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Exotic animals

Exotic animals is just a fancy term for wild animals. They have specific needs that their bodies were built for to survive in their particular native habitat. This includes temperature, humidity, native plant life, and for carnivores and omnivores this also means other animals as food source, terrain, seasonal changes among many other factors.

There is no way that we can cater to every need that wild animals need including full access to direct sunlight and providing the wide variety of foods they would eat in the wild, let alone the abundance of space and freedom they would have.

Not being able to meet all the needs of your pet is neglect, abuse and therefore inhumane.

Do not be fooled by the cute animals in cages at exotic pet shops. Many wild animals, even when properly socialized, will become aggressive and territorial, even if you are able to cuddle with them as babies.

Exotic animals are wild animals, and wild animals need to stay in the wild where their bodies are built to thrive.

Some examples of popular exotic pets:

Meerkat

Meerkats

These cute little mammals are popular because they stand on their hind legs. They are highly social animals that live in large groups in the deserts and grasslands of the southern tip of Africa. They dig complicated burrows like condos that can be 3 layers down and span across 5 meters. They are avid diggers and dig for a wide variety of bugs, beetles, scorpions and venomous spiders. They also eat a wide variety of fruit, birds, eggs, and plants. But in captivity, many are given just chicken breast, cat food and a few mealworms. In the wild, they sleep in their burrows at night and spend most of the day in the sun. As pets, they hardly ever get to see the sun.

Bird Portrait
Blue Bird

Parrots

These amazing birds are popularized because of their beautiful plumage and speech ability. These animals are also very social and live in large flocks, usually in warm and humid climates. They eat fruits and nuts straight from the trees and are messy eaters because once they're done with their food, they can just drop it to the ground. This can be a nuisance in your home. They love sweet fruits and oily nuts but if we feed them their natural diet, it's too much sugar and oil which would make them fat and cause fatty liver disease. So as pets, we have to give them mostly vegetables of all different colors so they can get all their nutrients without getting fat because they can't fly up to 15 miles everyday like they would in the wild. They can become very needy and demanding of attention because as very social animals, they are used to spending every waking minute with their flock mates. And getting one other bird for them is not enough because even if they did get along, they live very long lives and spending all that time with just one bird isn't meeting their social needs. Not meeting their social needs will more than often make them destructive, chewing away at your walls, door frames, furniture, carpet and anything they can get their strong beaks on. This means that people often keep them in cages for most of the day which can cause depression and make them self mutilate, plucking out all of their beautiful feathers. It's worse if they don't get along. Imagine being stuck in a room with just one person you hate for the rest of your life…

Langur

Primates

Monkeys are popular because of their resemblance to people. There are a large variety of primates that live anywhere from mountains to grasslands, forests and plains. Monkeys are one of the most sociable animals of them all, living in troops of hundreds. They are bursting with energy and spend their days climbing and swinging from tree to tree. They can mate up to 50 times a day with multiple partners (though some species are monogamous). Living in a cage, alone or even cage free in a monkey proof room with another monkey, that's astill an incredible amount of pent up energy that can easily turn into stress and destructive behavior.

 If you really love a type of exotic animal, instead of buying and owning one, please look into nature conservation projects to donate to or participate in. Breeding conservation projects are also great to donate to. They breed endangered species to release and replenish the dying population in the wild.

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