Unorthodox Pets are Popular Now!
Owning unorthodox pets has become increasingly common during the pandemic. According to a 2019 survey published by American Pet Products Association, an estimated 5.4 million homes have adopted small mammals as pets, out of the estimated 84.9 million total pet owning households.
There’s a very clear correlation between the COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of pet adoption. According to research done by Professor Olivier Andre Sparagano of City University of Hong Kong, the relative search volumes (RSV) for pet adoption related terms in the United States, on a scale from 0–100, was 100, meaning that pet adoption was at the peak of popularity during the pandemic.
One such person with unorthodox pets is Ariana Jessa, who was interviewed to discuss her adoption of two pet rats, Kendall and Kylie.
Taking care of unorthodox pets is not nearly as time consuming as care for dogs, cats, and horses.
The average amount of time Ariana spends per day tending to her two rats is not even five minutes, but she can interact with them however much she wants.
For people with busy schedules, no-dog/cat apartments, and people who need a companion, these unorthodox pets seem to be the perfect alternative.
Kendall, the gray rat, is very shy, and takes quite a while to warm up to people. Ariana says that “she only really interacts with her sister Kylie.”
Kylie, the brown rat, is much more social, and quite mischevious. It took three separate cages to finally find a place Kylie could not escape.
First, Ariana purchased a hamster cage, but it was too small for the rats. Then came a cage on Facebook market place that was labeled as a rat cage, but the bars were spaced too far.
Ariana woke up at 4 a.m. to two rats crawling on her face.
Finally, her new rat cage is actually meant for rats, and works just fine!
Most adoption centers in the Bay Area exclusively have cats and dogs. This makes finding a cuddly small mammal that much harder. However, there are places out there that do house these small pets, whether you want a larger pet like rabbits and gerbils or smaller ones like mice, hamsters, and, of course, rats.
Before being moved into their current rat cage, the two rats were picked up in a cardboard cat container (which they chewed through) at Marin Humane Adoption Center (Far upper left).
Rats need room to climb, in order to stimulate their smart brains. That is why adoption centers advocate for multi-level cages.
Before you leave, Kylie wanted to say goodbye.