Welcome to "The Niblet", two quirky exotic animal breeders sharing a taste of the farm life. In this issue we're going to talk about the old question of what makes a "good" pet.

We hope you enjoy this issue, and welcome your thoughts and suggestions. If you have an idea for something you'd like to see here in the future just hit reply and let us know. .

All the best,

Ross Lasley	Amy Lasley

What makes a "good" pet?

When we're out at the grocery store – or wherever – people ask us what we do for a living. “We're Exotic Animal Farmers” we say. They inevitably ask: “what kind of critters” and we tell them.

Depending on their personal point of view, they'll almost all crinkle their nose at one of our animals – snakes, horses, kinkajous – and ask the obvious question: “Why would anyone want a ____ as a pet?”

The reason the most popular pet is a dog is because they make a “good” pet for most people. Not difficult to take care of or expensive to feed, and they definitely score well on the "make people happy" scale.

A person who travels might not think a dog is a good pet as they don't want to (or can't) get a petsitter. This brings us to an interesting question – if a “good” pet is like a “good” car - in that the answer is different for everyone - how do you go about finding a “good” pet for you?

Time – Quantity and Quality

Evaluating how much time your new pet may need is very important. Some pets (like horses) need breakfast , lunch, and dinner everyday while some others (like snakes) might eat once every 10 days or so. Some animals (like parrots) will tolerate you being at work all day and coming home to spend an hour or two of “quality” time with them. Generally speaking groups of creatures need less of your personal “playtime & love” time than do individual animals.

Most people that feel overwhelmed by their pet failed to really think through how much time it would take before they got it. Knowing how much time you want to spend on a pet before acquiring one will help with this to say the least.

Personality

Will it love me? Well that all depends on what it means to you – a horse will snuggle but usually only with people they trust. A snake will get to know you and recognize you as its keeper but will never respond the way a dog would. A parrot will usually love you and bite all others. A baby kinkajou will love everyone but as they get older they'll be more like a parrot in that they are a wary of new people.

Expense

This is a question of basic research most of the time – knowing that you should budget several hundred dollars for “shots” each year if you own a horse is a good example. A kinkajou is an expensive animal in that it eats pounds of fresh fruit each day. A snake is inexpensive in that the food costs less than $1 and you only feed every 7-10 days. Do some basic math here, then add a safety percentage and make sure you are aware of the changes in your monthly budget any animal will make. The other thing to think about is the possibility of unanticipated veterinary expenses. Plan well and you'll never have “economic trouble” with your pets.

Facility & Legal & Neighbors

There is a great temptation to start with a “starter” cage or to plan to improve things later – this is almost always a mistake. Not only do you need to be fully aware of everything an animal might need but you really need to provide all of it before you acquire the animal. When animals require permits this is actually often a prerequisite to getting one, you must show an inspector the cage all setup and ready for its new occupant before paperwork is issued. Remember it is your responsibility to know the federal, state, county, town, city, and even sometimes condo association rules/laws and how they apply to you. The last thing to be aware of is your neighbors, it is always a good idea to tell your neighbors about your new pet before you get it and set to rest any fears or concerns they might have in advance.

Commitment

The single most important factor to having both a “good” pet and a good experience with them is your level of commitment. The hardest part about this is to be totally and brutally honest with yourself. The first few weeks any animal will interest you more than it will later. How much time do you really have?

It can help to think of three levels of commitment, let's use a Green Tree Python as an example. It requires me to clean the cage, mist it, and feed it, about 20 minutes a week on average. I want to spend some time with the animal each week, maybe about one TV show of hang out time, so that'd be a half hour or so. If I really want to give it my all I might decorate the cage or work on breeding or have a web page about my animal, that might take as much as a whole hour each week. So in this example I must have 20 minutes each week, I'd like to have about an hour, and the serious enthusiast would spend about two hours each week.

Take your time , think through what will really make a “good” pet for you, and you and your critter will be be happy in the long term.