Ranking PZ's animals by Ability to Keep as a Pet

Mjmannella

Mjmannella
Just a small thought experiment out of boredom, I was curious to see how feasible it'd be to keep PZ's animals as pets. Bellow is my personal ranking, all tiers minus the last one are roughly ordered:
Pets.png

Here's a brief overview of what's meant by each tier:
  • Ideal - optimal animals that pose minimal risk while also having relatively simple care requirements
  • Some Upkeep - needier animals that make them more challenging but ultimately not unreasonable
  • High Demands - generally composed of animals that often appear as pets but are far more demanding than what most people could provide
  • Dubious - this is kind-of a "limbo" tier where they often appear in pet settings but probably shouldn't be there due to legal and welfare concerns
  • Possible but Highly Dangerous - animals that, while not impossible to give adequate care, come with such high risks that they're considered unreasonable despite several successful cases
  • lol - filler tier for animals that are essentially unavailable as pets or are way too demanding for them to be considerable options
Ultimately this is just my opinion so I'm willing to hear what people could suggest to modify this list so it's more adequate. Let me know your thoughts bellow!
 

Alexjh

Alexjh
I think lol tier could probably be split into "a Bad Idea" and "It's definitely gonna kill you" cos like, say, a Badger is a bad idea, but on an entirely different level to trying to have say, a pet polar bear.
 

biggest_dreamer

biggest_dreamer
Fun idea! I'd say if fennec, caracal, and ASCO go into the dubious tier, then that could probably also include the prairie dog and wallaby, and perhaps even saki and binturong. I've seen them all in pet settings to about the same degree. It seems like they're all manageable if you have sufficient time, knowledge, space, and money, but that of course would preclude 99.9% of would-be owners right off the bat.

Dingos might be an odd one where I understand them to be kept as pets in some places and contexts in Australia, with certain individuals having temperaments not too far off from a similarly sized domestic dog. But I also don't claim to know how hybridized such individuals are, or how many failures there are compared to successes. Still, as mentioned above, I think there's a pretty massive gap between them and something like a polar bear or gorilla.
 

Milurian

Milurian
Mjmannella said:
Just a small thought experiment out of boredom, I was curious to see how feasible it'd be to keep PZ's animals as pets. Bellow is my personal ranking, all tiers minus the last one are roughly ordered:
View attachment 430435
Here's a brief overview of what's meant by each tier:
  • Ideal - optimal animals that pose minimal risk while also having relatively simple care requirements
  • Some Upkeep - needier animals that make them more challenging but ultimately not unreasonable
  • High Demands - generally composed of animals that often appear as pets but are far more demanding than what most people could provide
  • Dubious - this is kind-of a "limbo" tier where they often appear in pet settings but probably shouldn't be there due to legal and welfare concerns
  • Possible but Highly Dangerous - animals that, while not impossible to give adequate care, come with such high risks that they're considered unreasonable despite several successful cases
  • lol - filler tier for animals that are essentially unavailable as pets or are way too demanding for them to be considerable options
Ultimately this is just my opinion so I'm willing to hear what people could suggest to modify this list so it's more adequate. Let me know your thoughts bellow!
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I know multiple people who have had kangaroo as pets including my mother so it is definitely possible and not that intensive should be in dubious or high demands same with the wallaby. The dingo is also pet material simply because I can guarantee that multiple people are currently keeping dingo domestic dog hybrids without even realising it so it should be the very least in dubious.
 

Chuditch

Chuditch
Pure dingoes are also kept as pets in Australia, but the legality of the private ownership of dingoes or dingo-dog hybrids differs depending on where you live. In Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania it's illegal, in New South Wales and Western Australia it's unregulated, whilst in the Northern Territory, Victoria and the ACT it requires a permit. Generally it's discouraged to keep them as pets because they're not like domestic dogs and not suitable to be kept by the average person - unfortunately lots end up being put down because people underestimate the challenges that come with owning one and they're very difficult to rehome once they bond with their adopters.

I think a funnier (and more dangerous) native animal kept as a pet in Australia are saltwater crocodiles - obviously not a pet I'd recommend for most people, but it's legal in the Northern Territory and Victoria with a permit.
 
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Veah

Veah
Cheetah were used in ancient Persia, India and Egypt just like domestic hounds, for hunting, and they can be pretty affectionate.
Stripped hyenas and ocelots can also be suitable pets, although demanding ones.
Both iguanas can be pets, not just one.
And I've also known of Aldabra giant tortoises held in private gardens. They aren't different than other smaller pet tortoises, you just need a proper space instead of a small terrarium.

In general I think the OP list underestimate how possible is to have an animal as a pet. Unless you are considering strict space requirements (e.g. your pet cheetah needs to run sometimes, but that could also be said of a horse), or very important law issues (animals that are very protected or that are invasive species, but that changes depending on the countries).
 

Richmountain112

R
Marvinb said:
Just going with herps and inverts because pretty much all of the mammals dont make great pets for the average person, yes also the domestics. And just ranking whats available in the pet trade in the first place.
View attachment 430516
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Sounds cool. If Leopard Geckos were in Planet Zoo they'd be top tier, and why is the Bullfrog in wild-caught only tier when both them and their tadpoles are available for sale everywhere?
 

Marvinb

Marvinb
Richmountain112 said:
Sounds cool. If Leopard Geckos were in Planet Zoo they'd be top tier, and why is the Bullfrog in wild-caught only tier when both them and their tadpoles are available for sale everywhere?
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I reckon they are available everywhere (in the us?) because they are wild caught. I just went with whats available in germany/europe and i think they are actually banned here due to being invasive
 

Marvinb

Marvinb
Richmountain112 said:
Sounds cool. If Leopard Geckos were in Planet Zoo they'd be top tier
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Imo the highest ranking reptile would be the chameleon gecko(s) (eurydactylodes genus)

-Very small, hence doesnt need as much space as pretty much any other reptile
-Feeds on a premade diet that you just have to mix with water so you dont have to deal with feeder insects/rodents or fresh greens
-Is fine on ever so lightly higher room temperature (22°), so you dont really need any equipment to keep them
-Slow moving, pretty much no risk of them escaping
-Always visible regardless if day or night, in nature they rely on camouflage and even when they sleep they just sit right in the open.
-Can become surprisingly tame, tiny lizards are usually very skittish

Like legit the only downside these guys have is that they are harder to find and on average a little more expensive than your bearded dragons, leopard- or crested geckos

10/10 pet reptile
 

Richmountain112

R
Marvinb said:
I reckon they are available everywhere (in the us?) because they are wild caught. I just went with whats available in germany/europe and i think they are actually banned here due to being invasive
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American Bullfrogs are absolutely everywhere in the Lower 48 states (and the most common tadpole type available) so they should be much higher on the list.
 

Marvinb

Marvinb
Richmountain112 said:
American Bullfrogs are absolutely everywhere in the Lower 48 states (and the most common tadpole type available) so they should be much higher on the list.
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Yeah, as i said i made this tier list from my point of view.
Like in a warm climate i think something like a spurred tortoise for example would be way more reasonable because you dont have to surrender a room in your house to it and can instead keep it in a pen in your garden.
 

Mjmannella

Mjmannella
Updated based on feedback and with the new species (unordered)
Pets.jpg

I ended up splitting some tiers into parts
  • Legally dubious - technically viable as pets with records of captive ownership but the legal ramifications should be called into question
  • Dubious & dangerous - same as the above but not viable due to a higher risk of danger
  • Untenable - realistically unavailable but would be viable (though not at all easy)
  • lol - simply too unavailable and too dangerous
 
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