Pets for teens

[Sunset_Chaser]

Wendy! It's going to take days for my skin to quit crawling now thank you very much! I always picture the Lord of the Rings scene with that giant spider when I see tarantulas!

 

[Birdman666]

That Brazillian White knee is actually kind of an amazing looking spider...

I didn't know you had those, I have some questions...

My only encounter with those was the "spider migration" (which at the time I didn't even know there was such a thing.) I was moving in to a house in the San Carlos hills, and I heard the pitter patter of little feet... and I was thinking we have mice.

When I looked down, I saw a single file line of spiders...

You don't expect to see one, much less a line of half a dozen or so marching single file. So I called the Lindsay. It turns out that summer/winter they go from one side of the hill to the other, and it has something to do with the angle of the sun on the hillside...

They had an easy migration that year. I scooped them up into a coffee can, and took them where they wanted to go, and released them.

And out they came in that same single file formation...

It was all very odd.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Mark, if I'm not mistaken, the 'migration' you are talking about is only ever seen in males. They all wonder off together, in hopes of finding a 'willing' and 'receptive' female. And only the mature males will do this, not the young ones, the ones that haven't 'hooked out' yet.

We witnessed the same thing when we lived in Oklahoma back in the 80s, and I'm not gonna lie, the first time I saw so many 'big, hairy spiders' at once, I about crawled into a hole in sheer terror.

 

[Roanoke]

Well, this is a pretty pessimistic view of teens for someone claims to also be a teen.

The thing to remember is that every baby, child, teen, adult is different. An adult is just as prone to forgetting about their pets as a teen is, and in this world, where adults are "always right", we tend to forget that. In fact, lots of parents get soft, small, fluffy animals for children who forget about them, and lots of adults get dogs, cats, parrots, and reptiles (especially big snakes like boas and pythons) that they ultimately forget about. The feral snake explosions in Florida isn't really exclusively on the part of teens as it is on the part of adult men who think "snakes are cool".

I was close to the same age as gracebowen's oldest boy, 14, when we adopted Sky. My sister was only 11. As children whose parents had instilled in us an appreciation for animals and life, as a young adult now, Sky has only consistently become a more intimate part of our family. He is always chilling with us. If I could safely take him to my classes I would

It's ultimately up to the parents to decide what type of kid they have, and what future the animal will have in their household.

If your one of those families that know your kids are going away for college, than don't get them pets you'll end up taking care of, unless you of course are happy taking care of those pets when your children go off to college. If you're like me and my family, who are going/planning to go to college close enough to home that its commutable...well a long lived pet might be just fine.

In this world we can't underestimate every teen. It's a combination of parents' discretion and their child's personalities, and we especially can't blame teens for the way they grow up. If a parent has no passion for animals, then its more likely their kid won't either. And even that is not always true. Know yourself, know your kids, and plan ahead as much and as safely as you can. As a person who knows lots of good teens...it's not fair on their part.

Consider everything, but don't be pessimistic.

You're so very correct! Forgive me for being such a grump, I've had a bad morning.
I guess I've never thought about adults as being just as responsible (or irresponsible) as teens. My experiences with family pets hasn't been the best, but now that I look back, I realize my parents were just as irresponsible if not moreso as me. They tried their best to keep me happy, but accidentally instilled in me the subconscious thought that animals are disposable, a view that I've been trying so hard to change.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write out such a wonderful lesson, and for reminding me that age stereotypes aren't always true!
Looking forward to seeing you around the forum.

 

[Birdman666]

Mark, if I'm not mistaken, the 'migration' you are talking about is only ever seen in males. They all wonder off together, in hopes of finding a 'willing' and 'receptive' female. And only the mature males will do this, not the young ones, the ones that haven't 'hooked out' yet.

We witnessed the same thing when we lived in Oklahoma back in the 80s, and I'm not gonna lie, the first time I saw so many 'big, hairy spiders' at once, I about crawled into a hole in sheer terror.

Okay, so this is a "breeding season" issue...

I was shocked when I first saw them, it's not exactly something you see everyday... Then it was all about getting them out of the way without squishing them, and without getting bit.

None of them were as big as that HUGE Brazilian spider... Have to show that one to my daughter, as she is moving to Brazil (for a year) in December...

 

[Birdman666]

I guess I've never thought about adults as being just as responsible (or irresponsible) as teens. My experiences with family pets hasn't been the best, but now that I look back, I realize my parents were just as irresponsible if not moreso as me. They tried their best to keep me happy, but accidentally instilled in me the subconscious thought that animals are disposable, a view that I've been trying so hard to change.

See, I was raised with all sorts of animals. Both my parents were animal lovers, and aside from when we were really young, we have always had something, or several somethings...

Plus my Mom and I used to do wildlife rehab and release...

The lesson we were taught was that these are living things, with care needs, if you take it on, it is YOUR responsibility to care for it properly...

And if you get a pet for your teenager, assume you are getting one for yourself, because if they don't... the animal will still have those care needs that have to be met.

Teenagers tend to be not so great at cleaning cages or litter boxes...

 

[kq_fan]

Wow JerseyWendy! Tarantulas are beautiful! Now I might want one! I would like to know more before I go out and get one though.... But they are beautiful! I just hope my futuer husband will let me get one!

 

[SkyandHoudini]

You're so very correct! Forgive me for being such a grump, I've had a bad morning.
I guess I've never thought about adults as being just as responsible (or irresponsible) as teens. My experiences with family pets hasn't been the best, but now that I look back, I realize my parents were just as irresponsible if not moreso as me. They tried their best to keep me happy, but accidentally instilled in me the subconscious thought that animals are disposable, a view that I've been trying so hard to change.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write out such a wonderful lesson, and for reminding me that age stereotypes aren't always true!
Looking forward to seeing you around the forum.

Right now, I'm just glad you didn't take it badly! It's good not to follow stereotypes, especially when many of them are only popular because they show the negative aspects of a group instead of the positives.

And don't worry. You will get there. The fact that you're able to self-reflect enough to understand what was bad means A LOT. The fact that you want to change means even more. There are lots of people out there who don't have the patience or want to even look back and say, "well maybe I should change myself". This is so important in everyone, and kudos to you for being able to do such.

 

[Ann333]

Wow JerseyWendy! Tarantulas are beautiful! Now I might want one! I would like to know more before I go out and get one though.... But they are beautiful! I just hope my futuer husband will let me get one!

I love my T I've had her for 8 years. They are super low maintanence. Mine is a Chilean rose hair and people appropriately call them "pet rocks". She's boring, but part of the family. She's been through several moves and I'll never get rid of her. I really want an arboreal T!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Wow JerseyWendy! Tarantulas are beautiful! Now I might want one! I would like to know more before I go out and get one though.... But they are beautiful! I just hope my futuer husband will let me get one!

Here is where I learned: Arachnoboards

 

[Skittles74]

Wow Wendy, Your tarantula's are gorgeous. We can't keep exotics in Australia so we're stuck with the aggressive Australian Birdeaters. Makes for a bit of fun when rehousing though

 

[gracebowen]

Well my daughter decided she is too busy for a pet. My son doesn't know it yet but he now has a dwarf bunny that is tame.