by Brenda Nelson

Created on: November 17, 2009

Many times people are interested in keeping this, or that, exotic animal as a pet. Everyone has a different opinion on what should be allowed as an exotic pet and under what guidelines of care should be met. Even then, are some animals that should never be kept as pets?

Certainly there are many people who keep some extreme exotics and provide them with a high quality of life and excellent care. However it must be noted that there are some animals which do not thrive in captivity and these should never be kept as pets. There are also some animals who are dangerous, and who do not benefit from people kept as pets.

-Koalas-

Koalas in particular cannot tolerate human contact. They are easily stressed. In many tourist areas captive Koalas are used for people to pose with for the purposes of having their pictures taken. These Koalas have very short lifespans compared with animals in the wild. Few zoos are keeping Koalas simply because they know that these marsupials really cannot cope with the parade of people passing by their cages. Other zoos are taking measure to make it hard for the Koalas to see the zoo visitors. As such it must be said that Koalas are truly one animal that would not benefit from being kept as a pet.

-Deep Sea Creatures-

Even marine aquariums recognize that deep see fish and other such animals cannot be kept in captivity. This being due to the fact that their ideal living conditions are nearly impossible to duplicate. Most of these animals spend time very deep and require pressure conditions that duplicate ocean currents and changes.

-Poisonous Snakes-

Granted there are already people who keep these animals, but that is not to say they should be kept specifically as pets. It is important that some poisonous snakes be kept in captivity for the purpose of collecting venom to be used as anti-venom in cases of snake bite. Most responsible owners do not get bitten by their animals, it is typically people who are being idiots around somebody else's animals, who get bitten. It is for this reason that it is especially important that poisonous animals be kept only by professionals and kept in place that other people do not have access to.

-Iguanas, Alligators and Crocodiles-

Many keepers of reptiles are standing hard that iguanas, alligators, and crocodiles, should not be kept as pets. Most people who acquire these animals do so when they are small. Their owners are unrealistic about future care for their pet and either force it into a space far too

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