Spiders! Lemurs! Kinkajous! Meet the Celebrities with Unconventional Pets

Cats and dogs alone just won't cut it for these stars

01 of 11

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish Carpool Karaoke
The Late Late Show with James Corden

During an episode of Carpool Karaoke with James Corden, the singer gave a tour of her home where she keeps her pet spider.

“Why would you do that? Why would you have such a thing?” a very nervous host Corden questioned Eilish, before the star placed her blue spider on his hand.

“Because he’s cute!” she said.

“There’s nothing cute about it. Zero,” Corden replied.

“You’re wrong,” Eilish argued before Corden exclaimed “oh s—” at seeing the tarantula move its legs.

02 of 11

Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson

2018 MTV Video Music Awards - Arrivals
Paul Zimmerman/WireImage

When Ariana Grande decided in September 2018 that she wanted a pig, she didn’t waste any time. “An hour later, it was just there,” fiancé Pete Davidson recalled of the couple’s new pet, Piggy Smallz. Davidson admitted on Late Night with Seth Meyers that he could see why pigs aren’t common pets in Manhattan, adding that the newest member of their home was “starting to bite.” Still, he pledged his love for their “bougie pig” by getting Piggy Smallz’s face tattooed on his side.

03 of 11

Martha Stewart

Tribute Dinner Honoring Jonathan Waxman, Rob Sands and Richard Sands With Master Of Ceremonies Tom Colicchio Presented By Bank of America - 2016 Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE
Denis Contreras/Getty

Stewart, a lifelong animal lover, has raised a surprisingly eclectic brood of pets on her farm, including peacocks, ducks, geese, cats, dogs, chickens and canaries. She has a pet product line, with products ranging from grooming supplies to outerwear, and makes all of their food herself. “I really, really adore my animals,” Stewart told PeopleTV in August 2018. “I never get mad at my animals. There’s just not anything to get made at.” She joked, “Even if they eat my shoe, it’s my fault.”

04 of 11

Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton Launches Her New Shoe Collection Spring/Summer 2017
Victor Chavez/WireImage

Paris Hilton’s pets have a tendency to make headlines. Her kinkajou, Baby Luv, famously bit the heiress in 2006, and her bevy of purse-sized dogs became a fad — as did her trendy “teacup pig,” which quickly grew larger than expected. But Hilton remained loyal to her pets; in 2017, she tweeted a series of pictures of herself posing lovingly alongside Princess Piggelette, who, by then, was much too big to fit in her purse.

05 of 11

Kirstie Alley

Celebrities Visit SiriusXM Studios - January 6, 2016
Cindy Ord/Getty

Alley keeps a whopping 14 ring-tailed lemurs as pets, and she says their presence is calming. “They look like they’re sitting in the lotus position almost, and they’re chilled out,” the actress told PEOPLE in 2016. Still, she doesn’t recommend most people keep them as pets. “Lemurs live a long time — about 30 years — so it’s a huge responsibility,” Alley explained. “They eat all organic, and you have to keep them meticulous. I actually have a full-time animal caretaker. It’s just on my payroll!”

06 of 11

George Clooney

Lost In Space - Anniversary party
Jeff Spicer/Getty

One of Clooney’s most famous relationships in the ‘90s was the one he shared with Max, his 300-pound potbellied pig. “You get a lot of grief from people when you sleep with a pig,” Clooney once told the press. "But I always say, 'Love me, love my pig.' What can I do?" When the pig passed away in 2006 at the impressive age of 19, the actor shot down suggestions that he might get another, telling USA Today, “I think Max covered all my pig needs.”

07 of 11

Reese Witherspoon

72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals
Frazer Harrison/Getty

Witherspoon looked to her Southern roots when she welcomed a pair of miniature donkeys to her farm in 2010, christening the duo Honky and Tonky. “They’re just docile and sweet,” the actress told Ellen DeGeneres. “I call them badonkadonks.” Witherspoon’s farm is also the home of pigs, goats, a horse, dogs and plenty of chickens.

08 of 11

Nicole Kidman

Glamour Women Of The Year Awards 2017 - Red Carpet Arrivals
Stuart C. Wilson/Getty

Nicole Kidman told Vogue in 2017 that her favorite thing about her Australian mansion is her alpacas, which she purchased with husband Keith Urban in 2009. When asked by Conan O’Brien why she chose such unconventional pets, Kidman answered, “Because they’re pretty. They have the long lashes. Have you seen them?”

09 of 11

Leondardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio attends a BAFTA screening of 'The Revenant'
Dave J Hogan/Getty

DiCaprio made a long-term commitment in 2010 when he purchased a 38-pound African spurred tortoise — a species known to live more than 70 years.

10 of 11

Nicolas Cage

Paper Street Films' Screening Of "The Runner" - Arrivals
Frazer Harrison/Getty

During a string of eccentric purchases (which also included a pair of king cobras), Cage treated himself to an octopus, which CNBC reported cost him $150,000. He was rumored to have said he hoped the pet would help him with his acting.

11 of 11

Tori Spelling

Tori Spelling Visits "Extra"
D Dipasupil/Getty

Coco the silkie bantam chicken is always dressed to the nines thanks to owner Tori Spelling’s passion for crafting. “I make her outfits to mimic my vintage dresses,” Spelling told Lucky magazine in 2012. “Right now I’m knitting her a chicken poncho for those cool summer nights.” And Spelling has been known to take her fashionable pet out on the town. As she put it, “They know [Coco] by name at our local Michael's craft store.”

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