One of our CCHS members, Rhonda Velez, is working on her teaching credentials. ?She enrolled in school again recently and one of her assignments led her into an essay about exotic pet ownership. ?Enjoy the reading and offer up your comments.
Hello fellow animal nuts!? As I?m working on completing courses for a teaching credential, I enrolled in English 2 for Summer School.? Only 6 weeks of reading, writing and figuring out formulas.?Pleasant?surprise greets me as each assignment is handed back. ?So, I am sharing my first essay with everyone.? I ?wrote what I?knew?.? The content was not as difficult as the technology involved.? My?first college paper, in the late 70?s,?was typed on a 1940?s Smith Corona portable typewriter!? I had fun?perusing?through?my husband Tony?s?Herp?reference books.? The professor gave me a score of 100 and wrote that it was ?a wonderful, smart, fascinating paper. Very fine work.?. ?
Enjoy,?Rhonda Velez?
?? The beginning of creation sparked our desire to care for animal kind. God told us to ?rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground? (Holy Bible, Gen. 1.28). God intended us to interact with the animal kingdom. We were meant to have pets. Coexistence was in the original plan. My faith supports the belief that before ?the fall? all animals were non-threatening companions of Adam and Eve. Humans thrive with companionship, from each other or, from a pet. It seems natural to have a pet. Something you can care for and cuddle with, a little creature that will give you?un-conditional love. You can raise a puppy to follow your commands. You can train a kitten, although I?ve?learned from vast experience that it is totally up to the feline whether it submits to your wants and wishes. There are pet owners who prefer caged birds that will chirp or sing, keeping them company. Many find solace watching colorful fish gently swim in their home aquarium. But, to the majority of animal lovers, it does not seem natural to sit in your recliner with a live six foot?Columbian?Red Tail Boa wrapped around your neck!
?? A large percentage of folk are ?scared to death of snakes?. We ?herpers? prefer to call this fear a natural cautiousness toward potentially dangerous animals. Moncuit?and?Daoues?remind us that ?in?Judeo-Christian culture, the snake is the personification of evil because it was the serpent that tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit? (15). Somewhere along in pet history animals that most people consider harmful were introduced as companion choices. Exotic pets, ranging from venomous snakes, poisonous frogs, and tarantulas, have gained admittance into the pet trade. I?ve?heard that you can purchase a Sloth from a pet store in Germany!
Domestication and usefulness of wild animals has come slowly, taking years of human patience. A hungry wolf may have inched close to an abandoned fire to eat meat remaining from the last prehistoric?barbeque. That same wolf may have been a new mother, too week to hunt, but brave enough to help herself to scraps. As she and the humans became accustomed to each other, maybe she moved her cubs into the human den for safety. Those little pups then became our first pets. These earliest pets followed along on hunting and gathering parties, learning and sharing their instincts to better benefit both our species.
?? An explanation of the evolution of our appreciation of amphibians may seem to be easy, but solving the mystery of our love of reptiles is more complex. Maybe the earliest humans living and working by water sources got accustomed to watching fish, and we evolved to enjoy our own pet fish. Maybe early humans that observed and handled turtles at the waters edge evolved to be turtle and tortoise owners. Liz?Palika?confirms our ageless fascination with exotics, ?in Australia?s Northern Territories, there is a cave decorated with aboriginal art that features many reptiles. A drawing of a pig-nosed turtle is bright and clear, and obviously recognizable? (11). She goes on to note that ?the paintings are said to be over 120,000 years old? (Palika?11). Did the first pet snake come into the cave hidden in the cupped hands of a mischievous adolescent boy? Our ancestors then heard that first scream from a 10 year old girl! Surely, ?cave men? observed the beneficial side of the serpent at controlling the rodent population. All animal kind have an instinctive purpose.
???Moncuit?and?Daoues?agree that reptiles ?have inspired countless myths and continue to exert a unique fascination. Crocodiles, monitors, pythons and anacondas have all caught the imagination of primitive peoples and given rise to as many beliefs as there are cultures?(15). The early Egyptians idolized the snake; we see proof of this in the remaining hieroglyphic evidence. East Indian culture has respected and worshiped snakes since time began. Our earliest reptile owners may have been snake charmers in east Asia, precursors of circus side show performers of the west. To perform certain duties, early shaman may have owned and used reptiles. There is a terracotta Cretan statue of a snake goddess from 1600 B. C. among the hundreds of precious artifacts admonishing snakes throughout history. Native North American culture reveres all animal life; many of their oral traditions have reptile or amphibian themes. Masters of the fine arts placed small dogs, cats or bunnies in someone?s arms or sitting at their feet but, only a few depicted snakes as subject matter. The monster Medusa, of Greek myth, had snakes for hair. The caduceus, the symbol of modern medicine, depicts snakes and a bird, directing those in the medical field to ?be as crafty as serpents and as gentle as a dove?. Many age old stories involve reptilian or amphibious creatures. Folk tales and oral tradition from around the world caution children to evil or teach a lesson that can be learned. It seems to be a modern concept that the strangest and sometimes most dangerous of all wild animals should be kept as pets.
????Obst, Richter, and Jacob tell us that ?keeping terrarium animals has become enormously popular in the last couple of decades? (7). Sheila Keenan acknowledged in ?Animals in the House: A History of Pets and People? that ?nine million reptiles? were kept as pets in the United States of America in the year 2007 (7). That book was written five years ago. It?s impossible to know how many reptiles are kept as pets today. There are a great number of amateur herpetologists that keep the exact numbers of their collection private. There are exotic pet owners that do not want anyone to interfere in their life, or their hobby.?Obst, Richter, and Jacob reported in 1984 that ?collecting of wild animals and their trade and captive maintenance have increased on a global scale to such an extent that both national and international protective measures have been enacted? (7). Today there continues to be pending legislature that will negatively affect the exotic pet hobby. As preservationists we need some regulations to assure the safety of our dear exotic animals. Michael Starkey, the Chairman of Save The Frogs, an amphibian conservation charity, tells his audience that ?200 amphibian species have already gone extinct since 1979?. There is a theory that endangered animals should be kept and bred in captivity, to assure that they do not become extinct.
??? My husband and I keep twenty-two non-venomous pet snakes in our home. We also own three Russian Tortoises and one traditional family pet: a six year old mutt of rat terrier mix. Barbara Taylor and Mark O?Shea report ?there are still more than 7,000 different species [of reptiles] roaming around the world today? (6). A half dozen of our pet snakes are of species native to the United States and the other sixteen species are from Mexico, South America, Madagascar, and the Micro-Indonesian Island of?Savu. All of our snakes have been captive bred, especially for the pet trade. Wild caught snakes sometimes come with any of a plethora of issues. Patricia Bartlett writes that ?there are about 2,400 species of snakes? (29). There are ten different snake species represented in our collection. As I stated earlier, we own non-venomous snakes. Venomous snakes are referred to as ?hot?. Special permits are required to keep ?hot? animals. It takes a special breed of hobbyist to want to keep venomous pets.
??? Today there are countless clubs and organizations that support the?multi?billion dollar exotic pet hobby. My husband and I are members of four different California clubs that promote public education and the proper care of exotic animals. We are very active, volunteering our time and serving on an elected board. The combined enthusiastic memberships of these organizations encompass areas to the north of San Francisco, east of the Central Valley, and our entire Central Coast region. The most rewarding club activity is participation in educational shows. Giving presentations, sharing experiences, and speaking with the public helps to expand our passion. There?isn?t a feeling that compares to witnessing the expression on someone?s face as they bravely hold a snake for the first time.
?? Adam was given dominion over the animal kingdom, not put in the forefront of it?s inevitable demise. With education, everyone with that base desire to care for an animal can proudly become a responsible pet owner. Whether we are pet owners or not, we must care for this Earth we share with the animals.
Source: http://centralcoastherps.com/2012/07/owning-exotic-pets/
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