For about three years Areca Roe, photographer of Minnesota, has started to take an interest in unconventional pets: her research started on the Instagram pages of several local zoos and ended with the realization of her project. Housebroken is a collection of photographs marked by a sweet irony.

“What does the owner know about the snake, despite the fact that it does not return the owner’s affection in a way we could recognize?”

Her research is not just aesthetic, Areca wants to understand what are the deep motivations that lead people to prefer these bizarre animals to a common dog, more meek and affectionate.

The images relate the contrast between the classic domestic and the wild spirit from which these animals are characterized. One might think that the subjects of the photographs are not comfortable at home, but paradoxically Housebroken wants to tell the contrary, giving space to the diversity of these animals.