Exotic pets..have/had one? want one? know anyone with an exotic pet?

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

What is comical is when I walk my dog (he's a smallish 60lbs) everyone wants to run up and pet him

When I had my snake and walked with one of them around my neck, I could see people sometimes literally move from one side of teh street to the other....heh.

The dog will bite you long before the snake takes a care to do so....

lol I know what you mean. My cat has bitten me many times, but my tarantula never has. My cat has her little "I don't want to be held" mood swings. My tarantula has gone from eating crickets to feeder mice, she's gotten that big. I still give her crickets occasionally, but I don't have to feed her as much when I give her the mice. When my friend comes over, he makes me put my spider in the closet. After she went through her first molt, he came over and thought I bought another spider. lol It was just the exoskeleton. It looks very similar to the actual spider. I thought that was hilarious. It's funny how people react to pets they're not familiar with.

You're right though. The dog will bite before the snake does.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

lol I know what you mean. My cat has bitten me many times, but my tarantula never has. My cat has her little "I don't want to be held" mood swings. My tarantula has gone from eating crickets to feeder mice, she's gotten that big. I still give her crickets occasionally, but I don't have to feed her as much when I give her the mice. When my friend comes over, he makes me put my spider in the closet. After she went through her first molt, he came over and thought I bought another spider. lol It was just the exoskeleton. It looks very similar to the actual spider. I thought that was hilarious. It's funny how people react to pets they're not familiar with.

You're right though. The dog will bite before the snake does.

Another funny thing...more guys I know are afraid of reptiles and spiders than they are of dogs...

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Another funny thing...more guys I know are afraid of reptiles and spiders than they are of dogs...

lol

Some guys are afraid of mice and rats too.

I'll have to admit, I'm not a big fan of house spiders, because they do bite.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

lol

Some guys are afraid of mice and rats too.

I'll have to admit, I'm not a big fan of house spiders, because they do bite.

That was one other thing too...getting used to rats enough to feed the snakes...I did rabbits once...couldn't do it...I felt so guilty


Watching a snake feed is is one of the most highly educational things I had ever seen in life. For somehing that hardly ever moves, it strikes powerfully and quickly and then from there listening to bones being crushed (hope I'm not grossing anyone out, if so stop reading now) and ingesting is something that really never gets seen on 'nature shows.'

Movies like Anaconda and so forth have done them a serious injustice.

I also didn't realize untl after owning them that snakes have a very slooooooooow digestive process and they may only poop 3 to 4 times a year and when they let it out....the stench,

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

That was one other thing too...getting used to rats enough to feed the snakes...I did rabbits once...couldn't do it...I felt so guilty


Watching a snake feed is is one of the most highly educational things I had ever seen in life. For somehing that hardly ever moves, it strikes powerfully and quickly and then from there listening to bones being crushed (hope I'm not grossing anyone out, if so stop reading now) and ingesting is something that really never gets seen on 'nature shows.'

Movies like Anaconda and so forth have done them a serious injustice.

I also didn't realize untl after owning them that snakes have a very slooooooooow digestive process and they may only poop 3 to 4 times a year and when they let it out....the stench,

lol that was a National Geographic post. I never got a chance to see my rat snake feed, because when I was in highschool my mom made me get rid of him. What happened when you fed your snake the rabbit? I don't think I could have done that either. I have a hard enough time feeding my spider, mice. This is the first spider I've fed mice too. The others I've had were all males and never lived long enough to get big enough to eat mice. This is my 1st female. They live a long time. I watched her attack a mouse twice. Ever since then and one other time, I now give her the mouse and walk away. I can't watch. The squeaking (it was so loud) of the mouse just made me.. Then watching the end result of what the venom does is incredible. The mouse is still living, but the venom causes paralysis. It just makes it easier for the spider to eat without injury. Hours later, the mouse looks more like a mouse rug, similar to a bear skin rug. All of its insides are gone. Yeah, I know what you mean, I can't watch anymore. One time I fed her a mouse and the mouse fought back, I walked away though. I couldn't watch, but when I came back, it was pretty bad. Bad mistake on the mouse's part.

Ever watch piranha feed?

ETA: I wanted to add something to your earlier post. When people see me and I tell them I have a pet spider, they look at me, then picture the spider, then look at me again..like YOU? How? I've been told that I look like the kind of girl who's afraid of spiders. lol

[MexicanMami0286]

Sophomore year in college, my roommates (6 girls in a room, btw - never do it!) decided it would be cool to get a hedgehog, despite the school's rule that no animals were allowed in dorm rooms. My immediate roomie and I were totally against it, especially its price tag, $500+ (It had to be imported from Africa by plane, then picked up the airport, plus food and accessories and a habitat and toys, ugh!).

They never took care of it. It smelled and I felt so bad for it. Lauren ended up using her money for that semester's accounting textbook to purchase it. Christie (who didn't pay for it) took it home for the winter break because Lauren didn't want her parents to know she had bought it, but when break was over, Christie never brought it back. So they got in a huge fight. We never saw that animal again...and Lauren ended up transferring...

(I changed the names...)

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by MexicanMami0286

Sophomore year in college, my roommates (6 girls in a room, btw - never do it!) decided it would be cool to get a hedgehog, despite the school's rule that no animals were allowed in dorm rooms. My immediate roomie and I were totally against it, especially its price tag, $500+ (It had to be imported from Africa by plane, then picked up the airport, plus food and accessories and a habitat and toys, ugh!).

They never took care of it. It smelled and I felt so bad for it. Lauren ended up using her money for that semester's accounting textbook to purchase it. Christie (who didn't pay for it) took it home for the winter break because Lauren didn't want her parents to know she had bought it, but when break was over, Christie never brought it back. So they got in a huge fight. We never saw that animal again...and Lauren ended up transferring...

(I changed the names...)

That's really sad. I'm clueless as of why people buy animals they know they're not going to take care of.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

lol that was a National Geographic post. I never got a chance to see my rat snake feed, because when I was in highschool my mom made me get rid of him. What happened when you fed your snake the rabbit? I don't think I could have done that either. I have a hard enough time feeding my spider, mice. This is the first spider I've fed mice too. The others I've had were all males and never lived long enough to get big enough to eat mice. This is my 1st female. They live a long time. I watched her attack a mouse twice. Ever since then and one other time, I now give her the mouse and walk away. I can't watch. The squeaking (it was so loud) of the mouse just made me.. Then watching the end result of what the venom does is incredible. The mouse is still living, but the venom causes paralysis. It just makes it easier for the spider to eat without injury. Hours later, the mouse looks more like a mouse rug, similar to a bear skin rug. All of its insides are gone. Yeah, I know what you mean, I can't watch anymore. One time I fed her a mouse and the mouse fought back, I walked away though. I couldn't watch, but when I came back, it was pretty bad. Bad mistake on the mouse's part.

Ever watch piranha feed?

ETA: I wanted to add something to your earlier post. When people see me and I tell them I have a pet spider, they look at me, then picture the spider, then look at me again..like YOU? How? I've been told that I look like the kind of girl who's afraid of spiders. lol

WHy I had issues with the rabbit?

Well when you feed it a mouse or a rat...you think "Eeeehh it's just a rodent." But the rabbit, "...well the rabbit didn't to anything to anybody...why would anyone wanna feed this cute lil' critter to a snake?"

And the squeaking too...heartbreaking but hey snake's gotta eat.

You see? LOL

I forgot I had Oscars (comes from a similar family as piranha <chiclids>)for a while too...and popping goldfish in the tank with it...why? LOL


Lesson, never get any unless you have a very large tank as multple Oscars tend to turn on each other and you aren't careful, you won't find the bodies.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

WHy I had issues with the rabbit?

Well when you feed it a mouse or a rat...you think "Eeeehh it's just a rodent." But the rabbit, "...well the rabbit didn't to anything to anybody...why would anyone wanna feed this cute lil' critter to a snake?"

And the squeaking too...heartbreaking but hey snake's gotta eat.

You see? LOL

I forgot I had Oscars (comes from a similar family as piranha <chiclids>)for a while too...and popping goldfish in the tank with it...why? LOL


Lesson, never get any unless you have a very large tank as multple Oscars tend to turn on each other and you aren't careful, you won't find the bodies.

lol Yeah, I get it now.

Oscars are so mean.