As you walk through the aisles of a pet store, you see all sorts of pets you could bring home. Affectionate puppies and adorable kittens come into view. As you venture farther into the store, you see new critters you did not realize could be pets. Lizards with shiny scales, playful amphibians and furry rodents catch your eye, and you suddenly start thinking about all the pet possibilities.
Bexley students are not strangers to owning exotic animals. From vibrant reptiles to friendly ferrets, students are passionate about their unique creatures.
Junior Paloma Perez owns an Indonesian blue-tongued skink, a type of lizard, and said a lot of time and effort went into researching lizards to determine if it would be the right fit.
Perez explained her grandmother, a biology professor, provided crucial information on her lizard before she ultimately made the decision to buy it. She said she had to educate herself about the animal in order to ensure she could properly care for it.
“It’s definitely a lot of independent research,” Perez said. “I had to watch a lot of YouTube videos by professionals to make sure I was fully prepared to have this responsibility.”
In the end, Perez explained she felt compelled to buy the lizard after seeing its poor living conditions at the pet store.
“The problem with reptiles is that so often they are bred for people to buy, but they’re not taken care of adequately because pet stores are just wanting to make money,” she said.
Sophomore Nole Jackson, who owns four bearded dragons, said his family rescued one of them.
“A lady found a bearded dragon running loose in a Home Depot but couldn’t take care of him, so my brother Niles and I decided to adopt him,” Jackson explained.
Jackson said his family had to build housing for their bearded dragons, including specific lighting requirements so the animals could meet their needs.
“Each bearded dragon has their own 50-gallon terrarium with specialized sand for the bedding,” Jackson said.
“They also need special UV bulbs for heating and vitamin D. We also have to supply them with a superworm and cricket diet.”
Junior Aero Boyer is the owner of ferrets, chickens and a beebox. She said her interest in ferrets began at age 10.
Boyer explained her ferrets are carnivores, so it can be hard to consistently meet their dietary needs.
“Giving them an all meat diet is really expensive and really time consuming,” Boyer said.
Although many expect to find companionship from a conventional pet like a dog or a cat, senior Shadow Salmon used to have fancy rats and said they supplied the same
levels of friendship.
“They are super affectionate and really smart,” Salmon said. “Pet rats are nicknamed ‘pocket puppies’ because they act very similar to dogs.”
Jackson explained bearded dragons possess similar characteristics to dogs.
“They’re very dog-like and are always really curious about everything,” he explained. “Bearded dragons are also surprisingly cuddly. They like crawling up with you and
falling asleep.”
Salmon said when he had rats, they needed a lot of space and toys to keep them stimulated.
“My rats lived in a pretty big cage,” Salmon explained. “They had a chinchilla ball that allowed them to roll around the house, too.”
Although tending to his rats provided a few difficulties, Salmon said the joy his pets brought outweighed all of the challenges. Salmon said being able to take care of his rats was a very enjoyable experience.
“I would absolutely get rats again,” Salmon said. “They were amazing pets and I’d love to have them again at some point later in my life.”
Perez said people should only own an exotic pet if they are dedicated and understand the responsibilities required for different types of animals.
“I would recommend it if you’re interested in it, but not if you don’t have enough knowledge to fully go into the process,” she said.
Jackson said owning an unconventional pet provides an entertaining experience for guests who are not familiar with the animal. When visitors come to his house, they are
always very excited to see his bearded dragons.
“When we take the bearded dragons outside, kids get super excited when they see them,” he said. “They look like little dinosaurs.”
Published and digitized May 2026.
