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If you’re looking to expand your Instagram feed beyond Internet famous cats and dogs, try following these unusual animals.
1. PUMPKIN THE RACCOON
Pumpkin was rescued by Nassau, Bahamas resident Rosie Kemp after falling out of a tree when she was just a month old, leaving her with a broken leg. The Bahamas Humane Society couldn’t take Pumpkin, so Kemp and her daughter, Laura Young, decided to raise the raccoon themselves. Eventually, Pumpkin moved in with Young, her husband, and their two rescue dogs—and an adorable Instagram was born. "Pumpkin considers the dogs her moms," Young told TODAY. “She respects them when they have had enough rough play and she loves to cuddle next to them when she is tired.” You can follow Pumpkin, whose favorite food is watermelon, here.
2. JACK THE WALLABY
Nashville-based lawyer Alex Fasching adopted Jack, a wallaby, two years ago. A year in, he started an Instagram account for Jack, who he regularly dresses up in fun outfits and takes on walks around his neighborhood. (The wallaby also accompanies Fasching to his office.) Now, Jack has more than 20,000 followers. “Jack sleeps in a pouch,” Fasching told the Daily Mail. “He will come up to you and reach his little arms towards you when he wants a scratch or a treat or to be picked up and held. If he wants to go in his pouch and you are holding it, he will reach at it until you lower it down for him to somersault into.” Follow Jack here.
3. PENNY THE GOAT
When yoga instructor Rachel Brathen adopted a baby goat, she probably didn’t think her new pet would be as enthusiastic about downward dog and pigeon pose as she was. But Penny Lane took quickly to yoga. On her Instagram—which has 65,000 followers—you can see her participating in her mom’s yoga routines and doing other fun things, like napping. Follow her here.
4. JUNIPER THE FOX
“I'm not the hero who rescued an orphaned baby fox from the wild. This isn't that story,” Juniper’s owner, who bought the fox from a breeder, writes on her pet’s Instagram page. So in addition to posting adorable photos and videos of Juniper doing everything from pouncing on the bed to going on walks, the fox’s owner also gives some real talk about what it’s like having a fox as a pet.
“I want to use my Instagram to be an educational resource,” she writes. Juniper does not act just like a dog, she says: “She's still a fox, and acts like a fox. ... It takes much more time and patience to care for her than it would .” Foxes, she says, bite, require a special diet, and are prone to destructive behavior. “They're skittish, they smell horrid, and they pee on everything,” she writes. “I hope that my posts can at least inform of the actuality that is living with such a rambunctious little life and stop the misinformation that will ultimately lead to foxes being the novelty pet.” Follow Juniper here.
5. MR. BAGEL THE CHINCHILLA
This 7-year-old mosaic chinchilla hails from the Bay area; his owner, Steve Byun, adopted Mr. Bagel from an animal shelter. “Some of my friends were talking about these cute bunnies they follow on Instagram,” Byun told SmallAnimalChannel.com, “and I thought it would be a great idea to dedicate an account to Mr. Bagel so I can informally document his life.” Now, Mr. Bagel has more than 100,000 followers, and Byun uses the platform to spread the message that fur isn’t fashionable and to encourage adopting over shopping. (Byun donates a portion of proceeds from Mr. Bagel-themed gear to a local chinchilla rescue.) You can follow Mr. Bagel here.
6. LUDWIK THE GUINEA PIG
Life wasn’t always so good for Ludwik, a 1-year-old naked guinea pig who spends his days participating in glamorous photos shoots featuring his favorite foods for an Instagram account that has nearly 29,000 followers. When his owner, Agata Nowacka, a student living in Warsaw, found him in a “very bad” pet store, she told The Dodo, he had pneumonia and other illnesses. It took six months to fix him up, and now, he lives with two Yorkies and another nude guinea pig. He even seems to enjoy his food-themed photo shoots: “Sometimes he even falls asleep, so I think he feels very comfortable,” Nowacka told The Dodo. “What is funny about Ludwik is the fact that he can fall asleep even during his vet's appointment. He could sleep all the time. He could spend most of his day in his blue polar blanket on my lap." Follow Ludwik here.
7. WALLY THE RABBIT
There’s no antidote for a bad day like the videos you’ll find on Wally’s Instagram page. This English Angora rabbit, who lives in Natick, Massachusetts and will celebrate his second birthday this year, has amazingly fluffy ears and a joyful jump. Wally’s owner, Molly Prottas, adopted the bunny after her Flemish Giant died. “My life had a big hole in it,” Prottas told ABC News. “I actually considered getting a dog, but I've always been so drawn to rabbits.” She trims Wally’s coat because he’s sensitive to brushing, but leaves his ears alone. “I let those go,” she said. “And he looked so adorable, soft and cuddly, so I just decided that that's going to be his look.” You can follow Wally here.
8. ESTHER THE WONDER PIG
When Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter adopted a piglet from an old friend in 2012, they were told she was a micropig who would grow to be 70 pounds. They had no idea that the animal they had adopted would grow into a full-sized, 670-pound pig. “Our vet raised concerns the first time he met her. He noticed her cropped tail and said it was a clear sign she was actually a commercial pig, not a pet at all. We were terrified but we had already fallen in love with her,” Jenkins told the Huffington Post. “We decided to wait and see what happened. But the longer we had her, the more we loved her—and, unfortunately, the bigger she got.”
Rather than give her up, Jenkins and Walter moved to a farm with Esther and their two dogs and two cats. Now, Esther has 195,000 followers on Instagram. “Derek and I are Esther's voice and some days it is really challenging to come up with new quips and I will sit there staring at a picture until something comes to me,” Jenkins told the Daily Mail. “Other days it's as if I can read Esther's thoughts and I swear she can convey them with her eyes and her smile.” Follow Esther’s exploits here.
9. BIKKE THE CHIPMUNK
We don’t know much about this adorable chipmunk, who lives in Japan, besides the fact that she has as much trouble getting out of bed on a Monday as we do. Bikke has nearly 100,000 followers; you can follow her here.
10. HENRY THE TORTOISE
Henry, a 16-year-old sulcata tortoise, got major news coverage earlier this month when his mom, Amanda Green (who writes for mental_floss) posted an ad for a tortoise walker on Craigslist. Green adopted Henry two years ago; initially, she was just fostering, but “I ended up falling in love,” she told Refinery29. “I was like, ‘If he needs a forever home, I'll be that for him!’” (Henry’s previous owner had young children and couldn’t give the tortoise the attention he needed.) Green said that Henry “definitely has a personality … more than I anticipated. He’s really social, he’s curious. … He's never really in his shell. Henry will greet anyone who comes into the apartment.” You can see Henry taking baths, wearing costumes, and walking around Central Park here.
11. CALICO THE HEDGEHOG
In addition to donning costumes and celebrating every holiday, Calico—an African pygmy hedgehog—also posts her vacation photos on Instagram, where she has 88,000 followers. This well-traveled hedgehog has been to the White House, enjoyed the views in Glacier National Park, and posed next to Seattle’s Space Needle. You can follow Calico here.