Which of these animals would you like as a pet

[Miss Chicken]

I have just read this article which suggest that one way to save Australian wildlife is to encourage people to keep them as pets, so I thought I would have a poll to see what Australian animals might be popular as pets. I have only selected 7 animals but if you have another choice you can mention it in your post. YOU CAN PICK UP TO 3 ANIMALS in the poll. - Edited to add - I think I messed up the poll, I didn't meanaged to put a limit of three animals though I would prefer people to only select three.

PHOTOS OF THE 7 ANIMALS

BILBY

HOPPING MOUSE (Mitchell's hopping Mouse)

NUMBAT

POTOROO

SUGAR GLIDER

TIGER QUOLL

TASMANIAN DEVIL

 

[SiorX]

D'aww. They're all so adorable.

I guess the amount of space and exercise they need would be a big factor too though. I wouldn't want a pet that I didn't feel I could keep from getting bored or anxious.

 

[backstept]

NUMBAT - cool name, and stripes!
Sugar Glider - it's really small and cute
Tazmanian Devil - seriously, my love of Looney Tunes had no influence on me picking this one . . . seriously

 

[gturner]

I want an office wallaby. Joeys in the US seem to go for $1000 to $1500.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1vy2HIN60A[/yt]

 

[Miss Chicken]

Of the seven animals I choose for the thread the hardest to keep as a pet would be the numbat because of its restrcited diet. I found this info on another board.

Numbats actually do fine on a substitute diet, like most myremecivorous (I think that would be the word) animals. The diet is mostly a 'custard-based' mix with sand. However Perth Zoo (who took over from the WA's Conservation and Land Management program) found that to actually breed numbats that you need to add a healthy proportion (sorry, cannot remember the %) of native termites to the mix. The termites are harvested from local areas and managed captively, but need to be replaced. Numbats have only been kept successfully at Perth and Alice Springs, although I know Taronga kept some in the 70s. They are not the easiest species to breed and Perth's breeding program is strictly for release so there is zero chance of seeing them outside Australia. Likewise there are few echidnas (abeit monotremes, not marsupials) in captivity because of the difficulty of breeding on a captive diet.

SOURCE

I selected Tasmanian devil, quoll and numbat.

 

[auntiehill]

I selected the Hopping Mouse, Potoroo and Tasmanian Devil.

But, really, I would never consider keeping a wild animal, especially an endangered species, as a pet.

My hubby's boss and his wife have two sugar-gliders. Yes, they're cute, but they are soooo small that, if they get out, they can be easily killed or injured. Plus, they sleep all day and are awake (and very, very vocal) all night long, and don't like to be held at all.

Frankly, I'd rather just have a cat or a dog.

 

[Holdfast]

I wouldn't keep any of them as a pet, but the Bilbys, Numbats and Devils would have plenty of work to do as shock troops in my Evil Army of Doom.

 

[Kestra]

Sugar glider! I've always wanted one.

 

[thestrangequark]

They are quite adorable, but I'm pretty dead set against keeping undomesticated animals as pets.

 

[gturner]

^ Well, we don't always have a choice in the matter.

*threatens to link macroscopic photos of all the little creepy crawlies that inhabit our skin*

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I'd go for the one who seems to most closely resemble the owner.

In my case, er, the numbat, Taz devil and tiger quoll. Anything else would ether go missing or be flattened.

But I'm no good at keeping pets either, so I'd probably leave them in the capable hands of someone who can.

 

[Jetfire]

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

 

[RJDiogenes]

Well, this perfectly nice Thread just took a sudden turn for the weird.

As for the question, I don't know anything about these animals behaviors, domesticatability or needs, so my choices are based mostly on the pictures. They're all very cute, but I picked only three per instructions: Bilby, because of those cool ears; Tiger Quoll, because he looks kind of alien; and Tasmanian Devil, because I'm still kind of worried about them.

 

[GodThingFormerly]

I want an office wallaby. Joeys in the US seem to go for $1000 to $1500.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1vy2HIN60A[/yt]

Some America's Funniest Home Videos-like show I saw several years back featured a clip of a rock wallaby that had escaped from an Indiana zoo and was filmed hopping along a residential street. One woman who was walking her dog at the time could be heard screaming, "Holy [BLEEP], look at the size of that goddamned rat!"

SLR

 

[iguana_tonante]

Tasmanian Devil for the sheer awesomeness factor.

 

[Rii]

I want an office wallaby. Joeys in the US seem to go for $1000 to $1500.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1vy2HIN60A[/yt]

I raise you...

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bTOWxcZC6M[/yt]

 

[captcalhoun]

i picked teh last three. i mainly picked Tiger Quoll so i could say i own a Tiger....Quoll...

 

[judge alba]

I like the bilby, something about the ears seems wrong but cute as well

wouldn't mind a wallaby got a few at work and they seem fairly docile. (mind you I tend to keep weel away from them as there's rumours one eats people)

Is the wombat from Australia? if so then one of them too

 

[Punky]

Wow...that really took me back...sigh

I voted a Tasmanian Devil only because I actually owned two Sugar Gliders before. I did a lot of research on them prior to buying them and fooled myself into believing that I could handle them. I bought a male and female mate. She was pregnant when we got them (which the breeder failed to mention to us PRIOR to the sale). Don't get me wrong they are very cute and loving. They are also VERY NOCTURNAL!!!!! They has this hideous yell they make when they want attention. Not to mention they are extreme attention seeking animals. It was worse than having newborn twins.

They require a special diet and you can only get their food online which also cost a small fortune.

They have the same physical features of a flying squirrel and loved to show off their gliding skills by gliding from on curtain rod to the next. I only had them for 6 months when the female missed the curtain rod once, fell to the floor and landed on her head which broke her neck and she died. These creatures mate with only one mate for life and the male died one week later because he refused to eat or drink anything after his mate died. I ended up giving the babies to the breeder at no cost after the male died.

Very heart wrenching but a good enough experience to learn to NEVER buy anymore exotic nocturnal pets again.