#exotic pet psa

[joitiks]

caught on a trail cam somewhere in northeast FL.

[reliapet]

I know first hand how hard it is to find reliable small pet care advice you can trust with your pet's life. To make it easier, I wrote multiple blog posts backed by scientific articles and explained not just what, but why. Because the vast majority of pet care websites out there don't do that, or they only get one species right and the rest suffers. Or, their first priority is not one which aligns with your pet's best interest. I'm striving to be different in all the best ways with ReliaPet. By caring for pets and their people. https://www.reliapet.net/

[clairethecutepup]

"Then again, this was still a general animal, not a person. To put him down for being 'too aggressive' wasn't much different than unfairly putting down, say, a wolfdog because its owner wasn't willing nor prepared to actually train one properly..."

-Tykes at Heart, Getting Your Goat

Yeah, just a general reminder to NOT get something like a wolfdog on a whim... I know it's a cool idea to have your own pet wolf or something close, but there WILL be trouble if you don't know how to handle them properly-- whether someone getting hurt or the canine being put down. Instead, if you're capable of actually caring for a DOG, then get a breed that's similar like: a husky, a Northern Inuit... They're safer to raise and easier to manage, plus less legal troubles there.

[sp00ky-frog]

Seeing videos of people keeping wild animals as pets genuinely stresses me out, especially if the person has a large following. They don’t understand how much harm they are doing.

If you find an orphaned or injured animal, DON’T KEEP IT AS A PET! Please contact a wildlife center.

[just-horrible-things]

'Verse: BBU

PSA: Stop taking your human pets to the vet!

Human pets are biologically human. It's right there in the name. When they are sick they need to be seen by a human doctor. 

Don't bring them to your local vet! I am more qualified to treat an emu than a human pet, and I'm not a specialist in birds or exotic animals. 

We learn about the common ailments of all kinds of animals in veterinary school because you never know when someone's going to bring you a critically ill sugar glider or a deer they hit with their car and as a generalist I'm expected to at least be able to provide the very basics before a specialist can get to the scene. But do you know what one animal we don't study? 

Humans! 

Because there's another profession for that and they're called doctors!

Okay, yes, there are optional modules on human anatomy in a lot of courses, and yes humans are mammals and there is some overlap. Don't be a pedant about this.

I am not trained or qualified to treat humans, regardless of their legal status. Don't bring me your human pets. I can't help them, and I don't want to see them. It's a waste of everyone's time, including yours. But especially mine. 

On the same topic, please stop referring to doctors who will treat human pets, and “pet medical specialists”, as vets.

It's insulting to vets, it's insulting to the doctors, and it encourages this misconception that it's okay to bring a human pet to an actual vet.

Obviously I personally think that veterinary medicine is just as challenging and intellectual a discipline as human medicine, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find a doctor who's okay with being called a vet just because they treat human pets. Especially if that's only a part of their business, as it is for many “pet-friendly” practices.

I know people say this as a joke, or because they think it's cute or funny, but it's just a way to distance yourself from the reality that you are keeping a biologically human person as a pet.

If you can't handle that reality, you really shouldn't be owning one in the first place.

While we're at it:

“Pet medical specialists” – also called “Pet health specialists”, “Pet health advisors”, and “Pet vets” – are not real medical professionals. They do not have medical degrees, or veterinary degrees, or nursing qualifications. Calling them vets is an insult to my entire profession. 

And don't take your human pet to a “Pet health specialist”.

They do not know enough medicine to safely make diagnoses or prescribe treatment. It is not safe to take your human pet to these clinics. 

They exist in a legal gray area where they claim to only be giving “health and lifestyle advice”, which is only remotely permitted because human pets lack any effective right to adequate medical care.

If they tried this in the regular medical sector they would very rapidly be prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license. 

So don't entrust the health of your human pet to these people. They're effectively scam artists, passing themselves off as medical professionals to human pet owners who don't understand the difference.

Especially do not rely on these services if you think there is any risk your human pet may have a serious injury or illness. They need to see a real doctor. If you can afford to keep a human pet, you can afford insurance for them that covers actual medical care.

If the problem is minor – like a superficial cut or a head cold – and you absolutely must take your human pet to one of these “Pet clinics”, at least insist on seeing a real nurse. They should at least know enough not to make the problem worse, and enough to know whether an actual doctor needs to get involved.

This has been a PSA from a vet who is sick and tired of being asked to provide illegal or borderline-illegal medical care to the wrong species. Please stop doing this to me. Thanks.

[smolgwennie]

Please I need y’all to help. The federal government is once again sticking their foot in the door to try and cause a mass cascade affect that not only negatively affects citizens, but small businesses, zoos, and rescues over the entire country.

They’re attempting to change the Lacey Act, to ban the transport and sale of any creature considered “injurous”; this means anything that is invasive, considered a threat, or that some people up top just don’t like.

USARK better defines the changes than I do, but PLEASE, follow their instructions on their page and email, call, and pester the hell out of senators to make sure this amendment WILL NOT PASS. I promise you, this starts at reptiles, but it will not end there. Birds, fish, and more WILL be affected.

https://usark.org/2022lacey/

[the-videodame]

As part of a semester-long project for an environmental issues class, I decided to create a poster and soon-to-be comic about the dangers of the exotic pet trade, and the harm it can bring to everyone involved.

I'll be sure to include my research and finalized project details once the semester is over!

---

Follow me on Twitter here!

For more non-school related art, follow my art blog here!

[orcinus-veterinarius]

On pet bunnies...

I’ve seen a lot of great PSAs about pet bunnies at Easter going around, but one very important bit of information seems to get left out.

Though Bugs Bunny would tell you otherwise, bunnies don’t need to eat carrots. Those are “sometimes” treats. But...

Bunnies. Need. Hay.

High-quality hay is the single most important aspect of a pet bunny’s diet. Bunnies’ gastrointestinal tracts are essentially miniaturized versions of horses.’ Rabbit pellets and treats like fresh veggies have their place, but round-the-clock access to hay is critical to your rabbit’s health. Without it, they can become fatally constipated.

[mostweakhamlets]

inaudiblysticky replied to your post “I think that there's a video on Julien Solomita's channel where Kermit...”

Bhfjki I love this sm 

Aziraphale brings out the plant mister to gently water his husband  God also today’s video Jenna uploaded Snake kissing booth

omg yes! to all of that! 

water your husband or he will not grow

and yes!! Snissing booth! I just shared kisses with my gecko!! 

[reliapet]

PSA: Rat aggression is genetic!

Millie: My rat, Rosco, bit Emmet and now Emmet is bleeding all over the cage! I took Rosco out. How do I train him not to bite other rats? Jay: Unfortunately, you can not train biting out of rats. Either they bite, or they don't bite. The causes are genetic. If your rats are males, it might be hormonal aggression, which is fixable. Millie: Yeah, they're males! But people on YouTube say I can train them out of it if I learn their triggers! Why are you saying that won't work if they say it will? Jay: Rat aggression is kinda controversial because no one likes what the best action usually is for them. Unless the underlying problem is fixed, they will always have the chance to bite. And while we may learn certain triggers which can cause them to bite and avoid it, their cage mates will never figure that out. Also, the aggression can escalate at any time. Just because you know what might happen now, doesn't mean you can predict it for sure later. Millie: So what can I do? How can I fix it? Jay: Because your rats are males, you can try neutering Rosco. Hopefully, he just has hormonal aggression and after his hormones die down he'll stop acting that way. You did good by separating him from the other rats to keep them safe for now. Once he's better, you can re-do introductions. Make sure to watch for excessive pinning, chasing, side stepping, and rat balls during intros. These may indicate he's not ready to be reintroduced, or that it's general aggression instead. Millie: But a rat neuter is so expensive around here because they're exotics! I doubt it will ever happen again, he'll be just fine, I'm sure! Besides, if it does happen again, I can keep him alone, right? Jay: Keeping rats alone causes them to be depressed. In one scientific study, a rat kept alone didn't try as hard not to drown in a small swimming pool as a rat kept with friends. They need each other to be happy. You can't keep him alone. Also, you might not get a second chance to do something about this before something bad happens. It only takes one bite in the wrong place to kill a rat. It happened to one of my friends when they were doing intros with their rats. It was brutal. Please get your rat neutered. Millie: OMG that's terrible! I guess I can pull from the vet fund for this. Where can I learn more? Jay: There's an article on ReliaPet that talks about it! Here's the link. It has a lot of scientific studies backing up its claims about aggression, and it's really informative. https://www.reliapet.net/revealing-the-truth-of-rat-aggression/ Millie: Thanks so much! I'm on the way to the emergency vet for Emmet right now, and I'll set a neuter appt for Rosco as soon as I can. I really appreciate all this information! I had no idea about any of this.

[naturebabeee]

Ball Pythons are not an impulse pet

Tw: suffering reptile

A few months ago I got two rescue ball pythons. One I was given when picking up what I thought was going to be just a fish tank. The other was given to my by a local exotic store owner who takes in SPCA surrenders.

This is juniper, she is 4 years old and weighed 400 grams when she was given to me. She had 2+ layers of stuck shed on her eyes rendering her temporarily blind.

This is Kratos, he had stuck shed that took a month of pillowcase soaks and humid hides to get off, he was so skinny you could see his spine and ribs through his skin, he was so weak he could hardly lift his head to grab the rat when I first fed him.

I beg you, if you want to get a snake, or any pet for the matter, do your research first. Join species related groups and forums, find mentors, read book, cross reference information you've found. Don't listen solely to what a pet store employee tells you. Ball pythons can live over 4 decades, they are a lifetime commitment and require copious amounts of work. They are not an animal you get to cuddle and play with, they are easily stressed and can go off feed so easily. They are tropical and require specific humidity and heat, they cant have heat lamps so you need to buy CHE, heat mats, thermostats,etc. They're hard to keep in a tank so you may need to invest in a $300 PVC enclosure. They are expensive animals, they can eat rats every week which can cost upwards $30 a month.

Please don't impulse buy such delicate animals if you're going to get bored of them, not do your research or if you think they're low maintenance. These are living animals too and don't deserve neglect and suffering.

DON'T GET A SNAKE IF YOU'RE GOING TO LET IT END UP LIKE THIS

Edit: both snakes are much healthier now, eating like champs and both have put on tons of weight, no longer have stuck shed and are no longer dehydrated. They're now thriving with the proper care and just the sweetest babies ever💕

[rosebvdsapphic]

PSA : a lot of veterinary clinics are still open and taking the appropriate safety precautions (such as obtaining your animal from the parking lot and going over exams/treatments over the phone) to maintain minimal contact with one another. with that said, PLEASE handle your pets health as you would your own or family members and seek medical care if necessary.

[catbreon-draws]

TW: Animal death

I’d like to remind people not to intentionally mix predators and prey. 

There was an accident yesterday which involved my cat, Edgar, and my baby russian rat snake, Onyx. I had put Edgar and my other cat Charlie away onto the porch and brought Onyx out to hold and take photos. Edgar had never taken any interest in Onyx, but I didn’t want to risk anything. However, unbeknownst to me, Edgar managed to pull open the sliding glass door keeping him out when I was in the other room getting Onyx out of his cage. When I came out of my room and walked into the living room, Edgar was perched on top of the couch, at about chest height, and when I walked by (not having seen him, because I expected him to be on the porch), he reached out with his paw and snagged Onyx on his claws, causing the snake to fall onto the floor. Edgar then jumped down and grabbed Onyx in his mouth before I could even react, and he ran off with him. By the time I cornered him and took Onyx back, he was dead.

I honestly don’t know if he was reaching out to intentionally grab Onyx, or if he was just pawing me as I walked by, which he is known to do, and then instinct just took over when he made me drop Onyx. Either way, it doesn’t matter. An animal was killed because I didn’t make sure Edgar was locked up.

So please, please, keep your dogs and cats away from your other pets like snakes, rodents, and birds, and don’t support videos or photos of them interacting (you don’t have to be an asshole on those types of content, but please don’t reblog it). No matter how docile or gentle you think your pet is, all it takes is one second for a larger animal to intentionally or even completely accidentally injure or kill your smaller one. And even if your pet doesn’t ever personally hurt another animal, your cute photo or video could influence someone else to make a bad decision that will cost their pet’s life. Please think about that.

This has been a PSA.

[operationhoshinokaabii]

I really like the treatment a lot of the game baddies were given in the anime, like Knuckle Joe or Bonkers or Kawasaki, where they become fleshed out individuals with personality and backstory. Like the ones that are just random mobs in the games originally?

Knuckle Joe was just great, connecting him to MK’s past, and making him a recurring character. Sword and Blade of course are another good example! They got a huge boost in importance as MK’s followers with their own story instead of nameless enemies. And Bonkers being a Kirby fanboy was so cute.

But I also like the variety of ways the other ones were re-interpreted as well. Like Bugzzy or Blocky or Kracko stayed as regular monsters, but they were still big events with whole episodes for them. And I’ve mentioned Masher before- it’s funny how a fairly dinky enemy in KDL3 got turned into an absolute behemoth with plot significance.

And you have weirder stuff like turning Scarfy into a PSA on not releasing your exotic pets into the wild, which was a creative one for sure. Or Noddies actually being produced from a giant carnivorous plant?? it didn’t make much sense but it was certainly different! I could go on and on lol

I think there was a good balance of original and game characters but I wonder what they would have done with other unused character5s  had they continued?

Biospark could be someone with a connection to Yamikage perhaps? Maybe Sir Kibble could be someone from the GSA? TAC is severely underused and could make for some good shenanigans...  

[solarwindscosplay]

So, you want to get a pet rat like Bruno Madrigal?

With Encanto being such a big thing right now, I just wanted to make a quick PSA on pet rats.

Whenever a movie has an animal that can be a pet, sales in that animal always goes way up; then a few months later you tend to see an influx of those animals in shelters.

Rats are not simple pets that you can buy one of and just throw in a cage. Please do your research before getting any sort of pet. Go to a breeder, not a pet store. Rats are social animals and should be kept in at least pairs of two if not more. If you get males, only have males. If you get females, only get females. You should not mix the genders unless you want a bunch of baby rats which is a LOT of work. They don't eat hamster feed, there is food specifically made for them. And do not get those plastic tube cages. Rats are very social and you need to play with them everyday.

Rats also need to go to the vet just like a cat and dog do, but they are considered exotic animals. Be sure there is an exotic animal vet near you before getting one.

This is not an extensive list of things you need to know at all. R/rat on reddit is a wonderful place to ask questions from experienced rat owners.

Tl:dr Rats are not easy pets to keep, but are super loving animals. Do your research before getting some.

These are my rats that are turning two this week!

[hometownrockstar]

psa post about how imposter among us babies are exotic wild animals who you shouldnt keep as pets even if instagram influencers have them because theres countless cases of people being injured or even killed by their imposter amongus babies because they thought they could raise them to be loving housepets. sorry i dont actually wanna put in effort to write this hypothetical post seriously