7 Pets I Love but Couldn't Own ...

Photo Credit: guenterleitenbauer

I always wanted a chameleon when I was a kid, and I would still love to have one. However, I don't think I could take proper care of it. I don't know anything at all about lizards. Yeah, I could learn – after all, I studied for weeks before committing to a rabbit … but the rabbit gives me kisses and things, and I think I'd freak if a chameleon tried to kiss me.

Photo Credit: bleuet / Anne-Marie

I like birds. I think they're sweet. Of course, my best friend in high school had a cockatiel that used to spit at me, which traumatized me a little, but still. What gets me about parrots is that they live so long – and they are so cantankerous! My mother-in-law to-be has one that the Better Half and I may possibly inherent, and the thing is almost bigger than me. He also tries to bite me if I get within two feet of him. So I don't think so.

Photo Credit: 1blessedmom Photography (On Again :)

In theory, I think snakes are awesome. In practice, I think I would traumatize a snake if I had one. By screaming and squealing and jumping around every time I had to do anything for it. Snakes, brrr!

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You know, I think ferrets are cool. After the first time I saw Kindergarten Cop, I wanted one so bad I could taste it. However … I really don't think I could own one. My boyfriend in high school had two – or three, or four; I can't remember, he had way too many animals – and they smelled to high heaven. I know you can theoretically stop that, but still. Ew, no matter how cute they are.

Photo Credit: Milo_Z

I get it. They really aren't that much different than having a hamster or something, and I used to have a hamster. The Better Half even used to have rats. But I don't like mice or rats. They bring out the girl in me, and I'd hate to take that out on a pet. I get that they're cute and I know they're amazingly smart. So I'll look at them in the pet store, but that's about it.

Photo Credit: annfrau

There's a reason for this. I owned a turtle once. Stupidly, I found it on the side of the road and took it home with me. More stupidly, I then tried to let it live in the big mud puddle in our driveway, despite not seeing it in the water, because I assumed all turtles were like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and wanted to live somewhere damp. I even named him Michelangelo, but called him Turty (pronounced “Turdy,” look I was 8!) for short. Unsurprisingly, Turty ran far, far away.

Photo Credit: Dale Hameister

I think tarantulas are intriguing animals. I know that when you have one as a pet, you don't really have to worry about it biting you and killing you, if you take the right precautions. I also know that I am deathly afraid of spiders and that Arachnophobia scarred me forever and ever and that if I actually saw a tarantula anywhere near me, I would probably freak out and run far, far away.

I need to work on getting over my fear of spiders, because they are everywhere around where I live. Does anyone have any tips? What can you do to make yourself stop being terrified of spiders? And who out there has some really exotic pets?

Top Photo Credit: Zulpha