I would be interested to hear what species you guys would have, if you were able to have a private collection? I will leave this pretty open ended with not many rules except don't go over the top and have your collection be an actual zoo with elephants, polar bears, pandas, etc. I can't wait to hear what you guys have in mind!
My interest is small mammals and I have my own little project going on in the back garden, some of the species may not interest you but they do me, Im not saying much more.... If I had a larger back garden though, I would love Dik-Diks, along with some Marmosets, and a large greenhouse with exotic free ranging birds, amphibians and reptiles. Its not too unrealistic and may come true when Im older, well maybe not the Dik-Dik dream...
Oh please do tell, I am always interested in people's collections. Would Muntjacs be a better choice? What types of birds or reptiles would you think about having?
If I did have a private collection of animals, they would include a large indoor rainforest aviary with free-flying birds, a smaller outdoor aviary for African savanna birds, and a few smaller bird aviaries for particular species. Also I would have several species of marmosets/tamarins, lemurs and gibbons. And that would basically be it...maybe a few small mammals like bushbabies...
Siamang, Agile Gibbon and Yellow-cheeked Gibbon for sure, maybe others. I would say Hoolock Gibbon as well but there is no chance of that. For small monkeys I would keep Golden Lion Tamarin, Cotton-top Tamarin, Goeldi's Monkey, Emperor Tamarin and 1 other I haven't decided on. For lemurs, Ring-tailed, Black, both species of Ruffed Lemur. Maybe also a species of Colobus and Silvered Leaf-monkey. Not sure on the birds though.
Plus the ruffed lemurs... How many bird species would be allowed in the collection? Is there a limit?
Have you guys thought about what the aviaries will look like? I was thinking about using some like one of these http://www.sheltersofamerica.com/products.php?id=8 storage shelters but then converting it to an aviary. I saw a zoo with something like this.
Well I currently have a Golden Retriever, Corn Snake, 2 Jirds and Exotic Finches: Gouldian Finch, Star Finch, Cut-throat Finch, Bicheno Finch and Zebra Finch. I am looking at extending my collection including more rodents and small mammals and an exciting Reptile Prospect. From the Mammal point of view I hope to keep Dwarf Mongoose and 13 Lined Ground Squirrel outside, and I plan to keep African Pygmy Mice and Lesser Tenrec inside. My new exciting Reptile prospect is basically Anoles with a twist. I hope to get a Greenhouse soon, and I hope to keep Green Anoles within the Greenhouse (meshed exits ofcourse) as a pest control, although I will add crickets and such. In the winter I will probably have to bring them in, but the idea of having free roaming 6 inch lizards in a 6ft x 8ft Greenhouse really excites me! For my dream collection, Muntjac would be easier but in the end, both species are skittish. I would love Agouti and like I said Marmosets! Another dream for me would be Grey-legged douroucouli! In my large glass house my reptiles would mainly be geckos/Anoles but on the birds side I would have to say exotic finches, such as Mannikins, Whydahs and Bishops. EDIT: At one point I planned to keep all my planned pets in one large shed plus aviaries in the garden but plans change, and the animals are more zoo like now, different enclosures across the house and gardens. Plans keep changing, and these may, its all about whats best for me!
Sounds exciting! Do you breed any of your finch species? I really like your idea with the anoles, do you think you will be able to keep them from escaping though? Those guys can be pretty sneaky. Muntjacs actually are very docile if you hand raise them. Where I work there are two Muntjacs that have been handraised. Jack the male loves to get his neck scratched and follow you around. However Jillian the female is a little more skittish. I would recommend getting either a breeding pair, or two males and neutering them. What type of marmosets would you hope to get? I personally can't decide I really like the common marmosets but the geoffroy's marmosets are a little more exotic looking. However they are more expensive here.
I'd love to keep mandarin and wood ducks, a range of pheasants, tortoises, chipmunks, ground squirrels and fire-bellied toads. I think they are all realistic although as I live in a flat right now it's just a dream. I'd also love to keep rare breed sheep and goats. If I won the lottery and could pay a couple of keepers I would add tapir, red panda, cranes, deer and serow if possible. Maybe some small cats too. I guess it could be an Asian-themed collection like the one in Norfolk although I'd like to have lemurs as well.
I am not currently breeding any Finches at the moment, I have only ever bred Zebra before. They are in a mixed aviary and there will be Nests so if they want to breed they can.The nests will be going up in two weeks, once Ive sorted out my Gouldians. Well Mesh will be over every exit in the Greenhouse, and I think if I crawled around on the floor (to see escape routes) before I started putting them in and plants in, it could work! I would just have a common Marmoset, since it would be my first time on Primate care, I wouldnt want anything to exotic and expensive! I know a few people with Commons so they could give me a bell aswell in the future. And last of all! You are so lucky!!! Working with Muntjacs!! Its a dream of mine but its seems you are already living it!! Have you got any pictures of the guys you work with?
@Shirokuma: Neat ideas. It seems like you have some very practical ideas. I'm interested to here what breeds of pheasants and rare sheep you were thinking about. I personally like the Bornean Firebacks, Impeyan, Golden, and Amherst pheasants. @Paix: Thanks, it's a great place and I feel I should almost pay to work their sometimes, but the experiences I have are priceless. The other weekend one of our Red Kangaroos gave my arm a bath! I don't really have a pictures, but I do have a video camera. Here's a link to my channel on Youtube. YouTube - myzootube16's Channel I am still trying to decide what to go into as far as a career goes but hopefully this experience will help me decide on one.
My favourite pheasants are tragopans, golden and lady amhersts pheasants and also all kinds of quails. I like soay sheep and castlemilk moorit in particular and would love to keep mouflon. Chinchillas would be cool too. I think if I had a place with a garden or terrace I'd have an aviary but I don't know when that would happen, I think keeping animals of any kind is a big responsibility and I'm not necesarilly settled enough to know that I could take that on. I often think of how I would landscape a big (or even not so big) garden to make it look like a little zoo! A walled garden with lots of bamboo and some water features and a winding path I think, with some hilly paddocks outside if in the country.
What are the rules with having tropical animals as pets? I'm guessing for most of these kind of collections you would need a license. But personally, obviously Sea lions because I love them! They can live in my swimming pool!
In the United Kingdom this is subject to regulation from the Dangerous Wild Animals Act. The list of animals covered can be found here This RSPCA article lists some species which were removed from the list in 2007. Many require specialist care but are not covered by the Act.
I would have to agree. That many animals would be a big responsibility to handle on your own. So would you have the goats and sheep nearby the garden? I can't imagine it would last very long if they were close to your plantings.
