I keep reading two drastically different sides and views to the “sugar gliders as pets” debate. Are they not actually in the process of being domesticated/bred to be suitable as pets? What actually is the deal? Are they not suitable for domestication? If so, why? Why are they not suitable but other animals were?(wolves=dogs, cats, rabbits, ect.) If someone will care for them properly, keep groups of them, give the space&climbing structures and diets they need&vet care. Why would it be bad?

zoologicallyobsessed:

No they are not suitable pets. I’m Australian so sugar gliders are native from here and I’ve never heard of them being kept as pets until recently. It seems to be a thing in America and other countries. So I was pretty shocked.

I am against any wildlife being kept as pets. Because they’re wild animals, they are not domesticated. As wild animals, people who aren’t professionals or are educated in animal science or handling are not equipped to properly care for these animals. Even people who are professionals won’t be likely to keep wildlife as “pets” because they understand that these animals are next to impossible to care for in a personal home, compared to actual animal facilities. 

There is not one non-professional person that will be able to properly care for wildlife:

  • VET – wildlife will need specific and specialised vet professionals which will be very expensive plus there’s having to transport the animal to said vet which will likely be far away
  •  DIET- wildlife need specific diets and these can be very expensive. Sugar guilders for example are 

    insectivores, omnivores and nectarivores. This means they need insects, meat, vegetation and tree sap / nectar.

  • ENCLOSURE – sugar gliders would require a massive amount of space. I’m not talking about a few meter cage but something as big as what an animal enclosure at a zoo would look like. This cage would need to be filled with vegetation, branches, nesting boxes, places to hide, ect. And would have to regularly be cleaned out and replaced which I imagine would take more then a few hours.
  •  – sugar gliders are also social animals. Most of the stories i’ve heard of people keeping them as pets, I’ve only hear of them keeping one. Sugar gliders live in family groups consisting of up to 7 adults + the young. So these pets would need to be kept in at least groups of 6-7 to give them proper care

The above care is attempt to replicate the wild animal’s natural habitat as opposed to with domesticated animals. This is because domestication is the result of selective breeding over 100′s of generations that changes said animal for human benefit. 

It seems that a lot of people don’t actually seem to understand 

domestication. There’s this attitude of “well we’re breeding this animal for domestication! So its okay to have them for pets!”. I’ve heard this in regards to foxes as well as wildlife like sugar gliders. 

That’s not how it works. Domestication is a process over centuries. Dog’s were domesticated over 30,000 years ago, hence why we see so much difference between breeds and dogs from wolves. 

The foxes in Russia are therefore not domesticated, they are tamed and have been bred for friendlier traits, but they are not domesticated. 

hexmoon:

hexmoon:

don’t forget to keep your black cats inside on halloween, people are cruel and you can never be too sure

I love that people are reblogging this we must protect our furry babies at all cost!!💗

Keep your cats inside all the time, but especially on Halloween. My aunt had a black cat vanish on Halloween and never found him. 

orocarni-mountains:

particlecollisions:

particlecollisions:

Self defence sprays that are legal to carry and use in the United Kingdom

Image 1: Farbgel
Image 2: StoppaRed

I’ve seen a lot of people (mostly women, for reasons which may be obvious) speaking about being worried when going out, be it alone or even with friends, both in the day and at night. I know that a lot of female friends of mine carry around a can of antiperspirant or a pot of pepper to use if they’re ever attacked. What I know a lot of people don’t realise is that there are products out there which work in a violent situation and help in catching the assailant for the best part of a week afterwards.

Known as ‘criminal identifiers’, these sprays are brightly coloured dyes which can be sprayed in the face of an attacker. Unlike things such as CS or Pepper sprays, criminal identifier sprays are legal in the UK.

There’s a few available on the market, with farbgel and Mace’s Stoppared being the mostly highly recommended.

What these sprays do is release a sticky, brightly coloured dye. It’s difficult to wipe away and stains the skin a bright red colour. No matter how hard an attacker might try to remove it from their skin and clothing, the staining typically lasts for around a week and doesn’t even start to fade until after a few days have passed.

Unlike CS and Pepper sprays (which, again, aren’t legal in the UK) criminal identifier sprays don’t cause irritation or pain to an attacker. Instead, they expand and clog up the area sprayed with a kind of sticky foam that’s difficult to wipe away. It should give you enough time to escape and report someone whose face resembles a baboon’s arse to the police.

Each can of the sprays costs around £10 each, though it may be cheaper when buying multiple canisters and if you shop around.

FarbGel 

StoppaRed UV Personal Attack Self-Defence Spray by Mace

This is an original post, but I’ve released it into the public domain. It can be shared, altered, reposted in whole or in part with no need for attribution (though obviously I would appreciate it!)

cc @misandry-mermaid

It should give you enough time to escape and report someone whose face resembles a baboon’s arse to the police.

That’s brilliant