EXOTIC ANIMALS MAY BE FASCINATING, BUT NOT ALL MAKE GREAT PETS

Y-Press travels to zoo, talks to kids and expert about exotic pet care

 

 

 

 

Instead of awakening to Spot barking or Frisky purring, Lauren Van Atter listens to Fiyero sing a solo at 6 a.m. Fiyero, named for a character in the musical "Wicked," is Lauren's cockatiel.

Most kids have pet dogs and cats, but according to Dr. Angela Lennox, more young people are choosing to own exotic pets than ever before.

"In families where they don't have a lot of time, or they don't have a big yard, lots and lots of families like little pets that you can put into cages," says the Indianapolis exotic anima0l veterinarian.

Among her "patients" at the Avian & Exotic Animal Clinic of Indianapolis are rabbits, birds, snakes, lizards and potbellied pigs. Occasionally, she'll be asked to treat a tiger or lion and once even an armadillo.

Small exotic pets are usually easier to care for than large ones. For example, exotic animals like birds, turtles and hamsters take up less space and do not have to be taken outside or walked. But they have different requirements that require research.

"Exotic pets usually have to be fed certain things and they have to go to the vet more often," says Lauren, who also is a dog owner. "There are specific procedures you have to follow."

Nonetheless, the 13-year-old says owning a cockatiel isn't that time consuming or difficult.

"You have to clean the cage once a week and refill the food and water whenever it needs to be.

Sara Lennox is the youngest daughter of Lennox. Sara has a cockatiel too, and it sits on her shoulder as she cleans its cage each day. The cockatiel, Zeus, gets mad at Sara every time she leaves him, she says.

The 11-year-old has learned from experience to be careful. He bit her the first time she tried to pet him, so now she's waiting until he's tamer and happy with living in her room. She's only had him a few months.

So how does a young person even know what animals are "exotic"?

An exotic animal is anything not domesticated, experts explain.

"Exotic animals can do just fine without us, and if left to be, that's where they would be – in the wild. And you can train an exotic animal to behave, but you can never make them domesticated. It takes them thousands of years to be domesticated," says Kriss Griffiths-Holm, a zoo keeper in the Encounters section of the Indianapolis Zoo.

She and other experts agree that no family should take on the responsibility of any exotic pet without a lot of planning and research.

That includes identifying a vet specialist, like Lennox.

"The vet has to know about the particular animal and know how to deal with it if something comes up," Griffiths-Holm says.

Adds Lennox: "Since they're more like wildlife, a lot of times exotic animals hide their signs of illness. And sometimes they're just harder to work with. They may bite or struggle or become afraid very quickly.

Often, kids visit the zoo to see the animals they wish to own, such as a parrot or monkey.

Most animals at the zoo are considered exotic, but that doesn't mean they would make a good pet, says Griffiths-Holm.

In reality, monkeys often act like 2-year-olds who bite and can live that way for 40 years, she explains. For example, she owns a monkey with no teeth, so she has to cut up all its food and cook it until it's soft.

She and her husband used to own a sanctuary for unwanted exotic animals on the northside of Indianapolis. Now, at their Whitestown home, they still care for a few rescued animals. It's expensive and time consuming – Griffiths-Holm spends $1,200 on food every month and 15 hours a week cleaning and disinfecting the animal enclosures.

Although parrots might seem like a cool pet with their ability to talk and sing, they are often picky about who owns them and can snub people they dislike, the zoo keeper says. They also require a life-long commitment because they can live to be 100. Parrots also bite, sometimes hard enough to break bones and require stitches.

Getting permission to own exotic pets in Indiana is surprisingly easy.

"In Indiana, you can have almost anything you want, except if you are in city limits. So, you can't have farm animals inside Indianapolis." Griffiths-Holm says.

Also, according to Indiana law, anyone who owns a dangerous animal, such as a lion, wolf or alligator, must obtain a permit for each exotic animal they own.

"That way if there is an escape or an attack, officials can go through their records and then say 'Ok, this person owns this animal, let's go see if it's still on their property," says Griffiths-Holm.

Deciding what exotic pet is best for a child depends a lot on the child's age and maturity.

"For smaller kids, turtles, chinchillas, and most small, furry animals would be appropriate for their age group," Griffiths-Holm says, suggesting some responsible teens and adults can take on animals like sugar gliders, small snakes or frogs.

Cautions Lennox:"There always has to be adult supervision 'cause some children just get busy and forget."

She, her husband and three daughters live on a Lebanon farm. They have horses, and have raised a wide variety of exotic pets, including a bearded dragon lizard, rats, birds and rabbits. For seven years, the Lennoxes have had a pet emu named Mr. E. He's a large wild bird from Australia that is gentle and doesn't fly, but likes to nibble. The family can't go barefoot or wear sandals around him: He thinks toes are worms and bites them.

Lauren, the cockatiel owner, suggests other kids consider an exotic pet like hers.

"They are great friends, you can talk to them about anything and they don't care because they don't understand."

Yet she learned April 18 that Seyaro understood something faster than she ever could.

"He was going crazy, flipping off the cage walls," Lauren says. "Sometimes they can have night terrors, so I was just yelling at him to be quiet."

Within a minute, the Midwestern earthquake of 2008 struck, a magnitude of 5.2.

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Peter Akinola, 15.

REPORTERS: William Andrews, 11; Sam Clark, 11; and Alex Williams, 11.

Copyright 2008 Y-Press