Exotics vs. Domesticated Pets

While most people don’t realize that more people are attacked and fatally wounded by domesticated animals more than exotic pets. Most would argue that it is in part because of the popularity of domesticated animals. This is sort of true but looking at the numbers shows a different story. National Geographic reports: more than 20 people in the past ten years have been fatally injured by pet pythons in the United States (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/wild/community/blogs/inside-wild/_pet-python-attack). That number might seem quite large but when compared to Man’s Best Friend isn’t quite as stunning. There were 33 fatal dog attacks just in 2010 (http://www.dogsbite.org/bite-fatalities-2010.htm). 

There reason for this is most canines will stand their ground when confronted and snakes will usually cower away. Reptiles see animals bigger than them as dangerous so why would they waste their time and energy fighting when its easier to conserve that energy for a meal and run away. Rover don't have to worry so much about energy expenditure because he's fed by us. The interesting part is the media doesn’t report dog attacks as often as a python attack. This makes me wonder why? 

 Could it be that dog attacks are just more common? I think so. Things that don’t happen that often are appealing to the media because it gets viewer attention. Exotic pets have lots of potential to be quite dangerous but with proper education and responsible pet owners they aren't as bad as some might think. The secret to good pet ownership is prevention and education. This is a practice that should be drilled into every pet owners mind. Preventing by locking cages, socializing your puppy, and many more.

One thing that is definitely preventable in most exotics is Stupid Feeding Errors (SFE’s). These errors are made when feeding snakes, monitors, and other carnivorous pets. A good example is feeding a python inside its cage. This allows the snake to assume that any time the cage door opens it could be time to eat. By feeding the python in another area this can be prevented.

Exotics get a bad rap. Some exotics shouldn’t be pets for everyone but others aren’t as bad as the media make them out to be. I think exotic or domesticated animals both have the potential to be dangerous. In the end Man’s Best Friend is no more docile than a properly contained python. 

I can recall many times throughout my life keeping reptiles that I have made a mistake and gotten a nasty bite. I didn't blame the animal for what happened, I held myself responsible for it. I remember a time when Rocky my African Rock Python, who already had an attitude problem, took a good bite into my hand. The reason he had done so was because I was feeding the other pythons that I had and went into the cage with the scent of a rat on my hands-an SFE. So it was only natural for him to attack it. I never blamed him and continued to love him everyday after that.