Meet Space Cowboy, 2026 Wacky Exotic Pet Name winner
“When I got Space Cowboy, I didn't really understand a connection that could be had with reptiles,” says Hannah G., pet mom to 2026 Wacky Exotic Pet Names winner, Space Cowboy. “I know a lot of people have a hard time connecting with reptiles because they're not cuddly, they’re not soft, and they can look kind of intimidating.” It didn’t take long for her to realize just how wonderful these unconventional pets could be.
That wasn’t the first unexpected twist that Hannah encountered as a new bearded dragon parent. It turns out, between Space Cowboy’s nomination and now, Hannah found out that her rescue pet is actually a “she” during her latest veterinary visit. “If people wonder whether she has a body double: No, it’s the same dragon,” Hannah says. “She’s just a girl. But she’s still Space Cowboy.”
In an outcome that’s a little less surprising for many wacky name enthusiasts, Space Cowboy was chosen by the voting public to be our first reptile friend to win the exotic pet category in the Nationwide pet insurance’s Wacky Pet Names contest. We sat down with Hannah to talk about beardie parenting, anime, tiny cowboy hats and more.
Tell us a little bit about Space Cowboy.
“Space Cowboy is really a curious but chill bearded dragon,” Hannah says, highlighting something she says is uncommon among the more popular beardies online: “There are so many bearded dragon personalities on social media that are like, they stomp their little feet or bob their head or whip their tails, because they're like, ‘I'm king of the castle. I'm in charge.’ But Space Cowboy is more like, ‘I want to hang out. I want to watch things.’”
Asked if there’s one word that she would use to describe her pet, Hannah doesn’t hesitate: “Space Cowboy is unbothered,” she says. “Just has no concept of anything in the world, only bugs and greens. She is truly an unbothered queen about everything and I love it.”
What was your experience as a Wacky Pet Names nominee?
Like many Wacky Pet Names nominees, Hannah was surprised and maybe even a little skeptical when our team first reached out about the contest. Hannah says, “I couldn’t believe it. Once I confirmed it was real, I posted, ‘This bearded dragon I’ve had for seven years is in a competition because they like her name.’ My friends immediately understood: Of course. She’s Space Cowboy.”
Once the contest started, Hannah says getting her friends on board to get out the vote for Space Cowboy was easy: “There are a lot of animal things that are important to me, but I don't really advertise many things. But when I said, ‘Hey, everyone, this is kind of a big deal,’ they said, ‘OK, we're locked in, we will vote daily.’”
Even with all that support, Hannah was surprised to come away with the win: “I woke up, saw the news and turned into that ‘Huh?’ cat meme, the chubby black-and-white cat. I kept reading ‘Congratulations’ over and over like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ I was just shocked, truly shocked.”
Hannah adds, “It was entertaining—and unexpected. There are so many great names in the competition that I hope she can hold her own in the ‘Hall of Greats.’”
What’s it like to be the first reptile recipient of these Wacky honors?
“There were so many other animals that I expected to win, because I hadn't seen a reptile winner at all since this contest had started,” Hannah says. “I really hope we can do reptiles justice, because I know that there's a lot of stigma around them as pets.”
Hannah acknowledges that reptile parenting might not be for everyone, but she hopes that Space Cowboy makes a difference in the wider perception of pet reptiles with her newfound visibility. “I'm more hoping that people say, ‘Oh, these are creatures that are also worth loving compared to cats and dogs.’ I think this is a testament to that, that she won a competition,” she adds.
Tips for taking home the wacky gold (or at least, creating a really great pet name)
While Space Cowboy was named for the protagonist's personality from the '90s anime “Cowboy Bebop,” Hannah feels the way the name appealed to different audiences is what helped get the win: “I was going through the comments that were on social media and apparently ‘Space Cowboy’ resonates with a lot of different niche references. There are a couple of songs, there's the anime. Everyone was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love the reference to this.’ In those cases, that's actually not why I named her, but it’s cool that it resonated so much more beyond why I named her!”
When it comes to picking a name for your own pet, Hannah suggests trusting your gut: “Sometimes, there’s something in your stomach that feels so visceral where it's like, ‘No, this is their name. That is them.’ If you have a very intense draw to a name, no matter what, like that's really what you should go with.”
Case in point: Upon picking up her new friend and seeing her "just chilling in this container," Hannah knew: "She's Space Cowboy, like there were no ifs, ands, or buts."
A little cowboy hat never hurts, either.
What was it like being a first-time bearded dragon parent?
“Being Space Cowboy's parent has taught me a lot of kindness and empathy that I don’t think we should take for granted in animals,” Hannah says. “Where even if she's not ‘cuddly,’ she's still very much her own being in the world that we live in. So being her owner has taught me that no creature is too small or too different or too scaly to love. It just might look different than cuddles.”
That understanding that all animals deserve the best led her to seek out pet insurance for her new scaly friend.
“I have pet insurance for cats and dogs,” Hannah says. “I came across a social media post of a person who was crowdfunding for an emergency surgery for their egg-bound bearded dragon, and I was thinking, ‘Do they even offer pet insurance for exotics?’
She continues, “That’s when I started researching, and there were a lot of positive reviews of Nationwide specifically for exotics, that they’re very accommodating for reptile stuff as well. So, that’s when I was like, ‘She needs insurance.’”
How does pet insurance help you care for your pets?
Hannah says, “Insurance eases a lot of my anxiety. I’m new to owning reptiles, and while seven years is a long time, there are still so many things I’m learning about them. Insurance gives me the support to learn about new behaviors, too. If she starts walking differently, for example, I can ask, ‘Is this normal, or could it be a sign of something else?’ That helps me keep my pets in the best shape possible, because knowledge is power when it comes to animals and their health.
She adds, “It’s a form of knowledge I didn’t realize I needed, and I’m glad insurance can provide that.”
