According to reports, Nicolas Cage’s love for animals outweighs his love for money. Despite spending $150 million on extravagant purchases such as a dinosaur head and a couple of islands, Cage has always maintained his exotic pets that include snakes, crows, cats, turtles, fish, and even an octopus. In a recent interview with GQ, the actor shared how he takes care of his Maine coon cat named Merlin. He expressed his love for the cat and stated that sometimes Merlin puts his arm around him while sleeping, and Cage mistakes it for his wife. The actor also once owned a two-headed snake that he donated to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans after struggling to feed it.
The Audubon Institute shared an interesting fact about Cage’s past ownership of a two-headed snake, which had a peculiar habit of fighting at feeding time. The snake had two fully functional heads that could swallow, and the zoo had to take turns feeding them while placing a rubber spatula between their heads to prevent them from fighting over each other’s food. Apart from the snake, Cage also owned a talking crow named Huginn, who lived inside a geodesic dome in his Las Vegas house. The crow has a unique feature of possessing a shock of white feathers up front and actually talking. Although Cage was initially drawn to the Edgar Allan Poe connotations of the crow, he now seems to get a kick out of the fact that Huginn calls him names, saying “Ass” when he leaves the room.
According to insiders, pets are actor Nicolas Cage’s favorite thing to buy, even more so than his exotic purchases. In the mid-1980s, while residing in a Hollywood apartment, Cage owned a pet octopus that he kept in an aquarium. However, during a visit with a friend, the octopus squirted ink on his hand, causing Cage to remark “What a pity. Just when we were beginning to get along.” Cage also owned two king cobras named Moby and Sheba, which he kept behind two locked doors with bullet-proof glass. He enjoyed watching them while sitting in his red leather chair and drinking wine, but was aware of the danger they posed. Cage mentioned that if he got bitten, he would have only 15 minutes to live and therefore kept an antidote nearby. One of the snakes, since given to a zoo, would try to hypnotize him before lunging, leaving Cage to reflect on the experience before retiring for the night.
Harvey, the unique two-headed snake, was purchased for $80,000 by its owner Cage. The reptile was named after Harvey Dent, the two-faced villain from the “Batman” franchise. Even though the snake passed away at age 14, it was quite a feat considering that most embryos with this condition do not survive. Director Werner Herzog, who worked with Cage on “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” was fascinated by the snake when Cage brought it out at a party he was hosting. Herzog even suggested including the snake in the movie, but Cage declined due to its personal significance. Instead, Herzog filled the film with various other reptiles, including snakes, iguanas, and alligators.
During the 1980s, Nicolas Cage resided in a Hollywood apartment where he kept a pet octopus in an aquarium. However, as the creature grew into a five-foot-long predator, Cage struggled to provide proper care and decided to give it away. Fortunately, the Wild Life Discovery Center in Lake Forest, Illinois, agreed to take in the animal. Cage even sent the reptile, now named Michael, via overnight FedEx. The center’s curator, Rob Carmichael, reported that Michael arrived unscathed, albeit with a few scratches and in need of some additional nourishment. After settling in, Michael enjoyed a feast of quail, mice, and rats, which satisfied the appetite of the ferocious lizard.
