# Exotic animals do not make good pets. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 12, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845 "2007-05-12T15:59:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/41 "2007-05-13T23:20:44Z")
[QUOTE=Savannah] _There are so many tigers being kept as pets that there’s not enough room for all of them at zoos, which limits the SPCA’s ability to take action, Moriarty said._ I boggle. [/QUOTE] There is a [sanctuary for big cats in Tampa, Florida.](http://www.bigcatrescue.org/) ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/42 "2007-05-14T00:26:39Z")
[QUOTE=coffeecat] Nitpick: [Ferrets](http://www.ferretcentral.org/faq/history.html#domestication) are domestic animals. [/QUOTE] Thanks, I was getting ready to say the same thing. I was thinking “um, where else would they go? Ferrets can’t survive in the wild–they’ve tried it!” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/43 "2007-05-14T14:52:46Z")
[QUOTE=Freudian Push Up Bra] …(note: there is a VERY good reason why park rangers say **implicitly** to NEVER get out of the van)…[emphasis added] [/QUOTE] It’s important enough for them to say it _explicitly_, I think. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/44 "2007-05-14T16:39:09Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] It’s important enough for them to say it _explicitly_, I think. [/QUOTE] The semi-official attitude of park rangers, from what I’ve heard, is that hikers have a perfect right to be eaten by bears so long as it doesn’t harm the bears. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/45 "2007-05-14T17:39:53Z")
Ah, the Gold[ilocks] Standard. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/46 "2007-05-14T17:46:43Z")
I had a perfectly nice domestic cat. He liked to be scratched between his ears. But every so often I’d scratch him the wrong way, or he had a muscle spasm that he blamed me for, and he got annoyed and batted my hand with his open claws, and on a couple of occasions gave me a hard nip with his teeth. He was only 10 pounds, so the worst that happened was a few shallow scratches. If he had weighed 500 pounds I’d be dead. Heck, if he’d weighed **50** pounds, I would be facing a trip to the emergency room. I have a 75 pound dog that I trust completely, but a 75 pound cat–even one with the exact temprement of a domestic house cat–would be too dangerous to keep in the house. And pet tigers aren’t helping with species survival. Thing is, big cats tend to do pretty well in captivity. And they breed prolifically in captivity. The problem isn’t taking care of the few specimens we have, the problem is that the US is awash with captive tigers of unknown geneology, and there’s no room for them in zoos, and they’re useless for a species survival plan because they’re of unknown subspecies and unknown health. It would be one thing if backyard tiger breeding was the only thing that could save tigers from extinction. But tigers as a species are not facing extinction, just wild tigers…we can breed as many as we like in captivity, the problem is that they are running out of room to live in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/47 "2007-05-14T19:06:40Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] What happened to just wanting a pony? For Chrissakes, we’ll get you the pony! [/QUOTE] No, you fool! You fell for it! She wanted a pony to begin with! ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/48 "2007-05-14T19:18:39Z")
[QUOTE=betenoir] But…but…I want an elephant. And a polar bear. And a peguin. And some meerkats. And an albino tiger. And some bats. Is that so much to ask? [/QUOTE] We keep an elephant in our basement. He is invisible. He scares away the monsters. Except Doug, who is flat and therefore the elephant doesn’t squish him when he steps on him. (Why yes, we have kids - who have pretty much outgrown Doug and the invisible elephants.) (Do watch out for the invisible elephant droppings). ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/49 "2007-05-14T19:30:54Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] Oh sure, you’ll make room in your home for lemurs, but what about the [dromedary jumping slug](http://www.pc.gc.ca/nature/eep-sar/itm2-/eep-sar2a_e.asp)? No doubt they’d love the moist, friendly environment inside the folds of your shower curtain. (Actually, I’m one of those people who’d sincerely keep these things around if given the opportunity. I mean, it’s a SLUG that JUMPS! How cool is that? Everyone expects lemurs to jump, but a slug?! “Oh my goodness gracious, is that a slug over ther_ **FWAP** __AAAAUUGGHHH!!!_”). [/QUOTE] Thanks for the nightmares. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/50 "2007-05-14T19:56:13Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur866] He was only 10 pounds, so the worst that happened was a few shallow scratches. If he had weighed 500 pounds I’d be dead. Heck, if he’d weighed **50** pounds, I would be facing a trip to the emergency room…a 75 pound cat–even one with the exact temprement of a domestic house cat–would be too dangerous to keep in the house. [/QUOTE] Ask someone who deals with feral cats just what a 10-pound housecat that isn’t socialized to people can do, or even what an unsocialized two-pound kitten can do. [One feral cat site](http://www.messybeast.com/feralkit.htm) had this to say about it: > [@](#): > > Experienced people liken handling an angry feral kitten to wrestling with a animated cactus. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/51 "2007-05-14T21:29:43Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] [Man-eating Snakes](http://home.att.net/~crinaustin/Snake1.htm) [/QUOTE] [man eating snake](http://www.weirdmeat.com/uploaded_images/10-12-06_2213-726008.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2007, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/52 "2007-05-15T00:09:18Z")
I’m still a little disappointed that I became an adult too late to have an [ocelot](http://www.gotpetsonline.com/pictures-gallery/exotic-pictures-breeders-babies/ocelot-pictures-breeders-babies/pictures/ocelot-0008.jpg) as a pet. I wanted one ever since I found out what one was (probably from watching the “Honey West” TV show in the late 60s, though I was too little to remember exactly). Unfortunately, by the time I was old enough that I could actually afford one and take proper care of it, they’re not legal to own anymore. Probably for the best, I know–they probably don’t make good pets. But I’ve played with them before (kittens and adults) and they’re very sweet cats when properly socialized. Still, though, they weigh 35-70lbs and could probably do some damage if provoked or annoyed. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/53 "2007-05-15T00:25:59Z")
I recently watched a news program about exotic pets in Florida. The problem is that many people are getting lizards or large snakes as pets, then when their [Nile Monitor Lizard](http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=1085) becomes too much to handle, it is let go into the wild and is thriving in the non-native environment. Add to that boa constrictors and Jeb Bush and DisneyLAND is looking better and better. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2007, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/54 "2007-05-15T08:39:25Z")
Oh that reminds me. I want an elephant, a polar brear, some meerkcats. And a Zebra 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845/55 "2007-05-21T18:06:40Z")
Yikes! More tigers! Much closer to my home! > [@](#): > > May 20, 2007 > > A WEEK AND A HALF AFTER A TIGER MAULING IN THE BC INTERIOR KILLED A WOMAN, A TIGER ON VANCOUVER ISLAND ESCAPED–MAKING FOR A FRIGHTNING EARLY MORNING IN COWICHAN LAKE. > > RCMP WERE CALLED AFTER REPORTS OF A TIGER ON THE LOOSE IN THE COWICHAN LAKE ROAD AREA. > > THE BABY SIBERIAN TIGER, WEIGHING ABOUT TWO HUNDRED POUNDS, WAS SOON CAPTURED BY ITS OWNER, BUT NOT BEFORE POLICE CALLED CONSERVATION OFFICERS. > > THE TIGER’S OWNER LURED IT INTO A SMALL SHED AND IT WAS THEN TRANSPORTED BACK TO THE OWNER’S RESIDENCE. NO ONE WAS HURT. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-animals-do-not-make-good-pets/403845.md?page=2)