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Very true, Jriley and Tielmama. I think the majority of people don't research before buying although we did. We researched cockatiels in the bookstore and then conures on BirdBoard and other Internet sites as well as in the bookstore.
I learned all of this the hard way: We did have one pet we had to rehome around six years ago when I found out I was pregnant. We had an iguana whom we loved very much, but as her main caretaker, I couldn't manage it while pregnant.
Thank goodness our vet's assistant was ecstatic to have a chance to adopt an iguana and we gave her our baby along with the huge specialty cage my husband had built for her. The woman couldn't believe we weren't asking for money and we explained that our main goal was to find our iguana a good long-term home. We knew she would be well taken care of and would spend the majority, if not all, of her life in this woman's home.
It seems that young people lean toward exotic pets rather than the usual dogs and cats, and exotics aren't the best for people lacking stability. I don't mean this as a slight to the younger BB members, but as an older member, I think being stable in terms of family situations (settling down or not, having children or not) and having a pretty good idea of where one is going to be within the near future make owning a bird or reptile or other exotic a bit easier.
I am not saying there aren't younger people who aren't settled just as there are older people who are unsettled and I am not attributing positives or negatives to either. It's just a difference in lifestyles.
This is not to say exotics shouldn't be owned by younger people. They just require much more consideration as they often require much more in the way of care and attention. My situation with our iguana and my pregnancy is a case in point. If we'd thoroughly researched the iguana and thought about how my pregnancy and our subsequent child would impact our relationship with the iguana, we surely wouldn't have adopted her in the first place.
Again, I don't mean this as an insult or slight to any of the younger BB members. It's just a cautionary tale!
Now, how to get these pointers out there to prospective buyers.... I think the responsiblity falls on those selling or listing the animals for adoption. I think ideally every store or agency offering animals for adoption or sale should have a brochure or pamphlet that prospective buyers should read. However, sadly, our country is rife with strays and unwanted animals so when someone wants to take an animal in, especially through an adoption, the process is easy so as to not hamper the transaction. When one bird, dog, cat, or other animal leaves, another takes its place.
That said, what to do?
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