Exotic Pets™

#293: Dr. Doug explains how birds in an outdoor aviary can handle the cold but wind and getting wet feathers are a danger more than the temperature. Ferrets love the snow! Snakes and fish have antifreeze proteins in their blood so the cold doesn't affect them.

#287: Social media star Chris Gillette really did put himself through school wrestling alligators — and now is their rescuer at Bellowing Acres Alligator Sanctuary in Florida, where he has saved many “nuisance” alligators (caused by what he calls “nuisance people”!) along with a vast array of other animals needing sanctuary.

#291: Mark Hedden — self-described bird geek in the Florida Keys — describes the yearly migration of raptors that has “hawk counters” at the 200 hawk counting sites around the U.S. (follow the hawks at HMANA.org)

#286: Warren Booth — snake reproduction geneticist and professor at Virginia Tech — discusses discoveries about some snakes' ability to reproduce without a member of the opposite sex [parthenogenesis]. However, this phenomenon might be misleading because some snakes, like rattlers, can store sperm for up to six years.

#285: Dr. Doug Mader explains that many snakes sold in pet stores have a venomous bite without people knowing it — from garter snakes to hognose snakes — which you should research before buying. The legalities differ by state, but obtaining a legal license to have a venomous snake has requirements nobody could realistically fulfill. Find out the amnesty date in your state for relinquishing your venomous snake and take advantage of it! 

#284: Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice gives context to why betta fish attack others in her book “Your Pets’ Secret Lives: the Truth Behind Your Pets’ Wildest Behaviors,” explaining that humans breeding for ever more exotic colors in Betta fish have made them increasingly aggressive.

#283: Dr. Doug convinces Tracie that hermit crabs make delightful pets — as those who belong to online hermit crab clubs can attest — some of which can grow as big as a grapefruit and live 25 years! He explains how they need ever-larger shells as they grow, adapting to discarded shells in the wild, as well as human detritus that can meet their housing needs.

#282: Eleanor Spicer Rice, author of “Your Pets’ Secret Lives: the Truth Behind Your Pets’ Wildest Behaviors,” discusses how truly intelligent goldfish are, with good memories — recognizing you and music they have heard — and have even been taught to drive a little goldfish car by Israeli scientists exploring their capabilities.

#281: Eleanor Spicer Rice, author of “Your Pets’ Secret Lives: the Truth Behind Your Pets’ Wildest Behaviors,” talks about how lovely little yellow canaries were once used to detect deadly gasses in mines (“the canary in the coal mine”) but actually have a natural “invisible force field” that protects them when others in their flock become ill.

#280: Eleanor Spicer Rice — author of “Your Pets’ Secret Lives: the Truth Behind Your Pets’ Wildest Behaviors” — talks about guppies being the most popular pet fish which are easy prey in the wild for all the other fish, since the only defense a guppy has is the ability to turn their eyes jet black to lure a predator directly to them, then dart out of the way at the last minute.