5 Exotic Animals That Make Great Fascinating Pets

When it comes to pets, there are literally thousands if not millions of different species to choose from whether you're into mammals, reptiles, fish, birds or amphibians. For people who lean towards keeping exotics, knowing which species would best suit not only your lifestyle but which would be your ideal pet too, can be a bit of a challenge. You might not want anything too difficult to keep or a pet that needs a very specialist environment to live in which could prove quite costly to set up.

Luckily there's a great choice of exotic pets which are not as difficult to look after and which do make fascinating pets whether it's a reptile, amphibian, cat or other animal and five of them are listed below.

A Chinese Fire Belly Newt

Chinese Fire Belly Newts are semi-aquatic creatures that boast bright orange bellies – hence their name. They are poisonous albeit ever so slightly which means they have to be handled with care. Therefore, although great they make fascinating pets, they are not the best choice for young children to keep. They eat small invertebrates and need to be kept in an environment where they can be in water or out of it when they want to. The one fascinating thing about these amazing creatures is they can live a very, very long time if well cared for – anything from 10 to 20 years.

A Bearded Dragon

Native to Australia, the Bearded Dragon is very capable of adapting to many environments whether it's a hot desert area or a dry forest. When kept in captivity, they need to have a secure area to live in where the temperature is between 70 and 100° F and they do need a UVB light in their tanks. As with most reptiles humidity in their environment has to be set at the right level or you may find they have difficulty shedding which could result in them being unwell.

You also need to bear in mind is that male Bearded Dragons are incredibly territorial and therefore need careful handling. Males also have to be kept in their own individual environment to avoid fighting and confrontation. The good news is that Bearded Dragons are pretty easy to keep as pets.

A Tarantula

Amazingly, the Tarantula is one of the most popular exotics to keep as a pet. However, you need to be aware that a tarantula can give you a nasty bite but on the up side their venom does not affect the majority of people in the same way as it does other animals which these arachnids prey on. With this said some people do experience an allergic reaction to a tarantula bite. Tarantulas may look furry but these large arachnids need careful handling. However, they do make fascinating and interesting creatures to watch – especially when they are eating and moulting!

Again, this is one exotic pet that can live for a very long time and if well cared for this can be up to 20 years. You also need to bear in mind that some vets will not treat Tarantulas (or other spiders) so before getting one you would need to check this out first.

An African Pygmy Hedgehog

Adorable looking but quite prickly, the African Pygmy Hedgehog has fast become a very popular exotic animal to keep as a pet. They are real characters and a lot of fun to have around although they need to be handled with care - sometimes it's worth wearing a pair of gloves because their quills can be pretty sharp. The other thing you need to be careful of is that your pet hedgehog does put on too much weight because they do like their food which means if they don't get enough exercise – they may just start carrying too much weight which can lead to other health issues.

A Bengal Cat

One of the biggest domesticated felines, this large hybrid cat is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Bengals are real characters and luckily make wonderful pets to share a home with – they just love following owners around. They are pretty expensive to buy being among the highest priced felines on the planet. You have to make sure you get a Bengal from a reputable breeder so you know their bloodlines are good and that they have not be interbred. It goes without saying that like all felines, a Bengal needs to be well handled from an early age so they grow up to be friendly, confident and affectionate cats. These gorgeous looking felines absolutely adore playing in and around water.

Conclusion

There's a huge choice of exotic animals around which make wonderful pets. If you suffer from allergies but would love to share your home with an animal all is not lost because you have the option of keeping fish, reptiles or other exotics and not have to worry about having an allergic reaction to them. However, before choosing an exotic pet, in order to take care of the properly you need to learn as much about them as possible so they stay happy and healthy living in the right type of environment.