I want a smilodon.. The world's most bizarre house pets

[responsiblek9]

 :trx:If they allow them as pets .. what says they cant end up with someone claiming one as a service animal?? 

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100219/forbes_pets_100221/20100221
The world's most bizarre house pets
tigers,Hippopotamuses ,Sugar Gliders ,Alligators ,Bears ,Cockroaches ,Sharks It takes a lot of water -- at least 500 gallons -- and plenty of attention to keep a shark at home

[fledchen]

Many of them end up dead when their owners tire of them. If they're lucky, they end up here: http://www.tigerhaven.org/

[responsiblek9]

 I wonder where pet sharks would end up? We know the allgators end up in the NY sewers spawning horror movies..    

[AshertoAsher]

My dad bought 2 sugar gliders!

I'm deathly scared of anything that is or looks like a rodent so I never go near them. He never socialized them so now they're mean little bastards.

I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. They're pretty smart (some say as smart as cats) and can come when called and do tricks. I still hate them though. They poop EVERYWHERE and there's no way to litter train them.

[fledchen]

They poop EVERYWHERE and there's no way to litter train them.

Given what they eat, I can't imagine trying to keep up with cleaning up after them.  Any critter that eats a large amount of fruit or nectar has some pretty sloppy poop. One reason I am highly unlikely to ever have a lorikeet!

[Eliza]

Sugar gliders are native here, and we can't keep them as pets.  The only people who have them are wildlife careers who look after injured ones until they can be released.

[LolaMarigolda]

I jokingly made up the task list for Ringo the Rhino Beetle about 18 months ago.   

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm55/Scooter_in_Korea/Other%20Critters/scooterbeetle071.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm55/Scooter_in_Korea/Other%20Critters/newcamera010.jpg

He assists in maintaining my personal space, facilitates social interaction, alerts by head butting, and assists with grounding by providing specialized tactile stimulation.

They were fun little critters, but their lifespan (especially in the adult stage) is just too short.  Plus, they are the strongest land animal (in relation to size) which can make for interesting viewing.

[kaika_dragon]

That is one cool looking beetle.  How long DO they live?

[fledchen]

That is one cool looking beetle.  How long DO they live?

The adult stage lives for a few months, but I'm not sure how long it takes for the earlier life stages to grow.

[BlindMag]

allgators end up in the NY sewers spawning horror movies

Snort!

[LolaMarigolda]

That is one cool looking beetle.  How long DO they live?

I'm not sure how long it takes the eggs to hatch.  It can take the larvae up to a year before they go into the pupae stage (and look like little beige Alien facehuggers).  I think it took 4-6 weeks before they emerged in all their horned splendor.  Males live about 4 months; females live a bit longer if they haven't had the opportunity to breed (since they die after laying their eggs).

We had bought a container with 4 of them (two still in the larvae stage, one just turning into an Alien, and the third completely in the Alien phase.  (Calling them Aliens instead of pupae is old habit).