United States
LuckiLara
Multiple dog, cat, and reptile owner! Can't wait to add more species to the list, but our current 4 keep us pretty busy...
I also volunteer at my local zoo, just to keep things 'interesting'!
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 and I didn't feel the inclination to carry them around the house or anything because they were fidgety. They didn't require oodles of time (good thing, for a busy high school student in 3 sports) and their needs were easily met with a regular diet of crickets and occasional diet supplements. I even had the bonus of being able to create whole new habitats when I cleaned the terrarium, which was great variety for all of us.<br>I heartily recommend these guys IN THE STATES WHERE THEY ARE LEGAL PETS, AND ONLY WHEN YOU CAN VERIFY WHERE THEY CAME FROM. With reptiles and amphibians, I try not to buy from pet stores because I want to know more about the animal's history. As well, many states do not permit these guys as pets because too many people let them loose if they prove to not be the right pet for them, and in a lot of states these toads can survive in the wild, making them an invasive species. Invasive species are VERY detrimental to local ecosystems (read about bullfrogs in nearly any state, or rabbits in Australia) and some smart states have written laws to try to keep this from happening.){kind=link}
. Our keeper specialized in birds, including giant birds of prey and parrots, but Sugar was making her earn the trust for the past year. There hadn't been much vocalization yet, but training was moving along. Sugar was proving a new challenge for that keeper, and she kept at it weekly.<br><br>A month later, I was helping clean enclosures, and lifted Sugar out to gain access. We still used treats to get her to cooperate, as listening/obeying took multiple tries. But when I offered her the treat, she completely bypassed it and went straight up my arm. She ended by nestling into my neck line, in my long hair. I had tensed up because my limited experience with parrots, as we know, hadn't been fantastic (still have the scar), but it's like she didn't notice.<br><br>Sugar wasn't bothering anything, so I let her stay while I cleaned, but when it was time to put her back, I had to use the radio and ask for help! It was such a weird spot to grab her from one-handed, and I didn't want to hurt or mis-handle her.<br><br>Basically, I wasn't allowed to work with her outside of her enclosure due to this, but I would always stop by and spend time vocalizing with Sugar when I was in the building. One of the other keepers expressed jealousy that I got her to respond even sometimes, as only the main trainer had gotten anything at all.<br><br>Sugar was used on-grounds for education sometimes, but I always let other volunteers use her because I wanted the public to be able to learn and really see her, which we found was not an option with me. She continued to always want to nestle in my neck for as long as I worked with the program. We let her do it occasionally when not working with other animals or cleaning, but there were few reasons to be there unless we were doing those 2 things.<br><br>I learned SO much that year, and greatly appreciate Sugar's help in not developing a fear of birds. She exhibited the traits I had heard so often in training, how smart they are, their specific living habits and needs in a home, and even willfulness. Owning many parrots is like having a child around, and their growth, health, 'learning' and home life are as important for them as they are for children. They require a huge time-commitment to be raised correctly, and have trouble bonding with anyone outside their first bonding human or family. And don't forget that life span! I kid you not, a healthy parrot can live to 80 years old, easy.){kind=link}
. She continues to lightly nibble as her way of giving affection -- we are working on this -- or asking for attention. 'Pooka bear' LOVES her chew toys and balls... and shoes and underwear.<br>We have to stick with only positive reinforcement because she is so emotionally fragile, but somehow the puppy managed to take over the 10 yr old G Shep mix and the 6 yr old Blue Heeler mix to become an alpha female! Absolutely the first one to bark vociferously at anyone near our property line or front door, and all new introductions are planned ahead.<br>She sleeps on or next to one of us and is in whatever room we are at all times. Loves to chase squirrels, but luckily hasn't caught one yet.<br>Her two breeds (red heeler and Aust. shep) are both incredibly smart, active, and need engagement. This is the fastest dog I've met in... well, maybe ever. And she doesn't jump... she 'levitates'. We need to get her into competitive agility course training, because she'd win awards each week and relish the work.<br>I only recommend either of these breeds for the right families, home situations, and ability to give the dog their time and full affection. She is only able to stay home for periods longer than 4 hours now because we worked our way up to it and she has the other animals for safety and comfort... and we don't push longer than 5 hours, still!){kind=link}
. She and her husband couldn't have ANY pets in the new place, and I had experience with reptiles and amphibians, so I drove these babies from DC to Ohio with my hubby on one of our trips. I was excited at the prospect, as I'd never even HEARD of them before, and her loving description was thoughtful and loving. They had french names (sorry, it was years ago and I can't remember them!) and recognized my friend and her husband and when feeding time came around. We safely got them home (tucked between my feet the whole drive), and my new amphibian adventure began...<br>He is Indian, so the frogs -- somehow, I do NOT know how -- had been raised vegetarian... She gave me the whole spiel and details, but we could NOT get them to eat! Which is weird because they are supposedly a type of frog who will eat basically ANYTHING smaller than them (rocks, etc.), but for us, nothing. Finally I got so worried about their health (2 days in) that I gave up and got the little feeder goldfish. Happy campers! So unfortunately, they were no longer vegetarian (sorry, hon!).<br>Maybe it was the size of their little tank, but they weren't very 'exciting' for me. They were incredibly active when they were hungry and when they were being fed, but only put out spurts of energy at other times, and you never knew when that would be... like, 1 AM. We didn't find many items big enough that they wouldn't eat but small enough to fit in the aquarium and leave space for movement, so they retained their original castle for fun and play, and one or two other rotating items as we tried new things.<br>I'd owned newts, fire-bellied toads, and other smaller partial-terrarium/partial-aquarium animals that I'd truly loved and enjoyed prior to these two, and I feel bad that they and I never clicked. Maybe the straight aquarium setup made me feel like they should be more like quiet, colorful, relaxing fish? That is certainly something they could never live up to.<br>Unfortunately, we lost our power for nearly a week one Christmas week, and they did not survive. I wish I had found them a better home before that happened, where they could be loved as they had been and appreciated for that they were.){kind=link}