Toucans, Part II: Domestic Housepets
What is meant by “hazards”?
While we rarely think about exposure to the fumes of household chemicals, it can be fatal for toucans if they are exposed to cleaning solutions, pesticides, toxic plants, and rodent poisons. Teflon cookware, when overheated or burned, can cause vapors that are very harmful to the birds. A lot of pesticides and rodent poisons claim to have no secondary effects to creatures other than those they are intended for, but this information has proven false again and again. If you place your bird cage outside or near open windows, be careful when using lawn chemicals such as fertilizer. Remember that the toucan originally hails from the Tropical rainforest. There are no chemicals or pesticides there! Safety cannot be stressed enough. Even the most unlikely of objects; marbles, pieces of tiles, candles, tacks, staples, etc. can all become death traps for an unsuspecting bird.
Toucans rely on fruit as the mainstay of their diet. The term to describe this is frugivorous. In their natural habitat, they consume a variety of fruit from over 100 different plants and trees. For protein they rely on insects, especially during nesting season. Keeping this in mind, try to feed your toucan a diet as close to its natural eating habits as possible. Fruit is positively necessary. It not only supplies the bulk of their energy; but takes care of the need for moisture; even more so than water. Do not feed your toucan seeds of any kind. Fruits are swallowed whole; therefore the seeds in fruits are released whole. If the bird eats a diet of only seeds, it will starve to death because it cannot absorb any nutrients. Some good fruit choices for your toucan are papaya, cantaloupe, berries, and grapes. It’s best to stay away from acidic fruits such as lemons, oranges, and pineapples. These can cause problems for the digestive system, especially with the absorption of iron. It is best for birds in captivity to be given a supplemental diet kibble, specific for “softbills”, or sometimes a dog kibble can be used. Always check with a reputable breeder or veterinarian before feeding your toucan anything processed. It is not necessary to add vitamin and mineral supplements to your toucan’s diet.
Toucans are hardy birds, and usually have a lifespan of twenty-plus years. It is very important to keep their living area clean and free of rodents, which can pass
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