Buying a Cassowary

ScreamArmadillo

ScreamArmadillo

Member
Servals, Bat Ear Fox, Cavy, Cloud Rat, Otter for Sale

I'm very interested in everyones take on this. I've noticed there are different stances on this particular subject and would like to see what people think about this.

I have read the husbandry article:

Cassowary Husbandry

and am kinda interested in the private keeping of them. I can only dream of having a breeding pair but am also having mixed feelings about it.

I would love to own a paca and Giant Otter Shrew. As well as, A Rufous Hornbill and Pesquet's Parrot.

Rainforest Aviary Birds for Sale

Please tell me what you think.

Screaming Armadillo
 
most private people have plenty of interest but neither the knowledge nor the economy to keep that type of animals in a responsible way. IF you have the knowledge, space and economy, I see no reason to hold back on something like a cassowary. As long as you also treat it as a wild animal but that shouldn't be a big problem with something like a cassowary. A bigger problem with private individuals that keep monkeys, foxes or wild cat species and think they should treat it like a human baby, normal dog or normal cat.

I believe giant otter shrews have presented big problems even for top zoos so that is one to stay away from.

When it comes to threatened animals like rufous hornbill and Pesquet's parrot only the SERIOUS pro´s should even consider getting them and then with the objective to achieve breeding. Pesquet's parrot is very susceptible and successful captive breeding is rare.

The Philippines is one of the hotspots in catching threatened wild animals and 'laundering' them (getting corrupt officials to sign papers that make it look like they are captive bred and legal). Threatened wild caught animals from Indonesia typically also go through the Philippines or Java to be 'laundered'. I'm not saying the last link you posted include animals that are 'laundered' but when seeing a list that include that many Philippine and Indonesian species where captive breeding is rare I get suspicious. I have no major problems with the more common species being wild caught but I really dislike seeing the threatened rufous hornbill (CITES II), Palawan hornbill (CITES II), Pesquet's parrot (CITES II) and spotted imperial pigeon (not CITES but just as threatened) on that list. Sure these have been captive bred but in very small quantities and I doubt you would see genuine captive bred advertised like that. The very few serious keepers that breed them all know each other or are part of networks so they never enter the open marked.

The site in your first and last link and the mammals they offer have been discussed briefly on zoochat before http://www.zoochat.com/2/escape-abcs-94004/index10.html
 
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Having worked, briefly, at arm's length with cassowarys, I'd urge anyone wishing to keep them to think long and hard.

Even the most experienced professionals treat them with the utmost respect; the depth of knowledge required is considerable and should things go wrong, people can get seriously injured. Maintaining the birds in good condition is also quite an undertaking.
 
Screaming Armadillo,



Without being unrespectful, but with the kind of questions you are asking I guess you have no or very limited experience with any animal husbandry. Go for established and easy species first, get experience and then in 20 years you can maybe consider these species (forget about the otter shrew at all). For now get yourself some budgies and try to breed those.
 
Perhaps start with Nene Geese. Freely available, of conservation significance, no question of them being illegal wild-caught, nearly as aggressive as a Cassowary, but not able to kill you [which a Cassowary will do as a matter of course -- the resemblance to a Velociraptor is far from coincidental]; a Cassowary is the most dangerous thing in feathers.
Get your experience without being killed.
 
I remember seeing Steve Irwin on tv catching up a cassowary at his zoo. It took several keepers, and he made very clear how dangerous it was. Considering some of the animals he'd take on single handed I think that says it all!
 
DDcorvus - Actually, I have quite a lot of experience with animal husbandry. My list of animals goes down quite a ways. I have bred for a small money maker and just for fun. Kept new species of herps, Birds, and small mammals, new to private collections and know have a growing small collection of mainly reptiles. You see, I had to stop my interest for a work that I was very committed to. My past collection had to go and soon did. Many years later I settled in a decided to start up with some herps here and there.

Although this is not my first time for reptiles, It is my first time for Exotic Animals kept by regular every day people. I was never really interested in zoos a while back. Didn't really care or appreciate what they did. Didn't really know what they did, I guess. Now, I do. I love going to zoos and seeing different animals. Of coarse I knew what they where just never took the time to really look at them personally. With my new mind set I started to look around on husbandry articles to see how zoos keep animals and how zoos work. Like so: What is needed to start a zoo, Zoo marketing Construction of a zoo, Building exhibits, and Mainly animals them selves.
As you can see in my post, I never said I was going to buy a Cassowary. I said I was interested in how one would keep them. Every one thinks of this. Its fun and makes you smile. You start to plan out the cage and what you would need inside of it. My point to this post was to see what certain peoples thoughts on this were. Some thoughts my be different than others.
 
ScreamArmadillo said:
Actually, I have quite a lot of experience with animal husbandry. My list of animals goes down quite a ways. I have bred for a small money maker and just for fun. Kept new species of herps, Birds, and small mammals, new to private collections.......
Click to expand...
I'd be interested in seeing your list of species that you've kept, especially the birds and small mammals new to private collections
 
Chlidonias - Of coarse!

Lets see, Mammals:

Before the Short Tailed Opossum phase was big, I bought, I believe, 0.0.2. Those turned out to be females, they were very young when I bought them. One lived for 3 years and the other died shortly after. Fun animal, but could never really be kept as a pet, as they die to quickly. I had a small group of Siberian Chipmunks. One flying squirrel. And last but not least, a breeding pair of African Pygmy Hedgehogs. They bred a couple of times. I never had any of the morphs as they do now. I also had some animals that have never really been a popular pet but have been around in peoples houses for quite some time. I had a nasty Raccoon and a very nice female, de gland, Stripped Skunk.

Birds:

Chukar
Button Quail
Ring necked Pheasant when they first came over.
 
If you had Ring-necked Pheasants 'when they first came over' you would be about two hundred years old.
 
ScreamArmadillo said:
Birds:

Chukar
Button Quail
Ring necked Pheasant when they first came over.
Click to expand...


I hate to sound like an arse wipe ,but thats hardly any experiance with birds at all. I breed quail and chuckar ,and have kept pheasants.

I've worked with hundreds of birds ,from the smallest waxbills to the largest vultures ,hornbills ,and pigeons. Basically a whole ton of stuff :P If any one really want ,PM me and I can send you a list of everything.

But anywho ,you dont want hornbills :P They are large ,and need tons of space. They are super flighty uless hand raised (which I really dont think these ones are) they need a special diet ,need HUGE cages for that size of a bird (like 12' x 12' x 10' ,at least) and need to have it just right for breeding.

Also flighty...its to the point where if you have a bird in a smaller cage (like a aformentioned dimensions) that isnt super well planted ,your bird(s) will be flipping sh*t ,bashing againt the cage walls and other bad stuff. Their also really hard to tame down ,at all.

I've never worked with the Pesquet's ,so I cant say anything on them ,other then that they seem to be really hard to breed ,and need lots of fruit.
 
FWC said:
thats hardly any experiance with birds at all. I breed quail and chuckar ,and have kept pheasants.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the question should be who does not keep Quail, Chukars and Pheasants, as that is what I keep as well.:)
 
Let's not start a discussion on this and as I said Screaming Armadillo my comments were not intended to step on any toes but the kind of questions you asked surprised me especially when you say you have a lot of experience with animal husbandry. You indeed had nice a nice collection with wonderful species, but I would not say you have a lot of experience. If you can get paca's these are quite nice and although I m not sure how the availability is in the US, you should be able to get farm-bred animals.

For Pesquet's don't even start with them if you have 0 psittacine experience although they are a bit of the odd one in the family. With their fruit diet also come the hygiene aspect of their husbandry including replacing branches very often, not because of gnawing (the usual reason with parrots) but because they have the tendency to wipe their head and beak clean on them and branches with fruit remains on them.
 
Getting past the "whether you have experience with animal husbandry" debate and the "are you crazy to consider owning cassowaries" debate, @ScreamArmadillo, you will be interested in the WAZA "Virtual Zoo" info

Virtual Zoo : WAZA : World Association of Zoos and Aquariums

On any animal, click on "At the zoo".

AZA also has husbandry guidelines you'd find interesting, but as I recall they are only available on-line to members
 
cassowaries

I have been keeping and "attempting" to breed Cassowaries for 12 yrs now. I have a website you can view here: What is a Cassowary? - Cassowary I am currently working with AZA's ratite tag program to help restore their populations and help to get breeding pairs established in Zoo's, as they are rapidly disappearing. I am one of 5 known breeders in the US. I would recommend experience with Ratites, but as long as you are a good listener and practice safe keeping for yourself and the animal, then I dont discourage the keeping and breeding of them. Part of the reason they have nearly disappeared in captivity is from the constant discouraging remarks about them as a blood thirsty killer. Currently there are less than 30 left in the US that I know of. Another reason they're so scarce, is people end up with them that shouldnt have them. Out of ignorance they allow the birds to end up dying or killing one another. Most of the ones left are solitary males that killed their mates once they decided to start sitting the eggs, and the keeper didnt remove the female in time. Over all, they are no worse than keeping a male Ostrich, and are very amazing and jaw dropping animals.
 
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