# Owning unusual pets (not a dog/cat/small accessory rodent)



## JBird (May 23, 2013)

So, I've been thinking lately... I find myself sometimes exhausted by the sheer inconvenience of having rodents as pets. I know that sounds awful, but hear me out. I speak with pet owners day in and day out, normal and exotic alike. Sometimes, I actually do struggle to see the "appeal" of owning exotic pets, despite it being something I always considered myself very passionate about. By exotic, in this instance, I'm referring to just about anything excluding dogs and cats. Rodents and birds to marsupials and monkeys. 

Am I the only one who has trouble feeling like I'm appropriately bonding with my rats when I am spending almost ALL of my time with them cleaning up after them or preventing them from urinating/defecating while free ranging? They are super sweet, of course, but sometimes I feel the upkeep is not equaling out with the bond I feel with my babies. 

My dog, as a contrast, is the absolute love of my life. He and I understand each other on a fantastic level and he is very responsible and can take good care of himself without supervision, aside from the obvious needing to be fed/taken outside. We spend time together all day, every day, and it is never a hassle. As in, I don't need to PREPARE to spend time with him, you know? He's just an extension of me, and I'm never on edge worrying what he will/won't do/pee or poo on/destroy/escape to, etc. Sometimes I feel like having caged animals like birds and rodents just... isn't worth the payout. Is that wrong? 

Sometimes I consider getting a rabbit, but then I think "Oh, lord, that's an entire decade of sweeping up rabbit poop, no matter how litter trained I can get him... and he'll need a big cage which I'll have to clean weekly..." and that sucks. I love rabbits, but I do know that there are just so many things you have to deal with that go way beyond casual pet ownership of domesticated dogs & cats. And even then, what about hamsters, finches, and canaries and other small, "accessory" type pets? They hardly even bond with their owner at ALL and are typically more of a desk ornament than anything; why go to the extensive upkeep when you are getting nothing in return but a cute face to look at? 

I was speaking with a woman from a bird rescue in my area (she is coming into one of my stores to meet & greet on weekends), and we talked about her Macaws for a bit. I feel like I know a good bit about owning birds, and I've done my research, but this was the first time I really looked at an animal and thought "Why on earth would you _want_ to own that?" The birds are intelligent, need constant stimulation, need a cage which needs lots of cleaning, need TONS of food, tons of toys, are loud, messy, hormonal, particular with WHO is allowed to approach them, and they have the capability to severely injure everyone around them. And not in the way that, say, a dog or even a ferret has the "ability" to harm someone, I mean with Macaws and other large parrots, they _bite, _and frequently too. 
But... why do that? This is a wild animal. He needs incredible compensation to not implode from being stuck indoors all the time. Is that worth it? For either the bird OR the person? Is the bond that you get from this animal much more significant than what you could get from a well-chosen & domesticated dog/cat? Is the bond that you (and only you, not your husband/wife/kids/neighbors) get from this bird worth the lifetime of incredibly intense caretaking regimes? Is it just cause they're pretty and different? 

I just don't know... lmao, maybe I'll put this in rants & raves since it's so long and drawn out. I don't know, I'm just feeling weird about pets lately, and thought I'd write down my thought process and see if anyone has had similar thoughts.


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## HeatherElle (Aug 16, 2012)

Exotics aren't for everyone. Neither are more typical pets, really. Or even children for that matter lol. They all require different levels of work and devotion. I suppose it just comes down to choosing what you *personally* think is worth the effort. I'm with you on the bird thing, they just aren't for me. When my gecko dies (he's OLD, 15 years, I think) I won't get another reptile either, they're just not how I want to spend my time and money.


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## botje77 (May 14, 2013)

I'm starting to feel the same way..i keep rodents for over 15 years now..i even work in a bunny shelter..i have 6 rabbits and 4 rats, i also have 4 tarantula's and an aquarium..but if one of my rodents die i don't want new ones..every day i give my rabbits free range time and all they want to do is go back in the cage..only my rats come out and snuggle..


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I've become a bit similar. I have too many rats and can't find good homes for the excess. My time is spent mostly on upkeep and the close bond with my original two is gone...

I do enjoy my birds. The upkeep isn't bad almost none. Previously four parakeets now three. But I don't expect a close bond with them. 


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## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

I can't understand why people want the really exotic pets. Like animals that aren't actually domesticated.
My dogs are actually more work than my rats. We always have to put up stuff we don't want chewed up and when it rains outside Ginger will pee and poop in the house. And I'm always picking up their toys that they dragged out of their toy box just because. They leave their knucklebones all over the house and have hurt our feet way too may times. I clean up their poop outside a few times a week.
Spending time with my rats is easy because I can just put them on my bed for free range. And I can just put a rat on my shoulder and walk around. 
I've got a method that works for me though

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## Siringo (May 7, 2012)

I don't get the appeal of most exotic pets either. Not the kind you just look at anyway. I've lived around exotic animals my whole life because my mom LOVES them and really doesn't mind putting in all of that effort. I can see that her parrots like her, but to everyone else, they are monsters! You never get used to the blood curdling scream that a greenwing macaw lets out daily. I can't really imagine the amount of money and time my mom has put into all of her animals, and for the most part none of them give back anything at all. They are just neat... and they live forever. I'm so glad she finally rehomed most of her pets due to her new hobby that takes up her time. She still has 3 parrots and a few snakes and like 30 fish, but it's a major improvement.

I don't think rats are easy but I do think they are worth it.. depending on the rat. I would do anything for the two rats I've bonded with the most, but it is a lot harder to feel the same about a rat that doesn't want to connect with me. :/


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## September (Jul 30, 2013)

For me, the care requirements are part of the fun of owning "exotics". My dog, for example: I love him, and if I had to choose a favorite out of every animal I've ever owned, he would come out on top. He's perfect. But I feed him, take him out, and technically that's all he requires. Anything else I choose to do--extensive training, hiking, swimming, sports, CGC, blogging--Is just that, stuff I choose to do with/for him because I _like_ caring for animals. I guess for me I like animals that you can watch, that require a lot of specialized care. My next pet will be a pair of robo hamsters, and you really can't interact with them much, they're too fast for the most part, and prefer not to have out of cage time. I can't explain why, but it's more than half the appeal lol.


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## Daize (Jun 8, 2013)

I've already decide, what when our cat is gone, We won't have any more "furry" pets. 

I had originally wanted to get some sugar gliders, when I got my rat, Belle. My cat loved our old sugar gliders and I was hoping she'd do well with another pair of girls. I ended up getting Belle, when I went to buy a cage. LOL. Now, I'm glad we ended up with a pet rat. My cat is too old to break in a new kitten, but a rat worked out GREAT!!

Our rat doesn't stay in her cage much. Most of the time she's out and about. I've had to clean up a few poos, but I've yet to find urine. From what I can tell, she uses her litter pan to pee. She must really love that pee rock. LOL.

I can understand it seems inconvenient at times. Especially if you have more than 1 rat. At first, our rat seemed like a lot of work. Now it's no problem at all. In fact, taking care of her comes as natural as breathing. 

Still, my cat is getting very old. She might not have more than 4 or 5 years left. I think I'll continue to have pet rats until our cat passes. Then, if the last rat outlives the cat. I'll keep the last rat until it passes. 

It's just too hard getting bonded with a furry pet and then having it pass. Even though some live much longer than others. It's never long enough. 

I'll still have pets, but most likely...... I'll have colorful fish instead of furry pets.


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## JBird (May 23, 2013)

September said:


> For me, the care requirements are part of the fun of owning "exotics". My dog, for example: I love him, and if I had to choose a favorite out of every animal I've ever owned, he would come out on top. He's perfect. But I feed him, take him out, and technically that's all he requires. Anything else I choose to do--extensive training, hiking, swimming, sports, CGC, blogging--Is just that, stuff I choose to do with/for him because I _like_ caring for animals. I guess for me I like animals that you can watch, that require a lot of specialized care. My next pet will be a pair of robo hamsters, and you really can't interact with them much, they're too fast for the most part, and prefer not to have out of cage time. I can't explain why, but it's more than half the appeal lol.


I totally get this sentiment. This is how I used to feel, so I'm a bit confused about why suddenly the caretaking isn't as appealing... I know, honestly, that it's likely due to stress in other areas. College is wearing me thin, honestly, and I just don't have the energy to care for my babies as well as I know I should. I have even practically stopped training and grooming my dog- something that used to be one of my all time favorite things to do with him. 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks about these things, anyway. I know after all of my rats pass, I very likely won't be getting more for a long time. Too much hassle in an upcoming vital part of my life. I'll be graduating college in about 1.5 years, and after that I need to be versatile, able to move when needed and travel short notice. My dog is a much easier thing to factor in to that, weirdly. Like Daize said, taking care of him comes as naturally as breathing. Somehow the cage and five wiggly, smelly animals becomes really really daunting when you need to clean, move apartments, move in with someone new, travel, or just go see mom & dad... I like having animals, don't get me wrong, but I am assuming my reluctance to care for them is due in part to the fact that now is not a great time for me to be experimenting with all sorts of critters. 

I'm thinking about rehoming some of my rats. I only have five, and it would go against everything I believe in as a pet owner to rehome an animal, not because I _couldn't_ care for it, but because I didn't _want _to. I love my girls quite a bit, but they exhaust me to the point that I honestly don't want to get them out to play. They hardly get free range time because they piss on absolutely everything, including each other. They are dirty and smelly to the touch, grime up everything they touch, and cause all sorts of trouble; trying to keep their cage clean is a disaster because they destroy everything I put in there. But then... when I do go in to the cage to play with them, they are a total riot. They love wrestling with me and brux whenever they get scritches- I know they love attention. I know they love and recognize me, but I feel like a horrible pet owner because I get reluctant to love on them because of how obscenely messy and destructive they are. I do not think it is "normal" by rat standards. Or even hamster standards. It's baaaad, man.

And my new rat boy is just so difficult... the hairless boy. Cute, yes, but he's terrified of everything. Very skittish, not too interactive with anyone, and has absolutely zero interest in humans or barely even other rats. He's just a bit weird, bless his heart. I love his hairless-ness, but I'm pretty sure that's the only thing about him that I like.... and that's so, so awful of me. I've tried to immerse him, but need to try harder. But that's several hours that I just don't have to drop at one time on one rat. I have homework and real work and boyfriend things to do.... not to mention my six other animals that need TLC in my free time as well.


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