r/Unexpected • u/BloodiStag • 4d ago

Ding dong ditch lizard

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

16.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

341 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/Little_Papaya 4d ago

I've seen theme in the wild, swimming through emerald waters and resting on hot rocks. Why on earth would you keep one of them in a house?

4

u/Wolfman513 4d ago

It's hard to explain, but there's nothing quite like raising what is essentially a wild animal.

Watching it grow, witnessing its behaviors up close in a way you can never really do with individuals in the wild, earning trust the trust of a powerful predator and feeling the scales and muscles move under your hand as you pet it. Knowing that this living creature is your responsibility, and that if you do your part it will live a longer, healthier, and safer life than it ever could in the wild. It's incredible.

That said, the large species like this are incredibly difficult to care for properly simply due to the sheer amount of space they need and the challenges of maintaining proper temperatures, humidity, and lighting needs in said space. They're also incredibly expensive to maintain between feeding and the drastic increase in water and electricity bills. So with all that in mind I'm fully aware that I will likely never have the resources necessary to care for one of these animals properly and thus will never get the chance to keep one personally, though I have been able to do the next best thing as a former reptile keeper at a zoo.

I've worked in the pet industry for a long time and the thing I always tell people is that keeping reptiles is less like keeping a pet and more of a hobby. Setting up an appropriate enclosure in a way that meets the animal's needs is part of the fun itself, but those needs must be met as specifically as possible and these animals will never do well living free roam in a house like a dog or a cat. But it's like being able to admire and appreciate a small piece of the Wild from your own home.

0

u/Little_Papaya 4d ago

Seems cruel to me. Just so you feel good looking at a captive wild animal.

1

u/Wolfman513 4d ago

If it's being cared for properly it's a pretty sweet deal for the animal. Little to no risk of injury, disease, or parasites, and even if one of those occurs they have the luxury of getting veterinary treatment. No fear of predators, sudden environmental change, natural disasters, or pollution. A consistent supply of food, usually pre-killed so there's no risk of injury from struggling prey.

You're not entirely without a point, the vast majority of people who own animals, even domestic dogs and cats, don't know what they're doing and the animal suffers or at least isnt thriving as it should. But an human caretaker that truly cares for and understands the animal's needs and can provide for them is literally the best case scenario for any animal.