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'Exotic' pet owners, what are some things about your pets you wish more people knew about? (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago by ericbomb@beehaw.org to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

66 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I own red eared slider turtles, while not exactly exotic it's funny that the three things they are known for by owners are things normal folks would not expect.

Turtles are escape artists. Because they need so much water to swim in and need basking areas, you'll generally want to fill your tank up as high as you can, and then have a basking platform up there. They will use those and filters to try to escape. They may succeed. There are a ton of questions/guides online to address this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHbV5nsDCb8&ab_channel=TheTurtleGirl
They are destructive. You will want to have a filter for them, and they will attack the filter with the fury of a bored creature attacking the thing making a noise. Many filters will fall to their wrath. If you google it you'll find ton of stories of turtles destroying filters/water heaters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnD3cKuFOa0&ab_channel=HMoore
They smell. How can such a small creature smell so powerfully? Magic.

Any other pet owners have secrets about their type of pet?

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[–] pezhore@lemmy.ml 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

African Pigmy Hedgehogs are incredibly cute and have a lot of personality but are incredibly sensitive to it to their environment and will die unless properly taken care of.

For instance!

They need to exercise or else they will gain weight and die from obesity.
But don't get the kind of rodent wheels with supporting bars because they'll turn their head while running and potentially break their neck.
Also, don't get the wheels with mesh/holes on their running surface as their toes or paws can get stuck and lead to injury.
They will poop and pee constantly in their area, which means daily cleaning.
Their nails/claws grow fast and must be clipped or they will start to grow back up into the bottom of their paws.
They need 8 hours of "day light" in the form of a lamp or their body will think it's hibernation time.
They must be kept around 65°F-90°F or they'll either think it is winter and try hibernating, or they will overheat and die.
They can be tumor machines. Our one hedgehog Prickles had a hysterectomy after developing tumors in her uterus. She also developed multiple mouth tumors.

Picture for reference: https://imgur.com/a/nBkbHpA

[–] ericbomb@beehaw.org 7 points 1 year ago

Aww they are so cute!

I didn't realize they are so prone to getting themselves killed though :( Poor little dummies.

[–] CaptFeather@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

They will poop and pee constantly in their area

TIL I'm a hedgehog.

Lmao for real though I had no idea how fragile they are! Some animals are really specialized to their very specific environment.