Like clothing and hairstyles, pets can go out of fashion.
“Each decade has a fad pet,” said Stephanie Hanneman, a veterinary technician at Pet World in Davie.
During the 1980s, ferrets and tarantulas made their debut into the pet world. Gerbils, hamsters, parakeets, guinea pigs, hermit crabs and turtles were among the popular pets of the decade.
Ferrets turned out to be more work than expected and parakeets were replaced by the more intelligent lovebirds.
Siamese cats and Afghan hounds, once seen as exotic, have been replaced by short-eared cats and Shar-peis. Cobras, rattlesnakes and piranhas have been outlawed. Small turtles can carry salmonella.
“There have always been different trends that change with the times. People have been scared away by diseases that some animals carry,” Hanneman said.
The gothic-Marilyn Manson craze has caused an increase in tarantula sales. Prairie dogs and marsupials called “sugar gliders” are also rapidly making their way into homes.
Sales of small creatures and reptiles are on the rise.
U Wanna Iguana, a pet store in Oakland Park stocked with captive-bred snakes, lizards, iguanas, turtles, exotic frogs and arthropods, is thriving.
“In South Florida, we have more of a transient population. More people are living in apartments and rental units, and unfortunately, it precludes more traditional animals such as cats and dogs,” said store spokesman and animal expert Joseph Zelenka.
Zelenka said people are more interested in what they see on the multitude of nature programs aired on television.
“The public is becoming more sophisticated,” he said.
