egotvonline.com — Owning pets can be one of the most satisfying, rewarding experiences life has to offer. But to some people, owning a “boring” dog or been-there-done-that cat isn’t satisfaction enough. For these types of people, only a “look at me” exotic pet will do. But there’s more to keeping an exotic pet than just announcing to the world that you’re desperately starved for attention. With that in mind, we bring you a list of exotic pets only an idiot would own.
Feb 1, 2012 View in Crawl 4
tbttfoxFeb 2, 2012
As somebody who has actually HAD pet ferrets (de-musked of course) and cats, they don't stink any more than a cat litter box.
Plus, my ferrets were the most entertaining pets ever. They're like oddly shaped kittens that never stop being playful.
lokjawFeb 2, 2012
ty for resurrecting my ferret dream <3
misstirioFeb 3, 2012
Your house must stink!
specimen7Feb 2, 2012
How about a lynx.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbhkXg9iFYA
That growl at the end gives me nightmares.
langfordFeb 2, 2012
Somehow I always picture them being bigger than that. I have a house cat about twice that size, but my house cat likes me a lot more than that lynx likes whoever is filming it.
specimen7Feb 2, 2012
What kind of cat do you have? Lynx are small compared to some house cats like savannah or freakishly large Maine coons but Lynx biology makes them freakishly strong and vicious.
langfordFeb 2, 2012
I'm not really sure what he is. I think I remember there is supposed to be a breed that are runners, they have the extra skin and they kinda lightning mark on the back legs. He has that and is a runner. He's tall and long.
http://langford.deviantart.com/gallery/4405007#/d134ync
http://langford.deviantart.com/gallery/4405007#/d1h1gr8
I had a Maine coon years ago. he was a great cat. He was big, but mostly he was broad and floppy with really big feet. He was a terrific cat, I miss him.
specimen7Feb 3, 2012
He is a cutie face. He looks like a tiny wolf! Maybe a Turkish Angora? The breed you are talking about is actually the breed of cat I own - an Egyptian mau.
They have extended skin flaps on their hind quarters that allow for a wider gape and a more streamlined flow. They are the fastest house cats in the world.
I got lucky when I adopted her because she was close to being killed and a very rare breed of cat. They are spotted, slender and blindingly fast. God I sound like an annoying father forcing people to look at pictures of his kids.
langfordFeb 3, 2012
Maybe my cat has some of that breed in him. I'm certain that he isn't purebred of anything, kinda a mutt I guess. I got this cat when he was a little palm sized kitten. He was in the middle of the highway, in the turning lane median area. I guess his mother must have crossed the road and he got stranded trying to follow her. Not really any houses around for miles from that spot.
specimen7Feb 3, 2012
Sorry, I have to post a picture of my babyface cutie pie kittlebits. http://imageshack.us/f/834/p8310079.jpg/
meribianFeb 3, 2012
Maine coons are the best cats you could have.
finitiaFeb 3, 2012
You'd be surprised. Go to a wildcat sanctuary and you'll see bobcats and lynxes up close. They're not that big, but what they don't have in size they make up for in meanness. Bobcats and lynxes, as a general rule, do NOT like people.
justatoolFeb 1, 2012
Great, there goes my desire to get a Slow Loris.
lotusasiacasinoFeb 2, 2012
I think U haven't heard or read about Slow Loris it uses very sharp canine teeth to extract a foul smelling venom that it excretes from it’s elbows.still Hope that your desire to get slow loris
specimen7Feb 2, 2012
Probably the most LOL animal name ever.
brucealmightyFeb 2, 2012
Aww...but they're so cute....right up until they kill you.....
r0g3rFeb 2, 2012
They fail to mention almost all of the real reasons it's bad to have a chimp as a pet...
First of all, in order to have a chimp as a pet, you have to cruelly remove it from it's real mother, who has a very deep and profound bond with it. Then at a certain age they are beyond handling by most people, require very secure and large enclosures with social interactions, meaning housing multiple chimpanzees. Then when the owner dies, or can no longer afford their care, they are met with uncertain futures and may end up in biomedical research or other undesirable locations. They are also endangered with extinction in the wild and having them as pets and entertainment animals reinforces the idea that they are not endangered in the minds of the public. Most individuals cannot provide what chimps need to live out healthy happy lives....though Michael Jackson could have afforded to start Bubbles his very own sanctuary if he were truly interested in Bubbles' long term well being.
spc4Feb 3, 2012
I had a friend with a large crescent scar around his head. One day I asked "How did you get that big scar around your head? Did you have a big fall and crack your head open?" Turns out his grandma had a chimp, who grabbed his hair, and pulled his scalp half off.
finitiaFeb 3, 2012
Article left out wolves, coyotes, other species of fox, and exotic cats. Even bobcats make terrible and often vicious pets. A lion or a tiger? A lot of owners of great cats have been killed. And the Burmese Pythons they listed are taking over Florida's ecosystem because people abandon them when they get too hard to care for.
rixar13Feb 2, 2012
I'm not so sure, I'd think about the Fennec Fox....?
hibby76Feb 3, 2012
I've liked them for a while and have heard they make great pets.
silentspyderFeb 2, 2012
I once had a caiman (dwarf) and wanted to get other exotics until I found out about the poachers and smugglers. And while I gave away my caiman for legal reasons, I lost my desire to own exotics after I read that stuff.
lokjawFeb 2, 2012
So much for my ferret :(...but i think it's MJ not BJ
gaenyaFeb 2, 2012
Its BJ, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078564/ i feel old.
lokjawFeb 2, 2012
o i thought they mean MJ cause they had a pic...wait it has to be MJ on the count of BJ being a bear and the last animal is a chimpanzee ..."Chimpanzees make great companions if you’re a free spirited trucker like BJ, but for the rest of us, not so much."
misstirioFeb 2, 2012
I believe B.J. McKay was the trucker and his "best friend" named "Bear" was the chimp.
sonicomegaFeb 2, 2012
Monkey will rip your face off
silentspyderFeb 2, 2012
ape. though a monkey might do the same
sonicomegaFeb 2, 2012
It will do the same but slower and more tiny rips. Damn those shifty bastards freak me out.
lexxvsFeb 2, 2012
I think the point is beyond the animals that are dangerous or stinky. Wild animals belong to the wild. Even if they have no means to pose a threat to you. They are not toys or slaves to our anthropocentric whims. In many cases –also- the animals are poached from their endangered habitat. Some countries have laws banning the possession of wild animals as “pets”, and for good reasons. Love those animals? Lets them live in nature, push to protect their environment, etc.
drkroman9Feb 2, 2012
You do realize that all domesticated animals were once wild, right? And have been bred over generations to become our 'toys' or 'slaves to our anthropocentric whims'. Why should we favor some over others? Many of these animals may seem dangerous now, but after several generations of domestication, its certainly possible to make them safe and worthwhile pets.
lexxvsFeb 2, 2012
Obviously I understand that. So, what is your point? That for the sake of the unlikely possibility of domestication (that takes thousands of years if done in the same old way and with the same tamed results) we play with the wild animals, and in the meanwhile endanger some species and ecosystems that are vulnerable? And all in the name of playing with living toys? There are other ways of show appreciation for those animals. You don’t need to “posses” those that are wild.
hibby76Feb 3, 2012
Since it's going to take thousands of years, we'd better get started!
drkroman9Feb 3, 2012
How would breeding these animals endanger them? If anything bringing them into domestication (by which could be achieved at an accelerated rate through genetic modification), would create an economical demand to keep them alive.
lexxvsFeb 4, 2012
In order to breed them successfully, you need to extract them from their habitat. In order to have a suitable population (genetically VIABLE and healthy) you need a big chunk of them as genetically diverse as possible, a couple or several won’t make the long run. Most of these animals’ populations are ALREADY much stressed, barely coping with their reduced habitat, and getting worse with every year. Taking away more individuals won’t make any good obviously. You could only justify it if done by conscious scientists with the laudable intention of preserving the species in the hopes of getting them back to an appropriate environment. Doing it just to obtain dulled, HUMAN DEPENDENT versions of the animals –after many generations, even with the best of genetic manipulation- just for the doubtful and hedonistic pleasure of having them as pets, decorative companions or to have boasting rights, not only is wrong for ethical reasons, as I mention above, it will mark a trend that can only be satisfied by hurting the barely untouched wild populations.
Even in the scientific case, reality is that human civilizations are very unstable; that a species has to rely on the stability of the always evolving human cultures and their morals for their survival is an option that should be avoided and only undertaken as a last resort. Needless to say that having them with the intention of converting them into fashionable pets helps those species even less.
finitiaFeb 3, 2012
No. It took thousands of years to truly domesticate wild dogs and cats. Not 'several generations.' Look at hybrid cats, such as Bengal Cats or Savanna Cats. They're many generations removed from their wild and exotic predecessors, plus their genes are mixed with that of domestic cats. These cats still have many wild instincts and can still be dangerous to own, even though they've been bred for that purpose.
It can be done, but do we want it done? How much does it cost to feed a great cat? Or even the bigger lesser cats, like cougars? How much time and energy does it take to care for them, keep their enclosure clean? How much does it cost to have room enough for them? How many of these animals would be abandoned when people realized how much it takes just to care for it over its lifetime?
drkroman9Feb 3, 2012
I'm sure with advances in modern technology we could advance the rate at which the domestication process takes place. I imagine with a few genetic modifications and maybe some deep brain implants we could effectively suppress their ferociousness and generate more desirable behavior.
Do we want it done? Yes. Why else would I be making an argument for it.
thechauvinistFeb 2, 2012
Points for "anthropocentric."
jefffurryFeb 2, 2012
The real idiot is the author of the list. Strange does not equal stupid.
That said, any would-be owner of an exotic pet should do their research first.
danicaliforniasFeb 3, 2012
Why wouldn't you want a Firefox !?!
crag53Feb 2, 2012
This list is somewhat random. There is a world of difference between a Chimpanzee: wild, illegal, and endangered; and a Ferret: domesticated, usually legal, and common
lokjawFeb 2, 2012
King Kai isn't an idiot.....wait a second...... :o
lostngoneFeb 2, 2012
How about a porcupine?
angrycat70Feb 2, 2012
I step on c**kroaches, Not likely to make pets of them.
misstirioFeb 1, 2012
I couldn't decide which would make you the biggest idiot. I think it's a tie between a Burmese Python and Chimpanzee... or maybe a three way with the iguana,
neondistractionFeb 3, 2012
How is the iguana anywhere near those other two? The Burmese Python and the Chimpanzee can easily kill a full grown human. I have a hard time seeing an iguana kill anyone.
neondistractionFeb 3, 2012
How is the iguana anywhere near those other two? The Burmese Python and the Chimpanzee can easily kill a full grown human. I have a hard time seeing an iguana kill anyone.
drumcyborgFeb 2, 2012
Only an idiot would title an article '10 exotic pets only an idiot would own' when the article only has 9 different animals...
FAIL.
raskaliFeb 2, 2012
What's wrong with throwing faeces?
niceguyvanFeb 3, 2012
I don't want a politician as a pet
niceguyvanFeb 2, 2012
Just because that Chimpanzee molested a few little boys doesn't mean he's a bad pet. After all, he can sing somewhat ok.
kerripaulFeb 2, 2012
I cn some even think of keeping Burmese Python as a pet!!!
thandermaxFeb 2, 2012
Where can I buy a fullsized (and alive) Tyrannosaurs rex ?
silentspyderFeb 2, 2012
I'll need an old mosquito and a frog
finitiaFeb 3, 2012
You need a piece of amber with that old mosquito in it.
ewilleyFeb 2, 2012
My PitBull is Exotic just take a look at her!!!!
medallionsFeb 2, 2012
I read that as - "10 Exotic Pets Only an Idiot Woman Would Own"