Pros & Cons Of EACH Of My Animals!

So you're thinking about getting one of these animals, huh? Good luck to ya. I'm just kidding. Not really. But there are pros. There are pros. I promise. But there are cons. Heavy on the cons. Believe me, having animals is godsend. I wouldn't change it for the world. It is my passion in life. I love every single animal I own and I wouldn't give them up for absolutely anything. But with that being said, would I recommend them to everybody? Absolutely not. And we're going to get into all that today. I'm going to be talking about every single animal I own, the pros and cons. And if I would recommend them to you, buckle up. We're going to start with the one that's actually right on my bed. Come here, Ellie Belle. Do you want to be in the video? Con number one. Ella is a shorty. She is a mix between a shih tzu and a yorkie. The pros are they're very small dogs. They're very easy to bring along with you. They're cute. I'm trying here. They're very cute dogs and they are very loyal to their owners. Let me tell you, they will do anything for their owners. They are so protective over that one person or the people that they love. They will do anything for those people. Let me tell you. That is a huge pro for me. I love that about her. This goes with any dog really, but their personalities are so quirky. It is so funny. Their personalities, I can't, you need to own one to truly understand the little quirks that this breed owns or has. It's just keeps me on my toes. Another thing is they aren't very active. Meaning let me, before you come at me, let me explain. You don't need to have this humongous yard for this breed. They can get all the exercise they need. If you have a town home with a smaller yard, they will get all the exercise they need out there. They don't need all, they don't need acres of land to get all the exercise they need. This girl gets all the exercise she needs here. I mean, I have a pretty large backyard at my parents' home, but she gets all the exercise she needs and then she is sleepy. Like, look at her. We had a few hours of playtime. I got her some Halloween toys. Watch what happens when she hears a squeak. Do I have, oh, did I take your toy? You can have it. The point is they can get their exercise very easily. Another pro is they don't eat as much food as those larger breeds do. Their bellies get full very easily. Love that. Save you some money. The cons. She is the clingiest animal I've ever owned in my entire life. Very, very high maintenance this breed is. I have done, it's not just my dog. It is the breed. I have asked around. I've gathered people's consensus and it's the breed. It's not just mine. Yeah, you're very high maintenance, are ya? It can be yappy. It can be pretty yappy. I had no business. I got her when I was 18 turning 19. So I had no business adopting a dog at that time in my life. I didn't know the proper training that these dogs need. I messed up with this one, let me tell ya. She's very yappy. She does have a training collar, which is, you can't really see it under her fluff. But she does have a training collar, which works wonders. I never use the zap option. I don't find that humane. I don't like that. But it does have a beep option. So when I beep her, when she is being bad, a bad girl, immediately stops. And, you know, they can be yappy. They can be pretty yappy. And the bark is not very good for the ears, may I add. But all around, I absolutely love my dog. I love her. I don't know if I would own the breed again, though. Wouldn't trade her for the world. She is my absolute heart. This is my baby. Don't know if I would own the breed again. So, would I recommend this to you? I don't know. Take everything I said about this species. This species. Take everything I said about this breed into account before you consider getting a shorty. Moving along. Hello, foot. Why did I just have to put my dogs in the camera like that? Do I dare try to pick it up? I don't know. Do I want my throat gashed up today? I'm not sure. I have to take my glasses off for this because they're going to get knocked off anyway. I'm only holding him up for a short amount of time. I'm not keeping him while I talk about him, okay? Who's a good boy? Who loves mommy? This is my mini lap rabbit named Chester. He is about five years old. He loves me very much. The pros. Give me a minute. They're coming to me. Chester was my very first animal, believe it or not. I had him before Ella. I had him before everything in this bedroom. So, he was my little baby. He was my little baby. He always, even as a baby, had an attitude. I should have known that every single animal I was going to get after that would also have an attitude. I guess that's just my luck when it comes to pet keeping. I don't know. I absolutely love that breed of rabbit. I think they are the most perfect size. It's not too small. It's not too big. I think it is a great size rabbit. Again, he's a mini lap. I know the name's kind of deceiving because he's not mini, but he's a mini lap. I'm going to speak more for owning a bunny rather than the breed just because, you know, I know a lot about the breed, but I'm just going to speak more about rabbits in general. Owning a rabbit can be very rewarding. Rabbits are so smart. You can teach them to do tricks. You can litter box train them. They are so smart. Chester is litter box trained. He will not use the bathroom anywhere in my room except for his litter box. He is free roamed. He is free reign of my entire bedroom. He can do whatever he wants, whatever he pleases. He does have like a little home base set up where, you know, his food, his litter box, his toys, everything like that is. He can do whatever he wants. He usually just sleeps at the foot of my bed, wherever he pleases. They're very smart animals. Very smart. They're adorable. Let's let's be completely honest with ourselves. Most people want to own a rabbit because they are so darn cute. Unfortunately, a lot of people adopt rabbits, not really knowing anything about them, and they get them just because they're simply cute, which really upsets my heart because when they realize the work that you need to put into owning a rabbit, it usually goes right to a shelter, which is horrendous. I hate that. Do your research, people, on any animal I speak about. Do your research, please. Another pro is they're super funny. They are so quirky. Every single rabbit has their own personality. Don't get it twisted, but mine especially. He's so quirky. I mean, if you guys watch my videos, you know the little quirks that he has. He's a sassy man. Sassy man. It's so fun. Just watching your rabbit grow and learning more about them and watching them grow into their little personalities. It is so fun. I love owning a rabbit. I know I say I'm terrified of him and all this stuff, but I absolutely love him. Wouldn't trade him for the world. I will absolutely be owning more rabbits in the future. Let's get into the cons. Rabbits need a lot of enrichment. Lots of enrichment. If you do not provide them with toys, enrichment, they are going to go right for your cords, your carpet, your baseboards. Actually, they might do that anyways, but I lied. They're probably going to do that anyways, but they still need the enrichment. That's another con. They will chew anything in their path. My baseboards, ruined. The corners in my bedroom, like the corners of my bedroom. I just said that twice. He's torn the carpet up there in the corners, trying to like, bury things, dig holes, ruins. He's ate more chargers than I can count. Almost burnt my house down one time. True story. They are chewers. You need to keep them occupied. Occupied. Toys, baby, toys. And you need to make sure you're providing them with safe toys. Safe toys. Oxbow is a great brand for toys. Another con is they can be messy. My man likes to get into his litter box sometimes and just like, dig the hay out and it goes on my carpet. I don't know why he does that. So you're going to be doing lots of cleaning if you own a rabbit. You also want to own two. If you can, try to own two rabbits. The only reason I don't own two is because when I actually got Chester, they told me, do not, whatever you do, do not pair him with another rabbit. He will eat the rabbit. And I was like, oh, I don't believe that. Because he was just a little baby. And I was like, I don't believe that. So I did try to pair him with two other rabbits. He did indeed try to off the other rabbits. So Chester is a solo man. So that, that is, can be a case for some rabbits. But you want to try to at least try to pair them with another bunny. They, they like the company. Another con is they most likely will not tolerate you holding them. As you saw earlier, rabbits most likely do not like to be held. And a lot of people think that they're just going to be able to hold their bunny all the time. No, that's most likely not going to be the case. It all depends on the rabbit, of course. But most rabbits do not like to be held. And they will box you and karate chop you. And not fun, not fun. It's sad. It is a sad realization when you realize that your bunny does not like snuggles. It's like, oh, okay. Would I recommend a bunny to you? Maybe. I, you know, again, I feel like that's gonna be my answer for a lot of my recommendations. Again, it all depends on taking in account what I said, the pros and cons. And if this animal would be a good fit for you or not. These animals do require a whole lot of space. So if you can't provide a lot of space for this animal, not a good animal for you. You can't keep them in a little pet store cage. That is abusive. You can't do it. I am, for one, I am against cages for rabbits. I hate it. Play pens, different story. Different story. But cages for rabbits, don't like it. Don't love it. I hate it, actually. Moving right along. You're being an absolute menace. Why are you being like that today? This is my red-footed tortoise, Alfie. He is seven years old. I would like to show, I'm about to put him back because they don't like to be held like this. But I'm gonna show you his shell up close because I am gonna touch on this. See that bumpiness? This is called pyramiding. I am going to be touching on this. But I did want to show you because I'm about to put him down because they don't like this. But this is Alfie. You so handsome. The pros of owning a red-foot tortoise. They are adorable. I mean, did you see that man's face? Who wouldn't want to own that? He's so cute. I love him. Their personalities, they are so sociable. They will learn to know your voice and associate you with food time and they get so excited. I know for Alfie, every time I come in the room and I say hi to him, he comes right up to the edge of the enclosure and he says hi to me. He loves booty scratches. A fun fact about tortoises is they can actually feel everything connected to their shell. So their shell is actually part of them. People think of them as like hermit crabs. They can't leave their shell and find a new shell or anything like that. Their shell is part of their body. So they can feel their shell. So when you scratch their shell, that feels great to them. So they'll do a little dance to show you how much that feels good for them. And it is just the cutest thing ever. I'm sure you guys have seen videos of that. I've posted it on my account multiple times, but he gets so excited. He loves his scratches. He's just the sweetest boy ever. He's not shy at all. Another pros are actually very active. It's so fun to watch them explore their enclosure and just show their happiness. It is just, it's rewarding as a pet owner to watch your pets enjoy their enclosure and enjoy the care that you're providing them. It's so heartwarming. I love it. I just really enjoy having him as a pet. I really do enjoy having this animal. Sons, they take up a whole lot of space. A whole lot of space. Redfoot tortoises get big. They get big. Right now, he's only seven years old. But when I move out, he's going to need a much larger, larger. He's going to need a much larger enclosure than what he has now. Like much larger. I have big plans for the future coming up. My reptile or reptile room. My pet room is going to be a chef's kiss. It is going to be amazing. I have big plans for all of my pets. I will be moving out so soon. So, so, so soon. Hopefully in February or March, I will be moving out. You guys, the content coming your way, buckle up. But they do require a whole lot of space. And I don't know if I would consider this a con. But people don't do enough research. Their husbandry needs to be perfect. If their husbandry isn't good, they're going to get sick and pass away. And this also kind of ties in with their diet. If they're not getting fed the right things, they're going to get sick. So as I showed you earlier, I showed you this thing called pyramiding. How his shell was bumpy. If he was earlier. So when I took him in, I took him in from somebody else. So I had no control over the pyramiding or health of his shell. If he had been under the proper husbandry and proper diet, that pyramiding should not exist. It should be totally flat and smooth. Since he was not under the proper husbandry and diet, he now has that pyramiding. Which is so sad to me. But all I can do as an owner now is prevent it from getting worse. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do to make it go away. But I can do everything in my power to prevent it from getting worse. So yeah, that's another thing. You just really need to do your research with these guys. It is so important. Would I recommend this to you? I would not recommend this to a beginner at all. Absolutely not. Do not be getting a red-footed tortoise or any tortoise, in my opinion, if you're a beginner. If you're not a beginner, absolutely do your research. I think they're great pets. I absolutely love owning my tortoise. I love him so much. Oh, I almost forgot to add. They have a tendency to flip themselves over, which could be deadly. So you also have to take into account that they don't have anything that they can really flip themselves over. Sometimes there's nothing you can really do about that. My man sometimes will just flip himself over and I'm like, what are you doing, dude? First of all, you look dumb. And second of all, you could die. So I don't know what we're doing. That is something that you really need to look out for. I actually have a camera on his enclosure that even if I'm not home, I can keep an eye on him. And if he does flip himself over, I have somebody who can go tilt him over. That is something you really need to consider. If you don't have somebody who can be around or if you're not going to be around much and your turtle flips himself over and is on his back for hours upon hours, not good. So that is another thing to consider. Moving right along. Next up, we have bearded dragons. This girl, I would die. I love her. I love her so much. Yeah, you my girl and you know it. All right, let's talk bearded dragons. Pros, they are relatively easy to take care of, in my opinion. Minus the husbandry, which the husbandry is pretty easy once you get it down. But understanding it as a beginner. I'm taking this all from a beginner's point of view. You don't understand the husbandry and you're not getting that correct. Not good. I find them relatively easy. She was my very first reptile and, you know, it took a lot of learning. You guys know that. I finally got it all down to a tee. Very easy to take care of, in my opinion. I think bearded dragons are pretty easy to take care of. But, you know, again, do your research, research, research, research. Heavy on the research. It's going to be rare that you find a bearded dragon that doesn't mind being handled. I mean, she she just chills. She's great. We formed like a pretty strong bond to the point she's just whatever. What we get? What did you see? As I was saying, don't start with me. We have a really good bond. So you want to say we don't? Their personalities are so funny. Her personality, she is a sassy queen. A sassy queen. You guys know my Lucy girl. If you watch my videos, you know my Lucy girl. She's a sassy queen. Everything needs to be her way. All the time. Are you head bobbing? What is that? What is that weirdness? Another pros, they're pretty easy to find. Bearded dragons are all over the place. I highly recommend checking reptile rescues because these guys get surrendered all the time. Bearded dragons require a 4x2x2 enclosure, which is pretty big. It takes up a lot of space. So if you don't have the space, then you shouldn't be getting a bearded dragon. If you can't afford the expensive UVB bulbs that they require, not a good idea for you. They need the UVB light. Otherwise they will get something called metabolic bone disease. There we go. I can do it. That comes from lack of UVB and lack of calcium. Not a good thing. Your bearded dragon will die like a horrible death. Another con is they eat bugs. A lot of people can't tolerate feeding bugs. So if you can't tolerate bugs and feeding bugs, not a good pet for you. It took me a while to be comfortable with feeding bugs. So I totally get that. I also kind of felt bad for the bugs. I still do. But you know, whatever. That's besides the point. Would I recommend a bearded dragon to you? Yes, I would. I absolutely would. I think they make great pets. Obviously, do your research. Get their husbandry down to a tee. Learn about what they need in their environment. All that good stuff. And I think they would make a great pet for you. Hand sanitizer. Next up, representing all three of my guinea pigs, I have Stanley. He is my hairless guinea pig. They don't all look like this. The pros, they're adorable. Come on. Adorable. They talk. When you come in the room and you crinkle a bag or anything, they will start screaming. And it is so fun to just, it's just the cutest sound. I wonder if I can get them to talk. A little bit. Another pro is they connect with their human beings on a really deep level. They love their owners. And they will recognize you by voice. Let me tell you, they get so excited when their people come in the room and they, again, will scream. Dang, Stanley, you put on some weight. What's going on? You're just a chunky boy. They're just great pets. I love my guinea pigs. I love them so much. You guys actually knew me as the guinea pig girl. That's how I started off on social media with my pigs. Stanley was the first of the bunch, actually. Stanley is an old man. He is an old man. He's still grooving. He's good. We're good. All good in the hood. Am I? Let's get into the cons. The cons, they can be stinky. They can be pretty stinky, I won't lie. When you own guinea pigs, you will know you own guinea pigs from the smell. That's for sure. Even if you are constantly keeping up with the cleaning, you're gonna know you own guinea pigs. You're gonna know. I am so good with the cleaning, they stink, okay? A lot of people will be like, well, that means you don't clean them enough. That's not true, okay? I spot clean two to three times a day, and I deep clean once or twice a week. Doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. They stink. They're stinky. They're stinky little animals. They're called guinea pigs. They poop two million times a minute. I'm not joking. The amount of poop that comes out of these little guys is absurd. You wouldn't even believe your eyeballs if you've never seen guinea pigs or been around guinea pigs, the amount of poop that is just always in there. No matter how much you clean, you're always cleaning with these guys. Look how cute he is. They eat a lot, so you're spending a lot of money keeping up with the food, the hay, all the stuff. You're- they eat a lot. They eat a lot of food. These guys are very susceptible to getting sick a lot, and you need to be prepared to drop the vet bill, which is- come here. It's not cheap. Very expensive. Very, very expensive. These are considered exotic animals, and an exotic vet? Not cheap. My friend, not cheap. And you need to be prepared to help your guinea pigs when they're sick. I cannot stand people who get these animals thinking, oh, well, when they get sick and die, that's just what it is. It's gross. You have no business getting guinea pigs. If you're not prepared to take them to the vet and get them the help that they need, don't get- don't get an animal, period. Sorry. Ew. But yeah, all around, I think these are great pets. Do I recommend them to you? I'm not sure. You need to listen to everything that I just said. I don't consider these beginner pets. I don't really know if there is a beginner pet out there, in my opinion. I don't like that term, really. But these are definitely not beginner pets. He's so handsome. They need a lot of space. See this humongous cage that takes up my entire bedroom on the side of my room? Yeah, store-bought cages will not work for guinea pigs. I said what I said. CNC cages? Yes. This is a 2x8 that I built. It is a top and bottom. The more space, the better. Store-bought cages, big fat no. And honestly, this is cheaper than store-bought cages, so why not? And another one, you need to- they need friends. They're a social animal that needs their kind around them. Phillip is by himself because he's like Chester. He tries to off other guinea pigs. I've tried so many times to pair him with other guinea pigs and just... No. He- he does fine on his own. He hears the other guinea pigs. He knows they're there. So, you know, that kind of helps with that aspect. What do you need, mamas? Am I not giving you attention? See, this is what I'm talking about. The maintenance. The high maintenance. It's always. It's constant. It's all day. I love you. Nope. He likes to go for my face. Next up, we have chameleons. This is Arnold. He is a panther chameleon. The pros of these guys, they are so cool to look at. I mean, come on, look at how cool he is. He is just the most gorgeous. Don't look at my face like that. He's just the most gorgeous animal. I think you are the coolest man. You are so cool. It's so fun. Yep, that's great. Yeah, they're- they're really cool to look at. Mine actually doesn't mind being handled that much. He tolerates it. They're also just like really cool pets to own. I mean, look at him. He's just so darn cool. Are we getting the zo- do we have the zooms? What are we doing? It's just mom. Oh, here. Sorry, here you go. All right, I'm gonna put him back. He's spazzing. Can you say goodbyes? Another pro is if you don't have room for an enclosure to take up long ways, good. These guys- these guys need enclosures that take up room height-wise. They are climbers. I- arboreal? That's the word. They are arboreal animals. They like to be in trees. They like heights. They like to be above everything. That's where they feel safest. So they won't take up that room that is long-wise, but they will take up room in height. Beacons. You need to get their husbandry to a T. Again, I feel like that's with any reptile, honestly. Do your research on that. I'm not going to go into depth with that because this video would be 10 times longer than it is, but you need to do all the research on the husbandry with chameleons. Chameleons can be very difficult. They can be very difficult to own, but they are so darn cool looking and I totally get if you want to own a chameleon. I was drawn in by how cool they were, but definitely do your research on the husbandry because it can be very difficult to get correct. A lot of people don't get that correct. Another con is you can't put fake plants in with chameleons. They will eat it and they will die. Simple, done, no fake plants. I can insert a picture of my enclosure. I love my chameleon's enclosure and he loves it too. It's like a little jungle in there. I love it. All real plants. He's in a bioactive enclosure. It's completely bioactive. All real plants, everything bioactive. With that being said, it can all be very expensive to set up. It can be very, very, it is very, very expensive and I feel like that, again, that goes with every single reptile. This setup is very, very expensive. I will just be completely honest with you. If you don't have the money to throw down for these animals, might not be a good idea for you. Another con is these guys can also get sick very easily. Again, that goes with the exotic vet thing. I know he was actually just recently sick. He just finished his medication, which was giving medication to a chameleon is just as fun as it seems. But they can get sick very, very easily. So that is also another thing you need to count in when it comes to the money thing. You need to have money set aside if your chameleon gets sick. Very expensive. Exotic pets are very expensive. Would I recommend this animal to you? I don't think I would recommend a chameleon to you. If I'm being totally honest, I will definitely own more chameleons in the future. As a beginner, I'm recommending not getting a chameleon. Unless you have done the research, you feel like an expert, you feel like you can nail these things, I would not recommend a chameleon to a beginner. But I do love mine. I love him so much. He's so darn cool. He is such a personality. Stop looking at me. We got two more animals. Two more animals, you guys. Next up, we have my crested gecko, Melvin. The pros. These guys are so easy to take care of. Easiest animal I own by far. So easy. So, so, so easy. Another pro, they are so darn cute. Look at him. He's not fired up at all right now. Another pro is they're not too big. They're not too small. I think they were like the perfect size lizard. Honestly, look at him. I love my gecko man. They eat powder. It's so easy. I'm not joking. You literally just take the powder, mix it with water, call it a day. The cons. He's like, I don't have cons. You hardly see them. Unfortunately, they're nocturnal, so they come out at night. You better not be thinking about jumping. They're nocturnal, so you won't see them much, which is so sad. That is like my only con to these guys is that they are nocturnal. I just really wish I got to see him more because he's so darn cute and cool, and I love hanging out with him. But yeah, honest to God, that's like my only con for crested geckos is that they're nocturnal. I would absolutely recommend a crested gecko to you. Abso-flippin-lutely. They're great animals to own. So easy. They don't mind being handled. They're great. 10 out of 10 to Melvin. Look at him. He's so handsome. Well, I accidentally caught my nervous frog. This is Becky. I meant to get Brenda, but I accidentally got Becky. So this is Becky. She is a white tree frog. You guys get a good look at her. She's gonna shoot me with pee. I'm feeling it. Don't do it. I'm gonna go ahead and put her back because she gets a little nervous and she was sound asleep. So I'm gonna put her back. But I did want to show you guys what a white tree frog looks like. I have two of them. This is one. And I still don't know if they're boys or girls. So... But this is Becky. I wear gloves when I handle my tree frogs because they actually absorb everything through their skin. So we don't want the oils or chemicals or anything like that from our hands to absorb through their skin. So that is for their safety. Not mine. The pros. They're very easy to keep, in my opinion. They're very, very easy. All I do is really feed them, spray them, clean them, call it a day. I think they're so darn cute. I love my tree frogs. They're so cool looking. They change colors. I just... I love them. They're just really cool animals to own. The males. If you get males, they tend to be super, super noisy. Females tend to be more on the quiet side. And I was told I had two females. But they're loud. So I don't know what their gender is. I know nothing anymore. But their names are Brenda and Becky. And I'm not changing those. So regardless of their gender, I don't... Whatever. But that is a con. If you keep them in your bedroom, right next to your bed where you sleep. Especially when your head is on the pillow. Right there. And they're screaming. Not the best. But some people might like that. You know? Some people might like that. Another con to me is that they're nocturnal. They sleep during the day. All day. They're just sleeping. They're sleepy, lazy things. Basking and doing their thing during the day. And then at night they go crazy. And again, their husbandry has to be great. And you do have to keep everything nice and humid in there for them. Otherwise they'll dry out. We don't want dry tree frogs. Wow. I know that was a lot of information. That was a lot of information. And a lot of animals. And a lot of stuff. So if you got to the end of this video, thank you. I love ya. I love you so much. If you like this video, make sure you like and subscribe. And I will see you guys in the next one.