Just idly wondering if / who else has an assortment of "odd" pets, or rather, something besides standard varieties of cats, dogs, parakeets and fish.
As I made my morning rounds feeding my critters, I wondered if anyone else has a damn routine that has to be followed, regardless of any hobbying you'd like to do LOL
No need to be too specific if it'd put you at risk of being outted LOL for instance, if I were to list everything I had now, or exactly what I have to do every frigging morning (yes, more like kids than some people realize!) then my SO could easily tell it was me because of the specifics.
But still if you can share, it may be interesting. Hell, maybe you'll have good advice for others with strange critters.
I have had or currently have (or am owned by)
Salt-water aquarium(s).
Was scared to finally do one, after hearing the horror stories about how difficult they are. I honestly haven't had any major issues with them after doing my homework. In comparison, not much harder than fresh water tanks I've had. Mostly the same amount of care involved IMO although some will disagree. Biggest thing is to not over populate the tank (hard to do, they're so pretty and you'll keep finding more you want) and clean the tank and do periodic water changes. (Helps greatly if you live by a pet shop that sells marine water by the gallon!) Also, should you decide to try live coral, etc - while they add to the ecosystem and beauty of the tank, you really have to be careful of what you put in there with 'em! And they seem to be more delicate than many of the fish we've had so I don't bother. (Live rock isn't the same, and should be mandatory for setting up a good ecosystem.)
Lizards.
Buying crickets are always fun.... crickets turn into a kind of pet as well! Ugh
Not terribly interactive, but fun to show off and handle. (Depending on type of course.) I know there are some lizard owners that swear how lively and friendly theirs are, but I found they're more motivated by warmth and food. If you are warm, and they're chilly, they'll love being handled LOL
Birds.
Cockatiels are a gateway drug. That's the smallest we've had. And yes, we've had bigger "talking" birds. Tons of work.... not for people that don't have time to devote to them as they need lots of attention, and proper care for them is not cheap. Here's a hint for those that always thought a talking bird would be sooo much fun: consider a Quaker Parakeet. Very good talkers, and fairly easy to care for. Smaller, so caging / toys / food is less expensive. Reasonably priced as well. Smaller beaks means less need of band-aids. Or rather, you'll need smaller band-aids.
Still, probably the most rewarding, and frustrating, critter that has owned me. And by far the most work on a daily basis, should you decide to do it right. Of course you could just ignore them most of the day and feed 'em crap - and wonder why you have such a ornery bird that is miserable, psychotic and plucking out all it's feathers and chewing a hole in its chest! Please, anyone considering a large bird (say Macaw or Cockatoo) and haven't done their homework, please PM me! I can share some truly horrific stories - as well as some great ones, to help you make an educated decision. (And, to get on my soap-box, if you are bound and determined, consider adopting an older, even neglected bird. Poor things can live 80 years.... and for some it's 80 years of pure hell..... rescuing a needy bird takes a special person and even more effort but is so worth it if you are able.)
My SO will NOT allow any rodents, so we haven't gone there LOL
We've had so many dogs and cats over the years. So I can understand the bond owners of them can develop with theirs. (We still have some very spoiled furry kids ha!) but it seems whenever people have come over throughout the years, they all want to see / touch / play with our odd-balls.
I have frequently wondered how much more I could hobby if our damn "kids" didn't cost so much money to properly care for!
