Today we are diving into a topic that will definitely piss a lot of people off. Let's talk about narcissism in pet care. The harsh truth is that a ton of people get pets not to give them a good life, but to have an emotional slave to feed their own main character energy. Keeping social animals isolated just because "I spend a lot of time with them" is completely toxic. You are not a pigeon, a guinea pig, or a parrot, and you will never replace one. Hand-rearing birds just to force them to bond with humans literally ruins their mental health for life.
Before you start throwing mud at me - I have made my fair share of mistakes too. As a kid, I collected fish like Pokemon (one of each kind), kept solitary guinea pigs, and at 16, I wanted to breed snakes in plastic drawers, aka rack systems. But you know what? You have to learn to put your pride in your pocket. When someone tells you that you are doing something wrong, instead of foaming at the mouth and throwing tantrums in terrarium groups, admit you f***ed up and start reading actual scientific papers.
Just because a reptile can survive in a plastic tub doesn't mean it is happy. Surviving is not thriving. Breeders feed you BS just so you buy more animals. Educate yourselves, listen to science, and stop treating living beings like toys that exist just to love you. They don't owe you anything.
Here you can find some sources of knowledge and advice on the topic of animal welfare, based on scientific research (and experiences of people, who actually care)
Birds: Pigeons: — EN The Palomacy Animal Rescue: https://www.pigeonrescue.org/resources/
Parrots: — PL Papugi. Papuzie Centrum Informacyjne FB Group:(https://www.facebook.com/groups/papuziecentruminformacyjne/ — PL Druga strona papug. Niszczą, śmiecą, dziobią... FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/drugastronapapug/ — EN World Parrot Trust: https://www.parrots.org/
Reptiles: — EN ReptiFiles Evidence-based care guides:(https://reptifiles.com/ — EN Reptiles and Research YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ReptilesandResearch — EN DIY Reptile Enclosures FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DIYReptileEnclosures/ — EN Everything Ball Pythons FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/EverythingBallPythons/
Aquariums: — EN Seriously Fish Species & welfare database: https://www.seriouslyfish.com/ — EN Fish For Thought YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FishForThought — EN Fishlore.com Forum: https://www.fishlore.com/ — EN Aquarium Co-Op Forum: https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/
Guinea Pigs: — PL Stowarzyszenie Pomocy Świnkom Morskim: https://www.swinkimorskie.eu/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/StowarzyszeniePomocySwinkomMorskim/ — PL Caviarnia Forum: [https://forum.swinkimorskie.eu/](https://forum.swinkimorskie.eu/ — EN Guinea Lynx Medical & care guide:(https://www.guinealynx.info/ — EN The Guinea Pig Forum: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/
