Students own and care for unique pets

Sophomore Sarah Anderson: Indian Ringneck Parakeet

Sophomore Sarah Anderson is the proud owner of an Indian Ringneck Parakeet, Juno, named specially after the Alaskan capital.

“[Juno is] a peice of Alaska that we brought when we moved here,” Anderson said.

Juno has the ability to learn speaking commands, but  because he was not originally trained that way, it takes a lot of repetition of key phrases for him to say what you want.

“My mom made a disc of some [repeating words] and she just played it for hours.” Anderson said. “We just didn’t stay with it long enough.”

Though Juno could have been trained, the Anderson family decided not to because of the amount of time required.

“It got really hard because you had to play this video, a voice recording of what you wanted the bird to say,” Anderson said. “You just had to keep pressing the button over and over again and it just got to a point to where it was too hard, so we stopped.”

The care for Juno is made easy since all that has to be done is a refill of food and water plus a cage change once a week.

“I just have to remember to feed it and water it everyday,” Anderson said. “It’s part of my chores, [my brother] Ryan has the dogs and I have the bird.”

Though it takes some dedication to own such an exceptional bird, it’s fully worth it in the end.

“The most rewarding part of owning Juno is that it’s a bird and not a lot of people own birds,” Anderson said. “Everyone is so amazed.”

Sophomore Katherine Rouse: Hedgehog

Most people think of a typical pet as a cat or dog, but sophomore Katherine Rouse strays away from the social norm with her newest addition to the family, a hedgehog named Chance.

With a unique pet like Chance, a special kind of care is required. He is fed once a day with plain hedgehog chow and must be taken out regularly to avoid depression. Other than that, Chance’s care is quite simple.

“His [care is] actually pretty easy; they are very independent.” Rouse said. “I give him baths though. You don’t have to but I just like to watch him float in water.”

Another one of hedgehogs’ unique characteristics is their compatibility with people; they love to interact.

“They just snuggle up with you,” Rouse said. “I’ve had Chance crawling all over me before and then he went into my pants and I couldn’t get him out because he was all spiked up.”

Rouse recommends a hedgehog for a pet despite it being considered a crazy pet.

“It’s fun,” Rouse said. “You figure out what they like and dislike … and all the cool things they can do.”

Senior Kaia Minter: Chinchilla

Murray has a wonderful life. He doesn’t really have to do much. He doesn’t have school or a job. Murray just sits in his house and eats food all day, every day. The reason Murray gets to live his luxurious lifestyle is because he’s not a person. Murray is a chinchilla belonging to senior Kaia Minter.

“He eats a lot of food so we have to get new food and new water all the time and we have to change the bedding in his cage every week or week and a half,” Minter said. “He’s kind of high maintenance, but he’s cute, so it’s worth it.”

Murray’s good life doesn’t end there. He gets his own special chinchilla food; he eats pellets of dried fruit in addition to, according to Minter, eating timothy hay “on the daily.”

Murray is still living every chinchilla’s dream. No rules, no responsibilities. He’s just an increasingly fat chinchilla that never ceases to earn Minter’s undying, unending love.

“He’s really fuzzy,” Minter said. “He’s gotten kind of fat. But that’s OK because he’s my chinchilla.”

Freshman Morgan Marti: Teacup Pig

What makes your pet unique?

“She has more personality than dogs do. She is kind of a diva. She’ll squeal if she doesn’t get her way.”

Junior Jillian Ottesen: Rats

What makes your pet unique?

“They’re unique to me because I have a fascination for weird animals like [rats] … They act so much like cats and dogs.”

Junior Brock Miles: Bearded Dragon

What makes your pet unique?

“Not many people have lizards. Sadly, he’s quite lazy … [He eats] crickets, mealworms, dry food and lettuce.”