You look strange they find it cute
In the city, there are people who raise exotic pets and rare animals as company
Gliders, squirrels, lizards, geckos, hamsters... In recent years, some little-known exotic pets have entered the public's field of vision. They are gradually breaking the traditional pet pattern dominated by cats, dogs, and ornamental fish, and become part of young people. 's favorite.
Recently, the reporter interviewed several "breeders" of exotic pets in Jinan to learn about the stories between them and their pets.
Honey Glider breeders "Four Seasons Wind":
Feeding is both joyful and stress-relieving
With a small body, thin and pointed ears, big round eyes, and a black spot running through the back... The honey glider has captured the hearts of many young people today with its cute appearance.
Raise your arm and slowly open your five fingers, and the honey glider will unfold his skin and leap from a height to his hand - "Four Seasons Wind" (screen name) is slowly trying to train the honey bag This way of flying of the glider.
"Four Seasons Wind" is only 15 years old this year, but she already knew about honey gliders two or three years ago.
"This year, I finally have a honey glider of my own."
"Compared to cats and dogs, I think the price of honey gliders is more reasonable, and the conditions at home are more suitable for feeding." When talking about the reasons for feeding honey gliders, "Four Seasons Wind" admitted that she brushed honey bags for the first time. I fell in love with it when I saw the video.
"Its big eyes are so cute!"
"My parents didn't want me to raise them at first, they couldn't accept this animal, but later, they gradually accepted the sugar glider. Now they also think the sugar glider is very cute, and they often touch it!" "The Four Seasons wind" said.
Because the honey glider is a tropical animal, it is very afraid of cold, so the "Four Seasons Wind" carefully built a warm nest for it.
She likes to hold it in the palm of her hand and feel its fur slowly.
"The honey glider is a nocturnal animal. It likes to be active at night, and I like to stay up late, so I often play with it at night and 'walk' with it at home." The honey glider is a rodent, so when she pets honey When the glider is in the bag, she will be bitten by her hand.
For "Four Seasons Wind", this is not only not painful, but very interesting. She likes to interact with it after school.
During the breeding process, "Four Seasons Wind" felt that his knowledge had increased, and the pressure of the high school entrance examination had also been relieved.
"By raising the honey glider, I got to know a new animal, learned its habits, and my biological knowledge has grown to a certain extent. And it is getting fatter and more lively. In two or three days, It will use the running wheel. These make me feel very fresh and interesting." She said that the sugar glider not only brought her a lot of happiness, but also relieved a lot of stress.
"Because I usually feed myself, the feeding process has eased the pressure of my high school entrance examination, and my soul has been comforted and healed."
Rabbit breeder "Belle"
:
Having pets makes me more responsible
18-year-old "Belle" (screen name) is also raising her favorite bunny.
Pointy ears, wheat-colored and white body, it is such a bunny that "Belle" feels a strong sense of healing.
"I have liked bunnies since I was a child, and I usually pay attention to bunnies and rabbit-raising bloggers when I browse Xiaohongshu. Moreover, I will also exchange breeding experience with rabbit-raising friends and learn their specific methods of raising bunnies." "Belle" introduced to reporters.
Similar to the situation of "Four Seasons Wind", at first the parents thought the little rabbit was dirty and did not support her to feed her.
But, "it's a part of our family now." "Belle" said, "After raising it for a while, my mother found that the bunny was not so dirty. And it also learned to go to the toilet in the private bathroom, which is very good. Let my parents gradually fall in love with the little rabbit."
"Running around the house, sleeping by my pillow, running back to the cage to graze, this is the norm for the little rabbit at home." "Belle" said that whenever she came home from school, she would first call "Mai Mai" ”, then play with it for a while, feed it, and run with it.
In "Belle"'s point of view, a simple piece of feed can "buy" the little rabbit, and it can obediently let it touch itself.
At the same time, although the little rabbit is a kind of animal that is afraid of life, "Belle" finally learned to respond to her by calling her name frequently, which brought "Belle" a great surprise.
By raising bunnies by herself, "Belle" says she has gained a lot.
"I used to stay in bed in the morning, but now I get up quickly when I think of the little rabbit waiting for me to feed my breakfast. And I have learned a lot about raising rabbits. For example, if it catches a cold or scratches its eyes, I can see it. With this knowledge, it is no problem for me to guide newbies." At the same time, "Belle" also realized that, compared to playing with mobile phones and computers at home, now she will chat with the little bunny, feed it snacks, exercise together, etc. are very beneficial.
For her changes, "Belle"'s mother also believes that she is now more responsible.
The "palmprint" of the gecko breeder:
More like-minded friends
In addition to junior high school students, high school students and other middle school students, there are also some young people in their thirties who keep exotic pets such as geckos and snakes.
Slippery body, bright complexion, spots and protrusions one after another... "Shougong" - to laymen, it is a poisonous lizard, very "terrifying", but "Pawprint" (net name) is only loved garrison.
"Shou Gong has a pair of beautiful 'Kazilan' big eyes and looks cute and cute."
"Pawprint", who is in his thirties, has liked reptiles since he was a child. In 2017, he began to keep the gecko, and it has been five years since then.
There are many types of geckos he raises, from one or two at the beginning to dozens of them now, and the species and colors of each individual are also different.
In the past few years of long-term rearing, "Palm Print" has changed keeping the gecko from an interest to a love, and has led the family to keep the gecko together.
He also made a funny short video of the process of raising the gecko and posted it on social media, thus meeting a group of like-minded good friends.
From raising turtles to keeping geckos, "Pawprint"'s favorite pets have always been reptiles.
"Compared with cats and dogs, reptiles have a smaller space for feeding and lower feed costs. At the same time, they have no odor, no hair loss, no need to walk, and almost no need to bathe them. It is very simple to raise and also There is a strong sense of interaction." "Palm Print" said that the life and rest of the gecko just matched the work and rest rules of the office workers. They sleep during the day, eat in the evening, and crawl around in the box at night, just in time to go home from get off work. The office worker interaction is perfect for them to feed.
Over the years, "Pawprint" has been looking for fun in the process of raising crawling pets, and his love for them has gradually deepened.
"It doesn't have a good brain, it's stupid, it can't even catch bugs. And sometimes it's like a dog. When someone looks at it, it knows it's about to eat, and it will crawl out stupidly to look at you, etc. Feeding." It is the "sluggishness" and "stupidity" of exotic pets that make "Palm Print" very interesting.
In the process of feeding the gecko, he would occasionally feed the gecko baby with bugs in his hands, and the "unsmart" gecko baby would look at him directly, which made him feel the "fishing" of the gecko baby. hapiness.
There is a habit of molting in the growth process of the gecko.
The "palmprint" will observe and record the process of gecko molting for a long time, and help the "paralyzed" gecko to perform artificial molting.
Adjust the water of the right temperature, put the "paralyzed" leopard-print gecko into it and let it take a "bath". After a period of time, the "palm print" artificially molts the gecko from head to toe, and finally massages it. .
Such a meticulous artificial molting process allowed him to release pressure and gain a lot of fun.
In the interesting video released by "Palm Print", the phenomenon of the gecko shedding skin has also gained more attention.
Messages such as "good healing, good decompression" and "too comfortable" also appeared frequently.
News extension
If you like to pursue individuality, you will like to be different
Young people become the main body of exotic pets
In recent years, exotic pets such as lizards, geckos, and geckos have gained the favor of many people.
Why are exotic pets becoming more and more popular, and who are keen to keep exotic pets?
Why do they like exotic pets?
Children like parents also support
Recently, the reporter visited the flower and bird market and many pet stores such as the World of Flowers, Birds, Fish and Insects in Xihuan, Jinan, and found that at present, animals such as dogs and cats are still the main pets for sale, but horned frogs, hamsters, squirrels, hexagonal dinosaur fish, gold Silk bears, geckos, lizards, parrots and other exotic pets are also sold.
Among them, pets such as horned frogs, hamsters, hexagonal dinosaur fish, and golden bears have been recognized and purchased by many citizens.
Mr. Wang's "tortoise fan lizard aperture" shop has been open for four or five years, and it has been one and a half years since he came to Jinan's Xihuan Flower, Bird, Fish and Insect World.
He specializes in selling turtles, horned frogs, geckos, and lizards.
The exotic pets it sells range in price from a dozen to tens of thousands.
Although the space of the store is relatively small, there are many varieties.
"Offline shops selling exotic pets such as Shougong and lizards are still relatively few in Jinan, and there are relatively more online stores." Mr. Wang said, "The quality of online purchases cannot be guaranteed, so come to me to buy Shougong, There are still quite a lot of lizard people, especially many children come to buy horned frogs and horned frogs." He said that children especially like horned frogs and horned frogs, and they have a thorough knowledge of studying horned frogs and horned frogs, and their knowledge Parents are also very supportive and will not prevent children from buying.
Mr. Li sells honey gliders online and offline.
"There are actually quite a lot of people buying honey gliders." According to Mr. Li, the buyers of honey gliders are mainly students.
After seeing the video of the honey glider posted by Mr. Li, they felt that the animal was very novel, and asked him how to buy the honey glider.
Whether online or offline, among young people, the exotic pet business is quietly booming.
According to the "2020 White Paper on China's Pet Industry", the number of pet owners in China has exceeded 80 million, of which 17.07 million are "exotic pets". The post-90s are the main group who favor exotic pets.
Raising exotic pets for individuality and companionship
Why do these exotic pets attract more and more young people's attention?
The reporter found that by raising exotic pets, people can not only meet their own psychological needs of pursuing individuality, but also meet their own needs for companionship.
"Some pet breeders want to be unconventional." Liu Xiaoxia of Jinan Xiaoxia Psychological Consulting Studio believes that in order to have conversations in front of friends and increase others' attention to themselves, some young people will keep lizards, snakes and other more exotic animals pet.
"The honey glider is a relatively novel animal. When I see that other people keep cats and dogs, but I own the honey glider, I feel that this is a more personalized and unique thing, and I am very proud." "Four Seasons Wind" Say.
At the same time, "Belle" feels that compared with cats and dogs, there are still fewer people raising rabbits, so raising exotic pets is also a very personal thing.
At the same time, Liu Xiaoxia mentioned that based on dissatisfaction with real relationships and indifference in interpersonal relationships, young people, especially teenagers, keep some cold-blooded animals such as lizards and geckos just to project their inner indifference to the outside world, and then to accompany them and relieve loneliness. effect.
"When my parents are not at home, it gives me a strong sense of company, which makes me feel less lonely, bored, and not afraid." "Belle" replied to the reporter.
"Four Seasons Wind" also said that in the process of raising honey gliders and interacting with them, I felt a lot less lonely.
Professional doctors are scarce, abandonment threatens the environment
There are hidden worries behind the popularity of exotic pets
Although the breeding of exotic pets is quietly emerging in Jinan, the reporter found that there are still many hidden worries behind the fever of exotic pets.
It is understood that some exotic pets carry germs, but there are very few professional exotic pet doctors, so the treatment of exotic pets is a big problem.
"Mink is a carrier of rabies, so it needs rabies vaccine, and reptiles such as turtles and lizards may carry salmonella." A doctor from a pet hospital in Jinan introduced.
The reporter learned that there are currently fewer than 10 professional exotic pet doctors in Jinan City, so professional exotic pet treatment will be absent to a certain extent.
"We will treat common diseases, but we can't do those that require surgery." Mr. Wang also expressed concern about the treatment of these exotic pets.
"The current pet doctors in Jinan have a low understanding of these exotic pets, especially reptile pets, and they can't treat these reptile pets well."
The issue of abandonment and stocking of exotic pets is also being paid attention to.
"The boss doesn't take it back, the player is pregnant, I don't want to raise it, it's too stinky." Such remarks often appear on social media.
Due to the long time of raising or the high cost of treatment, some people will also have the idea of giving up.
In recent years, news of the "strange fish" crocodile gar appearing in public waters has been common in the media.
Some of them were released by breeders. After these animals were released, they seriously damaged the local ecological environment and threatened the local ecological security.
In addition, people will buy exotic pets through online channels such as Tieba, Taobao, and Pinduoduo, which brings harm to the exotic pets themselves.
Mr. Li does not recommend buying pets online, because "if you want to be cheap and buy honey gliders from Taobao or Pinduoduo, you are likely to have bad behaviors such as death or bite. And the long-term mailing process itself is right A kind of injury from exotic pets".
Trainee reporter Du Chunna