In a world where conventional companionship sometimes falls short, many people seek a touch of the extraordinary to brighten up their lives. It’s no surprise that the allure of exotic pets has captivated the hearts and imaginations of adventurous animal lovers across the globe. While the idea of keeping an exotic pet may seem daunting at first, there are plenty of fascinating and low-maintenance options that can add a unique touch to your household.
In this blog post, we dive into the captivating realm of exotic pets, exploring the top five extraordinary creatures that can be surprisingly easy to care for. From mesmerizing reptiles to delightful small mammals, we’ll uncover a diverse range of exotic companions that can bring joy and wonder into your life without requiring a master’s degree in animal husbandry.
Whether you’re a seasoned pet enthusiast seeking a new addition to your collection or a curious individual looking to embark on a thrilling pet-owning journey, this guide will provide valuable insights into the world of exotic pet ownership. We’ll focus on creatures that possess traits like adaptability, relative ease of care, and captivating personalities, ensuring that both you and your unusual companion can enjoy a harmonious and fulfilling relationship.
Join us as we delve into the enchanting universe of exotic pets and uncover the hidden gems that could soon become a part of your daily life. Get ready to meet remarkable creatures that challenge our perception of traditional pets, reminding us that extraordinary companionship can be found in the most unexpected places.
Bearded dragons
A diurnal lizard likes a routine of 12 hours of light and heat and 12 hours asleep, typically times of 8-8 pm are ideal which is great for most owners to interact at these times.
They need a vivarium of at least 4ft in length to give them the right temperature gradient they need a very hot basking area with temperatures of around 40-43c ideally a rock or slate is used as the basking area to warm the bearded from underneath when sitting on as will retain heat from the bulb above, a high spectrum UVB bulb as long as the vivarium will give access to UVB rays at most areas of the vivarium, ideally placed halfway along back of enclosure so as not to lose any important strength of the rays, bear in mind this bulb needs changing every 9-12 MTHS depending on the make of bulb.
Bearded dragons are omnivores eating a diet of greens and live foods, typical greens they like are watercress, rocket, and baby leaf salads this food is more for the water content than for any nutritional benefits, being a desert reptile it is really important to note that they don't need much water at all, no water bowl in vivarium as this will up the humidity level in enclosure as this needs to be kept as low as possible, a bath outside the enclosure every 2 weeks and giving washed greens every day is an adequate amount of water for bearded dragons.
They love most live foods, locusts and dubia roaches being the most nutritious for them, morio worms, silk worms are also loved by most alongside waxworms as treats as can be fatty for them A bearded dragon will want to be out various times a day with you and Will often tap at the glass to get attention from you All in all a fantastic addition to most families with or without children they love everyone.
Horsefield tortoises
This species is a Mediterranean tortoise coming from Russia originally. Horsefields need to be kept in a tortoise table never a vivarium due to the need for open airflow around them and no humidity is allowed for this species which would occur if kept in a vivarium.
Tortoise life is the best substrate to use as is made from soil, and loam and resembles where are originally come from. Needing a basking area of temperatures 34-35c 12 hours a day ideally 8-8 pm this makes them a good choice for a family as they awake at family times, on nice hot days they love to have a run in the garden eating weeds, they tend to graze most of the day on foods such as weeds, rocket, watercress, baby leaf salads, herbs.
A high-strength UVB bulb as long as possible is required to be able to digest the calcium and vitamin powders needed for health.
They can live a long time up to 80 plus years so will be a pet for your life and maybe the next generation.
Leopard Geckos
Temperatures of around 88f, 24hrs a day are needed this is best achieved in a wooden vivarium to keep heat in, they are a nocturnal species that eat only live foods mostly living solitary in the wild.
A soil-based substrate is the best for this dry species, Leo life is what we think the best to achieve a natural set-up, a low-spectrum UVB can be used if wanted.
Leopard geckos come in a huge array of different colour morphs with the normal being a bright black and white spotty lizard Living to around 15 years old.
Great for all ages of a family this is why they are so popular. Gets to around 8-10 inch.
Crested Geckos
They are an arboreal gecko living in a rainforest environment, ideally, something like an exo glass terrarium with, low-temperature requirements of around 24-26 c in a basking area 24hrs a day, spraying of the environment twice a day to achieve humidity and for the gecko to drink off plants is required.
Crestie life is the best substrate for them, they are ideally suited to being in a bioactive set up with real plants for humidity and a clean-up crew of springtails/Woodlice to clean the soil, their terrariums can look lovely as a big planted set up with bromeliad and creeping plants all growing.
There are lots of different fruit powder foods to feed them and along with a few crickets a week they will be happy, crested geckos get to around 8-10 inches.
Corn snakes
Babies should be kept in a small tub enclosure with a heat mat, and mat thermostat , set to 88f, so as not to scare them with a large environment, as adults a 4ft vivarium with a basking spot of 88f, 24hrs a day is ideal for this nocturnal snake.
Eating defrosted frozen mice and rats once a week it is a very economical pet to keep Snake Life or orchid bark bedding are ideal for them, you can provide a mossy hide to help with shedding.
Corn Snakes grow to lengths of approximately 4-5 ft long.