Exotic animals sold as pets
Tortoises
While typically sold as ‘easy to keep’ pets, captive tortoises actually have a complex range of needs. They should never be kept in a vivarium and instead require a secure outdoor area where they can graze and a large open topped indoor enclosure known as a tortoise table. Tortoises also need a regular calcium supplement and have very specific UV, temperature and dietary requirements which vary greatly depending upon their species.
Many pet shop bought tortoises are wild caught and have been illegally imported in to the UK in horrendous conditions, with numerous health problems. An RSPCA survey found that over one quarter of pet shop bought tortoises died within their first year and 92% died within four years of being purchased.
Tortoises described as ‘captive bred’ usually do not fair much better - they are typically bred from wild caught individuals who are kept in dirty warehouses. They are transported into the country in poor, cramped conditions with no access to food or water, little ventilation and often no room to even stretch their legs.
For accurateinformation on tortoise care please visit: www.tortoisetrust.org
This is a severely deformed tortoise who was rescued from a life within a vivarium where she was fed solely on salad.
Many pet shop bought tortoises are wild caught and have been illegally imported in to the UK in horrendous conditions, with numerous health problems. An RSPCA survey found that over one quarter of pet shop bought tortoises died within their first year and 92% died within four years of being purchased.
Tortoises described as ‘captive bred’ usually do not fair much better - they are typically bred from wild caught individuals who are kept in dirty warehouses. They are transported into the country in poor, cramped conditions with no access to food or water, little ventilation and often no room to even stretch their legs.
For accurateinformation on tortoise care please visit: www.tortoisetrust.org
This is a severely deformed tortoise who was rescued from a life within a vivarium where she was fed solely on salad.
These pictures show the appalling conditions in which many wild caught tortoises are smuggled across the globe.
Skunks
There are many reasons why skunks do not make good pets: they have large, sharp canines and cause considerable damage when they bite; they have powerful front claws used for digging burrows; and in the wild they occupy territory of up to 8 square miles.
The UK Skunk Registry describes skunks as “messy, destructive animals that will poop all over your house and wreck it. These animals are definitely not for house proud people or the faint hearted.” [1]
Skunk spray is a noxious substance that causestemporary blindness in both people and animals.
Skunks have two anal scent glands which produce a mixture of noxious chemicals that have a highly offensive smell strong enough to ward off bears and other potential predators! Muscles located next to the scent glands allow skunks to spray with high accuracy over a distance of up to 15ft.
In the UK it is now illegal to have a skunk descented, with the Animal Welfare Act declaring this procedure to be an unnecessary mutilation. This means that within the UK all skunks born from 2007 onwards must be entire. Imported skunks should not be on sale within the UK as there are currently no quarantine facilities for them.
The UK Skunk Registry describes skunks as “messy, destructive animals that will poop all over your house and wreck it. These animals are definitely not for house proud people or the faint hearted.” [1]
Skunk spray is a noxious substance that causestemporary blindness in both people and animals.
Skunks have two anal scent glands which produce a mixture of noxious chemicals that have a highly offensive smell strong enough to ward off bears and other potential predators! Muscles located next to the scent glands allow skunks to spray with high accuracy over a distance of up to 15ft.
In the UK it is now illegal to have a skunk descented, with the Animal Welfare Act declaring this procedure to be an unnecessary mutilation. This means that within the UK all skunks born from 2007 onwards must be entire. Imported skunks should not be on sale within the UK as there are currently no quarantine facilities for them.
Meerkats
Zoo keeper Gareth Welsh advises that “The simple answer to whether meerkats make good pets is ‘no they do not’. You can’t keep a meerkat in a house or in a cage. If you let them have the run of the house they will tear all your furniture and carpets. They have a burrowing instinct and digging their claws into something is the most natural thing in the world for them. You also can’t keep them on their own. They are a pack animal and in the wild can live in groups of up to 30. Keeping one by itself would be cruel.”
Meerkats are extremely industrious and in a single morning can dig several hundred holes in search of food. They also build burrows and dens that go up to 8ft underground. A meerkats natural habitat and social hierarchy is something that even zoos struggle to satisfactorily replicate and both their physical and behavioural needs are very difficult to meet in captivity.
Meerkats have complex social structures and will defend their territory against newcomers. If kept as a pet, this can manifest itself in displays of aggressive behaviour directed at visitors to your home
Meerkats can live for up to 15 years in captivity. That is a long time for an essentially wild animal to spend a miserable existence trapped as a house hold pet.
Meerkats are extremely industrious and in a single morning can dig several hundred holes in search of food. They also build burrows and dens that go up to 8ft underground. A meerkats natural habitat and social hierarchy is something that even zoos struggle to satisfactorily replicate and both their physical and behavioural needs are very difficult to meet in captivity.
Meerkats have complex social structures and will defend their territory against newcomers. If kept as a pet, this can manifest itself in displays of aggressive behaviour directed at visitors to your home
Meerkats can live for up to 15 years in captivity. That is a long time for an essentially wild animal to spend a miserable existence trapped as a house hold pet.
[1] The UK Skunk Registry (2009) http://www.ukskunks.com/caresheet.htm
