this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2023
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57
'Exotic' pet owners, what are some things about your pets you wish more people knew about? (beehaw.org)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I own red eared slider turtles, while not exactly exotic it's funny that the three things they are known for by owners are things normal folks would not expect.

  1. Turtles are escape artists. Because they need so much water to swim in and need basking areas, you'll generally want to fill your tank up as high as you can, and then have a basking platform up there. They will use those and filters to try to escape. They may succeed. There are a ton of questions/guides online to address this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHbV5nsDCb8&ab_channel=TheTurtleGirl
  2. They are destructive. You will want to have a filter for them, and they will attack the filter with the fury of a bored creature attacking the thing making a noise. Many filters will fall to their wrath. If you google it you'll find ton of stories of turtles destroying filters/water heaters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnD3cKuFOa0&ab_channel=HMoore
  3. They smell. How can such a small creature smell so powerfully? Magic.

Any other pet owners have secrets about their type of pet?

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[โ€“] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)
  • Despite being desert-dwelling animals in the wild, bearded dragons should not be kept in enclosures with sand (or other particulates) as a substrate. They'll ingest it with their food, and it can get stuck in their digestive system and can kill them.
  • They enter a hibernation-like state (called brumation) typically once a year, and it can last up to 3 months or so. They stop eating and spend most / all of their time asleep in their hide, and if you're not expecting it, can look like they've died. It's normal, healthy, and they'll wake up and go back to normal again.
  • Bearded dragons are frequently carriers of salmonella, which they can pass on to humans. Always wash your hands thoroughly after handling one.
[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hey point 2 and 3 are the same for my little turltes that I forgot to mention!

Yay little salmonella carrying monsters!

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

The best pets have all the worst methods for fucking humans up!