees, primarily, are the culprits in pet attacks, and such animals are obviously dangerous, but the extremely harmless and positively cute sugar gliders and crested geckos are not even dangerous for infants, let alone adult, sensible pet owners.

Albeit there are such confusions, here are some points about the pros and cons of keeping exotic pets.

Pros of Keeping Exotic Pets

This section deals with exotic animals of low intelligence and low risk. Such animals include several reptiles , rodents, frogs, unconventional felines, such as the serval, fennec foxes, guinea pigs, etc. Dangerous and endangered animals such as chimpanzees, pythons, big cats, crocodiles, etc., do NOT belong in a domestic environment, and shouldn’t be kept as pets. More explanation of their situation is provided further on.

★ Low Upkeep

Most exotic pets are low-maintenance―at least in comparison to dogs and cats. Lizards, frogs, spiders, and even snakes require basic and cheap shelters, infrequently (to an extent) provided cheap food, and minimal veterinary care. An empty aquarium with a bit of bedding and a few rocks will do just fine. Some species may need some branches and live plants. So, they are perfect for the typical urban pet owner, who can easily house these animals in an average apartment. On the flip side, though, these pets won’t be as affectionate as dogs. They will recognize you and tolerate your handling, and a few may go so far as seeking out your attention.

★ Perfect for Busy Owners

Unlike dogs, lizards don’t need to be taken out for a walk. Unlike cats, snakes don’t need to have their head scratched. Unlike lovebirds, frogs don’t need you to keep them company. Most exotic pets are fairly independent, and don’t need to be shown constantly that their owner does, indeed, love them to death. Enough handling to keep them social and familiar with you will do.

★ Hypoallergenic

Many animal lovers can’t have a conventional pet because they are allergic to dog or cat dander, or feathers. On the other hand, reptiles, frogs, etc., don’t have hair or feathers, and are thus, perfect for these pet seekers. Exotic mammals may cause some allergies, of course, but reptiles work fine with everybody.

★ Incredibly Safe

It is a tragedy that people think of a tiger or a cougar when they think of ‘exotic animals’. If we take the dangerous wild animals out of the equation, how many deaths do you think pet lizards, frogs, snakes (including the scarily named boa constrictor and the much-maligned African rock python), spiders (including poisonous spiders) guinea pigs, wild cats (not big cats), wallabies, muntjacs, etc., have caused? In America, at least, the total is much less than the number of fatal attacks by dogs ! That’s right, your neighbor’s Doberman Pinscher is likelier to come at you than your creepy neighbor’s boa constrictor.

Neglected, harassed, or mistreated animals will seek to fulfill their basic needs, and unfortunately some do possess the tools to kill humans quite easily, but an unprovoked intentional attack from an aggressive exotic pet is virtually unheard of. It is due to the emotional appeal by media that these animals get a bad rap, not due to statistics.

★ Wild Populations are Unaffected

The converse of this point will also appear in the ‘cons’ section, due to the variable definition of ‘exotic animals’. Taking a chimpanzee from its natural habitat in Africa is not commendable due to the adversities faced by and the declining number of wild chimpanzees, but getting an ‘exotic’ pet from a breeding program in your own country has no effect whatsoever on the animal’s wild populations. Numerous animals, particularly snakes and lizards, are part of breeding programs in the U.S.

Moreover, most exotic animals are simply so abundant in their wild environment that a legal and well-regulated pet trade doesn’t have any adverse effect on their population. Animals such as the fennec fox, the muntjac deer, wallabies, anteaters, and most lizards, geckos, and snakes are thriving in their wild habitat, and don’t need conservation efforts to increase their wild populations. The emotional argument of taking an animal away from its ‘home’ is a purely emotional argument, and is a matter of your sensitivity.

Cons of Keeping Exotic Pets

As you can see, there is simply no rational argument against having pets that won’t kill you (unless you give them more than sufficient reason to) and that don’t affect the wild population. However, there is a huge flip side to the exotic pet trade, which we will now explore.

✖ The Illegal Pet Trade

As said before, the wild populations of some exotic pets are severely affected by the pet trade. Due to this, bans have been imposed on the trade of numerous animals, but the illegal pet trade continues to fester in many wildlife-rich regions of the world. Animals such as big cats (none of which is in rude health at the moment) and many primates need all the help we can provide for their wild populations to flourish. The illegal pet trade is a big contributor to the reducing numbers of some species.

The damage is not just limited to the actual ‘sale’ of the animal. The transport, often to places very far from the animal’s native region, can be taxing. The animal is stored in torturous containers, and is very rarely looked after during the travel. Since the collective benefit gained by the transactions is much more than the expenses of capturing the individual animal, it is often ignored and mistreated until it finds a patron.

This poaching is also harmful for the animal’s native environment, since the loss of an element in the local food web can wreak havoc upon it.

✖ Negligent Owners

Most animals that can be kept as pets, perhaps excluding crocodiles and pythons, have no natural aggression towards humans. Even big cats are timid and scared of humans, and ‘maneaters’ are, thus, not very common. Unfortunately, the nature of the pet trade means that many patrons end up buying cute-looking cubs that grow to become larger and stronger than they had anticipated. This disillusion can then result in negligence and mistreatment of the pet, which can cause horrific tragedies due to developed, rather than instinctual, aggression. Sometimes the pet is simply abandoned, which either causes it to perish in an unfamiliar environment, or it becomes a nuisance by being successful in an environment that has no niche for it.

The numerous success stories of keeping such dangerous animals as pets show that with sufficient care and attention, even these animals can be successfully raised in a human society, and that the owner is usually to blame for a pet’s misconduct.

✖ Intelligence and Highly Developed Instincts

Higher predators such as big cats and crocodiles have highly developed predatory instincts that can’t be wiped out very easily. Though adult humans don’t always present a clearly accessible target, this makes the animals an innate threat not just to their owner, but his visitors, his neighbors, and especially their more conventional pets. Supporters of the exotic pet trade argue that dogs were feral before they were domesticated, but that argument ignores the thousands of years of domestication and selective breeding (try petting a wild pack of gray wolves). After hundreds of rounds of selective breeding, even tigers, lions, and bears could become docile and affectionate towards humans, but until then, they don’t belong in your house, just as much as you don’t belong in their jungle.

✖ Contagious Diseases

Though this is rare, exotic animals may act as vectors to diseases that can start an epidemic in their introduced locality. Thanks to the inability of many pathogens to cross species barriers, this problem has a natural, but partial remedy. However, diseases such as hepatitis A and B, rabies, and salmonella are some commonly observable diseases that can be transmitted by exotic reptiles and mammals.

Taking into account all the points mentioned above, it would seem that as a purely rational argument, keeping docile exotic pets born in breeding programs is acceptable. It doesn’t harm the animal or its native environment in any way (if anything, it may raise awareness about it on a small scale), and it’s not dangerous for the animal or the owner. Similarly, keeping dangerous and intelligent pets has very obvious risks, and thus, should be disallowed.

The rational argument is, however, often cast aside as emotions take priority. As mentioned before, the misrepresentation of the term ‘exotic pets’ by animal welfare/animal rights movements and the media has resulted in a misinformed public opinion. Many people are―understandably, I admit―against the very notion of keeping exotic pets, since they think those animals were ‘meant to be in the wild’. This is a perfectly understandable personal opinion, but not so much so when it comes to deciding a public policy.

Using emotional terms such as ‘snatching an animal from its home’ may win your organization the uninformed public’s support, but it is entirely misleading. Most animals are extremely adaptable, and as long as there is no radical change in the environment, they simply don’t care whether they grow up in their native environment or in a suburban home in America. Unlike humans, most animals simply don’t have the intelligence necessary for such complex emotions. Humans are among the very few animals (arguably only animal) intelligent enough to harbor such sensitivities and predispositions, and enforcing our paradigm onto animals is unfair to both humans and animals.

All in all then, by all means, keep non-aggressive exotic pets bought from breeder programs, but make sure you can take care of them as long as they need it!

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Get your favorite articles delivered right to your inbox, here’s why exotic animals belong in the wild, not as ‘pets’ in our backyards, by corrine henn.

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There is an allure to owning an exotic animal as a pet. In a world where individuality is desired, obtaining and owning something that is unique and somewhat controversial is coveted.

To be clear, exotic animals are not domesticated, and they vary greatly in shapes and sizes. Some exotic animals are sold in pet stores: Bearded dragons, Green iguanas, and Macaws, just to name a few. Other exotic animals are sold through the extremely lucrative wildlife trade where various species of nonhuman primates, big cats, and bears can be easily purchased at the right price .

Regulations regarding the private ownership of exotic animals vary from state to state , with some more lax on laws and penalties than others. Aside from state regulations, the lack of personnel in place to monitor the wildlife trade (a multi-billion dollar business in the U.S alone) has made it surprisingly easy for the everyday person to obtain exotic animals. Because of this oversight, animals are often hidden and smuggled through customs and across state borders unnoticed.

There is very little data on the exact number of exotic pets held captive in the United States. While we may not yet have the ability to give precise numbers, experts are able to infer from what we do know. For instance, it’s estimated that over 5,000 tigers reside in U.S. homes; that’s more tigers in captivity than there are left in the wild. Born Free USA has documented over  2,000 attacks, incidents, and escapes involving exotic pets since 1990.

The majority of exotic pets are purchased as infants but they become unmanageable and aggressive as they age (after all, they are wild). The desire to own exotic animals is often short-lived, yet it is the exotic animals who suffer in the long run.

Exotic animals require stringent and specialized diets that are essential to their well-being. When their needs are not met, the animals wind up  malnourished and develop illnesses and diseases. Many exotic pet owners are not prepared to provide full-grown tigers, lions, bears with tens of pounds of raw meat, and primates with the appropriate diet.

Once the animals reach sexual maturity they’re often relegated to small outdoor (or indoor) enclosures where the extent of their interaction with any other living being is when they’re fed. This leads the animals to become incredibly frustrated, not to mention bored and they often begin to exhibit stereotypic behaviors such as pacing or self-mutilation, indicative of their extreme mental distress.

After they recognize the fact that no matter how much they love their animals, they will never be happy as pets, o wners seek out sanctuaries and zoos in the hopes that they will be able to surrender them. Unfortunately, zoos are only prepared to care for a certain number of animals and those that can’t be accommodated are frequently  euthanized . Sanctuaries are often already at capacity due to the enormous captive exotic animal epidemic in the U.S. Sadly, this means that many owners resort to selling their pets at auctions where they are purchased for canned hunting attractions or taxidermy.

In addition to the danger that private ownership poses to the animals, it also creates serious public safety concerns. Here are three of the most common in the U.S.

1. Irresponsible Release

In some cases, exotic pets are simply released by their owners. We can only imagine that this is a desperate attempt to rid the owners of any responsibility for the animal while maintaining the delusion that they’ll be better off in the “wild.” The only problem is that the “wild” typically means a residential neighborhood or city in the U.S.

Many of these animals starve to death; others are unable to compete with the harsh elements they’re not accustomed to and wind up being hit by cars or killed by native species. Occasionally these exotic pets survive the release and begin to establish themselves, they then become known as an invasive species .

For example, in Florida, the Burmese python has been an invasive species since the 1980s. It is strongly believed that these snakes were originally kept as pets, but when they became too large to accommodate they were released. Not only does this sort of release pose a threat to the public, but it also poses a threat to the native species in the area.

2. Frequent Escapes

There are over a thousand reports of exotic pets escaping their enclosures at private residences. Keep in mind, these are only the incidents that are reported, there are likely many more.

Most owners know that reporting these escapes, especially sans the proper licensing, will almost always guarantee the seizure of their pet. Although the fault rests with the owners of the animal, too many unnecessary deaths, both human and animal, have occurred because of this sort of negligence.

People  have been strangled by large pet snakes and mauled by pet bears, chimpanzees, and a number of big cats. Afterward, these animals are, more often than not, killed on sight. It is incidents like these that prove we need to enact stricter regulations, or ideally bans, related to exotic pet ownership.

3. Zoonotic Disease

Aside from the daily maintenance of exotic pets, many harbor diseases. Zoonotic diseases can spread easily between humans and animals, domestic animals included. According to the Center for Disease Control , exotic pets can pass on and infect humans with a variety of diseases including the Herpes B virus, Rabies, Salmonella, Ebola, and Monkeypox. Even though these outbreaks have been rare, the increase in the number of exotic animals being traded ( millions each year ) certainly increases the chances that these diseases will spread, posing a serious threat to handlers and the public at large.

What Can You Do?

We’ve seen the damage that can be done when irresponsible and uneducated citizens acquire exotic animals to keep as pets. Although there may be rare cases where families have lived with exotic animals without being physically harmed, these pets are still wild animals that deserve their freedom. They’re not suited to be pets , but sadly once they are raised in captivity they can never be released back into the wild.

Protecting the wild populations of any species does not entail keeping them held captive as pets. Instead, we must continue to dissuade the public from buying exotic animals in an effort to reduce the demand that is currently fueling the illegal wildlife trade . If you are looking for a pet, consider adopting one of the millions of domestic animals waiting for homes in shelters. It is our responsibility to keep wild animals wild.

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How to Care About Animals Without Being Weird

Bill wasik and monica murphy’s book  our kindred creatures  explores the connection between humans and animals.

Gabfest Reads is a monthly series from the hosts of Slate’s  Political Gabfest  podcast. Recently, Emily Bazelon talked with Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy about their new book,  Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals .

This partial transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Emily Bazelon: I wanted to bring in also the industrialization of livestock which is so much with us now in terms of how we raise food and how far away it seems and how little, I think, lots of people want to think about what it takes to get that food onto our plate.

How are people thinking about this in the late 19th century and how is it a shift away from the kind of tactile immediacy of a family farm where you really interacted with all the animals—whose eggs you took or whose meat you ate?

Bill Wasik: It really is a remarkable transformation during just a few decades where around the time of the Civil War—I guess this transformation begins in the kind of 1840s and 1850—you have the Midwestern producers start raising the animals and then shipping them by rail to various population hubs to be slaughtered locally. So that’s the first big shift.

Then what you have, and this is really the shift that we document more in the book, is the rise of refrigerated rail cars allowing you to do meat packing. So, right next to the stockyards in Chicago, which really becomes the epicenter of this, you have these massive sort of slaughter factories that develop, where the animals get sold to Armour and Company or Swift and Company, these big meat centers. They will slaughter the animals right there in these big, kind of grim, factory-like buildings, and they will pack the meat for shipment and the meat will get shipped all around the country.

This really kind of completes the transformation of the food animal from being something that really lives and dwells and dies kind of near you to something that becomes this abstraction, often hundreds of miles away. And it just makes it possible to not really be aware of its existence and certainly not be aware of the kind of scale of the life and death of the animals and the just sort of general kind of grimness of their lives. You’re able to sort of put it out of mind a lot more because of that transformation.

I was really struck by how this whole period sets up this dichotomy we still live with, where we’re incredibly devoted, maybe too devoted, to our pets, interested at least in some forms of wild animals like polar bears and elephants, and then mostly we just shut out thinking about the livestock that we consume. Often, I wrestle myself with how much to care about animal welfare versus human welfare. Is one becoming distracted from human misery by thinking about animals?

But your book made me think differently about this. I started thinking of caring about animal welfare and rights as a kind of essential marker of the development of society: that there can be energy that goes toward this. And I wanted to get your thoughts about exactly  how  we should care. Where does it make sense to place our energy? How do we take some of our over-love and overspending on pets and get more benefit for more animals from that? Is that something we can transfer beyond our own beloved creatures?

Wasik: The awareness, I do think, is a big part of it. I mean, one of the things we talk about in the conclusion to the book is that one of the problems of caring about, for example, food animals, is that it isn’t just that they’re at a distance from us, but also the relationship between, say, our consumption—the things we spend money on—and how they’re treated is also just crazily mediated and systemic. If you buy a latte, the foam in the latte is not just going to come from one cow that you could sort of sit and think about that cow. It’s going to come from hundreds of cows, and the sense of responsibility becomes very diffused.

And I think that climate change, of course, kind of looms over everything about animal treatment because one of the big important reasons that we need to think differently about food animals is not just their welfare, but also the fact that they are just an incredible source of carbon emissions, and that reducing our reliance on animal products will wind up being really, really important to getting to a sustainable future.

But the other thing that, I think, is analogous there, is that climate change has a similar sort of problem where the connection between what-we-do and the effects-of-what-we-do is so complex and mediated that it doesn’t really trigger the moral sense in the same way.

And so, one of the things that I think a lot about is the process, which I do think is ongoing, of us developing a kind of “systems” way of thinking about our decisions. We talk a lot about how problems are systemic, and I do think one of the complications of thinking about problems as systemic is that it means that it’s a little bit harder for us to totally understand the connection between what we do and the effects of it.

But I do think that really forcing ourselves to think about the connection between the decisions that we make and the way that these distant animals are treated is just something that we need to keep front of mind a lot more. Maybe that’s not the most satisfying or effective answer, but I’m also not sure that there’s any other way to think about it.

Monica Murphy: I’d say, too, that it doesn’t feel like a real choice to me to choose between kindness to animals and kindness to our fellow human beings. Because very often when we’re choosing that “kindest choice” for animals, we’re choosing something that’s basically pro-human at the same time. Being more aware of consequences of our actions as consumers, as community members, that tends to sort of carry towards better behavior towards your fellow creatures, human and otherwise.

EXPERT ADVICE: How to care for an exotic animal

I f you want something to take care of and you don’t have much time, I would go with a fish but even that involves time in terms of cleaning out the aquarium and water changes and making sure the levels are right. But you can get away with a simple setup. 

However, if you want something that is going to need some attention and interaction from you, then all the other pets require that from you. It’s a misconception that getting a rabbit or a bird or a guinea pig is going to be really hands-off because all those animals require attention and interaction to live their best lives.

More information about how to care for your fish can be found here. 

Rabbits make great pets, they can be litter-trained. House training is also quite simple with a rabbit. They are interactive with us and they can be quite affectionate too. They can do really well living inside.

The worst thing to do with a rabbit is lock it in a hutch, they need free space, they need to have exercise in a bigger area and they need to have contact with other people or another rabbit if your rabbit is suitable for that. But you need to be careful because they can obviously chew things. 

More information about how to care for your rabbits can be found here. 

Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs are also lovely. They do really well living with at least two guinea pigs. They are quite social with each other, and they don’t tend to need as much space as a rabbit to exercise but they also need time out of an enclosure for exercise and stimulation. 

More information about how to care for your guinea pigs can be found here. 

Birds can be fantastic but they are clever and can be very demanding and prone to behavioural problems because of people not giving them the time and care that they need. You certainly can’t lock a bird in a small cage and just look at it as an ornament.

They are very social animals, they are very clever and very aware and they really need exercise around your home and enrichment in their environment to thrive. 

More information about how to care for your birds can be found here. 

Reptiles 

Native wildlife is a tricky one. Ideally, they should be in the wild and that's why we have organisations like WIRES and various other rescue organisations that work to rehabilitate these animals and get them back to their natural environment.

Keeping them as pets with the right permits if they can’t be released into the environment is one of those topics that's out for debate but the first point of call, if a native animal doesn’t seem to be well, is that you need to call your local wildlife organisation. 

There are definitely restrictions around what you are allowed to own as a pet, and things like reptiles require permits. The reason for that is that these exotic pets often require things in their environment and food that most people are not going to be well equipped to deal with. They have very specific needs. 

More information about when and how to obtain a license to keep a reptile as a pet in Australia can be found here. 

RELATED || 

How to do a health check on your pet

How to choose a rescue animal that's right for you

Pet owners warned: "Not all pet food is treated equally"

How to keep your furry friend happy and healthy 

Exotic Pet Veterinary Care Essentials Guide

Inadequate care is a big reason for illness and death in exotic pets. It’s crucial to understand what each kind of exotic animal needs for their health and happiness. Whether it’s a reptile , bird, rodent, or amphibian , the right care is key. For the best care of your exotic friend, working with a vet who knows exotic pets is the first step.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways:

• Proper care is essential for the health and well-being of exotic pets.
• Inadequate care can lead to illness and death in exotic pets.
• Partnering with a specialist exotic pet vet is highly recommended.
• Exotic pets include rodents, rabbits, ferrets, reptiles, amphibians, and birds.

What is an Exotic Pet?

An exotic pet is a species not common in homes, unlike cats and dogs. This group includes small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds. Each type needs its own special care.

Small mammals, like ferrets and rabbits, are a hit for someone wanting a unique friend. They need special diets and living conditions.

Reptiles, such as snakes and lizards, make interesting pets. They need special places to live with right heat and light. Owners should learn a lot about them.

Amphibians, which are frogs and salamanders, love certain places to live. They thrive with the correct humidity levels and water and land space. Making the perfect home is key for their health.

Birds like parrots and cockatiels make homes happier. Owners must give them good food, a nice place to live, and things to keep them busy. This helps the birds act naturally and not get bored.

Knowing how each exotic pet type is different lets owners care better for them. This includes small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, or birds. The right care is vital for their happiness.

Exotic Pet Handling and Restraint

Handling exotic pets right is key to keeping them safe and happy. These animals are different from regular pets in how they act, feel, and look. So, they need special care.

It’s common for exotic pets to get hurt during handling. If not done carefully, they get scared and can be harmed. It’s really important to be careful and use the right ways to hold them.

Checking them over is also vital. Doing this lets you make sure they’re okay, see if they’re sick or hurt, and fix any problems fast. Look out for anything unusual on their bodies or in their behavior.

Exotic pets sometimes need their nails trimmed. Long nails can hurt them, make it hard to walk, and even cause wounds. But cutting their nails needs care and the right skills. A vet or an expert on your pet’s type can teach you how to trim nails safely.

There are special ways to do tasks like picking them up or doing basic care. Knowing these ways helps keep both you and the pet from getting hurt. Getting advice from someone experienced in exotic pets is a great idea.

“Handling exotic pets requires a mix of knowing what you’re doing, being gentle, and being confident. Always remember to treat them with care and make them feel safe and at ease when you’re caring for them.” – Dr. Emily Wilson, Exotic Pet Specialist

Remember: use the right handling methods, check them over often, and trim their nails correctly. This way, you’ll keep your exotic pet happy and healthy.

Exotic Pet Housing and Environment

Creating a good home for your exotic pet is key to their well-being. A comfy and safe space helps your pet to be happy and healthy. Consider these key points for their living area:

Enclosure Location and Safety

Where you put the enclosure is very important for your pet’s comfort and safety . Pick a calm spot away from wind, loud areas, and direct sun. This choice helps your pet relax and avoid stress. A secure enclosure is vital, especially for tiny pets like rodents or reptiles.

Climate Control

The inside climate needs to be right for your pet’s good health. Different pets need specific temperatures and humidity. Research what your pet needs and get the right tools to control the temperature and humidity. Make sure there’s a variety of temperatures in the enclosure so your pet can choose what’s best for them.

Bedding Selection and Hygiene

Choosing the best bedding is crucial for your pet’s comfort and keeps things clean. You can use shredded paper, reptile carpet, or specific bedding . It’s vital that the bedding is safe, easy to clean, and helps keep the right moisture levels. Clean and change the bedding often to stop any bad smells or health hazards.

Access to Resources

Think about what your exotic pet needs in their home. Make sure they have places to hide, climb, or explore. These things make their space more like their natural home and keep them active and happy. Don’t forget fresh water, feeding spots, and the right food bowls for their health.

By making the right living space and environment, your exotic pet can have a great life. Keep checking the enclosure and how your pet acts. Also, getting advice from a vet who knows about exotic pets is a good idea. They can help make sure you’re doing everything your pet needs.

Setting up a comfy and safe place is crucial for your exotic pet’s welfare. Think about what they need and get the right tools for the job. Always keep an eye on their living space to keep them healthy and happy.

Exotic Pet Nutrition and Diet

For exotic pets, getting the right nutrition is key for their health. Each type of exotic pet needs its special diet. This diet should be like what they would eat in the wild. It helps them stay healthy and get the nutrients they need.

Every kind of exotic pet likes different foods. Reptiles need a lot of protein. On the other hand, rabbits and rodents need lots of fiber. Birds like a mix of fresh foods, seeds, and pellets.

Using ready-made pet foods can sometimes be okay. But, some exotic pets need fresh food, live prey, or special supplements. A vet with knowledge about exotic pets can help you figure out the best diet for your pet.

When planning your exotic pet’s diet, aim for balance. A well- balanced diet gives your pet all the nutrients it needs. It means getting the right amounts of proteins, carbs, fats, and more. Your vet can help you create a diet that’s just right for your pet.

Keeping food safe is also vital for exotic pets. Make sure to offer fresh and clean food. Don’t give them old or bad food. Save and handle food the right way to keep it fresh and safe.

Always remember, giving your exotic pet the right diet is crucial. Talk to a vet who knows about exotic pets. They can make sure you’re taking care of your pet’s nutritional needs and help with any diet questions.

Exotic Pet Enrichment and Wellbeing

Enrichment is key for exotic pets’ physical and emotional health. It includes activities that let them act like they would in the wild. This improves their life quality.

Toys are a great way to enrich exotic pets’ lives. They stimulate the pets’ minds and senses. Ensure toys are safe for your friend and fit for their type. For instance, reptiles might enjoy puzzle feeders. Birds might like toys that make them solve problems or find food.

It’s also crucial to have the right structures in their home. Climbing frames, hiding spots, and perches can be fun and good exercise. Make sure they resemble the pets’ natural living space, so they can act like they would in the wild.

Some exotic pets need friends for their wellbeing. It depends on the species. If you think your pet might need a buddy, ask a vet or an expert. They can tell you if it’s a good idea and how to do it safely.

Challenging your exotic pet in safe ways is also important. You can create games, use new scents and materials, or change their diet in a way that makes them work for their food. This keeps them healthy and happy by letting them behave naturally.

Remember, each exotic pet is different. It’s always a good idea to learn about what your pet specifically needs. A vet who knows about exotic animals can be a great help. They can make sure your pet is getting the best care and enrichment possible.

Exotic Pet Veterinary Care Requirements

Exotic pets need regular check-ups to stay healthy, just like cats and dogs do. Special care ensures their health and happiness.

Wellness exams are key for exotic pets. During these, a vet checks your pet’s health, finds issues early, and gives vaccines. This means problems can be fixed before they get worse.

Blood work is also important for these pets. It shows the vet what’s going on inside, catching hidden health problems. This insight helps the vet care for your pet better.

Exotic pets should also have screenings for parasites. These tests look for things like worms and fleas. Catching and treating them early avoids serious health troubles for your pet.

If your exotic pet seems off, like not eating well or acting strange, call a vet right away. Quick care can really help their health.

Regular care, including check-ups, blood work , and parasite checks, is crucial for exotic pets. It keeps them healthy, so you can enjoy them for many years.

Importance of Regular Check-Ups and Proper Handling

Reptiles need regular check-ups with a vet to stay healthy. Just like we go to the doctor, reptiles should see the vet for tests and advice. This can catch any health problems early and keep your pet healthy.

Using the right methods to hold your pet is also key. Bad handling can make your reptile scared or hurt. Learn the best ways to pick up and handle your reptile to keep them safe.

“Regular check-ups with a reptile veterinarian and proper handling techniques are essential for the well-being of your exotic pet.”

Reptiles often face certain health issues. These include breathing problems, skin pests, and weak bones. Seeing the vet regularly helps prevent these problems.

Quick action and regular care are important for your reptile. Watch your pet for any weird behavior or illness signs. Getting check-ups and handling them right is crucial for their health.

Common Health Issues in Reptiles:

Regular check-ups and good handling keep your reptile healthy. These steps can help your pet lead a long, happy life.

Creating a Suitable Reptile Habitat

Keeping reptile pets healthy means providing them the right home. Every reptile needs a special habitat to live long and feel at home. Key parts of a reptile’s home are the light, the warm and cool spots, and the setup of the space.

Good lighting is a must for reptiles. It helps them digest food, stay active, and make vitamin D. They need both UVA and UVB lights. These mimic the sun and help reptiles digest calcium for strong bones. Make sure the UVB light reaches everywhere in the habitat so they can choose sunny or shady spots.

Temperature Control

Reptiles aren’t good at making their own heat. They need you to provide spots that are warm or cool. This lets them find the best temperature for their body. They should have a place to sunbathe and a place to cool off.

You can use heat lamps and pads to control the temperature. Always check the temperature with a thermometer to make sure it’s right for your reptile.

Habitat Layout

The habitat’s look should remind your reptile of where they would live in the wild. Learn about your reptile’s natural home. This helps you pick the right sand, plants, and other stuff for their tank. Some like it dry with sand and rocks; others need a lot of plants and humidity.

Keep changing the layout of the habitat. This keeps it interesting for your pet.

Always research what your reptile needs for its home. The right light, temperature, and design will keep your reptile happy and healthy.

Taking good care of exotic pets is very important. This includes small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds. They need special care to stay healthy. This care includes regular vet check-ups and tests to look for health problems. It’s best to work with a vet who knows a lot about exotic pets.

How you handle your pet and where they live matter a lot too. You must learn to handle them safely to avoid hurting them or yourself. Making the right home for your pet, with the correct lighting, temperature, and space, is key. These things keep your pet healthy and happy. Also, adding toys and places for them to explore makes their life better.

By caring for your exotic pet the right way, you keep them well and content. Watch for any signs they might not be feeling well, like acting strangely. Remember, they need care that’s different from common pets. A vet who knows a lot about exotic pets can help you. If you’re looking for more advice, contact a specialist today.

What is considered an exotic pet?

How should i handle and restrain my exotic pet, what are the housing and environmental requirements for exotic pets, what should i feed my exotic pet, how can i ensure the well-being of my exotic pet, how often should i take my exotic pet to the veterinarian, what are the common health issues in reptiles and how can i prevent them, why is proper handling important for exotic pets, how should i create a suitable habitat for my pet reptile, what are the essential guidelines for exotic pet care, where can i find more information on exotic pet care and veterinary services, source links.

• https://www.happyhealthypets.com/pet-resources/comprehensive-guide-to-caring-for-exotic-pets
• https://villagevets.com/how-to-care-for-an-exotic-pet/
• https://reptilesupershow.com/ultimate-guide-to-pet-reptile-care-essentials/

Peter Stones

Peter Stones is the founder of Exotic Pets Place, the leading online resource for exotic pet care information.

With over 10 years of hands-on exotic pet ownership experience, he is deeply passionate about sharing his expertise to help others properly care for their unusual pets.

When he's not writing extensively researched articles or connecting with fellow exotic pet enthusiasts worldwide, you can find Peter at home tending to his own beloved menagerie of exotic animals.

• Exotic Pet Cleaning and Maintenance Products Guide
• Essential Exotic Pet Travel and Transport Supplies Guide
• Exotic Pet Heating & Lighting Equipment Guide
• Exotic Pet Bedding and Substrate Options Guide

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Can I Legally Own A Pet Monkey In Florida?

Monkeys are exotic, intelligent animals that some people consider keeping as pets. In recent years, owning a pet monkey has become trendy among certain celebrities, raising interest in primates as unconventional companion animals.

However, rules and regulations surrounding private monkey ownership vary greatly depending on where you live. So what’s the deal with owning a pet monkey in the Sunshine State? Let’s take a closer look.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: It is illegal to own monkeys and other non-human primates as pets in the state of Florida. Exceptions exist only for certain training, exhibition, and educational purposes under strict permitting guidelines.

Laws Prohibiting Monkey Ownership in Florida

Florida statutes ban keeping non-human primates as pets.

Florida has some of the strictest laws in the nation regarding the private possession of non-human primates. According to the Florida Statutes , it is “unlawful for any person, party, firm, association, or corporation, to have in its possession any baboon, chimpanzee, orangutan, or gorilla.”

This effectively bans the keeping of apes and Old World monkeys as pets in the state.

The law specifically prohibits the acquisition and personal possession of monkeys from the families Pongidae (great apes), Cercopithecidae (Old World monkeys), and Atelidae (howler and spider monkeys). Violators may face civil penalties of up to $500 as well as seizure or quarantine of the animal.

Florida first enacted laws banning monkey possession in 1977 due to potential public health and safety risks from these wild animals. Non-human primates can transmit dangerous diseases to humans that prove fatal in some cases, such as Herpes B virus.

Exceptions for Trained Monkeys Under Permitting System

There is an exception in the Florida statutes allowing certain trained monkeys to be possessed under the state’s permitting system. People with disabilities may apply for a Class III wildlife permit to keep a capuchin, macaque, or marmoset monkey to assist them with daily tasks.

To qualify for such a permit, the disabled person must provide documentation from a physician that they need the monkey for assistance. They must also be able to prove they can properly care for the monkey, have not violated state wildlife regulations, and have adequate caging facilities.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission notes less than 100 disabled people in the state currently possess helper monkeys under permit. These monkeys must be obtained from legal and regulated sources as infants, not captured from the wild.

They go through several years of special training to become assistance animals.

So while Florida has strict general prohibitions on keeping monkeys as pets, there is an avenue for some disabled residents to utilize capuchin, macaque, or marmoset monkeys as trained service animals under permitting.

But the average person cannot legally own an ape, monkey, or other non-human primate for personal use in Florida.

Health and Safety Issues With Pet Monkeys

Disease risks to humans.

Pet monkeys can potentially spread dangerous diseases to their human owners, families, and communities. Non-human primates like monkeys can carry viruses, bacteria, and parasites that do not make them sick but can be very harmful if transmitted to people.

Herpes B virus is one concerning example – most macaque monkeys are infected with this virus, which is harmless to them, but can be fatal in up to 70% of human cases if untreated. Tuberculosis, salmonella, dengue fever, and parasitic worms are other risks.

According to the CDC, there have been outbreaks of human disease linked to pet primates in the past. While good hygiene and veterinary care reduce risks, disease transmission remains an ongoing public health concern associated with private primate ownership.

Potential for Aggressive Behavior

Pet monkeys often exhibit aggressive and unpredictable behavior as they reach sexual maturity. Wild animals retain their natural instincts and needs, even if raised in captivity. Certain species are known for increased aggression – for example, male macaques tend to become more hostile as they mature.

Well-meaning owners can be seriously injured when pet monkeys bite, scratch, or attack them or guests in the home. In 2020 alone, two cases of pet monkeys attacking individuals in the United States made headlines.

While steps can be taken to encourage good behavior in primates, ultimately their wild nature cannot be entirely eliminated through training.

Difficulty Meeting Complex Needs in Captivity

It is challenging for the average pet owner to properly care for a primate’s complex social, dietary, and environmental needs in a home setting. Monkeys are highly intelligent, social animals adapted to life in large troops in nature.

When these needs are not met in captivity, monkeys often develop neurotic behavior patterns and self-harm tendencies. They require specialized diets, enrichment activities, veterinary care, and large, secure housing customized to their species.

Even experienced primate owners struggle to adequately simulate a natural environment. Well-intentioned caregivers can face animal welfare issues when an exotic pet’s fundamental needs are not fulfilled.

Better Alternatives to Keeping a Pet Monkey

Owning a pet monkey may seem exciting, but primates require specialized care and attention that is difficult for the average person to provide. Here are some better alternatives to keeping a pet monkey in Florida.

Consider an Animal Less Demanding Than a Primate

Primates like monkeys are highly intelligent, social animals that need constant stimulation and interaction. They can become depressed or develop behavioral issues if their complex needs are not met. Instead of a monkey, think about getting a more suitable pet that is easier to care for, like a dog, cat, bird, reptile, or rodent.

Dogs and cats make wonderful pets for many people. They require daily walks, playtime, affection, and proper nutrition. Birds, certain lizards, snakes, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rabbits can also be very rewarding companion animals.

Just make sure to research the specific needs of the pet you are considering.

Support Ethical Primate Sanctuaries Instead of the Exotic Pet Trade

If you love primates, there are ways to support them without removing them from their natural habitats to live in your home. Consider sponsoring or volunteering with reputable primate sanctuaries in Florida that provide a safe, enriching environment for monkeys and apes.

Some excellent ethical sanctuaries in Florida include:

– Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary in Gainesville ( https://www.junglefriends.org/ )

– Simian Sanctuary NW in Wauchula ( https://www.simiansanctuarynw.org/ )

– The Monkey Sanctuary in Punta Gorda ( https://themonkeysanctuary.org/ )

By supporting these sanctuaries through donations, volunteering, or spreading awareness, you can help provide monkeys and apes with the specialized, lifelong care they need without removing them from their social groups.

Owning a pet monkey may not be in the animal’s best interest. With some creativity, you can find rewarding ways to positively interact with wildlife that don’t support the exotic pet trade.

While the idea of keeping an adorable monkey as a pet may seem appealing, laws prohibiting private ownership of primates serve important public health and safety purposes. Monkeys have highly complex needs that the average owner cannot adequately meet.

For these reasons, it’s best to steer clear of the exotic pet trade and direct your interest in monkeys in more ethical ways, like supporting primate conservation efforts or reputable sanctuaries. Focus your search for an unconventional companion animal on more suitable domesticated pets better adapted to life with humans.

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