What are your thoughts on huge pet collections?

[Critter]

Lately I have been watching a lot of videos on youtube of people walking around and showing off their massive pet collections. These are the type of people who have something like 20 snakes, 10 lizards, 5 turtles, birds, dogs, cats, spiders, fish etc etc, the list just goes on. I always thought it would be cool to one day have a lot of pets myself but I always wonder about the people who have so many whether each individual animal gets the right care they need. Sure they are probably all looked after well, but does each one get the attention it deserves? How can someone who has so many pets spend time with each one each day? I personally have one dog, one Bearded Dragon and one fish and I feel I can look after all of them equally. I could look after more pets right now for sure but never anywhere near the amount I have seen in some of these videos.

So what do you think of really large pet collections. Is it good or bad for the animals? Also, most of the videos I have watched seem to be just one person with the animals, not a whole group of people looking after them. It's almost as if the hobby of collecting these creatures takes over the fact that each one is an individual with it's own needs.

 

[PeppersGirl]

I guess it depends, like you said, on whether you want to 'collect' reptiles of have a few treasured pets. If they get good enough care I can't see why it's a bad thing, and it also depends on the animal - those that prefer to be left alone without 'cuddles' (such as many geckos) are better for collectors because they don't like the attention, whereas I wouldn't see the point in keeping a whole roomful of beardies unless you're a breeder.

In my experiance having 13 lizards is a stretch, mostly because there's a blue tongue and a beardie that both crave attention. Most of my smaller species don't care as long as they get fed!

 

[quigleysmom]

I think that if the collection of pets are captive bred ones that don't require physical attention then it is fine to get as many as you can afford to take care of correctly. I think the collections that include animals that need physical attention should be limited to as many as you have time to give quality attention to. I think it would be criminal to do otherwise. I agree that a lot of these people have let the need to collect get out of hand. I personally have one beardie and one dog. My husband says we can't get another beardie until the dog dies from old age. That killed my desire to have another one.

 

[ziggy23]

When it comes to reptiles it's a little different. Not all reptiles enjoy human interaction. there are many look but don't touch animals in the trade, not because they're dangerous but because they are very sensitive to stress. So they don't require interaction, it's better if you leave them alone aside from taking care of their needs.

 

[sericinda]

I am a breeder of Rhacodactylus geckos and I also keep many fish tanks and have quite a few other pets. I specialize in selling babies that are "ready made pets" so to speak...in other words, I try to make my babies as tame as possible before they go to new homes, to make their chances of being life-long pets that people bond with higher.

Being I have no kids, my pets are my life and what I enjoy out of life. So I spend a lot of time with them, ALL of them, and almost every single one of my geckos, snakes, frogs and even my fish are tame. I can pet my fish for crying out loud haha. They all have names...even the fish. My 3 dogs are always with me, everywhere I go.

That being said....that kind of lifestyle is not for everyone. I can afford to keep my animals properly. I have the time to devote to every one of them, and I actually DO devote that time. I don't go on vacations often as I don't enjoy the stress of leaving my "kids". My business is also pet-related, which gives me even more time to devote to my own pets since I am working out of my home much of the time.

Most of my breeder friends are not that devoted to their geckos in terms of attention as far as holding them, taming them, etc. I don't think this is necessary for many reptiles by any means. More social animals like Beardies, I like to see in more attention devoted homes. My snake could have cared less when I first got him if he ever got any attention...now he sees me or hears my voice and comes out weaving around, begging to come out. So you get out of it what you put into it. My pets are used to that kind of attention, so I expect myself to give them that.

I see many people with "collections" that I really do not think should have that many animals as the care does suffer. That is unfortunate and makes those of us who DO devote the time and money look bad. I get negative comments sometimes on "all my animals" until people actually spend time with me and them....spend a bit of time at my house and you will have no doubt every single one gets all the attention they deserve. I would be pretty aggravated to meet someone who had the amount of animals I do and not have the time or money to care for them, 100%.

 

[imaginarium]

I have 4 cats, 3 ferrets, a bird, a beardie, and a fish. To a lot of people that seems like way too many, but if you think about it... cats are relatively independent, ferrets sleep most of the time, the beardie is happy with an hour out a day, and the bird and fish don't care for interaction. My bird was not hand raised (we rescued him) and he would much rather listen to the radio and have you whistle at him than come out of his cage, so we bought him a huge cage, lots of toys, and talk to him while we eat or pass by. All my animals are happy, healthy, and love people. Obviously 20 cats or dogs probably is an awful idea and some will not get the interaction they need, but if you pick the right kinds of pets for your lifestyle, you can have quite a few without sacrificing their care.

 

[Atrax]

As long as you care for all your animals like if you had just one, it' alright.
I have 1 beardie and 42 tarantulas and they ALL get the care they need, and I love taking care of them so that's not difficult for me. But tarantulas don't need me to take them out of their tank, in fact they would much rather be left alone, expect giving them food and cleaning of course.
All my spidies are captive bred as is my lil' buddy Ziggy.