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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 1986)
An Exotic Menagerie Some local animal lovers just aren't satisfied with anything less than extraordinary pets. Dogs and cals are nice, most of the tiinc. but for some people only an exotic pel will do. You used lo hear about them all the lime, an unusual animal someone was keeping as a pel However, in the last 10 years it has become illegal to keep or sell some of the once popular animals, such as monkeys, ocelots and the larger cats But there are still plenty of strange animals in the homes of Eugene residents Area pet store managers say they stick mostly to stocking and selling typical domestic animals though some stores offer slight variations from the norm Bren da Henry of Little (Xcan pet store says large snakes, li/ards and exotic fish arc some of the more unusual pets sold The store also stocks caimans, or pet crocodiles, which Henry says will “<fat anything” and often grow to be four feet long Boa constrictors, pythons, king snakes, chameleons, gheckos and iguanas arc popular pur chases from among the reptile family. Melissa ivcs oougni ncr un ombian boa constrictor, David, and her conchcad li/ard, Conie. from Little Ocean. Ives and Da\ id recently celebrated their one year anniversary together David got a rat “I had to wait to get him until I moved out of my house,” Ives said It seems her mother detests the idea of snakes. On a diet of four rats every one to two weeks. David has grown to live feet two inches in four years, and Ives estimates he should reach eight to 10 feet in length Ives' friends have mixed reactions to her pet. and she gets asked many questions When people are around, it helps lor David to be holding his own pet, a plastic frog named Jasper. “He doesn't look as threatening when he's holding it with his tail.” Ives says. With a male boa in the room, one could almost forget about Come, who is only a foot and a hall long and blends into his en vironment by standing stock still "He doesn't have a cage he's very independent When he wants to eat he gets on top of his box of crickets, and I feed him,” Ives says. Hut she suspects Conie might be* a bit "mentally slow ” “To gel him to drink I have to put him in his water dish so he can feci the water on his feet “ She also described Conic's had case of what she calls “aquarium complex." “We can't keep him in an aquarium because all he does is scratch at the glass for hours. Even in this big apartment he will go to the window and scratch on the glass. He thinks he's in a big aquarium." Ives' roommate, I .aura Bar tholomew, also has a fetish for the big snakes although hers is a red tailed boa named Sheba “They say boas are the labrador retrievers of the snake world. They tolerate a lot,” Bar tholomew says. It’s a busy household in which the two snake-lovers live. In ad dition to the two boas and the lizard, Bartholomew also has two smaller lizards, two parakeets, a cockaticl and a cou ple fish tanks complete with a newt or two. And it’s all done legally in the confines of their apartment laws “We can't have any animals that carry fleas, but our manager seems to like them (the snakes),” Bartholomew says. University freshman Melissa Schwartz also has an unusual pet that seems to have the run of her house Her ferret, Nikolai, is seven months old and is n«»t con fined to a cage regularly. She swears he's totally potty trained "You've heard of stupid pet tricks. ' Schwartz says. "Watch this." Tempted by a drop of sticky vitamin/mineral supple ment. Nikolai first sniffs then props himself up impressively on his hind feet A satisfying lip smacking is evidence his reward was well worth the effort High quality cat food is Nikolai s main staple, but he eats things like grapes and potato chips to supplement his diet. "He's a fiend for chocolate,” Schwartz says He’s also a licnd for her roommates' socks. “He's a kleptomaniac." she says. Veterinarian T homas Danclski specializes in the treat ment of exotic animals and says most problems with unusual pets are nutrition based. "Most have inadequate diets or calcium defi ciencies. A lot of times they come in with pathological frac tures from falling off a table or something, and their bones aren't strong enough." he says Danelski is glad to see the dropoff of exotic animals as Musique Gourmet Catering to Discriminating Reccfrd Collectors CLASSICAL, OPSRA ft MLM MUSIC ON COMPACT DISCS DC BIS EMI TEIARC IONOON PHILIPS CHANOOS VARESE SARABANDE harmonia munch WINDHAM HILL HUNGAROTON PRO ARTE TElDEC 1 MORE Open Sundays 9 5 I located inside ■RAOMNtD'S on trie Mall 345-9000 I aura Bartholomem holds her red-tail boa constrictor. Shehu, ufler allowing her to run loose in her apartment. Bartholomew says she has to he careful the boa doesn't get under the refrigerator. German AUTO SERVICE VW’S MERCEDES BMW’S DATSUN TOYOTA Rehstti* service for your 0/10 OQ1 O 2025 Franklin Bivd foreign car since 1963 \ mL Eugene Or© 97403