Exotic Pet Bird

The exotic pet bird can belong to a wide range of different species. Exotic birds can be highly entertaining as pets and many owners develop strong bonds to their birds. Before you purchase an exotic pet bird, you should always ask your self three important questions.

1. Do I know how to properly care for this exotic pet bird and keep it happy and healthy?

A visit to the library is always recommended to find out more about the specific species that you are interested in. If you are lucky, there might even be a club for owners of exotic pet birds in your area. You can also take advantage of the internet to find out more, and online search will typically provide you with an abundance of helpful information. Before you bring an exotic pet bird home, you should have found out the ideal diet for your bird, how large the cage must be, how to notice commonly occurring forms of illness in this particular bird species, and how to notice signs of stress and/or boredom. You should also have figured out how to keep your exotic pet bird entertained. Many birds are intelligent creatures that will grow bored and depressed if locked up in a small cage all day without anything to do. If you have any specific questions, you can always visit an online forum where you can meet other keepers of exotic pet birds and share their experience.

1. How old can this exotic pet bird become?

When we get a hamster or guinea pig, we don’t expect them to live for more than a few years. You can get a hamster for your seven year old and know that it will not be around when he becomes a teenager. This is not true for exotic pet birds. Several parrot species of are for instance know to grow really old. If you get an African Grey Parrot and provide it with a good home it may live for 50-70 years. Are you prepared to care for your exotic pet bird for years and years to come? It is naturally impossible to tell whether or not you will be able to keep your exotic pet bird for 50 years, but you should at least be prepared to care for it longer than you would expect to keep a hamster, gerbil or guinea pig. If not, make sure that you choose one of the many exotic pet bird species that have a shorter life span.

1. Is buying and keeping this exotic pet bird legal?

Many exotic birds are on the brink of extinction in the wild, and wild caught specimens are therefore unsuitable as pets. Purchasing certain types of exotic pet birds can actually violate national legislation as well as international conventions. If you are offered to buy an exotic pet bird, it is always a good idea to check if it the species included in the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Buying a wild-caught parrot is for instance not allowed anymore, regardless of species. You can find more information about this at the CITES homepage.