# Do you have any exotic pets? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2011, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881 "2011-08-24T08:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/21 "2011-08-25T01:19:58Z")
All I got is a trouser snake, but I always thought one day it would be awesome to have a raven. Or maybe a komodo dragon! ---
**Author:** ![ecseas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ecseas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecseas)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/22 "2011-08-25T01:32:45Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > All I got is a trouser snake, but I always thought one day it would be awesome to have a raven. Or maybe a komodo dragon! I see what you did thar. Komodo Dragon would be cool, until it killed you. I do like the idea of a crow or raven , especially if you trained it like a eagle. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/23 "2011-08-25T02:26:24Z")
I have friends with an absolute menagerie. Numerous lizards and snakes, a chameleon, a miniature possum, a hedgehog, a tarantula, and a macaw. I feel like I’m leaving somebody out. On paper, it sounds like a borderline hoarding situation, but they’re extremely methodical about the care of each and provide each with an appropriate, individual habitat. Some of the most attentive pet owners I’ve known. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/24 "2011-08-25T02:27:33Z")
> [@ecseas](#): > > I do like the idea of a crow or raven , especially if you trained it like a eagle. A pet raven or magpie has been a dream pet for me since I was in short pants. Unfortunately, it seems to be a huge headache to get ahold of the varieties of corvid legal to own as pets. ---
**Author:** ![ecseas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ecseas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecseas)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/25 "2011-08-25T02:34:13Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > I have friends with an absolute menagerie. Numerous lizards and snakes, a chameleon, a miniature possum, a hedgehog, a tarantula, and a macaw. I feel like I’m leaving somebody out. > > On paper, it sounds like a borderline hoarding situation, but they’re extremely methodical about the care of each and provide each with an appropriate, individual habitat. Some of the most attentive pet owners I’ve known. I know of people who have upwards of 100 hermit crabs :lol: If I lived in my own house (I live with my family at the moment.) and had more money, I’d had have many more pets. My dream set up for my hermit crab tank would be having around 200+ gallon tank, with two large inbuilt pools, (one fresh water, one salt water) with aquatic animals in the pools. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/26 "2011-08-25T02:46:15Z")
I haven’t had a pet in a long time, but I had all manner of reptiles, amphibians and multi-legged creatures when I was growing up: horny toads, blue-tailed skinks, alligator lizards, tarantulas, leopard frogs, preying mantis, crawdads, etc. I guess the most “exotic” would’ve been a water dog (tiger salamander larvae). ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/27 "2011-08-25T02:50:20Z")
Water dogs are the coolest! I’m adding those to my list. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/28 "2011-08-25T03:12:06Z")
I have a number of exotic birds. I used to keep reptiles but wasn’t very good at it and wouldn’t do it again without professional advice. One of my boyfriends had a one winged crow and he tought it to say “Where’s the beer?” Unfortunately it got out and a predator snagged it. Another one of my boyfriends was a truck driver and he found a skunk in his co-worker’s candy truck. It was the spotted variety and he managed to get it home without getting sprayed (at least, that’s what he told me.) He kept it for a while before it got sick and died. He told me this in a phone conversation a few years back and he mentioned it had bitten him. I said “You need to get rabies shots.” He said “That was 30 years ago.” So I told him I guessed the statute of limitations had run out. ---
**Author:** ![ecseas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ecseas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecseas)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/29 "2011-08-25T03:16:12Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > I have a number of exotic birds. I used to keep reptiles but wasn’t very good at it and wouldn’t do it again without professional advice. > > One of my boyfriends had a one winged crow and he tought it to say “Where’s the beer?” Unfortunately it got out and a predator snagged it. > > Another one of my boyfriends was a truck driver and he found a skunk in his co-worker’s candy truck. It was the spotted variety and he managed to get it home without getting sprayed (at least, that’s what he told me.) He kept it for a while before it got sick and died. He told me this in a phone conversation a few years back and he mentioned it had bitten him. > > I said “You need to get rabies shots.” > > He said “That was 30 years ago.” > > So I told him I guessed the statute of limitations had run out. Skunks don’t spray as much as people say they do. The person I know with skunks has only had one spray once, slightly, and that happened when the skunk ran head first into a wall. They have a few skunks and when they brought one, it was so scared of being picked up it peed on her, yet it didn’t spray ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/30 "2011-08-25T03:19:42Z")
I have a liger and a squirrel. They’re great at disguise, though, so mostly they look like cats. ---
**Author:** ![ecseas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ecseas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecseas)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/31 "2011-08-25T03:23:22Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > I have a liger and a squirrel. They’re great at disguise, though, so mostly they look like cats. I have a lazy, sooky cat that happens to look like a dog ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/32 "2011-08-25T04:55:10Z")
By the way, the guy that owned the skunk was a high school drop in and would collect garter snakes. He and his friends would break into the school on weekends and put them in the teachers’ desks. Then they’d show up bright and early on Monday to see the reaction. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/33 "2011-08-25T05:04:21Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > I have pet chickens, do they count? They’re nothing fancy, just some Golden Comets. The neighbors are shocked and amazed at how tame they are, though. Sure! I really like chickens…I want some but daHubby says no. Along with the cow, geese and spiders I wanted too! ---
**Author:** ![ecseas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ecseas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecseas)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/34 "2011-08-25T09:24:34Z")
> [@BaneSidhe](#): > > Sure! I really like chickens…I want some but daHubby says no. Along with the cow, geese and spiders I wanted too! My dream house would be a Queenslander situated on a hobby farm. I’d have some small cows, sheep/goats, chickens, quails/ducks and a few pot belly pigs. Of course, I would also need hermit crabs, dog/s, cat/s and birds. At the very least! I don’t like geese, I find them to be mean animals. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/35 "2011-08-25T12:39:42Z")
> [@BaneSidhe](#): > > Rabbit that lives indoors. She has a huge playpen here in the living room made from zip ties and Neat Idea cubes, and a big cage that she’s in when we’re not here. She’s litter trained [that usually blows people’s minds] and is a very active, bright girl. > > Here’s a pic of her and her Sooper Sekrit Bunneh Fortress: > > [http://i56.tinypic.com/rrjgjn.jpg](http://i56.tinypic.com/rrjgjn.jpg) That looks like one of my house rabbits! Both of mine are the Dutch breed and boys; I’ve got one who’s black and white like yours, and the other is brown-gray (like a wild rabbit’s coat) and white. I’ve got a “playpen” from the Marshall Farms company, and a cage made out of stacking cube panels, zip ties, etc. Mine are mostly litter-trained - very good about peeing in the box, so-so on pooping. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/36 "2011-08-25T17:51:17Z")
> [@StarsApart](#): > > I have a year-old bearded dragon and leopard tortoise, a society finch, and a spice finch. The birds are new, just from this past weekend. [Here’s a mosaic of all of them](http://www.flickr.com/photos/meginsanity/6070737527/in/photostream). > > I’d love to have a hedgehog if only they were legal in Arizona! Your bearded dragon is lovely! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/37 "2011-08-26T03:18:23Z")
> [@ecseas](#): > > If your hermit crab doesn’t mind being picked up, Pick him up, and wait for him to come out of his shell. hold him above your head. If he fully extends out, look at his underside. If there is two dots, It’s female. Those two dots are gonopores, which are genital openings. I’m a thousand times his size. I don’t think he has much say in the matter! They do have distinct personalities though. Ours likes to stomp around waving his claws like he’s the king of Crab Town. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/38 "2011-08-26T15:04:18Z")
I have a small parrot (a sun conure). So pretty on the outside, so rotten on the inside… She knows she’s the boss on the house! ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/39 "2011-08-26T18:47:37Z")
No exotic pets now, but in the past I had chinchillas and an African Water Frog, who I raised from a tadpole. No small critters now because the dogs would want to eat them. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881/40 "2011-08-26T19:10:01Z")
No exotic pets here, unless you count the itty bitty lizard that lives in my laundry room. He hides under the washer/dryer when anyone goes in there. He drives the cats insane, especially my big Himalayan, Fuzzy, who LOVES to eat itty bitty lizards. Laundry Lizard is smart, though, and has been avoiding the jaws of Fuzzy thus far. What does he eat? No idea. Maybe he drinks out of the cat’s water bowl? No idea. But he’s been in there for nearly a year now. Originally I thought he was a baby something-or-other, but he’s still only maybe an inch long. Cute little guy. Long Live Laundry Lizard! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-exotic-pets/593881.md?page=3)