Dragons, turtles, degus! Oh my!

By KATIE SEMINARA

The Canfield Fair houses more than just the average cow or chicken.

CANFIELD — Cows, pigs, horses and bearded dragons don’t fit together, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be found in close proximity at the Canfield Fair.

The Junior Fair Small Animals building, which houses some unusual pets, is right next to the farm animals people expect at the fair.

Bearded dragons, tortoises, lizards, guinea pigs and degus are just a small list of the furry — and not so furry — critters fairgoers can view.

“It’s nice for the kids. It gives them an opportunity to see things they’ve never seen before,” said Rebekah Owen of the variety of animals in the pocket pet section.

Rebekah, 16, attends West Branch High School and has been showing animals for 11 years in 4-H. She usually shows horses, but this year Rebekah brought her 2-year-old tortoise, Bruce.

When Bruce is full grown, he will weigh about 350 pounds, Rebekah said, and he will need a large, heated garage. During his stay at the fair, Bruce will be judged according to how Rebekah handles him and his breed characteristics.

“People learn a lot when they come through here,” Rebekah said of the educational opportunities provided by the 4-H at the Canfield Fair.

Bruce had some interesting friends in neighboring cages including May and June, two degus owned by Amanda Evans, 18, of Austintown.

A degu is a cross between a chinchilla and a squirrel from Chile, said Evans, as she held one ever so gently to her chest.

Evans said she wanted the small brownish black beings because they were really cute and different from guinea pigs and rabbits.

“They look exactly alike,” said Evans — who admitted that most of the time she can’t tell the two apart.

Those strolling through the small animals building can stop to see the degus and learn that if you pull or hold them by their tail, they’ll drop it as a defense mechanism.

“It [the tail] doesn’t grow back,” said Amanda’s mother, Debbie Evans, of the need to be careful while holding the degus.

Though the degus are some of the more intriguing fair creatures, Amanda was also showing her lamb Pepper on Thursday.

“He gets sold tonight because he is a market lamb,” said Amanda, who said she has learned not to get too attached to the animals she knows will be sold.

Pepper, who isn’t even a year old, weighs 111 pounds, and Amanda had to control him in the showmanship competition with nine other competitors in the Coliseum.

“Some of them get kind of wild,” said Debbie of the lambs, while she was watching her daughter show Pepper.

Even though Pepper didn’t get a ribbon, Amanda would show him again in the market class and hope to get $3 per pound.

“I do this for the experience,” said Amanda, who knew Thursday was the last time she’d see Pepper, but she would still have her two degus at the end of the day.