15 Animals You Shouldn't Get As Pets (According To People Who Owned Them)
There are a lot of animals you don't want as pets, no matter how cool or cute they seem. If you've dreamed of owning a rare or exotic pet, these people are here to share their stories on why you might want to reconsider. Read about the animals that make bad pets and vote up the ones you won't be bringing into your home.
- 15 VOTES
Tarantulas Need A Lot Of Space
From Redditor u/forlornjackalope:
Tarantulas. I don't have the space or experience to fully take care of them and my partner has severe arachnophobia.
- 26 VOTES
Ferrets Smell Awful
From Redditor u/SimpleNStoned:
Ferrets smell awful every time I've met someone who owns one their whole house stinks of it.
- 34 VOTES
Sugar Gliders Are Not Domesticated
From Redditor u/BEEFTANK_Jr:
Sugar gliders.
They are very cute and "friendly" pets, but here's the thing. Sugar gliders are not truly domesticated animals. They're animals that appear domesticated because of their social and codependent nature. What do I mean by that?
Well, essentially, something any actual knowledgeable sugar glider owner will tell you is you cannot own just one sugar glider. You have to buy multiple. Even two might be too few. I've read that the recommended number of sugar gliders to own is 3-5. Because they are intensely social animals. They need to live in small family groups or they get lonely and perish. This is how they appear domesticated even though they're not. They will cling to a person as part of their family to stave off loneliness.
And it's not cheap to buy that many sugar gliders. They cost hundreds of dollars each. You could be looking at a $1000+ initial investment just on the animals themselves. And they also need a really big cage, which won't be cheap. Sound high maintenance yet? We're just getting started.
Because sugar gliders are an unconventional pet, you will probably have a hard time finding a vet that knows how to treat them. They're not any sort of housebroken (again, because they are not domesticated animals), so they will piss everywhere. And what's worse, there's no such thing as sugar glider food. You have to feed them actual fresh food and quite a varied diet.
- 46 VOTES
Donkeys Live Too Long
From Redditor u/KittyCavanaugh:
A miniature donkey... they live too long and can be an a*ss.
- 51 VOTES
Porcupines Can't Be Cuddled
From Redditor u/dwc1970:
Porcupines. You can't really "pet" them.
- 61 VOTES
Hamsters Are Super Creepy
From a former Redditor:
Hamsters and gerbils. They eat their babies, they eat each other, they eat their own intestines, they eat their own flesh. They’re cute, but... super creepy.
My Roborowski Hamster is a pretty bad pet. It literally hates being pet. It does come onto my hand or tries to eat me because it's never quite sure where food ends and my hand begins so it is generally rather tame and trusting. But I think such hamsters cannot be counted as pets.
They're also usually kept in very unfitting conditions, which results in stereotypy or (auto)aggressive behavior, and then people think they're dumb and treat them accordingly.