Do You Have Any Weird Animals?

I breed emperor scorpions. That tends to freak people out a bit. There's about 50 in my house right now, mostly babies.

At one point I had 11 species of exotic cockroach, but my allergy to them became dangerous and they all got rehomed. I miss those so much! Not just a few species of hissers, but the huge winged cave roaches and gorgeous black and white Question Mark and Domino roaches.

I have a small colony of bumblebee millipedes that came from three adults I found in a potted plant. Those creep some people out.

And of course the snakes, toads, geckos, hermit crabs and the giant snail. Those are more classic, but some people really get the heeby-jeebies from them.
 

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When I was a kid we kept lizards and all kinds of snakes. But I had turkeys, goats, a huuuuge pig, peacocks, ducks, silkies, several types of chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, guineas, gerbil, hamsters, cats, horses, dogs, a rat (most of them all at one time). I think the weirdest was probably the pig. Who keeps a huge farm type domestic pig for a pet. Faves were probably the rat, the peacocks, and the silkies. We currently have a snake, mice, fish, cats, and a dog. Not that unusual I guess. Neighbors up the road have buffalo, ostriches, and zebras.
 

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I have 3 Tree Frogs, a cow whose best friend is a Pygmy goat. (Not mentioning the 4 cats, 3 horses, 2 dogs, 4 ducks)
 
They may or may not be out of the ordinary pet-selection wise, as implied above, but I can name my family's menagerie and all their quirks that basically comes from being in my family, if that's okay.
 

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I have reptiles, which in my area is very unusual. I have:
Female Leopard Gecko - Artemis
Male Gargoyle Gecko - Lexington (named after one of the gargoyle on the show Gargoyles)
Male(?) Kenyan Sand Boa - Jasper
Male Bally Python - Loki
 
Worms, red wigglers, compost my plant waste and are an occasional snack for Sara and Maybelle.
 
I have 3 Tree Frogs, a cow whose best friend is a Pygmy goat. (Not mentioning the 4 cats, 3 horses, 2 dogs, 4 ducks)
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I had to laugh at this. One of my neighbors from a long time ago had a huge bull mastiff and his best friend was a tiny little hen. They were always side by side roaming the world together.
 
We've had a few different reptiles (including a nest of turtle eggs that was at risk. We brought them in, let them hatch, and released them back into the pond). Also had zebra finches, a tarantula (which I think is super cute with how fuzzy it is!), mice, gerbils, pet-sat some rats and hermit crabs, and have rescued, raised and released some injured birds (robins and sparrows mostly).
 

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I had to laugh at this. One of my neighbors from a long time ago had a huge bull mastiff and his best friend was a tiny little hen. They were always side by side roaming the world together.
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It’s amazing how much the cow loves her (the goat) they get along amazingly well and Moo is always trying to groom or play with her!
 
It’s amazing how much the cow loves her (the goat) they get along amazingly well and Moo is always trying to groom or play with her!
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I had a female lab that cozied up all our quail chicks. She always wanted to be a mom, I guess, and never got the chance...she loved all the bird babies!
 
For now, I pretty much just have my crested gecko for unusual non-fish pets, but I hope to get a rosy boa sometime soon.
In the past, I’ve kept Triops, hermit crabs (a family favorite, we even collected a bunch from the Florida Keys while camping once) cats (before our cat allergies got bad) and multiple others I forget.
 
I had a female lab that cozied up all our quail chicks. She always wanted to be a mom, I guess, and never got the chance...she loved all the bird babies!
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I know this is a little bit of a rabbit trail but I had this chicken named Henrietta that I raised from a baby. She hatched too far ahead of time, I guess she was 1 egg laid early and then some of the other hens laid their eggs in the same nest, the timing was off kilter. So I brought the baby into the house in a box with a heat lamp and food and water. I must have imprinted on her because when I was home, she never left my side. I'd wake up in the mornings to a chick sleeping on my shoulder. Even in her old age she'd always come up to me, walk side by side, jump up onto my shoulder, and "talk" away. Miss that chicken
 
I just got another beautiful merauke blue tongue skink with an awesome reduced pattern in the mail today. They’re hands down my favorite animal, but it’s hard to show off an animal you love and get so much enjoyment from when everyone is like “ew, why would want that? They’re scary” or “ew, that’s gross.” I mean I understand why people feel that way, because 3 foot long lizards are a bit intimidating, but in no way are they gross or scary. They’re pretty much puppies in a noodly lizard body. And how could you be scared of something that’s even too lazy to use it’s back legs all of the time?! They just drag their back legs limply along for the ride sometimes, so funny.
 

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I just got another beautiful merauke blue tongue skink with an awesome reduced pattern in the mail today. They’re hands down my favorite animal, but it’s hard to show off an animal you love and get so much enjoyment from when everyone is like “ew, why would want that? They’re scary” or “ew, that’s gross.” I mean I understand why people feel that way, because 3 foot long lizards are a bit intimidating, but in no way are they gross or scary. They’re pretty much puppies in a noodly lizard body. And how could you be scared of something that’s even too lazy to use it’s back legs all of the time?! They just drag their back legs limply along for the ride sometimes, so funny.
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Omg I think he’s beautiful I would love to have one but my dogs would eat it lol they eat everything
 
Skinks are cool. We see a lot of blue tail babies around here, rarely see the adults which look so different. But I always love to see these guys, very pretty.
 
Do hermit crabs count?
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I’m afraid not.
I just got another beautiful merauke blue tongue skink with an awesome reduced pattern in the mail today. They’re hands down my favorite animal, but it’s hard to show off an animal you love and get so much enjoyment from when everyone is like “ew, why would want that? They’re scary” or “ew, that’s gross.” I mean I understand why people feel that way, because 3 foot long lizards are a bit intimidating, but in no way are they gross or scary. They’re pretty much puppies in a noodly lizard body. And how could you be scared of something that’s even too lazy to use it’s back legs all of the time?! They just drag their back legs limply along for the ride sometimes, so funny.
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I love lizards. I never had a skink though. What I really want is a species of monitor, like a Komodo Dragon.
 
I’m afraid not.

I love lizards. I never had a skink though. What I really want is a species of monitor, like a Komodo Dragon.
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Ooh nice but to big for me instead of my dogs eating it it would eat my dogs
 

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Ooh nice but to big for me instead of my dogs eating it it would eat my dogs
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I’d feed them guinea pigs, chickens, ducks, peacocks, swans, pot bellied pigs, roadkill, anything!
 
The weirdest animal I've ever kept is 2 hermit crabs.

My friend though, he has 8 hissing cockroaches and a chinchilla. He also has a $1000 cat, which I think is odd because of the price. Then again she does look like a thousand bucks!
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What kind of cat is it?

My Hirudo verbana, commonly known as the medicinal leech. Easiest “pet” I ever owned. I even forget I have it.
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Honestly this is the most interesting one. How did you get this and how do you take care of him?
 
The Malayan water monitor is a lot like a komodo but not as big. I was watching extraordinary homes I think it was. There was a family that moved to Spain and built a house and enclosure so they could keep and enjoy their pet komodo.
 
I’m afraid not.

I love lizards. I never had a skink though. What I really want is a species of monitor, like a Komodo Dragon.
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I agree! If we had the space for a monitor, definitely would have one by now. When we’re able to get a bigger place I’m going to be looking in to some of the different species. My boyfriend isn’t to fond of the idea because they’re not the nicest reptiles and if and when they decide to bite you, it’s usually pretty devastating. They take chunks out’ve ya’. But I think the next reptile we’re getting will probably be a tegu. We’ve had one before but he was very aggressive. He’d run after you on his back legs... terrifying yet so funny.
 
Do you mean other than my family members?



Just kidding.........
 
My cat! At the moment, she is tearing apart an egg and getting crumbs everywhere. She's making weird growling noises while chewing the egg.

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Edit: As I'm typing, my other car jumped up and started to eat the leftovers, then the first cat came over and they are having a stare off for who gets the egg

My cat! At the moment, she is tearing apart an egg and getting crumbs everywhere. She's making weird growling noises while chewing the egg.

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Edit: As I'm typing, my other car jumped up and started to eat the leftovers, then the first cat came over and they are having a stare off for who gets the egg
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What kind of cat is it?

Honestly this is the most interesting one. How did you get this and how do you take care of him?
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Here’s a thread about it: Hirudo Verbana, The Medicinal Leech

The Malayan water monitor is a lot like a komodo but not as big. I was watching extraordinary homes I think it was. There was a family that moved to Spain and built a house and enclosure so they could keep and enjoy their pet komodo.
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I remember watching a nature documentary years ago showing some guy keeping a king cobra in his village. It was massive, and he’d even lets his kids handle it. The snake was crawling around the kids like a tame cornsnake, except much bigger.
 
I remember watching a nature documentary years ago showing some guy keeping a king cobra in his village. It was massive, and he’d even lets his kids handle it. The snake was crawling around the kids like a tame cornsnake, except much bigger.
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There’s a shop we go to sometimes and they have a king cobra (not for sale, just display) and he is absolutely massive. I know a lot about reptiles, but geeze, I had no clue cobras got that big. I can’t put in to words how much bigger it actually is in person, he was at the very least 12 foot, and he was extremely thick. They can get up to 18 feet long (probably even longer in some cases). I should ask them next time we go if they handle him at all, last time we were there it was winter so I think they put him in the back for brumation because he wasn’t out on the floor. My boyfriend’s really been wanting one, there’s a lot for sale at reptile expos. But we’ve got a young niece that’s over our house 5 days out of the week so it’s just far too dangerous to consider.
 
There’s a shop we go to sometimes and they have a king cobra (not for sale, just display) and he is absolutely massive. I know a lot about reptiles, but geeze, I had no clue cobras got that big. I can’t put in to words how much bigger it actually is in person, he was at the very least 12 foot, and he was extremely thick. They can get up to 18 feet long (probably even longer in some cases). I should ask them next time we go if they handle him at all, last time we were there it was winter so I think they put him in the back for brumation because he wasn’t out on the floor. My boyfriend’s really been wanting one, there’s a lot for sale at reptile expos. But we’ve got a young niece that’s over our house 5 days out of the week so it’s just far too dangerous to consider.
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Yeah, I was pretty surprised how big they can get too. I mean, lengthwise I knew they can get quite long, but it was the girth and the size of the head that surprised me most. It looked like he was picking up a python.

Your boyfriend has his fear backwards I think. He should be afraid of the cobra more than the monitor. Then again, frogs, and to a lesser extent, toads, will creep me out more than anything. But that’s pretty insane that king cobras are sold, but I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. When I lived in TX, I saw dwarf caimans and even tigers sold at petstores. A simple petshop in a mall in houston sold lemurs (I think), ground hogs, and other exotics.
 
We used to have some exotic pet shops around here. Can't find one anymore. But I remember one having some venomous snakes. And all kinds of other animals but nothing extremely exotic, small mammals and reptiles and amphibians. Dad was all into the snakes when we were kids but he never cared for the venomous ones thank goodness. I used to have nightmares of them loose in the house hiding in and around furniture. Some of my ancestors were holy rollers snake handlers. I'm glad I wasn't around for any of that. We have lots of copperheads around here. And some of my family that live a bit further out in the country have timber rattlers. I can't believe my Dad actually named one of the copperheads. We walked down the hill last night in the dark and he said to watch out for his copperhead. I'm like ok dad but I'm more scared of the bear that left his mark in the driveway. *shiver*
 

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We used to have some exotic pet shops around here. Can't find one anymore. But I remember one having some venomous snakes. And all kinds of other animals but nothing extremely exotic, small mammals and reptiles and amphibians. Dad was all into the snakes when we were kids but he never cared for the venomous ones thank goodness. I used to have nightmares of them loose in the house hiding in and around furniture. Some of my ancestors were holy rollers snake handlers. I'm glad I wasn't around for any of that. We have lots of copperheads around here. And some of my family that live a bit further out in the country have timber rattlers. I can't believe my Dad actually named one of the copperheads. We walked down the hill last night in the dark and he said to watch out for his copperhead. I'm like ok dad but I'm more scared of the bear that left his mark in the driveway. *shiver*
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Tell your dad to send me his copperhead hahaha I’ve been trying for the last 2 years now to find one. I’ve researched videos of people catching copperheads in Pennsylvania, gone to the exact locations, and I still can’t manage to find one
 
I think a pit viper would be cool. My dad almost died from one when he was a kid. It was most likely a bite from a mamushi. There is just something beautiful and attractive about them.
 
I think a pit viper would be cool. My dad almost died from one when he was a kid. It was most likely a bite from a mamushi. There is just something beautiful and attractive about them.
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That’s crazy! Where did he get bit if you don’t mind me asking?

I was at a reptile show and this guy was freely handling 3 gaboon vipers at once just to show them off to us. ...guy was, gently put, a moron. I saw a picture of a guy that had a bite on his thumb from one and it shriveled up into a black raisin in hours. Terrifying, but that’s the price you’ve gotta pay when you want to keep such deadly animals as pets. I’ve got nothing against it of course, I’m looking in to breeding things like Gila monsters.
 
That’s crazy! Where did he get bit if you don’t mind me asking?

I was at a reptile show and this guy was freely handling 3 gaboon vipers at once just to show them off to us. ...guy was, gently put, a moron. I saw a picture of a guy that had a bite on his thumb from one and it shriveled up into a black raisin in hours. Terrifying, but that’s the price you’ve gotta pay when you want to keep such deadly animals as pets. I’ve got nothing against it of course, I’m looking in to breeding things like Gila monsters.
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Wow, that’s terrifying. People are naturally attracted to taming the deadly I think.

My dad was bit on the ankle, while running near a rice paddy. He grew up on a small, obscure island that mainly fishes and farms, so it wasn’t like he bought one at a reptile expo or anything, lol.
 
Does an ex wife count, it's like having a pet Vampire.
 
Tell your dad to send me his copperhead hahaha I’ve been trying for the last 2 years now to find one. I’ve researched videos of people catching copperheads in Pennsylvania, gone to the exact locations, and I still can’t manage to find one
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Unfortunately it's not quite legal in the state of TN to capture or remove wildlife. We've only seen them at night during the summers, usually they are crossing the dirt driveway (enjoying the heat off the dirt and stones?). I remember my sis ran over one with the car one night, we found it the next day flattened through the middle. My sis was devastated. But run over a rabbit and it's like whatever. Are you wanting to keep a copperhead?
 
Wow, that’s terrifying. People are naturally attracted to taming the deadly I think.

My dad was bit on the ankle, while running near a rice paddy. He grew up on a small, obscure island that mainly fishes and farms, so it wasn’t like he bought one at a reptile expo or anything, lol.
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Well, I think that’s why it’s terrifying. They can’t really be tamed. You’ve just got to know hot to read them, then again, they’re not the most predictable.

Your dad sure is lucky! That must have been a really tough experience for him, thank goodness he was alright. Even partially dry bites can be potentially deadly, if not at the very least devastating. Sounds like a tough man!

Unfortunately it's not quite legal in the state of TN to capture or remove wildlife. We've only seen them at night during the summers, usually they are crossing the dirt driveway (enjoying the heat off the dirt and stones?). I remember my sis ran over one with the car one night, we found it the next day flattened through the middle. My sis was devastated. But run over a rabbit and it's like whatever. Are you wanting to keep a copperhead?
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No! Haha I was just kidding around. We can’t keep anything native here either, I would really just like to find one around here one day. They’re not all that common.
 

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Probably chickens. I know that's not totally weird but where I come from chickens are seen as food or pests, they're everywhere. So people find it weird that I cuddle with my Rhode Island reds and bring them into the house to watch TV. I used to raise silkie chickens when I was in middle school. I might try again if our last RIR leaves or disappears too. Though she was never really was ours, she came from a flock in the mountains by my house. Probably belong to someone who lives further up. There's a silly 2 chicken per household law but meh, can't help it if there's some wild ones that want to eat what your pets are eating.

I've actually helped hatched a couple wild ones, but only one has stayed with us. We have come to call her Baldie because one of our other RIR trapped her in the coop and beat the snot out of her for stealing her food and the feathers never grew back on the back of her head. She's a good girl though.
 
Well, I think that’s why it’s terrifying. They can’t really be tamed. You’ve just got to know hot to read them, then again, they’re not the most predictable.

Your dad sure is lucky! That must have been a really tough experience for him, thank goodness he was alright. Even partially dry bites can be potentially deadly, if not at the very least devastating. Sounds like a tough man!



No! Haha I was just kidding around. We can’t keep anything native here either, I would really just like to find one around here one day. They’re not all that common.
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Lol, I just realized who you were. I assumed you were a new member who also knew a lot about snakes. Now it makes sense.
 
And, why don't they count?
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My comment wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. Hermits are cool. They’re just common is all I meant. So it’s just subjective rather than an objective opinion. I’m sure many others will consider them different or exotic.
 
Native animals are governed by the state you live in. In most places it requires a permit to be legal and you can only take so many and only of non-threatened species. I'm in Ohio and have to pay yearly for mine, for my turtles and toads I've rescued. I had a snake and frog as well but they've since passed. It's a small fee and it goes towards conservation so it's worth it. I personally wouldn't go out and grab something to keep, but my toads and frog were found in winter in houses, my snake was nearly killed by friends who were terrified of it, three turtles were from people who took them illegally and didn't want them anymore and hadn't been caring for them properly and the forth was chewed on by a dog and wouldn't have made it if let go.

Venomous snakes are also covered by each state. Some flat out don't allow them, most require permits, some require extra insurance and inspections and even having anti-venom on site.
 
Lol, I just realized who you were. I assumed you were a new member who also knew a lot about snakes. Now it makes sense.
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Hehe! Getting in the halloween spirit! Plus everyone loves Scooby Doo.
 
My comment wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. Hermits are cool. They’re just common is all I meant. So it’s just subjective rather than an objective opinion. I’m sure many others will consider them different or exotic.
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Depends on the species. For example, the species that I keep could be argued as exotic by many in the US/Canada due to exportation laws from Australia....
 
As of now, the only non-aquatic “exotic” I have is a ball python. In the past I’ve had a lot of semi-uncommon amphibians (sierran tree frogs, spring peepers, spotted salamanders, woodhouse toads, firebellied newts, etc) but they’re kind of a niche and not super impressive to most people.
 
Had an alligator in our pond for a while we found on the road back in LA....does that count? Lol
 
My comment wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. Hermits are cool. They’re just common is all I meant. So it’s just subjective rather than an objective opinion. I’m sure many others will consider them different or exotic.
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I know, just trying to give you a hard time
My hermits aren’t your common crabs, they are definitely the most exciting I have ever seen, they do the funniest things that crack me up!
I actually have two exotic ecuadorians, but most of my crabs are just caribbean.
 

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