When you think of pets, you might naturally think of common cute animals like kittens and puppies, their clumsy appearance and clear eyes.
In recent years, a new trend of pet ownership has quietly emerged. Snakes, lizards, spiders, and even cockroaches—animals that once terrified people—have become popular "pets" among some young people, entering their homes openly. They all share a common name: "exotic pets."
A search for "exotic pets" on Xiaohongshu reveals that the topic has garnered over 190 million views, demonstrating that this niche hobby of keeping exotic pets is gradually gaining mainstream attention.
Every ray of sunshine casts a shadow. While the exotic pet market is booming, numerous problems are also emerging.
A rare pet market in South China
"Taking an unconventional path"
23-year-old Chenchen is a seasoned exotic pet owner, and she still vividly remembers her first experience of raising an exotic pet.
Chenchen was in junior high school at the time. She found it in a small corner of her home, a small, black shadow busily weaving. Chenchen watched the spider curiously and suddenly had a bold idea: to keep it as a pet.
Driven by this curiosity, Chenchen "captured" the wild spider, and a transparent plastic box became its "home".
"During that time, I would catch mosquitoes and flies and put them into the box to feed it. I would also watch it eat by the box. It was much more interesting than the scenes in 'Animal World'!"
Although Chenchen tried her best to provide the best environment and food, the spider eventually died, and the reason is unknown.
Chenchen truly "fell into" the exotic pet world after acquiring a brown and black rat snake. When asked about her reasons for getting a snake, Chenchen frankly admitted, "At the time, I probably had that vain idea of 'not following the usual path'."
Chenchen, who was going through puberty, felt that keeping common pets like cats and dogs couldn't make him stand out, so he turned his attention to the exotic pet world. Learning from his previous experience of keeping a spider, he searched and learned a lot about snake keeping online before carefully purchasing a brown-black rat snake, which was suitable for snake keeping beginners.
Chenchen said that keeping snakes has indeed attracted a lot of attention to her. "When my classmates are showing off their cats and dogs, my snakes always get surprised looks and curious questions from others." Keeping exotic pets has satisfied Chenchen's vanity to some extent and has become an important symbol for her to highlight her personality.
After keeping snakes, Chenchen completely opened the door to a new world of "keeping exotic pets." After that, she also kept a white spider and a leopard gecko. Unfortunately, during Chenchen's university years, all three of her exotic pets passed away due to illness.
The spider that Chenchen keeps
Lazy people raise lazy pets
The fast pace of modern life brings enormous pressure. After a day of being a "worker," many people find it difficult to have the energy to be diligent "pet owners" and "dog walkers."
Exotic pets are different from cats and dogs. They generally do not require much attention or care from people, and they are not fed frequently. They can survive as long as their basic needs are met, which is why they have become the choice of many office workers and students.
24-year-old Guan Guan is a typical office worker, an ordinary "corporate slave" at her company, but she loves to try things that are different from others in her spare time. When she first thought about getting a pet, she wanted to get a dog, but she gave up the idea because she thought it would take too much energy.
Guan Guan has a friend who keeps eight snakes as pets. He has always found this hobby hard to understand because Guan Guan is terrified of snakes; even the thought of them makes his scalp tingle. However, after encountering snakes at a pet show, he discovered that they weren't as scary as he had imagined, and even had a somewhat silly and cute quality.
Guan Guan changed her mind. She acquired a snow-white corn snake.
corn snake
Guan Guan believes that although snakes are cold-blooded animals and not as emotionally rich as cats and dogs, they are even more docile than kittens and puppies once they become familiar with their owner's scent, and they don't require much effort to care for. For Guan Guan, a nine-to-five office worker, this is an ideal pet ownership situation, providing emotional support without the worries of ordinary pet owners.
Chenchen, a student, decided to keep snakes as pets during high school. Since she wanted to keep them at home, her parents' consent was essential. After some research, Chenchen's parents believed that keeping snakes wouldn't consume too much energy or time and could even help relieve her academic pressure. Even though Chenchen's father was particularly afraid of snakes, he still supported her decision.
Chenchen's exotic gecko
After entering university, because pets are not allowed in the dormitories, she had to leave her exotic pets at home for her mother to take care of. The infrequent feeding and limited space for the exotic pets were the main reasons why Chenchen felt comfortable leaving her pets with her mother.
Exotic pet trading with many hidden dangers
According to data from the "2023 Aquarium Pet Scene Trend White Paper", the aquarium pet market on Taobao has been growing year by year, with an average annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of 11.8% over the past 5 years, which is higher than the overall growth level of the pet market. Under the influence of increasingly relaxed regulations and gradually improving related policies, the aquarium pet market is showing more vitality and is poised for growth.
The increasing market demand for exotic pets has led to a rapid expansion of the sales market. However, behind this booming market, more and more problems are emerging.
Before buying her first brown-black rat snake, Chenchen visited several exotic pet sellers and made her decision after several conversations and verifications. Chenchen said that the offline exotic pet market cannot fully meet the needs of all buyers, but the quality of exotic pets sold online is difficult to guarantee. Many sellers sell snakes caught in the wild as pet snakes, which requires buyers to distinguish them themselves.
Undomesticated wild animals, if sold as pets, may exhibit serious aggressive behavior and could transmit pathogens to humans, threatening the lives of their owners.
Moreover, the rampant growth of the exotic pet market has created opportunities for criminals. In the first half of 2023 alone, customs authorities across China intercepted 1,405 species of prohibited animals and plants from inbound postal and personal items, including 599 species of animals and plants not yet naturally distributed in my country, such as giant centipedes, barbaric harvester ants, and spotted newts. They also dismantled several criminal gangs illegally importing exotic pets.
The hardest-hit area for "quitting the game"
Many exotic pet owners are drawn in by curiosity, but what happens after that curiosity is satisfied?
According to data from the "2023 Aquarium Pet Scenarios Trend White Paper," while the majority of users in the aquarium pet market are between 30 and 49 years old, the 18-24 age group is also growing, with some users under 18. However, a significant number of these younger users, after initially getting into the hobby, quit due to family or financial reasons.
28-year-old Tuanzi runs an exotic pet shop online, and also posts on various social media platforms to receive exotic pets that others are selling after "quitting" their pets.
According to Tuanzi's observation, most pet owners who "quit" are students. Since many entry-level exotic pets are relatively inexpensive, even students without income can afford them. However, most of them started without their families' consent, making this group the hardest hit by quitting.
It's a common phenomenon in the exotic pet market to start out of curiosity and then quit after satisfying that curiosity. Since most common exotic pets are relatively inexpensive, some owners choose a simpler and faster method—releasing them—rather than reselling them.
However, the ecological problems caused by improper release of animals are not insignificant. Many exotic pets are invasive species. After being released, these exotic pets will reproduce rapidly without natural predators, ultimately threatening my country's biodiversity and disrupting the ecological balance.
In addition, professional veterinarians and medical facilities for exotic pets are not common at present. Therefore, when these pets get sick, pet owners can only search for information online and read other people's experience posts to learn about pet medical knowledge on their own, or seek help from other experienced breeders.
Chenchen's pet brown rat snake and leopard gecko both died from acute gastroenteritis. According to Chenchen, by the time she noticed symptoms in her pet snakes, it was too late. The snakes were already writhing violently, and she could only search online for information to diagnose their condition herself before ordering medication online. By the time the medication arrived, the snakes were already dead. Having learned from her experience with the gecko's sudden acute gastroenteritis, Chenchen decisively ordered medication online, which arrived promptly, but unfortunately, the gecko still passed away.
Chenchen said that cold-blooded animals such as snakes, geckos and lizards do not show obvious signs of illness in the early stages, and novices often find it difficult to detect. By the time the pet has a severe reaction, it is already too late.
Animal rights activists advise that the following points should be noted when keeping exotic pets such as snakes and lizards:
1. It is essential to ensure the living environment and food source of these animals, comply with relevant laws and regulations, and refrain from purchasing or raising illegal or protected animals.
2. Respect animal ethics. Understand the animals' living habits and special needs, provide appropriate care and attention, and avoid arbitrarily changing their living environment to prevent them from suffering discomfort or harm.
3. When keeping exotic pets such as snakes and lizards, college students need to fully consider their own abilities and time, and should not let personal preferences affect their studies and life. They also need to pay attention to safety issues.
The emerging exotic pet trade also needs regulation and management. The government should strengthen supervision, formulate relevant laws and regulations to regulate the import, sale, and keeping of exotic pets, ensuring that they are legally sourced, in good health, and meet animal welfare standards. At the same time, the public should increase their understanding of exotic pets and avoid blindly following trends or pursuing uniqueness when choosing to keep them. Only by regulating and managing the exotic pet market can we protect public health and safety and maintain the balance and stability of the ecological environment.
