Toucans are piciform pets of the kin Ranphastidae. Visually, they are unmistakable because of their enormous beaks and because they show striking colors that contrast with grounds of black plumage.
The several varieties of toucans live naturally from Mexico to Argentina. The largest variety is the toucan Ramphastos toco, which is a creature that some persons choose as an exotic pet.
In this article, we will solve your doubts and talk if it is possible to have a toucan as a pet and some things you should know about this wonderful animal.
Is it Legal to Have a Toucan as a Pet?
Having a toucan as a pet is totally illegal. It is forbidden to sell, keep, or even reproduce these creatures in captivity.
The only way to respect the law and enjoy the company of these lovely pets would be to have a zoo certificate, always respecting the CITES convention (for their transport and origin). However, an animal of these characteristics should be able to enjoy wildlife or reside in a quite specific place.
Toucan life expectancy
As with a wide range of natural animals, their life expectancy is multiplied by remaining in captivity. We are talking about birds that can live between 15 and 20 years, an outstanding margin of time that we must to be careful of.
Even taking into account everything the time that the toucan can accompany us at our side, we must also understand that it requires quite specific care that cannot be fulfilled by just anyone.
General care of the toucan
The toucan should have a temperature of between 18ºC and 28ºC, with high relative humidity of 60 to 85%. The hygiene of the toucan’s aviary must be quite careful to prevent diseases, but also it must be carried out with substances that are not harmful to our feathered friends.
They can be attacked by parasites, in which case it will be needed to consult with the veterinarian of exotic creatures which product is the most suitable to help these birds.
Toucans are mostly vegetarian, although they also need some creature protein in their diet, which in their original habitat they get from insects, tiny lizards, or some rodents. Anyway, the base of their diet is a fruit, followed by vegetables.
Among the most advisable fruits for toucans are the following:
- Banana
- Apple (seedless)
- Pear
- Melon
- Mango
Toucans have a quite tiny stomach in which food remains quite a little time, so they need to eat quite hydrated food, with are the fruits, or you can feed a tame toucan with light meatballs, 2 or three inches in diameter, made with boiled rice, carrots, cucumber, and potato, to terminate the fruit base of your diet.
These meatballs should sometimes contains a little bit of minced meat, to balance their diet and make it as similar as a toucan would feature in the native. Toucans should feature clean water at everything times.
When we discuss creatures that pass much of their time in an enclosure for example an aviary, it is not superfluous to remember that there are no cages that are too big, but there are cages that are too small.
The minimum desirable dimensions for the aviary of a toucan companion are four meters high x three meters wide x three meters deep. The toucan’s cage should have perches or cross sticks in the absence of a hollow trunk. However, remember that these measures are the minimum and that the toucan needs to exercise quite regularly.
