When you think of pets, you may think of a dog, cat, hamster, or bird. Although these are the common pets found in households, there are more unusual pets to be encountered. There are many people who own different types of animals that are not a dog or a cat so, how do their experiences differ from the typical pet owning situation?
There are a variety of different animals that people can own around the US. Commonly, pet owners will lean towards a hamster, dog, or cat as one of their first pets. While this is what is most commonly seen, there are unusual pets that people have chosen to own and care for. As an example, pet owners can be fit to own an axolotl (a still-water lake amphibian), chicken, pig, hedgehog, and sugar gliders (a small, nocturnal, critter that lives in trees). These are just a few out of many unusual pets that can be legally owned.
Of course, owning a pet comes with being able to care for them. Unusual pets might require different necessities than a dog or a cat. For instance, they may need different types of food, weather conditions, or water conditions to stay healthy and in good physical condition. In addition to that, it may be difficult to accommodate the necessities and behaviors an unusual pet can have. Hence, owners have to maintain their pets’ health. Without a pet owner showing that they can accommodate the animals to their needs, people will not be able to own these amazing unusual pets.
Every pet needs care and attention from their owner. Since pets like dogs or cats are owned more than other critters, people know about what they need. On the other hand, many unusual pets’ care is not as known.
According to a blog on a website, before owning an unusual pet you should, “educate yourself by knowing what you should feed your exotic pet.” Not only that, it states how unusual pet owners should research how their critters should be housed, the environment they need, and their socialabilty, or how friendly they can be. This is severely important to the nurturing of an unusual pet placed in the care of a citizen that has decided to take on this task.
Sophomore Alessandra Arroyo shares her knowledge about the care of her three pet chickens. She shares the care that her pets require to make sure they are completely healthy.
“The care that my pet kind of requires is that every week I have to clean or wash their butts because for some reason, well I know the reason. But it’s that their poop kind of gets clogged up sometimes on their behinds,” Arroyo said.
Not only that, the dietary needs for an unusual pet is exceptionally important when it comes to securing the pet’s health. Certain chemicals that food can contain can ultimately affect an unusual pet’s health in a negative way.
Freshman Erin Arizmendi shares her knowledge on a key dietary fact that is important when wanting or owning a pet pig.
“They were not sure what to feed her as they did not have the proper food so they gave her dog food which is not good. Dog food contains high amounts of sodium which is really toxic to pigs,” Arizmendi said.
Apart from having health care and dietary necessities, there can be some difficulties when owning an unusual pet, the location in which the pet is owned, the surroundings, and the animals around them.
In an online article, “The Environmental Impact of Exotic Pets,” author Gemma Alexander said, “All pets have an environmental footprint – they eat food and generate waste, just like we do. They can also create conflict with local wild animals.”
Every pet can be a challenge to care for; of course, this includes common pets and unusual pets.
Arizmendi discusses the challenges she faces owning pet chickens, too.
“They can be really loud when they have their eggs. After they have their eggs they can start clucking really loudly which can cause disturbance with the neighborhood,” Arizmendi said.
Although this can be one of the many difficulties when owning any pet, not just an unusual pet, there is also a beauty to these pets. There are many unique aspects when owning an unusual pet; it can be their looks, behaviors, actions, and so on. According to a blog, ”They enjoy the journey and challenge of owning an exotic animal.” Not only that, it can offer up the opportunity to see such unique behaviors and learn from their experience with their unusual pet. Any pet owner with admiration for their unique and unusual pet would take on the challenge of caring for their beautiful animal.
“I’ve trained her to sit and to give kisses and spin, so I think it’s just fun to be like that with her,” Arizmendi said.
“Chiquita, she is just fluffy in general but she also has a yellow and black coat. Meanwhile, the other chicken Ms. C, she’s just like black and I think a little bit of orange,” Arroyo said.
“Just like su mirada, like, just their looks are just so beautiful, you know?” Arizmendi said.
