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Should wild animals be kept as pets

The Humane Society of the United States strongly opposes keeping wild animals as pets. This principle applies to both native and nonnative species, whether caught in the wild or bred in captivity. The overwhelming majority of people who obtain these animals are unable to provide the care they require.

Despite what animal sellers may say, appropriate care for wild animals requires considerable expertise, specialized facilities, and lifelong dedication to the animals. Their nutritional and social needs are demanding to meet and, in many cases, are unknown. They often grow to be larger, stronger, and more dangerous than owners expect or can manage. Even small monkeys and small cats such as ocelots can inflict serious injuries, especially on children. Wild animals also pose a danger to human health and safety through disease and parasites. From http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/should_wild_animals_be_kept_as_pets.html

As a principle, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) strongly opposes the keeping of exotic and nondomestic animals (wild animals) as pets. This includes the many parrots and other exotic birds, ferrets, reptiles, rabbits, mice, rats, squirrels, raccoons, and wildcats.

When wild animals are kept as pets, their lives are likely to be filled with misery. Often they languish in a cramped backyard cage or circle endlessly in a cat carrier or aquarium. Their suffering may begin with capture – every year millions of birds and reptiles suffer and die on the journey from their habitat to the pet store. The wild-pet trade threatens the very existence of some species. From http://list.afriherp.org/pipermail/pbiocoll/2003-July/000047.html

Travis, a 200-pound chimpanzee, savagely attacked Charla Nash in Connecticut on February 16, resulting in the chimp’s death. Sandra Herold, Travis’s owner, repeatedly stabbed Travis with a butcher knife and hit him with a shovel in an attempt to thwart the attack on her friend. Travis critically wounded Nash, seriously injuring her face, biting off her hands and causing massive blood loss. Travis was later fatally shot by police.

Travis was a 15-year-old chimp who once starred in commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy and had been raised as a human since he was three days old. Sandra Herold treated Travis as a family member. He was toilet trained, bathed himself, drank wine from stemmed glasses, went for rides around town, and could even log onto the Internet to look at pictures on her computer. From http://www.independent.com/news/2009/feb/27/home-range/

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Caring For A Pet Snake

When people think of pets, most of the time “furry” and “cuddly” are adjectives that come to mind. For the owners of pet snakes, however, these words don’t really fit. Still, snakes make interesting pets, and can even be lovable – in their own way.

Choosing to own a pet snake should not be a snap decision. Snakes can grow large, eat a lot, and require very specific conditions for staying healthy. Some varieties can even be dangerous to humans. Providing for their needs can be quite expensive. To top it all off, snakes tend to have a long lifespan. For the sake of the snake, don’t buy one without being sure you are ready to make the commitment.

All snakes are meat-eaters. Many snake owners keep live mice or rats, which multiply rapidly, as food for their snakes. It is recommended that snakes be fed pre-killed prey animals instead of live ones. Especially if the snake is not real hungry, a live prey animal can inflict injuries to the snake. Many snake enthusiasts order frozen mice for their snakes. Others raise mice and kill them as needed to feed their snakes.

The good part of feeding a snake is that most shouldn’t be fed more often than once a week and some can go for several weeks between feedings. The reason is that they don’t have to expend any energy creating their own body heat. In fact, if the cage is not warm enough, a snake can’t even digest its food.

The enclosure, or cage, for the snake needs to be first of all escape proof. Snakes are escape artists, and don’t need a very big opening in order to find a way out. The cage also has to have a source of heat. Because they are cold blooded, snakes must have a variety of temperatures to choose from. This is how they regulate their body heat. For best results, the enclosure should be heated on one side only and thermometers used on both ends. Each snake species has specific needs in terms of heat, and you should find out these needs before getting a snake.

Other needs include a bowl of water, several places to hide, and a floor lining. If you’re on a tight budget, newspaper works well for most snake varieties. It can easily be replaced when soiled. The water should be kept clean, too. Any wastes or uneaten food should be removed quickly. The cage should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected about once a month.

Keeping a pet snake is a responsibility that can also be an adventure. If you are a beginner, you should start with one of the easier snakes to keep. Do a little research, and you will find out that pet snake breeds are generally rated according to how hard they are to keep. In time, you will learn the ins and outs of snake keeping, and can expand your collection to include some of the more exotic types.

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