by Amber Ferreira

Created on: November 24, 2008

What is the perfect pet for you an your family? Is it that cuddly little kitten, so blissfully fuzzy in the window of your local pet store? Maybe the boa like the neighbor down the corridor or the iguana like the cousin of a friend of a friend has? You'd be hard pressed to find a "one-size-fits-all" pet, as pets tend to be as uniquely varying as their owners.

Example - I currently have 2 cats. They're adorable, friendly, they entertain me when they wrestle each other. But I also owned a Bamboo Shark. I'm not talking about those little fresh water wimpy sharks. Mine was about 14 inches or so when I had him, and would've topped out at about 4-5 feet long. His name - Sharkbaby, and he fit right into the 30 gallon saltwater set up I had at the time.

As you can imagine, I warded off near constant naysayers and the overly cautious that couldn't understand my desire to own that kind of animal. They had a horrible, inaccurate idea of what a shark is. They immediately jumped to visions of "Jaws" and those old time photos you might find in bait and tackle shops that showcase the all time biggest catches, with 10 foot monstrous looking creatures hanging upside down from giant hooks. Why would I want THAT in my living room?

The simple answer is, I didn't. What people didn't understand is that there were huge differences in size, eating habits, temperament, even temperature between the different breeds. The Bamboo Shark I had, was comparably small for a saltwater shark, and would've costed less per month to feed than your average dog. It didn't even eat everyday (something I certainly CAN NOT say about my cats!)

The reason behind MY wanting an exotic animal was pretty simple, I wanted something that not everybody had and I wanted the kind of pet that I needed to go outside the box to get and care for. I had to read, study and research for hours before deciding on my shark so I would be able to care for it the way most people would take care of a cat or dog. I crave that personally because it gives me an opportunity to learn new things. Plus, no one can deny that a shark makes for a fantastic conversation piece. I even offered to let the brave ones feed it, although few accepted. It always coaxed a smile from people.

And the best part, is no one can claim allergies to a shark. A cat or dog, even a bird, you'll always have to worry about whether or not your guests have allergies. I rather enjoyed not having to deal with that with Sharkbaby. He was incredibly peaceful to watch just swimming back and forth, looming over the other fish slowly, calmly. It never bothered my other fish and I never had problems with him eating the other fish. In fact, a Copperband Butterfly fish I had, endlessly tortured the shark. That in and of itself was amusing.

So in the end, does this make the exotic petthe better choice over your run of the mill pet store pet? Not necessarily, but for me, the choice was easy.

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