Are Exotic Pets The Best Choice For An Eco Friendly Home?
I recently went into a new pet store and found a massive ’exotics’ department – fully heated and lit up!
Now I have nothing against insects, spiders, lizards, frogs and snakes, but if they are not endemic to your home country – you need an awful amount of electrical equipment to keep them ‘comfortable’.
For example, a basic exotic pet tank (lizards, terrapins and snakes) would need a heat pad on virtually all the time to replicate the temperature of their home country; lighting to replicate the natural sunlight; a hygrometer to monitor the humidity; and possibly even a water pump for water loving species. All powered by your electricity supply.
Compare that to a rabbit which needs none of those things listed above at all – and even eats your left over fruit and veg for you!
Should we be thinking about how much energy our pets take to keep alive? Or should we just compare them a new gadget or some great new clothes – can we treat them as a personal choice?
The Dilemma:
I know that everyone has different tastes and that there are many people out there who loves exotic species, but should we reduce the availability of these to consumers who just want to ‘try one out’. Those people who think a snake would be great, buy all the stuff, and then lose interest after a few months.
That snake could have been wild caught, or bred abroad and imported by plane. The transportation needs to be monitored for all the things listed above essential to the survival of each specific species – and then it needs to be kept in these same ideal conditions until their sale. This would explain the huge section in this pet store filled with exotics - with added light bulbs and heaters!
If there was less demand for these animals as pets, they would be less of a drain on resources. I know that the pet store and the pet owner are prepared to pay for that energy, but should your country be creating all this energy to keep your homes warm and your transport network running, only for it to be used to keep a tiny spider warm?
Also, if your pet is from another country, then it’s quite possible that their food supply is too. Most exotics that need heating are carnivorous – so you will need to feed them either live insects and other bugs (which also have to be kept warm before feeding), or frozen birds and rodents (which obviously need to be ‘cooked’ before feeding).
I suppose you could liken keeping an exotic pet to buying exotic fruit from overseas.
But, shouldn’t you be buying local instead?
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Tags: buy local, electrical equipment, energy, exotic animal, exotic fruit, exotic pets, frogs, heat pad, heating, hygrometer, lizard, pet keeping, pet store, rabbit, reptile department, reptiles for sale, snake, spider, tarantula, terrapin, vivarium, water pump