# Anyone Here Have An Unusual Pet **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 11, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924 "2009-12-11T22:10:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/1 "2009-12-11T22:10:17Z")
I read in _USA Today_ the top five pets in the United States are 1. Cats 2. Dogs 3. Fish 4. Hamsters / Mice / Gerbils 5. Birds I was wondering if anyone on this board has a pet that isn’t in one of those categories When I was a kid I had a chinchilla. It was great. Of all the rodents I’ve had or seen they are by far the cleanest and the quietest. Plus when they take a dust bath it’s so cool. Anyone else have a pet that isn’t in the “top five” listed above? ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/2 "2009-12-11T22:14:12Z")
Right now I just have normal pets: dogs, fish, birds. In the past I’ve had a monkey, a crow and a bearded dragon. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/3 "2009-12-11T22:14:47Z")
1. Snake 2. Stick insects _Carausius morosus_ ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/4 "2009-12-12T03:31:25Z")
A gecko and a turtle. I don’t really like fuzzy critters much. If I did anything else it would be a bird or another gecko. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/5 "2009-12-12T04:22:04Z")
Only dogs currently, but I’ve had all kinds of pets throughout the years. I recently got rid of my tarantulas. I’ve also had other spiders, a scorpion, lizards, snakes, mantids, and anything else I could catch when I was a kid. About the only thing I haven’t had is a salamander. I want a salamander. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/6 "2009-12-12T04:23:21Z")
A ball python (in addition to 2 cats and a dog). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/7 "2009-12-12T04:24:11Z")
We had a sheep, once. Though I lived in New Zealand, so perhaps that’s not so unusual. A friend of mine had a [Tahr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahr). ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/8 "2009-12-12T04:30:25Z")
2 beagles 1 cat 2 turtles (1) Sherman is so mean you can not believe it. When I put him on the ground the cat and dogs leave. They took one look and don’t want any part of him. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/9 "2009-12-12T04:41:41Z")
Pets from my past: crawfish, anole, alligator lizard, rabbit, axolotl, horned lizard, tarantula, hermit crabs, sea monkeys. ---
**Author:** ![andiepandie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@andiepandie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andiepandie)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/10 "2009-12-12T08:12:01Z")
I know I’m not the only Doper with ferrets! Currently have two of the sweet little buggers 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/11 "2009-12-12T08:21:44Z")
> [@snailboy](#): > > About the only thing I haven’t had is a salamander. I want a salamander. I had a three legged salamander until last week, when he died. He was an Ezo Salamander, and I got him as an egg. He was fun, in a little blobby way! ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/12 "2009-12-12T08:37:33Z")
Does a husband count as a pet? ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/13 "2009-12-12T08:39:03Z")
[These guys](http://www.suppersready.net/pictures/Sharks/sharks.html) didn’t really belong to me, they lived in the restaurant I used to manage. I was responsible for them, and I loved them as if they were my own, though. They live somewhere off of the Florida Keys now. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/14 "2009-12-12T09:27:08Z")
I have a sea monkey. I used to have more, but tragically, they all perished. Now, it’s just me and Jeremy—he’s really quite amazing. Sometimes I put him in the bathtub with me so he has someone to frolic with. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/15 "2009-12-12T09:30:24Z")
A few snakes, and some lizards including a chameleon. ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/16 "2009-12-12T09:48:10Z")
I have a crawfish. He is actually my roommate’s but I help with the upkeep so he’s mine too. Defense Minister Pinchy. He’s like some sort of Lovecraftian Horror but on a small scale. His only joy lies in destruction and dismemberment but I love the little bug anyway. When I wake up in the morning he greets me by bashing his claws against the glass of the tank in a charming “I will fuck you up and eat the eyes out of your still living face” sort of gesture. If i try to put anything alive in the tank he destroys it completely, plant or animal. He will, for no reason at all, shred aquatic plants into tiny bits that clog the filter and that I have to pick out before they rot. All while nervously avoiding his determined and presumably painful grasp. He leaves piles of headless skinned minnow carcasses around his little rock grotto as, I assume, some sort of warning to all that, yes, a complete murderous asshole lives here so fuck off. He is absolutely fascinating and way better than anything else you could ever have in a fish tank. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/17 "2009-12-12T10:13:22Z")
Um… see user name. Past pets: Black swan, silky bantam, ducks, Goulds Wattled bat (pre nasty bat diseases known about) Yabbies (some of which like to escape and wander around my loungeroom), Murry Cod, Redfin, tortoise (Called myrtle), Galah, Sulpher crested cockatoo and guinea pigs. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/18 "2009-12-12T10:14:25Z")
We have a three legged chihuahua/??? mixed breed with crazy eyes that hardly ever barks. She used to be terrified of me but now she’s just cautious. I’ve trained her to jump up and kiss me on the cheek on command. So while dogs are not unusual, ours might fit the bill. ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/19 "2009-12-12T10:23:16Z")
Tree Frog ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924/20 "2009-12-12T10:38:26Z")
When I was 5 I had a pet lamb who I bottle fed. But he was soon mauled to death by a pack of dogs. Sorry, I misremember - actually, he was just mauled so badly my dad had to shoot him and then burn his body in pile with his fallen comrades. A few years ago I had a pet hedgehog. He was a real night time kind of guy, not crepuscular like I had hoped. He was really cranky in the day but at night he was a madcunt. If you opened his cage after about 10:00pm he would rush eagerly out into your hands and then want to run around the house for hours. He would chew my dirty socks and undies and then twist his head around and spit onto his back. Apparently it is called anointing and it is perfectly normal but the first time I saw him do it I thought my stench had killed him. Also, we lived in a hotter climate than his species was accustomed to, so he would sleep on his back all day with his soft furry belly in the air and his limbs splayed out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-have-an-unusual-pet/520924.md?page=2)