Before You Buy That Cute Iguana or Exotic Bird...

My daughter Trinity is one of those people who seem to prefer animals to people. Due to her passion for animals, our entire family tends to the needs of a lizard rescued from our driveway, an assortment of fish, and a guinea pig named Oliver. Despite the abundance of beasts, however, she frequently requests that we expand our brood. In our attempts to convince her of the limits of responsible pet ownership, nothing we’ve said has equaled the impact of a recent visit to . 

As the last-resort destination for many unwanted and/or illegal pets, is where all too many animals wind up when their owners are unprepared or unwilling to take care of them. At least that’s where the lucky ones end up. As the Eco Station tour guides are clear to tell you, every year thousands more face a worse fate–ending up euthanized or dead from neglect or poor care.

While pets are not toys, to children—and to some adults—the line between the two can be blurry. Making that line as clear as possible is a task the Eco-Station takes on, exemplified by our tour guide Lexi who introduced us to a large iguana whose owner had gotten “tired of feeding him.”  While iguanas are the third most popular pet in the U.S., this owner wasn't alone in his unwillingness to commit to a long-term relationship; 40,000 are euthanized every year in California alone.

Unfortunately, Lexi added, in order to make a sale, pet stores often neglect to educate prospective owners about their new animals.  To illustrate this fact, she introduced us to a reticulated python whose original owner brought it home, unaware that one day he would have to start feeding it live pigs. Similar misunderstandings surround the fates of many tropical birds at the Eco-Center; these birds frequently require eight hours of undivided attention daily during a lifespan of 100 years.

While it’s to be expected that most people long to be more closely connected to the natural world, every family inquiring into pet ownership should make a visit to the Star Eco Station, which is an essential part of their child’s education as well as an essential part of their own decision-making process.  

As for Trinity, when the tour was over, rather than ask for another animal, she asked when she could start giving the tours herself.