I’ve had many pets in my lifetime, but every single one of them has been a “normal” choice, not at all unusual, with one exception. The orphaned chipmunk I rescued from our family’s cats at the end of one summer away wasn’t fated to last long. I’m certain my parents understood that. I’m also certain I did my little-kid best to “shame” them into allowing me to give it a try. I probably assigned them a large percentage of the blame for the tiny animal’s situation, and they obviously accepted that blame. After all, my parents, as adults, took responsibility for whatever occurred in our family, right? The little guy lasted for a few days after we made it home. He was buried in our back yard.
Other than the chipmunk and one small turtle my college roommate and I kept for a year, all of my pets have been either cats, starting when I was a little kid, and then dogs, starting when I was well into adulthood. Much later, I finally got a pet I’d wanted for a long time, after meeting two of them that lived with friends years earlier—I got a ferret. I’d been absolutely correct: ferrets can be wonderful pets. I ended up with several of them in the next decade-plus. I learned a lot. Ferrets can be heartbreakers. They have so many health issues. On average, they do not live very long, not in full health for sure. Their physical issues can be extremely expensive to treat, if they’re treatable at all.
I wanted to know about some “other” non-traditional pets that my friends might have lived with.
I asked my friends on social media about the most unusual pet or pets they’d ever had. I got some stories—some going back to my friends’ childhoods, some about some “pets” I’d never even heard of!
Amy Suggars (Ohio) When I was in graduate school at North Carolina State University, I kept a small colony of spider beetles on my desk. Spider beetles are tiny insects that look like spiders but are actually beetles. So they aren’t venomous or anything. I think my colony qualified as pets because I fed them, took care of them, and liked to watch their behavior. Similar to keeping an ant farm!
Tiffany Copley (Ohio) Hard to choose. Skunks. Hissing cockroaches. Mudskippers. Giant millipedes. Toads.
Timothy Page (Oregon) My ex brought a rubber boa into the home. Fortunately for the snake, it escaped. They are native here in Western Oregon. Their tails look like their heads. They are small and non-venomous, about the size of a garter snake. They aren’t big enough to wrap around even a baby. They’re pretty mellow. The “yikes” is that it was snake-napped (if I can coin such a word) out of its environment. I don’t think most people have seen them, as they are the reclusive type. Their range includes Spokane, so they may be living right in your neighborhood.
Donna Weidert (Washington) My Sun Conure, Rowan. I was in Petco for dog treats and walked into the room that they had parrots in. Rowan came across his cage and was chittering like he was really excited. I asked the employee in the parrot room if this was normal behavior and she had never seen him do that. I stood at his cage and talked to him for a while. He knew me. And he knew I was supposed to take him home. I told my husband about him (my husband was not impressed) but I dragged him to the Petco and Rowan did the same thing again. And my husband was convinced that Rowan was choosing me. I knew zero about parrots, but I’ve learned!
Photo by Donna Weidert
Reed Cundiff (New Mexico) [It was a] black widow spider that I kept in a large sweet-relish jar in my physics graduate school office. Fed her cockroaches. I found her in a garage and took her to the office, as I was curious. She was scared and retreated to the lid of the jar when I threw a cockroach in. Next day, the cockroach was wrapped in silk and hanging from the lid. A student named the spider “Sweet Relish.” I released her at the end of spring term since I had a summer job in Albuquerque. She was popular.
Jill Gibbs (Montana) Tarantula. We lived in a pop-up camper for four months in California while my dad was in the military. My brother, who was seven at the time, was filling a hole with water just because it was there. This huge tarantula came crawling out. My dad caught it and brought it home to Montana. He took it to his classes (he was a high-school English teacher). I think he used it as a teaching project. Not sure, as I was only six at the time and spiders were creepy.
Dave Koch (Washington) A baby rubber boa my son found under a rock. We thought it was a worm until we noticed it had eyes.
Rita Bierley (Ohio) Flash! A skunk . . . miss that little sucker! In 1976, I saw him in a pet store and he was the cutest little thing! I bought him, got a litter box, litter, food, and a crate for him, and took him home. I named him Flash (he “zoomed” a lot!). I was active-duty Navy but worked steady hours and he was an easy-going little guy. He and my dog (a wonderful border collie mix) were best buds. The only thing about a skunk is that they will eat as long as there is food available—so no leaving food of ANY kind out! He escaped his enclosure once while I was away and got into the dog-food bag. When I came home, he was IN the bag chowing down. He was VERY bloated. I called the vet and he told me to put him in the bathtub (he couldn’t get out due to the high sides), to not give him water for a while, and to let nature take its course. He barfed a lot, defecated a lot, and finally seemed to go back to his normal size. Also, skunks are very “tidy” . . . he would use just one area of his litter box. But another time he got out and couldn’t get back to where his litter box was so he climbed a “mountain” of clothes, shoes, and blankets I had in my closet, backed himself into a corner, and crapped! All the way down the corner to the floor . . . that was fun to clean up (not)! The vet told me that cat food would be best for him, and he was a good eater. Very affectionate and playful. I would walk him along with my dog (he wore a cat harness). He had beautiful markings and got a lot of compliments. While I was driving, he liked to drape himself across my shoulders like a muffler. He behaved like an affectionate cat that loved people and other animals. It broke my heart when I had to give him away because I was being transferred overseas. (My parents took in my dog, but didn’t want Flash.) I would not recommend having one now, but he was a great pet and was perfect for living in an apartment!
What’s the most unusual pet you’ve ever had?
How did you come to have that critter as a pet?
What did you learn from that very unusual pet?
