Unusual pets

Menageries

Owning an unusual pet was a way to show wealth and power to others. These were known as Menageries. A menagerie is a private collection of animals, which is not open to the public as a zoo is in our times now. When a family decides to buy a family pet, generally they look at fancy fish, sweet little kittens or even a high-spirited puppy. They would not think about going out and buying a lion for their young child to play with. However, many people get unusual pets. Yet, it does affect society in a way because of the effects owning an unusual animal as a pet has on the community as well as to the animal. Exotic animals do not belong as a personal pet. Examples of this are Madagascar hissing cockroach, Sugar gliders and Tarantula.

Selecting a cockroach as a pet may seem a stretch, but many people like it as a pet. Madagascar hissing cockroach is no ordinary roach. It can grow up to 3 inches long and over an inch wide. Well it’s not something you would hit with a rolled-up magazine for sure. This type of cockroach is clean, odorless, sanitary, docile and harmless. Besides size and personal hygiene, the hissing cockroach is unique for the sound it makes. The hissing noise can be heard during mating rituals, aggression between males or when an adult males, adult female or nymph are handled or disturbed in some way. Studies have shown that males can tell each other apart by hissing, which also tells them something of size of their potential opponents. Also, females are attracted to the tone and strength of male’s hissing. Hissing cockroaches also enjoy a rather large range of diet. They are also long-lived creatures, from an insect point of view. They can live up to five years. Another unusual pet is the Sugar gliders. They are marsupials native to Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia that have been blessed with the ability to fly glide, through the trees in their usual environments. From a good height, they can take flights of more than 150 feet.

They have a range of vocal signals that includes chirps, whirring and clicks. They are one of six species of the family Petauridae, known as flying phalangers or flying opossums. What allows these animals to fly is a flap of skin called patagium that stretches like a sail between their wrist and their ankles. They are interesting animals that can be kept as pets, but if you are thinking of taking one on think very, very carefully. Sugar glider weigh anywhere from 95-160 grams depending on their gender and measure up to 21 centimeters long. They are mostly gray with black strips, and a lighter underside. Since they are night-time animals, they have large eyes for greater night vision. When sexual maturity is reached at about one year, the male develops a large patch of glandular tissue on top of the head that is often mistaken for a large scab, but really a scent gland to mark territory.

In the opening scenes of “Raiders of the lost Ark,” Harrison Ford deftly swept a “deadly” tarantula was the one at risk. Falling from such a height can easily kill this delicate arthropod. Tarantulas are not for everyone, but these large, hairy spiders are gaining popularity as interesting, low-maintenance pets. Despite their Hollywood image, tarantulas are usually not dangerous, and are often quite beautiful. Like most spiders, tarantulas are venomous, but their bite is more like a bee sting, and most will not bite unless forced. Still, the venom can cause an unpleasant reaction in people allergic to the venom. They are delicate and can be killed if dropped from even a small height. Tarantulas can be found all over the world. The most common pet is the Chilean rose tarantula. The life span of a female tarantula is amazing. Some can live up to 20 years or more. That means your child’s tarantula may end up going to college with him. Males have a shorter life span, ranging from few months to 2 or 3 years.

Perhaps owning an unusual pet would be a great experience to have, yet with all the risks and health issues for humans and especially for the pet why would one want to endure such a responsibility. Based on the information given above it seems these animals do not belong as a personnel pet. Exotic animals do not adjust well to a captive environment. They require special care, housing, diet and maintenance that the average person cannot offer.