Exotic tastes: Australians go wild over unusual pets

Four year-old Sammi Smith with Fideo, a three-year-old male albino ferret, in her house on the outskirts of Sydney. According to the Australian Veterinary Association, exotic pets are becoming "more and more popular", with residents owning millions of birds, fish, small mammals and reptiles. (Peter Parks/AFP)

Updated on: Dec 21, 2016 4:54 PM IST

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Four year-old Sammi Smith with Fideo, a three-year-old male albino ferret, in her house on the outskirts of Sydney. According to the Australian Veterinary Association, exotic pets are becoming "more and more popular", with residents owning millions of birds, fish, small mammals and reptiles. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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17 year-old Olivia Fitzer holding a stick insect at a pet store in Sydney. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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Reptile manger Ben Dessen holding a Flinders Ranges scorpion, the biggest scorpion species in Australia, at a pet store in Sydney. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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Ann Harris plays with her pet, an Australian miniature pig "Coco" on her property on the outskirts of Sydney. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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James Bornstein with his pet Dingo named ‘Kimba’ during her daily walk on a beach on the outskirts of Sydney. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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Four-year-old Sammi Smith shows off Fideo, her three-year-old male albino ferret. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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Brooke Winters with her pet ‘Mario’, a bearded dragon, sitting on her head at the pet shop where she works in Sydney. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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Katrina Smith holding one of her pet ferrets on her property on the outskirts of Sydney. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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Reptile breeder Ernie Chan with his pet, a northern blue-tongued lizard at a pet store in Sydney. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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Reptile breeder Ernie Chan (left) shows off ‘Malfoy’, an albino Darwin carpet python, to 4-year-old Charlie Kallekleiv at a pet store in Sydney. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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Reptile breeder Ernie Chan with a bearded dragon on his shoulder at a pet store in Sydney. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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Reptile breeder Ernie Chan holds ‘Luna’, an albino short-neck turtle at a pet store in Sydney. (Peter Parks/AFP)

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Brooke Winters with ‘Mario’, her pet bearded dragon in Sydney. (Peter Parks/AFP)