PSA: Bats are capable of living over 25 years. Bats kept as pets rarely survive more than one year. Please do not keep bats as pets!

3 years ago by ickplant to c/bats

Try to imagine what this feels like… someone takes you captive, you don’t know why. You don’t speak their language and you are powerless to escape. You have no idea […]

Try to imagine what this feels like… someone takes you captive, you don’t know why. You don’t speak their language and you are powerless to escape. You have no idea what they want of you, and you are terrified.

Your captor locks you in a bathroom. This bathroom has a window covered with shade, but you are not allowed to open it to get fresh air or even look outside. There is a sink, but only your captor knows how to turn the water on. There is a toilet that you can eliminate, but only your captor decides when it should be flushed.

You get the same thing to eat day after day after day after day. When you don’t feel good no one knows how to help, so you suffer in pain. There are no pictures on the walls, no TV, no computer, no phones, and no friends. You have absolutely nothing whatsoever to help you pass the endless days and nights. If you are lucky you might have a companion, but otherwise, you are completely alone, and this is where you will spend every single day for the rest of your natural life.

This is what a bat feels when we take it into captivity.

I know we joke about bats being sky puppies in this community, but they are wild animals and they belong in the wild (or in specially designed sanctuaries if they are too injured to survive on their own).

If you ever see someone keep a bat as a pet, please try your best to educate them and let them know that Bat World will take their pet in to rehabilitate, no questions asked.

GlitterInfection 61 points 3 years ago

This is why I took in my local goth as a pet. They keep the same hours and have the same dance moves, but it's much less cruel to lock a goth in a dark room for hours with snacks.

path: 0 5169436, hotness: undefined, score: 61, children: 5
fiat_lux 21 points 3 years ago

Adopt me?

path: 0 5169436 5169582, hotness: undefined, score: 21, children: 2
Bondrewd 3 points 3 years ago

Only if we go pillaging together!

path: 0 5169436 5169582 5179037, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 1
Send_me_nude_girls 1 point 3 years ago

Who wouldn't trust a serial murderer?

path: 0 5169436 5169582 5179037 5181525, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
ickplant 13 points 3 years ago

Brilliant.

path: 0 5169436 5170424, hotness: undefined, score: 13, children: 0
RedAggroBest 12 points 3 years ago

They might even thank you

path: 0 5169436 5171955, hotness: undefined, score: 12, children: 0
JoYo 25 points 3 years ago

That's why I care for black cats because they're batty as hell.

path: 0 5167994, hotness: undefined, score: 25, children: 4
ickplant 11 points 3 years ago

Voids are the best!

path: 0 5167994 5168151, hotness: undefined, score: 11, children: 3
JoYo 9 points 3 years ago path: 0 5167994 5168151 5168184, hotness: undefined, score: 9, children: 2
ickplant 8 points 3 years ago

Imogen is gorgeous! Baxter, our new community mascot, wants to say hi! He spent 12 years all by himself in poor conditions, but now he is happily flying around at a bat sanctuary.

path: 0 5167994 5168151 5168184 5168539, hotness: undefined, score: 8, children: 1
JoYo 4 points 3 years ago

look at those little chin hairs!

path: 0 5167994 5168151 5168184 5168539 5168593, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 0
SupraMario 20 points 3 years ago

It's why I keep mine in caves on my farm and a few bat boxes...in the pastures right at dusk, hundreds of them flying around. It's awesome.

path: 0 5174229, hotness: undefined, score: 20, children: 2
cows_are_underrated 4 points 3 years ago

At the farm from my parents you could always see bat's flying around during the later hours in the summer. Sadly we never had that much bat's. Instead we always have a lot of swallows flying around. Last time I counted we had like 25 nests(not all are used every year).

path: 0 5174229 5729092, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 1
SupraMario 2 points 3 years ago

We have a good number of birds but our bat population is huge. It's really awesome at dusk to see them all come out when I getting in from evening chores. Just tons of them everywhere

path: 0 5174229 5729092 5747077, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
snor10 14 points 3 years ago

People keep bats as pets?

path: 0 5178090, hotness: undefined, score: 14, children: 1
ickplant 4 points 3 years ago

Believe it or not, they do. It's a cool-looking animal, and may seem low-maintenance to the untrained eye ("they just hang there").

path: 0 5178090 5185104, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 0
Can_you_change_your_username 12 points 3 years ago

On the other hand bat houses and hummingbird feeders full of water are a great way to keep wild bats hanging around eating bugs.

path: 0 5171095, hotness: undefined, score: 12, children: 0
doublejay1999 8 points 3 years ago

ok np

path: 0 5168510, hotness: undefined, score: 8, children: 0
Steve 5 points 3 years ago path: 0 5169357, hotness: undefined, score: 5, children: 1
JoYo 1 point 3 years ago

they mentioned a study in the article. which study was that?

path: 0 5169357 5185301, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
Mbourgon 2 points 2 years ago
path: 0 16234552, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
ArmokGoB 1 point 3 years ago

The quoted text seems like it could apply to any animal. I think a more effective argument is "You will likely get rabies and die."

path: 0 5185764, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
bats
bats

@lemmy.world

login for more options
2470
1237
1099

Bats are cool

Bats are the only true flying mammals. There are over 1,400 species of bats, and they can be found on nearly every part of the planet. Not only are they cute, they are also important...

Studying how bats use echolocation has helped scientists develop navigational aids for the blind. Without bats’ pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control we wouldn’t have bananas, avocados, mangoes, agave, or cacao… that’s right, bats bring us tequila and chocolate!

Found a bat in need of help?

Celebrate bats with us!

Our community's mascot is Baxter. Baxter is an Egyptian fruit bat that was cruelly kept alone and confined to a small cage for 12 years before being rescued by a bat sanctuary. You can read the full story by clicking on his name.

Our rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

  • Be respectful and inclusive

Everyone should feel welcome here. Hateful or bigoted language will not be tolerated.

  • No illegal or NSFW or NSFL content

Don’t post anything a fruit bat would not approve of.

  • No bat hate

Please don't hate on bats in this community (this includes all of your edgy covid humor).

  • No advertisement or spam

Bats don’t like spam.

Related Communities

Community Feedback and Moderation

For inquiry on becoming a moderator of this community, please send a message to the current moderators. Any feedback on the community should also be sent to the moderators.

go to feed...