They're already kept as pets in Asia, especially in China. They're not super hard to acquire for insect enthusiasts in North America, either.
What are some exotic or non traditional pets that could have become commonplace?
You are going to need really large backyard (basically own ranch) and lot of food. Fortunately bears are not usually very picky unlike koalas what some have suggested. Bears are not most violent animals but even they can be pretty aggressive ones. Probably only advantage is that bear on backyard avoids break-ins even more effectively than dogs.
Agree. We have pretty few of choices on non-domisticated animals. Animal should indeed be non-aggressive and easy to maintain that it could be domesticated and be popular.
Crazy Boris
Banned
Shrimp is a good one that’s already sort of popular. Freshwater fish are already common so why not?
There’s lots of herbivorous beetles that could have potential. Darkling beetles are pretty common and easy to breed.
For another insect contender there’s cockroaches, but even for the more photogenic species, getting over their reputation of their pest cousins can be difficult and their populations can easily get out of control, people would have to be willing to cull them regularly.
Ladybugs could be appealing to a lot of people, but their diet may be an issue, I’m not sure if they’d accept any alternatives to the live prey they’re used to. Also they can fly, which adds complications.
Phasmids don’t require much aside from water and a plant with edible leaves to hang out in, but I’m not sure if a pet that’s hard to see even in plain sight is something people can get behind
For another aquatic example, echinoderms are somewhat overlooked by saltwater hobbyists compared to marine fish, coral and crustaceans. Starfish, sea cucumbers, sand dollars and sea urchins are pretty cool on their own.
For vertebrates, maybe shrews, toucans, and hummingbirds? The little penguins in the Eudyptula genus might also be possible, I’m not really sure what sort of needs they would need met.
There’s lots of herbivorous beetles that could have potential. Darkling beetles are pretty common and easy to breed.
For another insect contender there’s cockroaches, but even for the more photogenic species, getting over their reputation of their pest cousins can be difficult and their populations can easily get out of control, people would have to be willing to cull them regularly.
Ladybugs could be appealing to a lot of people, but their diet may be an issue, I’m not sure if they’d accept any alternatives to the live prey they’re used to. Also they can fly, which adds complications.
Phasmids don’t require much aside from water and a plant with edible leaves to hang out in, but I’m not sure if a pet that’s hard to see even in plain sight is something people can get behind
For another aquatic example, echinoderms are somewhat overlooked by saltwater hobbyists compared to marine fish, coral and crustaceans. Starfish, sea cucumbers, sand dollars and sea urchins are pretty cool on their own.
For vertebrates, maybe shrews, toucans, and hummingbirds? The little penguins in the Eudyptula genus might also be possible, I’m not really sure what sort of needs they would need met.
Just should pick such beetle species which is not pest and not spread very quickly.
Issue indeed would be their pretty bad reputation.
Ladybugs would are indeed good. At least they can keep good control on pests in gardens.
Toucans might are intresting altough I don't know how easy it is maintain them. Issue with shrews and hummingbirds is that them have eat almost whole time or otherwise they literally starve in few hours.
So perhaps bonos then
. But then we would read news how bonobos raped their owners.Bonobos virtually have no sexual violence. Owners raping bonobos would be much more likely.So perhaps bonos then
Crazy Boris
Banned
Another potential insect: velvet ants. Easy to care for, beautiful, and fun to watch.
Issue with them is that, as of current, there’s no way to breed them in captivity owing to 1) they have parasitic larvae and we don’t know every one’s preferred prey and 2) males often look way different from females which can make matching up breeding pairs hard.
I think it’s possible for breeding populations of at least a few species to be established, but finding wild stock to establish them may be difficult and time consuming.
Also the males have wings. So unless someone is breeding them it would be best for any stocked at pet stores to be girls-only
EDIT: before someone brings it up, yes I’m aware of their notoriously painful sting. But humans already keep honeybees, which are way more aggressive in that regard, so this isn’t too outrageous.
Issue with them is that, as of current, there’s no way to breed them in captivity owing to 1) they have parasitic larvae and we don’t know every one’s preferred prey and 2) males often look way different from females which can make matching up breeding pairs hard.
I think it’s possible for breeding populations of at least a few species to be established, but finding wild stock to establish them may be difficult and time consuming.
Also the males have wings. So unless someone is breeding them it would be best for any stocked at pet stores to be girls-only
EDIT: before someone brings it up, yes I’m aware of their notoriously painful sting. But humans already keep honeybees, which are way more aggressive in that regard, so this isn’t too outrageous.
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Ellis MacVey
Donor
Daughter of two veterinarians here - not the same thing. Not even close. Anti-pit bull hysteria is genuinely deranged how the hell could you even think pit bulls are even close to the same ball park as any of those animals?
Ellis MacVey
Donor
Not even close. Pit bulls have a lot of bite strength, but they aren't really any more aggressive than other dog breeds their side, though they can be hyperactive.
They literally used to be a go-to dog for families with children until the 70s and 80s. Their perception now is largely due to Hollywood portraying them as the dogs of gang members and drug dealers in a very racialized way, which has led to more people who want vicious dogs getting pit bulls and training them to be vicious, which ended up creating a self-fulfilling prophecy about how violent pit bulls are. My parents worked with Bully Paws, I know a lot about this stuff.
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Crazy Boris
Banned
I used to walk dogs for a local animal shelter and worked with pit bulls several times. Most big, intimidating dogs like that are total sweethearts in my experience, the friendliest dog I ever met working there was a pit bull who dragged me all over the building and the grounds outside because he was just so excited to meet all the people and dogs he saw, we didn’t even get to the walking path since that was enough of a workout for the both of us! I’ve noticed that it’s tiny dogs that tend to be the most aggressive, and even then they’re pretty chill once they get used to you.
Ellis MacVey
Donor
This is my experience too. I grew up mainly around pit bulls and mastiffs and they were all incredibly sweet dogs. The most vicious dog I've ever encountered was a chihuahua, though it's worth noting that of course big dogs can do more damage than small dogs if they're motivated.
My last golden was bitten by a pit bull so naturally I’m scared of them, but maybe it’s just how they are trained by their owners
Regardless I keep my distance from several dog breeds in the park , esp chihuahuas
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I feel Chihuahuas have hatred hormones esp for my goldens lol
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Dog Attacks & Biting Statistics by Breed - Stoy Law Group, PLLC.
Getting bite or attacked by a dog can be traumatizing! This articles goes over some dog bite statistics and how you can get help from an attorney.
www.warriorsforjustice.com
Are these stats accurate? If so it doesn’t bode well for these breeds
Dog Bite Statistics: By Breed, Fatal Dog Bites, and States With The Highest Fatality Rate
Dog bite statistics by breed, fatal dog bites by state, age, and sex. We love dogs, but it's still important to learn about your safety.
coloradoinjurylaw.com
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Ellis MacVey
Donor
Well, so far as I'm aware, they're technically accurate, but misleading because a pit bull isn't a single breed of dog but rather an umbrella term for multiple breeds of dogs - the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bulldog, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier are all classified as Pit Bulls, so it's basically compiling the attacks of about four separate dog breeds and then saying "hey these four breeds all collectively attack more people than this one breed that isn't part of the same loose grouping of dogs".Dog Attacks & Biting Statistics by Breed - Stoy Law Group, PLLC.
Getting bite or attacked by a dog can be traumatizing! This articles goes over some dog bite statistics and how you can get help from an attorney.
Are these stats accurate? If so it doesn’t bode well for these breeds
Dog Bite Statistics: By Breed, Fatal Dog Bites, and States With The Highest Fatality Rate
Dog bite statistics by breed, fatal dog bites by state, age, and sex. We love dogs, but it's still important to learn about your safety.
Keep in mind there are also social factors at play, as I said before - the stereotype is that pit bulls are vicious dogs, so people who want vicious dogs and train their dogs to be vicious are more likely to get pit bull breeds. That being said, pit bull breeds tend to be very excitable and do have very strong bites, so I'm not surprised that pit bull bites tend to be more dangerous than the bites of some other breeds.
