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Does it make sense to own wild animals at home?

Posted by Margie2007 • 10/18/07 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: animals, gift, lizard, pet, problem, snake

What would you do if someone gave you a snake or a lizard as a pet? I guess it would be a big problem for a lot of people, how would you behave? What would you do with this not typical pet??? Could you keep it at home?

User Comments

10/18/07

robinsonjoel

On the word 'wild animals' I thought of Lion and Tigers. Surprisingly, I don't find snakes and lizards wild! neither do i appreciate them as pets

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10/18/07

monkeytale

Ah no. Key word being "wild".

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1. 10/18/07
  
  crpitt
  
  Not a wild animal then mikester?
2. 10/18/07
  
  monkeytale
  
  I have children, who are wild enough for me. As for me, I'm too old and frail to be wild.
10/18/07

crpitt

I would hand it over to a Zoo or the RSPCA.

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10/18/07

jungl

I would smack them for having a wild animal as pet.

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10/18/07

bsilvia

No, no! Not even at the ZOO.

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10/19/07

Margie2007

I asked you this question, because my best friend has kept about 50 species (lizards - monitors, iguana, bearded dragons, geckos aand also snakes such as boa constrictor, green python, Chinese snake and some frogs - poison frogs and some others, just at home). They are treated as a big part of the family, who also like them very much. Everybody feels safe in this strange home, because the animals are kept in special terrariums and you can see them as if they were in the Zoo. I wonder, why people are afraid of such animals even if they are in the Zoos...I am more afraid of some people at large - I mean psychopaths, robbers etc - they seem to be more dangerous. Can you explain it to me???

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1. 10/19/07
  
  bsilvia
  
  I'm not afraid. I think they have to be free.
10/19/07

bnsullivan

Here's my point of view: I have less of a problem with the keepers of wild animals than I do with those who hunt/collect them for sale. For example, I have seen people who are engaged in the tropical fish trade "collecting" fish on our reefs. (Yes, I have actually observed them as they go about their collecting tasks underwater.)

First, a certain percentage of the fish that are collected never even make it to the surface, because they are poisoned or otherwise traumatized by the collection process. Of those that make it to the holding tank on the collector's boat, a high proportion die in transit to wherever they will be sold. Alas, most of those remaining will then die in people's aquariums because of diseases, improper conditions (water temp., salinity, etc.) or lack of appropriate food. Notice I'm not even addressing the fact that the creatures are now contained in a little glass box instead of being able to range freely over the reef.

Now, another thing that happens is that the balance of the reef ecosystem is disturbed by the collecting activities -- by the removal of hundreds of fish of a certain species. All species on the reef have a unique niche. Reef fish, for one example, often are algae eaters -- and when their numbers are artificially depleted, algae on coral and animals (like turtle carapaces) proliferates uncontrolled. In addition, they are prey for another species (which now goes hungry or has to range more widely to find dinner).

Most people who buy (or capture) one or a few wild animals to keep as pets probably are well-meaning, or at least don't have a malicious intent, but every animal they buy represents just one of hundreds or thousands that have been removed from their natural habitat -- many, many of which will have perished on the way to the marketplace. It is wasteful, to say the least.

And don't even get me started on dredging reefs in order to harvest shells for the souvenir trade...

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1. 10/19/07
  
  Margie2007
  
  I agree with you, yo're definitely right. My friend doesn't sell such animals, he sometimes gives some of them to his friends, who also like such pets. He keeps them (reptiles etc) in big glass boxes. Besides, iguana and African monitor don't live in terras - they walk, rest and sleep "at large" - just in the apartment. They are pretty safe :-)))
10/19/07

jobquitter

I really hate seeing birds as pets in people's homes. They're caged up and make horrible noises all day. They must be miserable.

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10/19/07

naturebunny

It totally depends on the animal and the conditions it will be living in. I don't approve of having birds as pets. Birds were meant to fly freely. However iguana's, & lizards, chameleoons, any relatively small, slow moving reptile, I think if the person accepting the animal was KNOWLEDGABLE in how to properly and ethically care for it, I wouldn't object. I don't think lizards mind whether they are indoors or out as long as they have what they need, and adequate space and a sunlamp to bask in However having a lion/ panther/etc as a pet.. totally not acceptable. Even if you had a mansion with a huge yard, it would still not be adequate space for these types of animals, and they would be prevented from doing what nature intended them to do.. hunt! .. I think if any animal is in any conditions that prevent them from fulfilling what they love to do in nature, then it's wrong to have them penned up. Like birds for example. Even chickens in battery cages in the egg laying industry. It's totally wrong. they don't get to establish pecking orders, nest, or even spread their wings. chickens in battery cages is as wrong as it would be to keep a zebra in your bathroom.

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10/19/07

brigid

I actually like birds as pets. Some of the smaller birds actually seem to get rather panicky when let out of their cages.

As for lizards and snakes, I like them, too. I'm actually considering getting a bearded dragon. And I have a cousin who raises snakes. (They're so cute!)

As for really wild animals, I often thought that foxes would make good pets. They combine some of the best characteristics of dogs and cats. They're good mousers and fairly social. Why no one has thought to domesticate them is beyond me.

I'd also like to have squirrels. They're adorable and playful and are fairly easy to tame. Just feed them nuts and sweet breads. ^_^

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10/19/07

ThriftShopRomantic

Down in the Florida Keys here in the US, there are now tons of free-roaming iguanas around.

They used to be pets, but people realized they couldn't keep them. So when they'd leave the Keys, they'd leave the lizards...

Fortunately the climate supports them. Unfortunately, it looks a bit like Jurassic Park now somedays when the sun heats up the concrete docks and the four foot wild beasties come out to lay in the sun.

Responsibility is the first thing to take into account when you accept any pet.

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1. 10/20/07
  
  brigid
  
  Too true. I think just about any creature could be made a pet if the owner is responsible enough. (Okay, maybe not an alligator, but with the right resources it could be done.)
10/20/07

jacks

It cant be all that different to having my kids stay. Bloody animals, thats all they are.

jack

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