May I just ask why the hell you put Skunks as one of the options @LizardWizard? Anyone with a skunk as a pet is surely one of the least popular people in the world?
@Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl I actually fairly recently had a family member in a hospice and they wanted to have animals come see them. The only options were a miniature sheep and a skunk. I went with it because, what the hell, when are they ever going to see one? The skunk who came was super cute and kept trying to cuddle with people. Totally stole the show for the entire afternoon.
During my twenties, I had the amazing opportunity to work with animals for a number of years as a zookeeper. I have actually been able to work with a number of different monitor lizards, including Komodo dragons. While komodo dragons are awesome, they are definitely dangerous. While they can be acclimated to be less aggressive around people, they are still the only lizard species that sees humans as prey and will actively hunt and eat humans in the wild. In general, 3 species of African monitor lizard are generally what I would say make the best pets. The savannah monitor, the black throated monitor, and the white-throated monitor will all grow up to be very docile and even friendly animals if taken care of properly. Other species of monitor can become very tame as well, but are often much too energetic to tolerate handling passed a few minutes. While iguanas differ drastically from monitor lizards in terms of their habits and diet, as far as temperament they are much like monitor lizards. Iguanas can be very aggressive and difficult to handle if they have not been Tamed and trained properly. But they will definitely become very docile and easy to handle once they have been trained. Just like monitor lizards, different species of iguana have different temperaments and levels of aggression. The common green iguanas are usually some of the easiest to work with.
Not that all other animals are wrong, cause I love animals, but I am more of a fish person. Grrr, Imrahil
I think Clint's is a good channel for people who don't know anything about reptiles and are just curious. He's very good at giving facts and pointing out the more difficult aspects of caring for some of these animals. However, the scoring system is a bit off-putting for me, especially when he gives animals that are actually very easy to take care of with the right type of owner a very low score. That and the clear hesitation and nervousness he shows when handling certain animals makes him seem a bit more like a science nerd who happens to be interested in reptiles rather than an experienced reptile keeper. Of course, that's coming from my perspective as someone who has handled dangerous and venomous animals for many years, so I know I'm very desensitized when it comes to things like that. I agree 100% that no one should randomly buy a reptile or any other animal for that matter just because it looks cool.
i think the scoring is more for inexperienced handlers then people who know what they are doing. his scores make much more sence for a person that is going in blind then for a master
There is a huge difference between a tamed animal and a domesticated animal. I don't want to get too political but I am strongly opposed to people keeping tamed animals as pets. Once I met a guy in a crowded pedestrian mall with a puppy in a backpack. "What breed of dog is that?" "It's not a dog, it's an arctic fox" Note the fox in backpack was adorable and lot of women came by to try to pet it and the fox snapped at everyone in reach. I chatted him up, and he had a lot of exotic pets, including several wolves. I liked wolves so I chatted him up. Turned out none of his exotic pets lasted longer than three years before he had to have them put to sleep ultimately because he couldn't handle it. Turns out foxes don't like riding in backpacks like a purse dog. I don't like making flat declarative statements, but if you own a tamed animal (not just pandas) and are not a professional animal trainer, zoo keeper, or something similar I believe that you are doing something foolish and amoral.
well he sounds like a bad handler. but i wouldn't say no tamed animals at all that would mean no pet snakes or lizards of any kind i love my BEL python but i know how to care for her and i know what animals shouldn't be pets. wolfs should never be pets they are to big and to dangerous for 99% of handlers to take care of you are not capable of giving them the care they need and we know they don't take well to captivity. foxes on the other hand can be good pets if you treat them right (and don't put them in a bag and drag them to a crowded place like a mall good lord what was that idiot thinking) the problem is that many handlers just do it because they think the animal is cool and they treat them like any other pet and they are not like any other pet. do your research people!
This. Even if you're getting a comment pet like a dog, cat or goldfish you need to know what you're getting into and what that animal is going to need. Even certain "wild" animals can make excellent pets if you know how to take care of them properly and are willing to do what it takes. But you shouldn't even get something as small as a betta fish if you're not going to be able or willing to meet that animal's needs.
Agreed. Hopefully my comments about the Komodo Dragon were taken with a comedic viewpoint in mind. I am not a fan of zoo's and I hate people that abuse animals that should be wild by forcing them into cages.
I am torn about zoos. On one hand I am not a fan of keeping animals somewhere else than in their natural habitats, but on the other hand: - a _lot_ of them would already been driven into extinction by humans since humans can be gigantic assholes. Zoos are important for the preservation of species. - zoos allow people to see animals first hand, it makes them far more real in their minds so it helps. While keeping the humans away from the habitats.
it also allows us to better study and understand them as to better help them in the future. if it helps most zoo animals are ether rescues or captive bread and would not do well in the wild
You beat me to the punch. Yes, I can see Zoo's help preserve some animals that may otherwise die out and it helps to enlighten people about animals. I believe other measure would be more effective. I am a fan of properly run reserves and safari parks. It protects species, allows the public to garner a sense of awe and affinity for the animals and allows them to live relatively natural lives. There are zoo's that re-introduce animals to their natural habitat after some time and I think this is a better measure. These are my opinions as I haven't done any research of stats. Meaning, how many species have zoo's saved from extinction, how many have died in captivity due to not being in natural habitat, etc. If shown scientific proof that zoo's were helping, I would be a lot more pro-zoo's. I just hate the idea of locking up animals that should be roaming free.