I think it would be cool to see what everyone's non traditional pet is. By non traditional I mean a pet that isn't as commonly seen in the average household so pigs, horses, goats, etc. Any pet you think would fit that category really! For me my favorite non traditional pet was my horses. I loved being able to wake up early in the morning and take a ride around my land and out on the trails that were nearby my house.
Despite the fact that I loved having a horse, and it would hands down be my favorite pet, I always wanted to own a ferret. I heard they can be a tricky pet though, and require some investment because they are good at escaping. They are so cute though! Every time I see one I just want to give it a hug. I would never actually own one myself, mostly due to the fact I do not have a lot of knowledge on them and probably couldn't invest a good amount of time to it. It is nice to daydream about though!
When I lived out in the country, I always had a horse, and loved going riding out in the woods and on the trails. sometimes, i went alone, and other times, I participated in organized trail rides.
One of the best trail rides I ever went on is called the Bison Range ride, and it is held every year in Montana on the bison range. People come from all over to go on this trail ride, and the cost includes camping overnight, and your lunch on the trail at mid-day stop. (at least it did when I went on the ride, that was some years ago)
We rode up to a lookout where we could see halfway across Montana, or at least it seemed like that far. the buffalo were running across the plains far below us, and they looked like a huge herd of fuzzy brown mice galloping along down there.
On the way down, we all went right past a tiny baby fawn that thought it was hiding right beside the trail. The mother was patiently waiting for the long line of horses to get past, so she could retrieve her baby.
It was great fun ! !
I think an non traditional pet, that's getting very popular know, would be Sugar Gliders. I have several friends who have them, and the Gliders are such sweeties! My friend usually have one or two snuggling in her shirt when she's reading, haha.
Quote:The sugar glider is a small, omnivorous, arboreal and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass. The common name refers to its preference for sugary nectarous foods and ability to glide through the air, much like a flying squirrel. Due to convergent evolution, they have very similar appearance and habits to the flying squirrel, but are not closely related. The scientific name, Petaurus breviceps, translates from Latin as "short-headed rope-dancer", a reference to their canopy acrobatics.
Most people like them cause they look like a flying squirrel with the cuteness level turned up to a hundred, even though they're actually more closely related to possum! I think they're very sweet creatures, and are very big on cuddling. You have to be careful with what you feed them though, cause they might get calcium deficiencies.
When i was growing up, back in the 1950's, they always had big ads on the inside covers of comic books, advertising Squirrel Monkeys, and I used to want a monkey really bad. One of the top movies back then was the Adventures of Tarzan, and of course, he always had Cheeta , his pet Chimpanzee along , and Cheeta would always do something wonderful and save the day for Tarzan.
I was an only child, so I played by myself most of the time, and the idea of a little Human-looking monkey to ride along on my shoulder was always so appealing to me.
Even though they only sold for about $20 at that time, my mom would not let me have one. I don't know where they came from, or if they even arrived alive and healthy for that price.
I have since learned that they are messy pets to have, and can also bite very hard, and the larger monkeys have even killed people; so I no longer want a monkey, but I do still like to watch them in movies or at the zoo.
Ever since I was little, I've always wanted a horse. To me, there's something about taking care of a beautiful creature and then later, being able to ride them. My dad would often say no to buying a horse -- considering we didn't have the house nor backyard for it and stables cost way too much. But it just so happens that during my early high school years, I went to a nearby stable and I began to care for the horses that were there -- especially one that didn't have a name. Their owners just left him there. The owner saw me petting him and asked me to volunteer to take care of him. Apparently the horse that I chose to take care of had a nasty streak to most people. But to me, he was so kind and allowed me to get close to him. So for a couple years, I was taking care of him and I was able to ride him with the owner watching over me. Because he had no name, I called him 'Promise' because I made a promise to him that I'd be there.
Unfortunately, the stable closed down three years in, and the horses had to be transported somewhere else. So, it was the last time that I saw Promise. D: But yeah, horses would have to be my favorite non-traditional pet.
Bloomsie, I understand just where you are coming from about loving horses ! I think that it is an "incurable bug" that bites you when you are little and never goes away.
I have had horses most of my life, and even though I am nearing 70 years old now, I still love watching horses.
My favorite horse is the Peruvian Paso. They are a gaited breed that is so smooth to ride that it is unbelievable. In fact, the Peruvian Paso is called "The Cadillac of Horses" by many people. If you watch in this video I am attaching, you will see that the riders barely bounce as the horse is moving, unlike most horses that have a very jolting trot.
One of the tests is to give the riders a wineglass, and at the end of the class, they see which horse and rider have the most wine left in the glass !
My favorite non-traditional pet would probably have to be mice or rats. They are very affectionate, intelligent animals and domesticated rats actually laugh when you tickle them but its not very audible. I wish they lived longer though, I never deal well with any pet dying and its a deterrent for me getting any more rodents.
I would say ferrets are my favorite non-traditional pet. I had two growing and they were so fun and full of personality. They had a large cage that I would put them in at night (sometimes I let them sleep with me) but during the day they were mostly roaming around. They are kind of like kittens that never get old. They sleep a lot but when they wake up all they want to do is play. When you have two together they run and chase each other and play fight. They can be hard to care for though. You can litter box train them but mine never seemed to get the hang of that. They would poop in the corners instead. Sometimes they had a favorite spot and they ruined the carpet we had because sometimes they just go wherever they please. They also have a musky smell, which I didn't really mind but it may bother others. I miss my ferrets but I don't know if I'd own them as pets again.
Years ago my friend Norma had a pt goat for her boys. They got it when it was a baby, and it followed the boys all over when they were playing outside. They lived in the country, so they had a nice barn where the little goat slept at nite, and the boys also had two ponies, and a large Great Dane dog.
Their Grandparents lived just across the pasture behind the house and down the road a ways. The boys would ride over to visit Grandma, and of course the dog and the goat both went along with them.
Sometimes, when the boys were in school, the dog and the goat would go through the pasture and down the road to Grandma's house, and the neighbors got used to seeing them traveling down the street together.
That little goat made a wonderful pet for those boys ! !
I have had several non traditional pets in my home over the years. I had an opossum in my teenage years. My children have had several kind of lizards, hedgehogs, hairless rats, and white mice. Right now there are just two small dogs in my home and that is how it is going to stay.
My favourite non traditional pet would have to be rats. I love them. They are sweet, loving, and clean animals, unlike what most people think. I've had many over the years, including a hairless rat I named Saggy. I had her for about 5 years before she got cancer then died. Another rat I had that I tried to breed, was about 8 pounds, and more than a foot long not including his tail. Boots always seemed to squish pontential mating partners. That was until my sister accuired a huge female rat herself, and we bred Boots and Socks together. A little more than we meant to, but until Socks gave birth to 2 hairless rats that my sister let me have along with 2 other rats of my choice.
Rats are simply the best, I would recommend a rat as a non traditional pet. They are fun and loving, you must interact with them to be such, though.
I too would probably say a horse would be my ideal non traditional pet. I think they're beautiful creatures and provided I had the resources and space to look after one it would be handy to ride around on too. My husband would choose rats, when he was you get he had 2 pet rats and still gets sad when he thinks about their passing!
Llamas, pythons, monkeys, turtles...there is a slideshow of all the animals that people have as pets from around the world.
The duck at the snow fields looks really cute - but I don't know how comfortable the poor thing would be...I'm imagining it wouldn't be feeling too good at all in that level of cold!
04-26-2015, 02:30 AM, (This post was last modified: 04-26-2015, 02:33 AM by Happyflowerlady.)
Some people who don't have room for a large horse are getting a miniature horse. some of these only grow to be 25"-35" tall, so are almost like haiing a large sized dog, and can easily be kept in the back yard as long as you have an adequate shelter for the mini-horse.
Although they are way too small for anyone except a small child to ride on, people do train them to drive, and they can then ride in the cart once the pony has learned to be driven.
Some areas that do not allow horses in the city limits would prevent you from having a miniature horse in the back yard; but if there were not these kinds of restrictions where we live, I would really enjoy just having one to keep as a pet.
Here is a webpage showing some beautiful mini's showing off, annd pulling carts. They are just so tiny and so exquisite !
(05-16-2014, 06:50 AM)Bloomsie Wrote: Ever since I was little, I've always wanted a horse. To me, there's something about taking care of a beautiful creature and then later, being able to ride them. My dad would often say no to buying a horse -- considering we didn't have the house nor backyard for it and stables cost way too much. But it just so happens that during my early high school years, I went to a nearby stable and I began to care for the horses that were there -- especially one that didn't have a name. Their owners just left him there. The owner saw me petting him and asked me to volunteer to take care of him. Apparently the horse that I chose to take care of had a nasty streak to most people. But to me, he was so kind and allowed me to get close to him. So for a couple years, I was taking care of him and I was able to ride him with the owner watching over me. Because he had no name, I called him 'Promise' because I made a promise to him that I'd be there.
Unfortunately, the stable closed down three years in, and the horses had to be transported somewhere else. So, it was the last time that I saw Promise. D: But yeah, horses would have to be my favorite non-traditional pet.
My sister ended up with a horse from a very similar situation, but it ended more happily (initially anyhow).
She used to work at a stables for the standard 'free' or reduced rate lessons and learnt to ride that way. There was one horse in the stables that no-one could get anywhere near to (the stables operated both a stable/field only or a stable/field and we groom option* and the owner had chosen the latter). My sister was the only person that the horse would allow anywhere near, and she (and eventually I) were the only people who could groom or ride her. My sister bought the horse (called Bluebell) off the owner and had her for many years until she had to be put down, but she was one of those horses that if she didn't want to be in the field you had put her in, would simply jump the gate or hedge (no fences where the stables were) and make her way back to her stable where she preferred to be. Sadly Bluebell had to be put down when she was only 9 years old due to a terminal condition that would only leave her in severe pain.
*apologies for the distinct lack of proper terminology but I can not think for the life of me what it is called right now... it is just one of those days)
My husband and his 3 brothers had a ferret as kids. It was a short lived experiment after the ferret put all 4 of them, one after another, in the hospital needing jabs and stitches. I understand from my husband that all 4 of them visited the hospital separately inside the space of 10 days.
I just had a gold fish but I'm not certain if it really counts as an unusual pet to be honest.
I'd love to have a goat.
A friend of mine keeps them and they are so funny to watch.
My daughter who is eleven has a fascination with horses. We lived on a farm with my ex in-laws for a little while and they had three old quarter horses and she just bonded with them so much.
Ferrets, absolutely ferrets! I haven't actually owned one myself but my uncle had one, and I've always wanted one of my own. I am still living with my family due to health issues that prevent me from being on my own, and my parents don't want a ferret, sadly. I've handled a few ferrets before, though, and I instantly fell in love with each one of them! I've heard all these bad rumors about ferrets, saying that they're mean creatures that attack people and can't be handled, but I've done a lot of research on them and I definitely don't believe that to be true. If the ferret is properly handled and socialized they are very loving little friends! All the ones I've had experiences with were well handled and friendly. One of the biggest reasons my family objects to having one is because of the smell, but I honestly don't think the smell is very bad, just strong and different from normal. I've seen so many cute videos of them online where they get into everything and collect random items throughout the room. So adorable!
Even if I could make an argument strong enough towards getting a ferret now though, I don't think it would be the best idea at the moment. My cat is a born hunter and she'd take one look at that thing and think, "mmm, lunch!" I'd never giver her up in exchange for a ferret, but if I was getting a new pet a ferret would be one of my first choices.
If there's one non-traditional pet that I would like to have, it'll be a panda bear. China owns most of the world's pandas that are rented to zoos the world over. That's understandable since they would want to raise awareness for these animals and breeding them is a primary concern so that future generations will still be able to enjoy them. To raise one, I'd probably have to move to the mountains where bamboo is abundant because it is their main diet. Enclosure will have to be necessary but that enclosure would mean buying a small piece of land where there are trees everywhere.
The closest I've had to a non-traditional pet was my two rabbits, Thumper and Flower. They were awesome to cuddle and play with. The only problem is that they were very clever. One summer, my mom bought a strawberry plant for us to have strawberries to eat, since they're expensive. She put them on top of the patio table to keep them away from the rabbits. But those brats figured a way onto the table and ate the strawberries, the leaves, the stems, and part of the roots. Other than ransacking the garden from time to time, they were a great first pet for little kids because they're not aggressive and easy to play with.
During the summer, my grandparents let the grandkids help take care of abandoned calves, sheep, and frogs. The frogs were kind of pet like because we would watch them and feed them, but they usually left their bowls as soon as they got their legs. And while we hand fed the calves but that was about it. We got to help feed the sheep but they wouldn't let us near them, so I don't really consider them pets even though we helped take care of them.
I used to have chickens, ducks and geese and there was one hen in particular who thought of herself as a lap bird. She would come running up to me at full speed and plunk herself, dirty feet and all, into my lap if I sat down on a nearby log. She would let me hug and pet her and would peck gently at my hands as if kissing and rest the side of her head against my hand. When I was holding her all of the other hens would gather around, hoping to get some attention too. Before I knew it, I would be surrounded by chickens, the rooster included. He would let me pet him just a little bit, probably to see what the fuss was all about, and then he'd leave us girls be. Most of the other hens were trying to steal the attention away from that one but she was determined to be my pet and would just snuggle harder when the other chickens gathered around. It was pretty funny and cute, although I'd get all muddy and messy from her dirty feet. I didn't sit out there near the chickens very often but that girl was always the first one to the fence when I came near to give them a treat of some kind. We would usually give them table scraps to pick over and that was the big highlight of their day.
It's so hard for me to choose just one favorite, because I like all animals. I like horses too and I owned ten of them a few years ago. I couldn't take them with me when I moved and it broke my heart to leave them, but I left them with someone who I knew would take care of them. I also am very fond of cows and right now I have a small calf that I'm bottle feeding. I bottle fed my first calf when I was a kid so I've always had a place in my heart for cows. One of my bottle calves that I had several years ago grew up to be a very large steer. He was about 15 years old when he died and he was as gentle then as he was when he was a baby.
I also like goats and I think they're very hilarious to watch. Goats are actually smarter than some people think they are. I have two pygmy goats right now. They were both bottle fed and one of them actually lived in my apartment with me for several months when I was bottle feeding her. When she was a baby, I also had a kitten inside the house too. The baby goat and the kitten became fast friends and they would play together all the time. It was so fun to watch them. In addition to the kitten, I also had two other grown cats in the house. They didn't care much for the goat invading their space, but they weren't mean to her, they would just run when they would see her. One day, I heard a noise in the litter box and when I looked, the goat was in the litter box going to the bathroom. I guess she learned that from watching the cats and she continued to use the litter box whenever she had to go. So, that's why I think goats are smart animals.
I love horses! They are so smart and sweet. I think my love of horses first started when I went to a ranch camp when I was 10 or 11, and we got to care for our own horse and go riding all week, it was a lot of fun. I went back for 3 more years, and got pretty good at riding! I'll still go riding sometimes, but I do not own horses- would love to someday though! One of my good friends boards them, so I do get to help her out and be around them a lot. Last summer they actually paid me to help take care of their horses because they were going on vacation for a couple of months. I've heard of a lot of people having rats as pets as well, my fiancé used to have a couple, but they passed away.
