Rats or Ratties the Best Exotic Pets!

Here is a friend that will love you unconditionally. Perhaps the perfect friend for a lonely mature child, teenager or adult. Find out why they are exceptional exotic pets. I know you will be glad you did. Learn about rats or ratties here. Rats – Ratties Perhaps the Perfect Exotic Pets

Pet Opossum - Possum

The Opossum is a marsupial of the family Didelphidae. The name possum is also used. They are nocturnal. Many people have enjoyed possums as exotic pets. Before considering acquiring one as a pet learn all you can about their care.

Of course, there was Heidi, a cross-eyed opossum from Germany that was a great possum ambassador. Sadly, she passed last year. But she was cuter than a bug's ear! I will provide a link to Heidi, the cross-eyed opossum at the bottom of the article.

Other marsupials include the kangaroo, wallaby, and sugar glider. A marsupial nourishes their young in a pouch after birth, while placental mammals feed their unborn young in utero.

They are highly resistant to disease and are able to slow their heart rate and breathing so that it is barely detectable.

My very first introduction to a possum was when I was very young and lived on a ranch. My father had purchased several of the rectangular bales of hay that were held together with baling wire. We cut the three wires on top of the bundle of hay so that it fell apart in segments. Inside this bale of hay was an opossum. He appeared to be dead; his body had obviously been through a hay baler. When we went to take him out, he began to growl. I’d be an unhappy camper too. I have no idea how long he had survived in this bale of hay, but he was so severely mangled the only humane thing to do was to put him down. I had immense guilt and nightmares because of this incident.

The term playing possum was coined from their ability to go into a coma-like state. It is almost impossible to tell if the opossum is alive or not. This is why their predators will leave them alone, breaking off the attack, once the opossum plays possum. They also secrete an odor similar to death while in their calm state.

I have had many joyful experiences with opossums. They appear to be fearsome animals with their mouth full of fifty teeth and their fearsome growl. In reality, they are quite a gentle creature and do make good pets for the right person. If a person willing to learn all they can about this exotic pet marsupial and follow up using the information they have learned to properly care for the animal the opossum does make a good pet.

Possums are not a dog or cat and do not act like dogs or cats. If you want an animal that acts like a dog or cat, please get a dog or cat.

Opossum Facts

Opossums are omnivores, very opportunist eaters. They will eat most anything. However, as pets, you have the responsibility to make sure they have a nutritious diet. They should have plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables as a diet staple. Provide a healthy protein source. In the wild, they eat insects, snails, snakes, eggs and other animal proteins. They will also need plenty of clean, fresh, and filtered water.

Pet possums live for approximately ten years which is entirely different from their counterparts that live in the wild. The possum has many predators including the automobile. They rarely live beyond a few years.

Opossum Pictures

Opossums can carry parasites that affect horses and birds. So it isn’t a good idea to have a possum if you have parrots. Keep the possum away from horses.

The opossum is also an excellent climber; please keep this in mind when considering an opossum as a pet. They are also quite dexterous. They have what one would recognize as a thumb like a toe on their back feet that works very much like an opposable thumb. They also use their tail, using it to grasp, which, increases their nimbleness.

When we lived in the South, we had an opossum that would visit us nightly. We had a four-season porch where I had several animals and also stored most of the pet food. This possum was nimble enough to open the latch on the door. One evening we were leaving the house to go out for the evening. We walked through the porch area. An opossum was sitting on the porch looking very ill. Later we found out why. He had opened the ferret food container and had eaten most of the contents. He was so full he couldn’t move.

This same opossum would sit right outside our bedroom window. The possum climbed up some jasmine bushes and would just sit there watching us. At the time we had several raccoons and skunks maybe he just wanted to join in the fun.

While they are able to grasp and steady themselves with their tail, you will not see the little guy hang upside down. There is a reason why we never witnessed this feat because they don’t hang upside down.

The opossum gives birth to several very tiny babies. The babies immediately crawl up into the pouch where they will stay for up to a few months. The mother will continue to care for her young carrying them on her back for an additional six weeks or so.

It is interesting to note a baby opossum or baby possum has no given name such as a kit, pup, joey, nothing. If anyone has heard a term for a baby, please let me know!

Before obtaining this exotic pet, please make sure to check to see if owning an opossum is legal. State laws can differ from what is allowed in a county or city. If an opossum is legal make sure you have the required permit. While owning a wild animal may be legal where you live it may be illegal to transport a wild animal. Check all aspects of the law.

A sweet pet like Heidi, a cross-eyed opossum, is more the demeanor of a possum than a ferocious, growling, hissing wild animal. Enjoy your pet possum!

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Clone Your Own Exotic Pets

Clone your own, exotic pets – it is indeed possible. However, what reasons would we have to clone an exotic pet? I can think of a few good ideas.

Grief is a strong emotion. I can imagine that someone who has lost a much-loved pet would consider having one cloned. Another reason would be the number of exotic animals that are near extinction or animals that are extinct...gone forever. The third reason would be to save human lives.

I am sure many people have powerful feelings about cloning. It is a moral dilemma. What are your thoughts? For the time being, I want to discuss cloning.

Cloning is producing an identical life form using nonsexual means. Many people have cloned without realizing it. I personally am not above taking a clipping of a plant, preparing the cutting, and planting it, and waiting until it takes root. Once the root is formed, you have a plant. This example is a simple form of cloning (asexually propagating plants). Cloning can also be seen naturally – identical twins. Identical twins are genetically different from their folks, but they are clones of each other.

Scientist‘s have been conducting experiments in cloning for many years. It didn’t become a household topic until the sheep Dolly was born in 1997 becoming the first cloned mammal.

The first clone of an endangered species died only two days after birth. It was a baby guar named Noah. A Pyrenean ibex declared extinct in the year 2000 was cloned from frozen tissue. The ibex was another cloned animal that died shortly after birth.

An endangered species the African wildcat was successfully cloned. The cloning was a success. The two cloned African wildcats have bred and have had two litters of kittens.

Humanity has done a disastrous job of saving the tiger. The tiger is very close to extinction. With frozen DNA, the species may survive after humankind finally comes of age.

The domestic ferret was successfully cloned in 2004, the result Libby and Lilly. Successfully cloning the ferret could be significant in two ways. Saving an endangered species the Black-Footed Ferret, but also to study respiratory problems, humans and ferrets share a similarity in respiratory disease. Creating genetically defined ferrets with this inheritance of respiratory infections can perhaps save human lives.

Endangered Species Black-Footed Ferret (captive) Creator Hagerty, Ryan

Cloning is truly interesting. But should an animal be produced, allowed to suffer just to save human lives? Should an animal be cloned to protect an endangered or extinct species of animals? Should you be able to clone your beloved dead pet because you miss him or her?

This subject is open for discussion, your thoughts, cloning morally right or wrong, and why?

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Animals that Save Lives

Last week and again this week we honor animals. Last week we discussed animals that served people or specifically exotic animals, which made life easier for people with disabilities. This week we will acknowledge the many animals that have saved lives. Throughout human history, there have been so many animals that have served and rescued I doubt if there is a number to describe the many.

One of my favorite exotic pet stories is about Lulu, the pot-bellied pig that saved a victim of a heart attack, Joann Altsman. Lulu belonged to Altman's daughter. Joann crumpled to the ground stricken by a heart attack. Lulu was determined to find help for Altsman, running from the house, out to the street and then tried to block traffic. After numerous attempts and several trips back to the house to check on Altsman, the pig finally found someone that understood if an animal is trying to get your attention there is always a good reason for it; even if you don’t fully understand the logic. The passerby followed the pot-bellied pig inside the house. The little pot-bellied pig not only realized the situation, but the animal was also able to reason, to think through what needed to be done. Altsman was taken to the hospital. Her life was saved by a pot-bellied pig.

Willie, the parrot, saved the life of a two-year-old baby. The two-year-old child was named Hannah. She was under the care of a babysitter. While the babysitter was in the bathroom, Hannah began to choke. The little parrot screeched “mama baby” repeatedly. When the babysitter saw the child, she had already turned blue. If the bird hadn’t alerted the babysitter the baby would have died. Willie is another example of an animal quite capable of reasoning, of thinking a situation through; thus saving a life.

Another story that intrigues me is a Silverback gorilla named Jambo. A little boy fractured his skull after falling into a zoo’s gorilla environment. Jambo kept the other gorilla’s away and also patted the boy’s back giving the boy reassurance and comfort. During the rescue, Jambo kept the other gorilla’s at bay allowing the rescuers access to the boy.

There are numerous accounts of dogs and cats saving lives. There are also reports of a goat, a Watusi calf, a dolphin, a horse, and an elephant that has saved lives. An elephant rushed eight-year-old named Amber Mason to higher ground then stood next to the child to take the impact of a massive wave during the Thai tsunami in 2004.

I personally can relate a story of a black wolf that found a stranded traveler and laid on top of the man to keep him from freezing. His car stalled, he should never have left his car to take off on foot during a white-out condition blizzard, but he did. Thanks to this wild wolf he lived to talk about the incident. When the man was found the wolf bolted. At first, the rescuers thought the wolf was after the man until they realized by the noted evidence and his warmed middle body, the wolf, in fact, was keeping him alive. The man could hazily remember the smell, the golden eyes looking at him, vaguely aware of the snow but yet feeling the warmth. A wolf saved a life.

I am intrigued by the stories of wolves raising lost infants and children. I wonder how much truth is in these stories.

Animals are intelligent and are capable of reason, animals should be respected, never exploited, abused, or tortured. These exotic animals are capable of using logic and using their common sense to save lives. In many respects humans consider animals to be less important or less intelligent. I beg to differ. Often animals are more humane than the human species.

What other ways, other than what we discussed in the articles, do animals serve and save? There are many different ways. What have you personally experienced?

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Exotic Pets: Family Guide Paperback and Kindle. Available on Kindle Unlimited!

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