"I paid 400 dollars to exterminate them, and people are raising them!" What people are replacing cats and dogs with due to allergies
A discussion thread about pets caused a great stir in one of the popular social networks. Users shared their stories about what kind of creatures to get if you or your loved ones have a severe allergy to common cats and dogs. The discussion became so heated that more than 1.6 thousand people left their comments and photos, noted the publication "Electronic Soligorsk".
Leopard gecko
However, everyone's tastes turned out to be very specific. While some frankly admitted: "I'm allergic to cats and dogs, but I chose to suffer," others discovered a strange and sometimes frightening world of exotics.
Giant beetles, leopard geckos, and stick insects resembling twigs
The photo of four giant Megasoma mars beetles became a real star of the discussion. These enormous coal-black beetles, just their sight, made some users panic and jokingly ask for the author's address, "so as not to accidentally become her neighbors."
The owner of the insects was quick to reassure the curious: the beetles do not bite at all. Although, when they were in the larval stage, their jaws looked very impressive. By the way, in the form of a larva in the substrate, this species lives for three whole years, while the adult beetle delights its owner for only about 5-6 months.
Other commentators' homes have perfectly adapted:
- Leopard geckos (cute spotted geckos);
- Crested gecko;
- Madagascan, Annam, and Australian stick insects (creatures that perfectly camouflage themselves as flora: "If they didn't move, I wouldn't have found anything alive in the photo at all," people wrote in response);
- Exotic leaf insects, woodlice, and mantis nymphs.
Reactions to such a home insectarium were divided. Some users exclaimed: "Awesome! Stick insects are so cute! I know the day will come, and I'll get woodlice too." Others sincerely didn't understand how one could voluntarily share an apartment with "these monsters."
The funniest was a cry from the heart of one user:
"I paid 400 USD to have all the insects in my house exterminated... and people buy them themselves!"
Do snails recognize their owner and why do people keep cockroaches at home?
In addition to insects, large domestic African snails have become popular pets among allergy sufferers. In response to one user's question about whether mollusks recognize their owner, the owner frankly replied:
"No, they don't recognize anyone. These are the calmest creatures, they just get used to hands and become less shy."
Next to them, huge Pacman frogs live in Belarusians' apartments. These are large, rounded amphibians from South America, known for their gigantic mouths, incredibly aggressive appetites, and characteristic growths above their eyes that resemble horns. And for food or simply for pleasure, some people breed mealworms, sharing photos online: "How about a photo of a mealworm, just pupated!"
For those who have reptiles at home, one of the discussion participants even generously offered to "give away" Argentine cockroaches. These insects are highly valued among exotic pet owners. They are an ideal feeder insect: they contain a lot of protein, have no unpleasant smell, and adult specimens are physically unable to climb smooth vertical surfaces, so they will never escape their container.
From tarantulas to sables from Baikal
Some Belarusians went even further and shared their living space with rather dangerous creatures. The list of pets included:
- giant grasshoppers, scorpions, and tarantulas;
- carpet pythons and Brazilian rainbow boas.
Some commentators genuinely couldn't believe what they saw, while others jokingly wrote that they were "forced" to live with these creatures for years.
But perhaps the most expensive, fluffy, and prestigious pet in this thread was a real Barguzin sable named Simba. This is the most valuable and expensive subspecies of Russian sable, inhabiting the wild nature on the eastern coast of Lake Baikal. It is famous worldwide for its unique luxurious fur, but, as it turned out, it feels perfectly at home as a pet in an ordinary apartment.