People love cute and cuddly pets. Pets are the ones that we interact with once we had done enough with humans. They are less complaining than humans and scientific researches have proven that pets could help to relieve stress and anxiety.

But some pets could give you more headaches than people do, especially when you live in Russia. In Russia, there are times where you have to put extra attention to your pets, or else, they will run away, or die, or worse. Learn more about the most dangerous animals in Russia here.

Before you bring your pets to Russia, or you intended to own an exotic pet in Russia, you better know what kind of worst pet animals to pet in Russia. Here’s the list!

1. Bears

Although that bears and humans had close relationships in Russian culture, still, bears are not a good option to keep as pets. Bears are not as cuddly as you might think. They have capabilities to maul you to death, and without proper care, they would definitely go berserk. 

Large omnivores like bears have to eat lots of different types of food from meats, fruits, and fishes, and you have to spend lots of money on that. It is often that people adopted bear cubs, but they set them loose when they are big enough to cause troubles. That way, the bears won’t live long in the wild because it is hard for them to adapt to their new harsh environment.

So, if you can’t afford to buy at least 40 kilos of meat, fruit, and fish a day, then don’t bother to own a bear. Unless if you are a crazy rich person with a big house or a bear tamer. But still, you have to watch for those big bear’s paws. They can land on anyone’s faces before you know it.

2. Foxes

Foxes’ popularity has been growing lately on Instagram. Many people posted their cute selfies with their foxes and incite “oooh”s and “aaaw”s on the comments section. It is hard to argue that these exotic pets are adorable, but most people didn’t know what it takes to own a fox.

Not only in the wild, Russian cities and rural areas are also teeming with foxes. This condition could make them feels familiar with humans, thus they’re less likely to be afraid of us. But that doesn’t make them “tame” animals. 

No matter how you tame a fox, their inner wild instincts will always prevail. They always chew, digs, and “scents” anywhere they want. Some owner said that it is hard to clean their “marks” as it smells so bad and its stains will stick on any surfaces. Feeding them is also very costly. Unlike dogs, processed pet foods will harm the fox, therefore they should only eat raw meat. Aside from foods, they need extra nutrients like taurine, or else, they will be sick and die.

3. Hairless Pets

Hairless pets like the Sphynx cat or the Mexican hairless dog may have their own level of cuteness. And by having hairless pets, people could relax on the couch knowing that their couch is hair-free. 

Not as easy as you might think, taking care of a hairless animal requires special attention. Their hairless body is susceptible to diseases, greasiness, and acne. You wouldn’t want to pet an oil sack, don’t you?

And also hairless body makes them prone to extreme temperatures, both hot cold. In Russia, where the temperatures could reach 40º C in summer and -20º C in winter, this place is not suitable for these kinds of pet, unless you want to keep them indoors and free up some spaces on your bed.

4. Monkeys

It is common to see people who own a pet monkey to treat them like a human baby. It is true that they are cute and childlike, but it doesn’t mean that we should put them in diapers and strollers. Just like babies, they are noisy and love to create messes.

One thing that people should be aware of before owning monkeys is that they are active creatures. Monkey needs a big space to play and exercise. Depriving their needs of space may cause them to go on a rampage. When they do, they will cause damages to your furniture and harms you as well. Monkey’s bites are also dangerous, as they can transfer harmful diseases like Rabies, HIV-1 and Hepatitis A.

Owning a monkey will give you dilemmatic problems, especially when you live in Russia. Most monkeys cannot adapt to the cold temperature, so they will die if left outside. But if you bring them in, their behaviors will surely give you pain in the head.

5. Snakes

Snakes are one of the best pets for those who don’t have much time to look after their pets. As long as you’re not squeamish and can handle them properly, (some) snakes will be your lifelong companions, even outliving you.

When you’re about to keep a snake, keep in mind that snakes are dangerous, even the venomless ones. But, maintaining a pet snake is easy. They are clean and spent less energy than mammals, therefore they move less and eat less. You can also leave them inside their terrarium and they will be completely fine, as long as you can maintain the heat and humidity.

But when it comes to heat and humidity, this will become a challenge when you keep snakes in Russia. It is true that some snakes that live in Siberia could survive freezing temperatures due to their thermoregulation abilities, but most snakes will die in low temperatures. So you will rely on heaters to keep your snake alive. Just hope that the electricity won’t shut down, or else, your snake will die in mere hours.

6. Lizards

Just like snakes, lizards are easy to maintain but less “cuddly”. Somehow they are more active than snakes so it is fascinating to watch them climbing branches and snatching their preys.

As a cold-blooded reptile, a lizard requires specific temperatures and humidity depending on their species. Some lizards need to bask under the sunlight to help them maintain their body function. This needs will be hard to fulfill since sunlight is not quite plentiful all year round in Russia.

In terms of feeding, most lizards will eat their prey alive. This means that you have to keep live insects inside your house. The most popular food for lizards are crickets, so if you wouldn’t mind listening to the loud love songs all night long, then it’s all fine.

7. Otters

Otters aren’t as cute as you might think. These aquatic animals might give you headaches just to fulfill their basic needs. Because of their aquatic lifestyle, you will need an outdoor pool for them to play and exercise. This will be a problem when the pool freezes during winter. 

For feeding, otters eat up to 25% of their body weight. Their diet consists mostly of fish, clams, and other crustaceans, which is not cheap to buy. They’re also defecates a lot. They use their fecal matters to mark their places and to communicate. Yes, when you see their poop, they want to say something. 

Some species of otters like Caucasian otters are listed in the Red Book of Russia, therefore, you need to have a special permit to own one. The permit itself is rather time-consuming, costly and daunting to make.

8. Raccoon

Despite what people show you on Instagram, don’t ever own a raccoon. It is rather tempting to own an unusual pet like raccoons. Their cute eyes, thick fur, and baby-like hands are some of their tricks to make you believe that they are a good pet.

Raccoons are some of the most common wildlife that you will find in Russian cities. They are highly adaptive and can eat any food that could fit in their mouth, including human leftovers in trashcans. This way of life makes them carrying harmful parasites and worms in their body.

Even though raccoon is very easy to train, they are just too wild to be contained in houses. They are destructive animals and will break all of your belongings. They don’t even show any guilt after they poop on Babushka’s favorite rugs. To top it off, their poops are foul smelling.

There it is! Eight worst pet animals to pet in Russia. There are lots of pets to choose when you’re in Russia. If you don’t have the capability to own certain pets, then you should look for another easier pet to maintain.

Owning a pet is like to have a new addition to your family. Keeping them safe and healthy is the duty of every owner. Once you take good care of them, they will think that you are a part of them too.