Safety Issues with Exotic Pets

There are always safety issues to take into account with any pets, but when it comes to keeping exotic animals, although many of the possible dangers are clear, some of them are much less obvious.

Claws, Stings, Tails, Teeth And Toxins

With some of the more aggressive kinds of unusual pets, the threat posed by teeth, claws and stings is self-evident – and it’s something that anyone thinking about keeping any of the well-known bad-tempered species needs to take into account before deciding to go ahead .

However, even some of the most normally inoffensive and docile of commonly kept exotic pets naturally come with a fairly impressive array of defensive weapons and although they may seldom use them, the potential for harm is still there – especially if they get hurt or surprised.

Most of the problems are likely to occur during handling or feeding. While the damage may not be intentional or actually aggressive, as anyone who has ever had their arm grasped firmly by a good-sized monitor lizard because it felt a bit insecure on the “branch” will tell you, it doesn’t make it hurt any the less!

Aside of the obvious claws, teeth and stings, it’s important not to forget about some of the less familiar weapons. Some of the big lizards use their tails as whips – and a lashing from the likes of a Spiny-Tailed Iguana is not a pleasant experience – a number of spiders flick irritating hairs from their abdomens if they feel threatened, while the skin of many amphibians produces toxic secretions.

As with so much to do with keeping exotic pets, the trick is to know your animals; learn to recognise the signs that it’s feeling a bit insecure or threatened – and understand what it’s likely to do about it – and you should be all right.

Illnesses And Ailments

Like all living things, exotic pets are prone to a number of diseases and while some of them may only affect particular kinds of animals, a number can be passed to humans. Of these, Salmonella is probably the single most important. The Salmonella bacterium can be carried by many kinds of animals – and in the case of several of our exotic pets, particularly reptiles, the creature itself may show no symptoms to suggest anything is wrong.

The main symptoms of the disease include diarrhoea, vomiting, a loss of appetite, increased thirst and abdominal pain. Salmonella is often passed on when people – especially young children – handle their pets or clean out tanks, so it’s important to practice good hygiene and make sure hands are washed thoroughly afterwards.

Keeping Pets Safe

Of course, there is another side to the coin; we need to consider our pets’ safety too. One of the biggest causes is bad handling – or worse, dropping animals – which can cause some serious injuries. Snakes can be easily and very badly bruised by a poor handling technique, while tarantulas and other heavy bodied spiders can often be killed by even a seemingly small fall – so anyone handling exotic pets really does need to understand how to do it properly. If you don’t already know, find someone experienced and ask them to show you how to do it; it’s a skill worth learning and can make all the difference to your pet’s life.

Safety is also something to bear in mind with an exotic pet’s environment; it’s a good idea to check it regularly to see if there’s anything that might harm your pet and examine any heaters or lights – and their cables especially – for any signs of wear or damage. Also make sure that your pets can’t get too close to the heaters or lights; snakes in particular have a habit of trying to wrap themselves around them in their search for that extra bit of warmth and some serious burns can result.

Although from time to time the press seems full of scare-stories about terrapins and Salmonella or bites and stings from pet-keepers’ spiders and scorpions, keeping exotic pets probably isn’t much different from owning any other kind when it comes to safety. After all, nobody worries too much about having a dog because it can bite, or a cat because it can scratch!

Exotic pets do bring their own spin to the whole safety issue, but fortunately a little bit of knowledge and healthy dose of common sense can often be all that’s needed to keep everyone safe – pets as well as people.