[BrainDeadBuster]

I agree with everything you've said except for the whole thing about guinea pigs being different than lizards and snakes and birds. Guinea pigs in the wild look very much like our furry friends here. In south America they catch the wild ones and they behave just like our friends. Many of the bird and lizard and frog species you speak of have been altered by humans. There are plenty of crossbreeds and morphs, just like our guinea pigs. I do not think a lizard bred in captivity is any different than owning a guinea pig bred in captivity. We are just as wrong as someone who owns a frog or whatever. I think people on both ends whom adopt any of these animals can be very responsible and provide that animal with the right requirements, but it is wrong to think that they are wrong and you are right simply because your animal is what you are used to. There are plenty who wouldn't own a guinea pig and prefer birds because that is what they like/are used to. Doesn't mean that adoptee wouldn't take as good of care, it would be different care. I think responsible lizard/snake/frog ownership means not handling the animals much because it would stress them out, and responsible people on that end follow by those guidelines. It's unfair for someone to limit someone else based on their own bias. I beleive that by the standards everyone is setting here, that we too are wrong for owning guinea pigs. So are people that own anything else that easily could of come from the wild. Yes there are a lot of guinea pig breeders, but there are a lot of snake breeders, lizard breeders, bird breeders, frog breeders, goat breeders, ect. The only thing that sets people apart is the fact that many of us "adopted" our guinea pigs, like others that adopt an animal in need. However, by adopting, we still contribute to the problem by providing the companies that make food, water bottles, package hay, toys, bedding, ect for these animals. If we never adopted then we wouldn't be helping to support the businesses that help to feed the animals that breeders and buyers have. Where would petsmart be without the sales of the food, bedding, toy items? Nowhere that's where. So my point is that we are ALL hipocrites here if we cast stones at others, it's easy to see if you step outside your box. Don't get mad at the truth, learn from it.