Cuddly Pets: January 2013

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Wordless Wednesday 1/30/13

Standard gray chinchilla (<em>chinchilla chinchilla</em>)

Standard gray chinchilla (chinchilla chinchilla)

Monday, January 28, 2013

Squirrel making a mad dash from the tree to a bush.Â Squirrels like this one are common in Florida as well as many other locations in North America.Â Their agility and acrobatic nature make them entertaining to observe.

Squirrel posing

Squirrel's Mad Dash (Video)

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Unusual Cuddly Pets part 2

Last time I wrote about reptiles as pets I discussed some species that were actually known for their intelligent and inquisitive nature. All of them happened to be skinks. However, skinks are not the most common pet reptiles available and not all of them are for beginners. This post will discuss some more popular reptiles and rank their difficulty in temperament and husbandry.

The first one up is possibly the cuddliest reptile in the world and one of the best known: the ball or royal python (Python regius). There is not much that can be written that has not already been written before about this snake. It is usually extremely docile and grows to an easily manageable length, topping out at around 6 feet. It has a tendency to curl up in a “ball” when disturbed, thus earning it its most common name but will also coil tightly (but not too tightly) around a par of hands holding it. This is an animal that you actually can hold and cuddle so long as you do so gently. They also have a long history of being kept as pets in their native Africa (namely Angola) and were often kept by nobility, hence their other common nickname.

Unusual Cuddly Pets part 2