I am proud to say that this is the first thing I thought too.
Who do what, keep each other?
That’s all true, but “got to big too handle” was really only in reference to a pet that’s exotic and that the owner never should have messed with in the first place.
BTW, my wife has a couple cats and I’m looking to “liberate” them… 
Yeah, I always thought that technically any pet that wasn’t a dog, cat, “small mammal” or “bird” was an “exotic”, at least when looking for veterinarians.
Yup. I had a wee African pygmy hedgehog that I got ‘used’ from a family whose young boys got bored with it :dubious:
I ended up calling around and doing scads of research to find a good vet who knew about hedgies and who was current. The vet I went with was a “Bird and Exotic” practice. In my time there, I saw some seriously odd (nontraditional) animals – chickens, pretty big turtles, a few parrots, and such.
You are such a nerd. Uh, not that I have any idea what a Yuan-Ti is, no siree, not a clue!
Marc
Hey, vetbridge, what about the companion:
Lesbian couples?
I wonder how San Francisco vets are doing…
While I don’t want to minimize the dangers involved in releasing animals into the wild, I don’t believe there is anywhere in the United States where the climate is suitable for piranha. If you let your piranha loose in a nearby river, you’re just sentencing them to a slow death. You may as well flush them.
For all the horror people associate with the word “piranha” it’s just another fish. There are lots and lots of nasty carnivorous fish in your local aquarium store, many of which might actually pose a threat if released into the wild. Banning piranha, specifically, is pointless.
Try not to think of this tonight as you sit on the pot, alone in the darkness…
As a rule, South Florida is over-run with non-native species, which is a shame. Down here, we’ve got curly-tailed lizards which are mighty cute until you realize that they’re territorial and aggressive, and destroy local populations of anoles. Plus we’ve got geckos, iguanas, basilisks (Jesus Christ lizards, to you herpa-fans) and Knight anoles, which are VERY aggressive, even to humans, and can grow over a foot long. And don’t forget, of course, bufo toads, which can kills pets if ingested.
Actually I think they get rid of the snakes because snakes are really quite boring animals in captivity.
Besides Boas, there are also monitor lizards being release into the FL ecosystem.
Those things are nasty.
Don’t the pets know just to lick them a few times?!?!?!
:smack:
Then there’s the huge Cuban tree frogs that feed on the native frogs. I know a herpetologist who has no compunctions about mercilessly beating those things to death whenever he encounters one. Nile monitors, flowerpot snakes, quaker parakeets, plecostomus… that’s not even touching the issue of introduced plant species. Ecosystem? What ecosystem? (Technically the armadillo is also an introduced species, but I give them a pass because they were here during the last Ice Age. Plus their natural enemy, the Buick, has also been introduced to Florida.)
I think the state wildlife people were hoping against hope for years that the native fauna such as alligators would have the edge over the big exotic snakes and keep them somewhat under control, but that doesn’t seem to be working out so well. From what I understand, Miami is a major (the major?) import site for the exotic pet trade, which doesn’t help. Even if it’s illegal to import certain animals, there still needs to be funds available for enforcement; and my guess is that the budget allocated to combat animal smuggling probably ranks several orders of magnitude lower than the drug trade. Plus every time a big storm rolls through the state, everything manages to break loose anyway.
“Man, I want a huge snake for a pet! It’ll get like 20 feet long, and I can feed it live animals and stuff! It’ll be awesome!”
Ten years later:
“What the hell was I thinking? This snake gets 20 feet long, and seems to think that I’m a live animal! Luckily, dumping it out in the woods should solve this problem entirely.”
The Florida Wildlife Commission considers them capable of establishing in southern Florida and I’d also consider Hawaii a potential problem area ( maybe not - I know nothing about the state of Hawaii freshwater diversity as such ). They apparently don’t find it impossible to adjust to a non-riverine environment, judging from their ( apparently detrimental - 50% drop in species diversity in some cases ) introduction into some Brazilian lakes. Personally I have very little concern for any potential ( and as you say, vastly exaggerated ) threat to people, so much as the potential damage to ecosystems. 'course Florida is already lousy with introduced fish ( including tilapia ).
For what it’s worth, the records of Red Piranha intoductions in the U.S.: http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=429
I don’t think there’s native life left in south Florida other than the alligators and opossums. There’s even a colony of wild monkeys on one of the islands in the intercoastal waterway.
I doubt they would die in Florida; Oscars certainly have thrived here and they are as tropical as piranhas. Strangely enough, I don’t remember hearing of any piranhas in the wild here.
And don’t forget the roving bands of New Yorkers.
I am a proud owner of two pet snakes: Cleo the red rat (AKA corn) snake, and Seymour the ball (AKA royal) python. Well–my classroom is. When I chose species, I went for handle-ability, temperment, ease of care (Seymour is a tad higher maintentance, but I got him after 2 years with Cleo to learn), and ADULT SIZE. Cleo is fully mature at five foot, and Seymour is about four foot…he might grow another foot or thicken a bit, but not by much. This means both snakes will never need more than a medium rat for a meal, and they are happy in the 20 gallon long tanks.
The snakes are campus celebrities and well-cared for.
But I’ve got to say–having two snakes and being a teacher means I have many times been offered free pythons, iguanas, and other reptiles that have outgrown their owners abilities and interest. I’ve said no every time, of course.
Why the hell anyone but a narrow population of experts buys a baby burmese is beyond me. Sure, they’re gorgeous babies…but babies GROW. REALLY BIG. Even red-tail boas, gorgeous and docile as they are, are too much snake for me at 10-15 feet. Oh, and I’ve seen several anacondas (you know, heaviest snake in the world) at pet stores…cute babies at the time, of course, but as hatchlings they’re not much smaller than my Seymour is now. I find it rather irresponsible of the pet stores to offer them without thoroughly–and I mean thoroughly–screening the potential owner. Who wants to come across a hungry 300lb snake in their back yard?
People buy them, realize in a few years they have a massive creature that needs to be fed roosters and rabbits on a regular basis, and being irresponsible asshats, do everyone (including the reptile) a huge disservice and let them go. Killing the damn thing makes more sense, and that’s coming from an animal lover.
Asshats.
Years ago, a park ranger at the Shark Valley part of Everglades National Park told me there were at least two anacondas loose in the Glades. I’ve never heard anything more about it, though so maybe he was just yanking my chain. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true, though.
Walking catfish - Wikipedia This article is about the walking catfish which was introduced a few years ago. It is all over Florida and is an extremely aggressive fish. Thet are sometimes too mean to keep in a Cichlid tank.
So now they are going from pond to pond and taking over ponds.