Do moles make good pets? No, there are only a few animals that are worse to care for. In this article, you learn more about why these tiny and cute creatures make such bad pets.
First: I can really understand you! Moles look so cute. They are interesting and fascinating animals not everyone thinks about keeping them as pets. Additionally, many gardeners consider them a pest and would do everything to keep them away from their grass at least.
Moles can dig as fast as 18 feet per hour which is really incredible for such a little creature. However, this article is about cute baby pet moles, right? So let’s start with six reasons why you shouldn’t keep one as a pet. At the end of the article, you find a section with questions about moles that many people ask.
#1 Moles Must Stay Underground
Moles must stay under the ground. They don’t like sunlight and prefer relatively cold and dark places. They spend their whole lives in their tunnel system and only come out in an emergency. That can be when the tunnels get flooded by water during rain.
Another reason why a mole might come out is when he can’t dig through a rocky area. But before the animal walks over land, it tries to burrow around or under the rock.
Have you ever seen a mole over the ground? No? Me neither. So this is very rare and I ask myself often how all the pictures of moles that come out of their holes were made.
Staying over the ground for too long causes the death of the animal soon. A few hours are enough, as the cute critters can’t handle the stress. Stress is something that occurs easily in moles. The next section is will show that are several things that cause stress.
#2 Moles Don’t Like To Be Handled
Moles don’t like to cuddle or to be petted. More likely they will bite you when you make the first moves to handle them.
We have another thing that might stress them a lot here.
However, imagine you have a pet that you can’t touch. Most people don’t want to own an animal like that. Especially children often want a species that likes their companionship. Playtime should also be part of the regular care for them.
A pet that hides burrowed under the surface is not what many people want in the first place. You should be fully aware of this fact when you think about your cute pet mole.
#3 Moles Eat A Lot Of Worms
Moles like the star-nosed mole, the golden mole, or the giant mole like to eat earthworms the most. However, that doesn’t mean that this stands for every subspecies. There are also ones that are more interested in other insects.
What they all have in common, is that they are insectivores like the anteater. And they eat a lot and often. A star-nosed mole for example can eat half of its body weight in worms in just one day.
The little cuties also need to eat very often on a regular basis. After just one hour without food, they can begin to starve. This fact leads to very short sleeping intervals. Moles often sleep only 4 hours a day. The rest of the time they spend going after worms.
This behavior or need makes caring for a pet mole very difficult. You have to ensure that there is enough food at every time. With these pets a hard task that is nearly impossible. You won’t be able to take vacations anytime you want as long as you have your pet mole and nobody else is willing to care.
#4 Moles Can’t Live In A Tank
If your vision is, that your pet mole will live happily in a glass tank as many reptiles do, I have to disappoint you. No class container will be big enough to satisfy the need for movement of a mole.
These animals like to explore and you can estimate how much space they need at the speed they dig. Have you ever seen a garden with molehills? Many of the hills occur in just one day. And consider that they live solely and fight each other, so all the hills were made by one individual. Now you have a feeling for the space they shape when the cute moles can move freely.
#5 Pet Moles Die Early
Moles live short lives of about three years. Pet moles die even sooner because of the stress they have to deal with in captivity.
Most people I’ve heard of that tried to keep a pet mole had it only for a few weeks or months until it passed away.
If you love animals and are responsible, you should leave moles in their natural habitat.
#6 There Are No Moles For Sale
There are really no moles for sale. No adult ones and no baby moles. It’s not like it is with other exotic pets like lions or flamingos that you need a special permit or can buy them on the black market. Moles just aren’t sold.
It’s likely that they would have died before they change the owner. So no trader is interested in selling them. For breeders, it’s also not possible to successfully breed this species.
