Freshwater Snails

While people around the world have apparently been hooked by land snails and hermit crabs, I have so far never found a mention of people keeping freshwater snails. I cannot figure out why not. While I won't apply my usual "awesome" label to them, they can be tons of fun as well.

Rewards:
These snails move faster than land snails, which is always positive with snails. They also have a far cuter face then GALS (see Giant African Land Snails post) do.

Difficulties:
I don't know anything about these snails skin chemistry so I never handle them. As they live all their life in water all their life their skin is probably more permeable than other snails'.



Feeding:
Mine will very happily dine on lettuce, cucumber peals, aquarium plants, etc. If you do not want them to eat your aquarium plants keep a couple of small guppies in with them. The guppies seem to irritate the snails and make them stick to the side of the aquarium instead. Obviously, take snails being kept in this way out of the display aquarium into a feeding aquarium every day and give them a chance to eat.

Housing:
I keep mine in a small, plastic aquarium with about 15cm of water. They do fine in this. Remember that they cannot swim so make sure that they can get to the lettuce or other greens you put in their aquarium when feeding them. Their water needs to be cleaned every week at least. They can be housed with shrimp and minnows, just make sure they are feeding well.

Final words of advice:
These pets are remarkably easy to care for and large ones can make a nice addition to a decorative aquarium. Just don't expect them to learn "Sit" or "Roll over."

Slender digit chorus frog

This post is about my absolute favorite of all my current herps (the birds and cat are obviously in a different category all together). In fact, it is the only one of my herps that has a name - Kaloula. Very well, so that's its genus name and I occasionally refer to my Gray's water skink as T. grayii as well, but the fact remains. My portly Kaloula is my favorite herp.

Rewards:
Kaloula is the opposite of a 'fair-weather friend.' He spends most of his time a few centimeters underground, digging himself up when it rains (or when I increase the humidity in his vivarium to simulate rain). Why portly? Just look at the photos... I guess I enjoy his antics as he hunts down mealworms too much.

Difficulties:
For much of the time I cannot actually see him. Sometimes, after not having seen him for a few weeks, I get worried and increase the humidity in his vivarium to make him dig himself out of his burrow. I must learn to stop worrying...

Housing:
I house my Kaloula with my water skink (see earlier post). Kaloula is nocturnal and the skink is diurnal, so they don't clash. I guess the threat of parasites crossing from one to the other is there - especially as both are wild caught - but as they would share habitat in the wild I guess it isn't as risky as it would be if they were from different countries.
For housing information just take a look at my water skink post... I'm not going to retype the whole thing. The one difference is that Kaloula needs soil - moist soil that he can dig into. Do not let the soil dry up and crack.

Feeding:
I feed Kaloula mealworms (gut loaded) but he eats insects that enter his vivarium as well, such as mosquitoes. Watching "chubby frogs" eat can be hilarious. First of all, Kaloula was eating from day one. He did not need an adjustment period. I threw in a mealworm and he was on it the moment it twitched. Oh, yeah, they need to see movement in order to trigger their hunting response. Once they have locked on to their prey they will lift themselves as high as they can on their pudgy legs until they look like a pebble on stilts. Then they will stretch themselves in the direction of the mealworm before lunging towards it. They usually miss the first time, well, Kaloula does at least...

Final Words of Advice:
When Kaloula feels threatened he bloats himself, making himself look bigger. I know he gets along with the skink because he doesn't do that, even when they meet. Kaloula does not seen particularly troubled when handled, but I am always careful not to stress him out. In the six months or so that I've had him I've only handled him three times, and that was only when moving him from an improper 'quarantine' setup to a better one, and then into the skink's vivarium.
As with any amphibian, it is essential that you only touch a narrow mouthed toad after having thoroughly washed your hands of any traces of chemicals. I personally like to cover my hand in mud before touching Kaloula - I wouldn't want to damage his beautiful skin... You should wash your hands again after your touch any of your pets, but especially toads (especially if you covered your hand in mud...).

Virtual 'Unconventional' Pets

Here's an awesome website... You get to create your own pet and stick it on your website/blog. Like my Tiggy?

adopt your own virtual pet!

Exotic Maladies

I'm just putting up this brief post to remind everybody interested in exotics that exotic pets can have very exotic maladies. Your average vet might not be able to take care of your exotics if they get sick. The black lump of fur in the photo is a Celebes Macaque. It's sick... don't ask me what it's got. I know it's in very capable hands because I know the vets taking care of it (here in Manila). However, I'm sure you can see it isn't happy at all.

Again, if you're going to invest in exotic pets, find a good vet first.

Buying Bugs Online

I do not intend this to be a cash-generating advertisement, but I am personally impressed by the bugs available for sale on this site. Most are really awesome! I am generally very skeptical about buying animals before seeing them but these ones are not very expensive (in the UK, as larvae or pupae) and none appear to be endangered species. Also, I don't think any can become invasive species in cooler climates such as the UK (where the site is based). If anybody has any information contrary to this please post a comment and I will remove this post.

Giant African Land Snails

It is probably illegal to keep Giant African Land Snail (GALS) were you live. Check! It isn’t worth breaking the law to get a pair, especially with so many other snail species around. Here in the Philippines they have been accidentally introduced and are now an invasive species. If you can get GALS, they make stupendous pets (like all the pets I’ve listed so far). Otherwise, most of the advice I’m about give can be applied generally to many other snails.

Rewards: Nothing beats the feeling of wet snail in the morning ...

Difficulties: Speaking about “responsible” pet ownership, it is essential to note that this species can devastate native ecosystems and agriculture, as it has done here in the Philippines. Please do not import/keep snails illegally. Also, there is ample info on the web about breeding snails, but snails produce so many young that it is immensely difficult to cater for the needs of each and every one in a responsible, long-term manner. Therefore I will not include a breeding section in this discussion. Although GALS are hermaphrodites, you can make it unsuitable for them to breed by not providing leaf litter (worked for me…) if you intend to keep more than one at a time.

Housing: Snails have remarkably simple housing requirements – making them ideal, low budget and low maintenance pets. However, GALS faeces are not a pleasant sight and food in their enclosure rots quickly because they must be kept warm and moist. For my GALS I spray their aquarium a couple of times a day with a hand mister. As GALS like to dig through soil I recommend it as substrate. They will very often also defecate in this, which keeps the sides of the aquarium cleaner. I usually also keep earthworms in the soil, as they keep it aerated, and blind snakes to eat any small organisms (blind snakes, in my experience, do not make good pets. Even as pest controllers, I usually only kept each blind snake for about two weeks before releasing it back into my garden.). Just like with tree frogs, if your GALS are spending a long time on the side of the aquarium, the things inside it aren’t suitable. My setup is a ten gallon aquarium with two snails with about three inches of soil substrate with the remains of plants on either end (I’d suggest plastic plants, but makes sure you wash them thoroughly before using them) and a piece of plastic on which I place their food. I’ve scattered a few pebbles around so that the snails can spend time exploring around them (and, yes, GALS do ‘explore’).

Feeding: I generally feed gals kitchen scraps – not that I’m sexist or anything of the sort... Any fruits or vegetables you’ve got left over: wash them thoroughly and give them to your GALS. However, do note the “Wash them Thoroughly” part. Remember that your GALS are molluscs. Also, snails produce their own shell, which requires calcium. It is essential that you provide your GALS with cuttlefish bone. However, do not just leave a piece in their aquarium as they are likely to spread slime all over it and then not eat it after all. I give them small, 3X3cm pieces every four or five days (I always have cuttlefish bone around for my lovebirds). If you happen to not have any cuttlefish bone try a piece of egg shell. Apparently they will eat that as well (I’ve never had to try).

Final suggestions: As I’ve said, remember that snails are molluscs. This has several implications. First of all, their skin must be kept moist. Therefore, if you need to handle them, make sure your hand is wet. Secondly, they can readily absorb any chemicals through their skin. If you wash your hands with soap before touching your snails make sure you rinse all the soap off with ample water. I’d suggest you don’t use soap if at all possible. Never use bleach in their aquarium. These snails can become rather accustomed to being handled, but keep in mind that you must, I repeat, wash you hand before touching them, and then wash your hands again after you handle them. Also, be immensely careful if pulling your snail of any surface. They can adhere to the sides of an aquarium as if stuck with glue, and yanking them off could harm, even kill your snail. Let them crawl onto your fingers (even if they do this quite literally at a snail’s pace) rather than pulling them by the shell. If they don’t teach you anything else, GALS will definitely teach you patience…

Pet expenses

Apparently, 'unconventional pets' can also make 'inexpensive pets.' According to an article on Free Money Finance posted on June 08, 2005 the "Cost of a pet is $48,000!!!"

This highlights the fact that buying a pet always requires commitment. Although the article refers to conventional pets, some large exotics probably cost even more. Buying a Macaw can cost between $800 to $12,000 and certain species can live to be 50 years old! That makes even the most long-lived dog seem an ephemeral burden.

However, if you're looking for a pet that won't cost more than going to college, this is the blog for you... A number of the pets I've kept have, quite literally, not cost me anything. They could survive very happily on left-over food (either from the kitchen of from other pets) in recycled aquaria. Besides, you can't take a Giant African Land Snail for acupuncture (nor a wild-caught reticulated python, unless you intend to have it perform the acupuncture).

I can't really calculate how much any of my pets cost because many of them share 'resources.' For example, the blood worms I buy are shared between my crayfish and my newts, but I occasionally give them to my narrow-mouthed toad, my fresh-water shrimps and my feeder fish as an occasional threat. Given the current values of the Philippine peso and the US dollar, I spend less than $2 every six months to feed all of these pets (taking into account rises and falls in prices). Apart from that, the only other costs for both the newts and the crayfish is the light cost for the newts' aquarium (the crayfish do fine with natural lighting as they don't have real plants in their aquarium and I don't intend to breed them) and the cost of changing the water in both aquaria (a third of the water twice a week).

Therefore, while a skink gives very different rewards from a dog, the skink probably won't cost as much as a car. On the other hand, if you really want a dog, adopt an adult cross-breed. Especially if you're living in areas where a 'responsible breeder' is somebody who actually feeds his dogs. I constantly hear nightmarish reports of horrible puppy mills here in the Philippines. Personally I would never buy a pure-breed. With an adult cross-breed (I could never call them 'mongrels') you know exactly what you're getting and hybrid vigor means you'll probably have to spend less on veterinary care...

Probably my most expensive, single pet is my Philippine Hanging Parrot.

Rhino beetles

Rhino beetles aren’t easy to find (in the Philippines at least), but certainly worth the search. First of all, did you know they can hiss? I only found out the first time I picked up my male. I got both my beetles from my biology teacher, who is actually an entomologist. They were already fully grown so I had no way of knowing how old they were. However, the female survived for five months in my care and the male a couple of weeks longer. They might not live very long, but rhino beetles make worth-while pets.

Difficulties: While you can handle these pets without much danger to the handler (although, be warned, if they clasp their vice-like legs around your finger they can be rather hard to remove… and they do have spikes on their legs). However, persistent handling can stress them.

Rewards: Low maintenance, fascinating pets that make “unconventional” an understatement. Plus, just look at those awesome photos!

Housing: Doesn’t really matter. OK, if you have females you will need something that can be covered and has soil for her to dig in, especially if you want to breed them. Otherwise, I used to keep mine in a small aquarium with about four inches of soil, a small pot plant, two pebbles, a tap with water (for humidity more than anything else), a small piece of wood for them to ‘explore’ and a food container. The pebbles are extra, but they made the aquarium look a bit nicer. Be aware that they make a mess when they eat – they mush their food into a pulp and the female tended to bury it – so I’d suggest you place it on a piece of plastic. Otherwise waste food might rot, which can kill most small pets (probably including beetles). Oh, only house one male per aquarium and don’t place them in direct sunlight.

Breeding: Sexing rhino beetles is dead easy. The male has horn-like projections, i.e. the long thing protruding from their forehead (look at the photo and understand what I am trying to say). Breeding these guys requires lots of patience… I didn’t actually do it myself, but there is a significant amount of info on the web. The instructions at http://www.harink.com/~benjamin/dhhbreeding.htm are a decent guide.

Feeding: I fed mine purely fresh fruits, mostly papaya and Mango. Generally I’d just let them devour whatever my Philippine Hanging Parrot didn’t eat. As I mentioned in the Housing section, food should be placed in a plastic container that can be removed and washed. How much your beetles eat may vary. If they mush everything you give them, just give them a bit more… If the female is burrowing I suggest you remove the male, unless you’re keen on breeding. Otherwise try your best to makes sure the female gets a chance to eat (even though she won’t necessarily eat anything), but do not dig her out, even if you can see her through the side of the aquarium. You could very easily damage her (even though their exoskeleton is remarkably hard).

Final words of advice: After a month or so I ended up separating my male and my female. I left the female in a separate container I hoped she would lay eggs in and kept the male in a nicely-decorated setup. He became rather tame – or simply too old to complain when handled, but I still recommend you only handle them when necessary (or when showing them to guests).

Exotic pets, exotic problems

Keeping exotic, unconventional pets can be challenging. Sometimes people realize that the cute, cuddly pet they have bought becomes more than they can handle. The pets I have and will list in this blog can be kept as pets as long as one has suitable facilities and is acquainted with the species’ needs. Still, a key component of this blog is responsible pet care. Therefore I feel obligated to post a warning.

The pets I have are not endangered. However, many species have been pushed to extinction by the illegal pet trade. Gibbons are a prime example, as are orangutans. Nowadays it is possible to buy captive-born macaws, but many macaw species are severely endangered. Here are the general rules I follow when buying a pet, which I suggest you follow. Whenever buying a pet from a different country I insist on buying captive born animals. Not only does this make it less likely that I will buy an animal that is sick or will refuse to eat, but it ensures that I am not directly harming ecosystems. Also, it usually helps if you see your new pet’s parents, especially is you intend to breed it. Living in the Philippines, many of the pets I find for sale are wild-caught in the country itself. In this case I would never buy a species that is being sold as a prized “endangered species,” and I always make sure I know ass much as possible about it before I buy it. It is always worth checking that the species you intend to buy is not on any C.I.T.E.S. ‘threatened’ lists.

Another major problem with exotics is that sometimes they escape. Releasing a pet can never be responsible. However, even with tremendous care, at some point one of your exotics probably will escape. For example, there appears to be an established population of Burmese pythons in Florida! Alien, invasive species devastate native ecosystems. Most people know how the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) has devastated Guam’s avifauna. If not, please do research it.

Finally, the macaque in the photo above is currently living in a miniscule cage in a Wildlife Rescue Centre in Quezon, Philippines. What makes matters worse is that it was used to human affection until its natural behavior was misunderstood as aggression: it used to be somebody’s pet. I must admit I know of cases in which people have successfully kept non-human primates as pets. Personally, I would never try it. For every success there must be hundreds of failures, so I’d say it is unethical to try. The same is true of raptors, mammals that aren’t tame, and large, wild-caught parrots. Please don’t buy any of these animals.

It is possible to keep exotic, unconventional pets responsibly. Please read up on the species you intend to buy well before you do so. Don’t just buy a whale on a whim, if you see what I mean.