Posts tagged "exotic pet"

Name: Crested Gecko

Personality: Easygoing and tolerant, according to Pangea.

Care: You'll need to provide at least a 20-gallon tank with branches to climb and a temperature gradient of 72 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 65F to 75F at night, according to About.com. Humidity and lighting must be monitored, and you'll need to feed young crested geckos daily, but adults just three times a week. A commercial crested gecko diet is probably best (and easiest).

Common Health Issues: A hardy pet, crested geckos can live 10 to 20 years. Crested geckos are hardy and don't have as many health problems as other lizards, but according to Pet University, they can still suffer from dysecdysis (the inability to shed all their skin), metabolic bone disease, and diarrhea.

Training Tips: Crested geckos are generally amenable to handling, according to Pangea Reptile. However, you should wait two weeks after bringing one home before starting to handle it, and then, stick to just five minutes a day for the first few weeks.

Name: Macaw

Description: In addition to being possibly the most beautiful bird on the planet, macaws are also active, affectionate, playful, intelligent and engaging. There are many varieties of macaws, including scarlet macaws, blue and gold macaws, military macaws, and hyacinth macaws, according to exoticbird.com. Additionally, you can choose the rarer mini macaws, with species like Hahn's, noble, and yellow-collared, according to About.com.

Grooming: There are three primary types of grooming for which a macaw owner is responsible, according to PetPlace.com. First, bathing or showering can be done indoors by misting the bird with warm water and allowing them to dry in a warm area, or, on a warm day, by sprinkling them inside their cage with the hose and letting the sun dry them.

Clipping a macaw's wings will keep them calmer and easier to take outdoors. Make sure you know what you're doing before beginning to clip; clipping a blood feather can cause serious blood loss, while clipping too much, too little, or unevenly can also be major problems.

Finally, routine nail clipping is necessary.

Nobody's going to argue that Bai Ling is a little... eccentric. From the clothes she wears to the interviews she gives, she's a truly unique individual, so it's not all that surprising that she has a very unique cat.

Her cat, Quiji (the Chinese word for magic) is half domestic cat, half cheetah, according to PeoplePets.com, who spoke to Ling about her fancy feline. The cat, which was a gift from an ex-boyfriend, cost around $30,000.

Ling has always been an animal lover, and tells PeoplePets.com, "In my previous life, I was a cheetah or leopard or some sort of really wild and dangerous animal in nature." She's quick to point out that Quiji isn't dangerous, though: "The thing is, Quiji is really the most affectionate, even compared to human beings."