Do you have a unique pet? Out of the norm?

[msW8ing]

While reading another thread the thought occurred to me.."I wonder who else has pets that aren't the norm"? I would love to hear stories about your pets. Funny things they do. Reasons why you love them or admire them. Frustrations to. Odd actions that make you shake your head. lol

[1QuirkyKiwi]

Not sure if this counts......I used to have 3 Iguanas (1 male, 2 females) a few years ago. I was asked to foster them when a young lad could no longer look after them - I fell in love and adopted them.

Hank (male) was very protective over HIS ladies - I'm not just talking about the 2 females; I also mean Me, my late Daughter and Cat. Hank didn't like being held too much, yet, he loved to lay on the back of the Sofa and rest his chin on my shoulder. He also liked to eat Bananas, but, only if you hand fed them to him, lol!

Jess, the younger female loved to sleep curled up behind the cushions on the Sofa - before sitting down it was always best to check behind the cushions in case she got sat on, lol!

Lilli was the dominant female and thought she was a dog! She loved to go 'walkies' on a lead, lol!

I'd love to have more Lizards, but, with 5 cats (3 half Maine Coon) thy would be nervous wrecks within a week! LOL!

[Julie]

Sadly, I no longer have the pets I had. Just 4 dogs now and one day... No animals at all.

16 Foot Mathilda - Python who mistook my hair for a bunny rabbit. She just got too big for me to handle or feed.

I bred and raised: Uromastyx, Bearded Dragons, Water Dragons, Leopard Ghekos, African Underwater Frogs, Whites Tree Frogs and a number of other little creatures who truly warmed my soul.

Though, while they are not odd -- I bred and raised Show Rats. They were my absolute beloved favorites.

That is all!

[theoddz]

Well.

I think most folks here know about my three White's Tree Frogs, Myra, Ivan and Tootsie.

They got game.

~Theo~

[Abigail Crabby]

I no longer have Show Rats

Their life cycle while precious is too short and the loss too painful for me to handle anymore.

I think I could handle an Iguana if I got one as a baby and hand raised it. It would be interesting to see it skitter at the kittehs.

If I could access my old drive I'd share my Rat Babies with you all. They were Blue grey and just like kittehs. They had no idea they were not kittehs and played all day with them until it was time to put them up for the nite....

[Julie]

Originally Posted by Abigail Crabby

I no longer have Show Rats

Their life cycle while precious is too short and the loss too painful for me to handle anymore.

I think I could handle an Iguana if I got one as a baby and hand raised it. It would be interesting to see it skitter at the kittehs.

If I could access my old drive I'd share my Rat Babies with you all. They were Blue grey and just like kittehs. They had no idea they were not kittehs and played all day with them until it was time to put them up for the nite....

OMG - I had Russian Blue's and Siamese Rats -- My Russian Blue male was a curly and my stud - Spunky. He lived to be 6 years old. BUT, I also brought him to the St. Francis Friars every time he got a cold. I swear it worked and kept him with me longer. He slept in bed with me. I got him on my schedule. It was so sad when he died. I have him in my bedroom (ashes). Awwwwwwwww

[JAGG]

I don't know if this counts , he's not really mine. But really think he wants to be. He belongs to my neighbor, cutest little dog ever. He slips under the fence and visits me daily. He now knows the sound of my truck and my garage door. If he hears them he comes running. He is so sweet I think I love that little guy. He is my constant project buddy. Spends entire days helping me paint, wax my truck, when I mow he walks right behind the whole time. Unless a grasshopper or bullfrog distracts him. I usually eat breakfast on the patio, and he comes over for his morning snack. He never wonders away, he always goes straight home and back to my yard if he hears me outside. Kind of unique huh ? I call mr freeloader.

[Novelafemme]

Oh boy, I could write a book on the pets we have had. I love them all and can't imagine life without at least a couple of animals running around my abode.

We have had ferrets for the past 4 years and I never knew what amazingly fun pets they could be. Our sweet boy Murphey died of cancer a little over a year ago but we still have his girlfriend, Hershey. She is just a bundle of love. She has the run of the house for at least 4-6 hours each day and now that it's getting chilly we never know what cozy spot we'll find her in.

Most recently we adopted two male rats. My oldest has been wanting a pair for a while now, so as a reward for making positive choices in her life, we adopted two...and they are, um, interesting! One is a dumbo ear and the other is a fancy. They get a little crazy and make pretty big messes, but they sure are friendly!

[always2late]

I think that I have had just about every kind of animal pass through my home at one time or another. I used to volunteer at an animal shelter, and people would just dump the smaller animals and reptiles in tanks outside the door. Sigh...I will never understand people and this attitude that living beings can just be tossed away! Anyway, I've had rats (LOVE them!), mice, hamsters, gerbils, a guinea pig, parakeets, snakes, turtles, frogs, a hedgehog, and an iguana. For several years now though, I've only had the "regular" pets....my dogs, and my sphynx cat (although I guess he can be counted as pretty unusual ). Two days ago, I adopted two older sphynx boys that were rescued from a horrible abuse/neglect situation....so now I have the bald feline three musketeers. I suppose my only odd animals from here on out will be of the hairless cat variety.

[starryeyes]

I have a ferret named Smokey. Since they are illegal in California, he is unique here!! I also have a deaf Aussie shepherd named Kelpie. He knows sign language :-D

[LaneyDoll]

I do not have pets now (apartment life). But when I was younger, I had a squirrel. A neighbor's cat killed a mama squirrel that was in our yard. My dad tried to get the cat away from the squirrel before the death but was too late. He did manage to save the baby that was with the mama. So, we raised a squirrel until it was old enough to survive then released it on my grandmother's land. It was a fun pet but OMG, that bite HURT!!!

[msW8ing]

Loving all the stories. Thank you all so much.

[Quintease]

I currently have two rats only one of them is ill.

Each time a rat dies I swear no more, but I always forget

[blackboot]

I've had aquatic frogs that I think are great stress relievers. I had a ceramic little castle in their tank and everytime they'd peek out a window from inside it--I'd laugh. I've loved many rats and think they are wonderful pets. My favorite male would play fetch and hide n seek. I also had a Double Yellow Head Amazon parrot who lived until her early forties. She was my baby. Last but not least, I've also had the joy of one Toy and three Standard Poodles in my life. I included them because Poodles are not really dogs, but are people disguised in curly-hair suits.

[Starbuck]

My German Shepherd, Apollo, all 104 pounds of him, sounds so vicious when he barks, but I tell you he's afraid of his own shadow! I can take him out in the yard and he won't leave the grassy area because he's too afraid. While my other dogs love to get in the truck and go, Apollo will get in but then it's like pulling teeth to get him out at any place other than home. So much for Pet Smart!

Now the funny part: Apollo can see and chases a beam of light on the floor, like a cat! He'll follow and chase that stupid light as long as you move it. When you stop moving the light, he'll pounce on it like a cat and start digging at it. I swear he could dig a hole to China! He even knows the word "light" and begins to look for it if we say it. I think my dog is a little off his rocker what do you think?

[CherylNYC]

I inherited my late girlfriend's disabled Maine Coon cat. He probably didn't get enough oxygen in the womb and was born with three feet, a slight head weave, and very slow reaction time. He moves more like a clumsy puppy. It took him a while to learn how to go in and out the back door into the fenced-in backyard, but he's mastered it fully now. If he were a child he would certainly be in special ed.

Bacchus is the sweetest, most good natured, affectionate cat I've ever known. He has no idea what claws or teeth are for. Caren found him on the street when he was far too young to be separated from his mother. She named him Bacchus because she was so happy that he survived.

[smouldering]

I don't know about Unique but as a kid I always had pets, hamsters, bunnies, lots and lots of cats and my dog Oreo that lived to be 19.
About 7 years ago I had two Ferrets, chance was a cinnamon and Luna was a sable, Luna was blind and deaf but got along just fine for 3 years and then she got sick and passed, shortly after she passed Chance did, he missed his friend and died of a broken heart i'm sure.
Over the recent years I've had a few rats and a mouse that actually lived to be 5!
I have a 9 and a half year old Golden Retriever and a 3 year old Puggle now

[Okiebug61]

My Jasper a standard dachshund watches TV and barks at any animal he sees on the screen. I can't even watch horse racing without him bouncing around on the floor barking wanting to play with the horses on the TV.

[julieisafemme]

We have two ratties! Ginny and Allie. That is Allie on my profile picture. They are the sweetest girls ever! I never would have considered ratties as pets but my daughter's class had a litter and we took home Ginny and then got Allie as her buddy. Allie would have been snake food. Ginny gets the sniffles too but we have never taken her to the Friars. They run around the house and are so naughty and hilarious. Greyson is the best Rat Daddy around!

[SecretAgentMa'am]

Currently, our only slightly odd pet is Gytha, our tangerine phase bearded dragon. I love watching her hunt her crickets and roaches.

We've had rats before, but after losing the last one I just can't do it anymore. Their lives are too short and their deaths quite often too ugly. When I was a kid, we had all sorts of rodents. Hamsters, gerbils, mice, sometimes dozens at a time. We had a few litters but never gave any of them up. Just built more cages. At one point when I was in my early teens we had 35 rodents of various varieties in 13 cages.