i mean this post is for anyone but it's p common to see in furry groups because we love animals here but don't necessarily have a zoology background
make sure youre not sharing animal mistreatment!
this topic can go Very in-depth, because every animal has different needs & behaviors. A good rule of thumb is that just because it's alright for a human, doesn't mean it's alright for an animal. E.g. an animal "smiling" might be a sign of stress.
but I'll share a few common ones that should raise concerns
(e.g., not necessarily 100% bad, but maybe should prompt trying to find out what's going on)
1. animal that is not typically a pet inside someone's house. E.g., fox, serval, caracal, etc. It might be an animal rescue interior, but if you can't confirm that -- this is probably very,very unhealthy for the animal. Big Floppa is an example of this one, I believe! on the flip side, some wild-seeming animals like peacocks are actually domesticated are uncommon-but-fine pets.
2. feeding what appears to be a wild animal. Foxes, raccoons, etc. This is more socially acceptable with birds (bird feeders) but isn't great still. Feeding wild animals is a cause for concern for many reasons. Firstly, the food may be unhealthy to the animal, either toxic or not sufficiently nutritious. Secondly, the animal now associates humans with food, so it may approach people: this may result in toxic food being given to it, or someone believing it is aggressive and hurting it.
3. predator and prey interaction. Should that person's pet cat really be allowed to hang out right next to their new budgie? In some cases, the animals have been habituated to the other's presence and it's low-risk (usually seen with ADULT poultry and farm cats/dogs), but certain species mixes are just... no. Cats and small birds + lizards + rodents is a really common one I see. The cat might eat the other, and regardless, the small animal is probably stressed out of its mind.
4. tiny fishtanks, tiny birdcages, those little plastic tunnels in hamster cages, etc. Certain animals, like fish, reptiles, rodents, and birds, are "socially acceptable" to keep in very small enclosures & basically neglect. Generally, animals will want bigger enclosures with lots of places to hide -- both tiny enclosures & big, empty enclosures are bad news. This is v animal-specific but yeah.
5. petting parrots/birds on their back and tail. Generally, petting animals like cats and dogs, we pet the back. This is not acceptable for a lot of birds. For a lot of birds, petting on the back & tail is a sexual thing for them, and can induce hormonal responses that result in disordered & harmful behavior.
6. too-good-to-be-true posed pictures, e.g., frogs riding snail while holding a leaf like an umbrella. It is not uncommon that these pictures were taken by refrigerating the frog so it slows down, and manhandling its body to pose it for the picture. If it seems to be an unlikely situation, look up the source.
again, double-check if you can -- animal behavior is very diverse & can differ a lot between species, & some okay situations can resemble iffy ones!
anyways very incomplete list as I mentioned. If you're concerned about something you see, you can try and find out what's going on by checking the profile of whoever made the video/photo/etc, & maybe looking up that person as there might be info about them already. If you can't do that (e.g. content reposted w/o attribution), you can look up [animal] behavior online to see what you can find out. On places like tumblr, some people who are knowledgeable about particular species have made info posts.
here are some resources:
Why Animals Do The Thing , blog - general animal behavior stuff, often contacts other people for specifics
Kaijutegu , tumblr - reptile keeping, mostly a pet-posting account but also posts reptile-care info
will add more if people recommend / I come across more
stay cool, animal lovers, & hi-paw ( hi-five but paws :3 )
re: this post, if anyone has better info or resources, I would appreciate . I'm an ecotoxicology/aquatic ecology girlie, I deal with wild invertebrates, only small experience as an animal keeper & zookeeper/aquarist. not a zoologist, not a vertebrate-knowledgeable person.
animal behavior isnt my forte . unless we're talking about shrimp behavior.
