weirdest pet you've had, aquatic or not

[mogurnda]

I just keep looking at my mantis, and thinking about how weird this creature is. I mean, it's like a space alien, and it stares at me.
http://www.aquaticphotos.com/data/media/16/mantis_threat_3680.jpg

Made me wonder what other really bizarre pets are out there.

[OrionGirl]

I helped my sister research and setup for her black widow spiders...

I kept water dogs (tiger salamander larva), bull snakes, tadpoles, and moon moth caterpillars as a kid...

And kept a preying mantis in a green house when I was down in Albuquerque...

Oh, and I once had a football player for a pet...But he cost too much to feed. :(

[hcgirl80]

My brother had a 5-line Skink(sp?)(lizard) a few years ago.

[mogurnda]

Oh, and I once had a football player for a pet...But he cost too much to feed. also hard to clean up after :D

[Timmain42]

Mine was a shrimp, too. Macrobrahim lahs:

http://www.member.serverpro.com/~praxx42/fish/petulaSizeRef.jpg

[OrionGirl]

;) Properly trained, football players are fairly tidy.

On a more recent note, I'd guess the angler would be the oddest pet. He's not as alien as a mantis, but still unusual. Prior to that, the octopus--very, very cool animal, regrettably short lived.

[FL Knifemaker]

We have 4 dogs, 2 aquariums, 2 parrots and have had quite a few other critters over the years. Without a doubt, Sky the sugar glider was the wierdest :) Between his antics, noises and personality he's also the most missed. We had him for 6? years and I think he died of old age :(

This is my daughter about 2 years ago with Sky. If she new I posted this pic, she'd kill me!! :eek:

[Dangerdoll]

Oh, and I once had a football player for a pet...But he cost too much to feed. :(

hmmmm..... I was looking into getting one of those Marine's ;)..... I'll have to add that to thought, I'm thinking they're a lot alike, just different uniforms.... ;)

how come no one's talked about their pet rocks yet??

[elgecko]

I had many different lizards, some frogs, toads, turtles, ect. Not anything really wierd.

My wife and I thought about getting some Sugar Gliders several years ago. But decided that they most likely not get along with the 4 cats we have.

[SnakeIce]

we had a goose when I was still at home. it was left in the nest because it was late hatching and was about to die from cold. it identified with people...
would take walks with us partway down the dirt road and some of the neighbor kids saw the tracks. "gawwd, Dinasaur TRACKS!!!!!!" :laugh:

it later tried to sit on the power line like the other birds it saw, never quite managed to sit up there though it tried a number of times :laugh:

the funnyest moment with that bird was the time after a good rain when it was winding down but still sprinkling and the golden retreiver mix dog we had, two cats and the goose were all in the dog house looking out the door like they were checking to see if it had quit raining yet. the dog house was built for a lab so there was plenty of room for them all in there.

a "water" dog, "water" bird and two cats in the dog house waiting for it to quit raining...

[mogurnda]

a "water" dog, "water" bird and two cats in the dog house waiting for it to quit raining... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I guess these guys are "aquatic and not."

[greeneyedlady]

briefly

http://www.desertusa.com/april96/du_hliz.html

my mom was not impressed and made me let him go back in the front yard where I found him :D

We also had some desert box turtles that lived in the back yard, we had Toby who would come if you called him, like a dog, he would race to get wherever you were standing in the back yard and used to love to go swimming in the pool; then there was Baby the iron virgin, Toby had a crush on her and every time he tried to get frisky she would "crush" his "male ego" did you know that turtles can scream, interesting noise late at night and we would have to go rescue Toby before Baby could castrate him. There was Ivan the terrible he was a snotty thing that insisted on eating before every body else, he would chase the other two away until he had his fill and then would slink off when he was done. They were very interesting critters.

[FL Knifemaker]

My wife and I thought about getting some Sugar Gliders several years ago. But decided that they most likely not get along with the 4 cats we have.

I know they do well in pairs but I couldn't imagine having two of them!!! One will keep you on your toes. As far as cats, could be a problem. They are very fast and can defend themselves really well for their size. Our bulldogs messed with him only ONCE!!

[geoffgarcia]

3rd grade science project was to bring fertilized eggs in and toss them in an incubator, of course my mom was the go-getter and brought in half dozen fertilized eggs of which about 5 hatched, after they were about a month old brought 2 home, gave the rest away. One got eaten pretty much right away by a roaming animal (ur guess is as good as mine) the second stayed with the family for about 6 years or so when my neighbors hunting dog killed it.

[Seattle206]

That mantis shrimp looks good. mmm...mmm...

When I was younger my backyard to use be like a farm, my dad bought peacocks, geese, ducks, chickens, pigeons/doves, Guinea pigs, rabbits, snapping & softshell turtles, bullfrogs, snakes, salamanders and newts. We had all those birds running and ****ting all over the yard I couldnt even play basketball without bouncing the ball on top of the droppings. I hated the geese the most cause they would hiss that me everytime I go close to them. We also had complaints from neighbors because the roosters kept waking them up around sunrise. All those animals listed above were kept for food.

[mogurnda]

That mantis shrimp looks good. mmm...mmm...

I hear they are actually quite sweet. Good on pasta. This guy wouldn't even make a snack, though.

What does peacock taste like?

[swreefer]

I don't know if he's wierd but he is cute and full of spunk.

[Seattle206]

Well I cant remember, this was back when I was in elementry school. All I remember was that we had 1 huge peacock with its one leg tied to a tree. My dad and grandpa later on slaugthers it and I see big breast, legs and thighs in the frigde. We used it in some kind of chinese soup.

And yes mantis shrimp is very good, I had deep fried mantis shrimp along with spicy banana sauce.


I hear they are actually quite sweet. Good on pasta. This guy wouldn't even make a snack, though.

[elgecko]

I don't know if he's wierd but he is cute and full of spunk.

Is that an Alligator or a Caiman?
I always wanted one, but what the heck do you do with it when it gets 5' long?

[swreefer]

Gator.
Convert the downstairs to his new living quarters. :)

[Snake Eyez]

It's nice to see that I wasn't the only one to keep black window spiders as pets. I would also catch scorpions and centipedes and keep them in jars and aquariums. When I was bored I would mix some of the species together in gladiator type matches.

[Ems]

I had 2 mice! They were so sweet and fuzzy, but mice don't live too long =(
I also used to keep snakes and I REALLY want a goat but I am lacking the space =)

[Watcher74]

I once had a foot long centipede my father found in a batch of telephone poles from New Mexico.

He was shiny black except for bright red legs and two long butt stingers. I would catch crickets for him and he would grab them with his front legs, raise up, and eat it like a hamburger.

It would only take him a couple minutes to finish it too.

Coolest insect I ever had.

[labont865]

I have owned many different types of animals throughout my life, but the most interesting has to be my Ocelot. I got this from a local Wild animal rescue center when I was about 11 years old. He was an amazing little animal. He would wrestli with my Rottweiler and to escape would jump up and cling to the walls of my house. He eventually died of feline leukemia(spl?). For those of you who arent familiar with what an ocelot is here is a link http://www.bigcatrescue.org/ocelot.htm

I have also onew a few other cool pets that others here have mentioned.I owned a Giant Praying Mantis(8" long) , I also had a "Giant" Centepede(12"long) This thing would attack absolutely anything dumb enough to walk close enough to it.

[Snake Eyez]

Those foot long centipedes and giant praying mantis sound really cool. Are they widely available at local pet stores?

[labont865]

Actually the Mantis I found in my area when he was about 3-4 inches long, he grew quite rapidly. The Centepede I bought from a pet store. They arent widely available but if you are interested I am sure the pet store would order one for you. A warning though, they are quite dangerous especially to children and they are very expensive, 245$ Canadian is what I payed for mine and it ran me about 5-10$ a day to feed.

[Seattle206]

$5-$10 dollars a day to feed? **** what did it eat?

I've seen alot of ran over red fat 9inch centiepede in asia, they looked scary even when dead. Do you know how severe the bite is to a human?

ps. when did aq start bleeping out words like "daynm"

[David Warner]

Ah well, I happen to be a major cat person. And every cat that I have ever shared my life with has qualified for the title of weirdest on various grounds. For example:

Poly though that she was human. She would do everything that she could to emulate humans like reach for the doorknob before pushing a door open and she would squat over the edge of the toilet to use it like a human. One time I even saw her flush. Poly also knew how to fly, much in the same way that flying squirrels could. She could leap about 15 feet in level flight from a running start. And before her untimely experience with a neighbor's car, she learned how to catch birds in mid flight.

Phydeaux was a talking cat. Really. She probably knew a dozen words in english. as a parrot she sucked but for a cat that was quite an accopmlishment.

****** (happens to also be my password for several forums) is a Bengal. You can look them up on google if you want to but basically, they are half dometic cat and half Asian snow leopard. Hands down the most intense cat around (except possibly for the guy with the ocelot). He is 14 1/2 years old and he still greets me when I get home by jumping onto my shoulder from the floor.

Also, I put some thought into getting a Cape York python a while back. What stopped me was primarily the fear that I had of it getting out. Since they only grow to about 4-5 feet long (let's say about 1.3 meters for the international crowd), I was more afraid of the Bengal hurting the python than the other way around.

[Snake Eyez]

Actually the Mantis I found in my area when he was about 3-4 inches long, he grew quite rapidly. The Centepede I bought from a pet store. They arent widely available but if you are interested I am sure the pet store would order one for you. A warning though, they are quite dangerous especially to children and they are very expensive, 245$ Canadian is what I payed for mine and it ran me about 5-10$ a day to feed.

****, that centipede seems to eat better than I do some days as a college student. What did you feed this guy? The price is a bit steep for a bug. :) The fact that it's dangerous makes it even an even cooler sounding pet. No kids around my apartment since I already have several guns and swords around which would be more of a concern.

[Watcher74]

Man, I got my 12" centipede for free. And caught wild crickets for him.

Total cost=Several hours of an early teenagers time. I had him for a couple years.

[Blinky]

Not sure this qualifies as a pet, but the wierdest thing ever to share our home was a little brown bat. My husband and I arrived home one day and saw it lying on the sidewalk; we knew it was going to die out there, so we (carefully) took it inside and put it into a dark box with an icecream tub on its side - to make a little cave - and some water. I don't know what happened to it, but it must have been injured or starving; it had some water, and hung inside the cave for a few hours, but didn't live long enough for us to have anyone from animal rescue call back to tell us how to care for it or come collect it.
Second wierdest had to be Dabbles the duck - when I was 13 my parents bought a horse, and when we went to pick him up they insisted on putting his 'pet' duck in the trailer with him. Turns out someone at the stable had purchased a duckling for their kids at Easter and when it stopped being small and fuzzy they pawned it off on the barn. He had imprinted on people, wore a little cat collar with a bell, and liked to hang out on the porch waiting for one of us to come out and play with him.

[Snake Eyez]

Man, I got my 12" centipede for free. And caught wild crickets for him.

Total cost=Several hours of an early teenagers time. I had him for a couple years.
That sounds like a deal. I've interested in this huge pedes and found some nice pics and info on them. Found some for sale for $245. :eek:
http://www.swiftinverts.com/centipedeprices.htm

http://www.goldenphoenixexotica.com/cent.html

[labont865]

I fed my centipede two mice a day, as well as some vegetable matter. I was young and probably over fed it as it was "cool" to watch him eat the mice. I also would give him the odd finch.The species I had was the Peruvian Giant centipede(Scolopendra gigantea gigantea)

The bite isnt deadly or anything, but it hurts really badly and if you let him walk on your hands and arms his feet can actually cut you a little.
It could be dealy to young children though.

They are also escape artists and can easily pop the top off a terrarium. I kept mine i a 1gallon fish tank with lots of wood chips and some mosses and misted him with a spray bottle a few times a day and wow you want to see something move fast....


EDIT: There is a photo in that first link from Snake eyes

[russjet]

i had squirrels

i was walking along the path when i heard this squeaking noise and i saw two things i thought were rats they were actually baby squirrels i called the RSPCA and because they were grey not red they said if the tree they were in was too high to return them to their nest then they would be put to sleep.
because grey squirrels are not indigenous to the uk

i had one with a broken leg which i had to try and fix as the vets round here wouldnt treat grey squirrels i called him squizzer

then i hand reared them and unfortunately only one survived

the one that survived was the one with the broken leg it set at a funny angle but it didnt hold him back any

i used to take him for walks on a ferret lead and he would run along beside me and then would decide he had enough exercise and run up my legs and sit on my shoulder

he was quite the celebrity in my area

once he was too big for the chinchilla cage (after a year) i had for him to stay in when he wasnt running round the front room, he also began to be a little destructive i decided he needed to go as home came first

i released him into my friends woodland garden where we continued to provide easy food for him and we still see him regularly and he will run up my legs and sit on my shoulder even now but he is getting old and i will be suprised to see him after this winter as he is about seven years old

next week i am picking up a baby chinchilla but hardly a wierd pet

do the five monkeys AKA the children count as wierd pets

i housed a homing pidgeon for a day last week when it fell into my garden while on a race

i also used to collect animals from shops that got bad stock
i managed to adopt for free about three guinea pigs that were too ill to sell and they recovered except one was braindamaged but did fine except it used to run round in circles and fall overr regularly

a dog free again because it was too nervous to be bought it had been in the shop for three months and would just cower in the corner

a cat i picked up at the vets because its owner was getting it putdown because it ate their bird

i had to stop and wasnt allowed the parrot that was pulling out its feathers my mum had had enough and said i had to wait till i had my own home and my own money

she still has three cats and a dog bought in by me after i left home when i couldnt afford to feed the ones i rescued

my rescue days are over now

i still think it is amazing that despite my young age then, i could go into a pet shop and leave with sick animals without any trouble i used to find a suspect animal and visit it daily and then present the case for it not being in their shop after a week sometimes only after a day only once did i fail in my attempt to take home a refugee animal and that was down to my mum as we didnt have a cage for a parrot

[Dangerdoll]

the duck - when I was 13 my parents bought a horse, and when we went to pick him up they insisted on putting his 'pet' duck in the trailer with him. Turns out someone at the stable had purchased a duckling for their kids at Easter and when it stopped being small and fuzzy they pawned it off on the barn. He had imprinted on people, wore a little cat collar with a bell, and liked to hang out on the porch waiting for one of us to come out and play with him.
OMG Blinky!! I want one.... just to put the collar on his neck..... musta been the cutest thing!! :D

[Snake Eyez]

I fed my centipede two mice a day, as well as some vegetable matter. I was young and probably over fed it as it was "cool" to watch him eat the mice. I also would give him the odd finch.The species I had was the Peruvian Giant centipede(Scolopendra gigantea gigantea)

The bite isnt deadly or anything, but it hurts really badly and if you let him walk on your hands and arms his feet can actually cut you a little.
It could be dealy to young children though.

They are also escape artists and can easily pop the top off a terrarium. I kept mine i a 1gallon fish tank with lots of wood chips and some mosses and misted him with a spray bottle a few times a day and wow you want to see something move fast....


EDIT: There is a photo in that first link from Snake eyes

I still can't picture a centipede eating a mouse. I have to see one of these things up close and personal to completely understand their massive size.

[labont865]

well yeah, I can understand that.

Imagine an insect 1 foot long and up to 2 inches wide with these fang type thing almost an inch and a half long, that are packed full of venom. They are insanely aggresive, I cant even think of something to compare their aggressiveness to.

[Harlock]

Are venomous snakes weird? Crotalus lepidus lepidus (http://www.geocities.com/hotherps/smcleplep.jpg). The Mottled Rock Rattlesnake. Beautiful little snake. We used to catch them down near Mexico when we were trying to wild catch graybanded kingsnakes (http://www.applegatereptiles.com/species/grayband.htm) (another beautiful snake). The little leps were a joy to keep. Nice coloration, ready breeders and usually good feeders. Alas, once kids come along, the hot snakes have to go.

[Blinky]

OMG Blinky!! I want one.... just to put the collar on his neck..... musta been the cutest thing!! :D
He was awesome - I had been a city kid all my life, and thought I'd hate moving to a farm. That duck had me wrapped around his little finger ...er... feather the second he waddled out of the trailer. He was hopelessly devoted; we had to lock him inside the barn when we went out riding or he'd try to run after us!
After he died we missed him so much my mom bought two more, but they were old enough to be beyond the imprinting stage. I think Dabbles thought he was a person, and that's what made him so funny; I wasn't nearly so charmed by ducks that knew they were ducks ;)