Amazons Are Amazing!

Pete The Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot

The beauty and talents of Amazon parrots can be astonishing but it does come at a price for some folks. Most talk so much that you’ll be wishing for just one moment of silence in any given time. These particular parrots aren’t for the faint of heart. It takes a great amount of time and energy to "tame" so to speak these birds down. If not properly trained they can become quite territorial and highly aggressive. Their intelligence has a tendency to get them into loads of trouble.

These amazing animals are found throughout South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. In the environment their intelligence and great ability to vocalize helps them find food and stay alive.  They are full of personality and can be delightful if one puts all the blood, sweat, and tears into the relationship. This bird can have a particularly stunning ability to mock human speech. Like most parrots, these are no different in that it is a must to stimulate them mentally regularly.

If this doesn’t happen they will find other means to place that brainpower. From managing to escape the cage and tear something up in the house or scream for someone’s undivided attention. Those issues may seem pretty devastating however the worst would be for it to begin mutilation by ripping feathers completely from its body sometimes bringing blood. Amazons aren’t as probable to do this as some of the other parrots. Still yet, it could and has happened.

Birds are emotional creatures that need our love and devotion. As time passes on the bird and owner relationship can either get better or worse. Amazon’s aren’t a short-term commitment either. They can live 40 plus years in captivity and may even out live you. I know a lady who’s had her Amazon for well over 55 years. She eventually passed and a family member began taking care of him. For a certain amount of time the parrot grieved over its missing owner. This is something that we should certainly consider when thinking of them as potential pets.

Amazons are amazing (AAA)! I remember when Pete, my Blue Fronted Amazon, came to me. His owner didn’t realize he was actually a she. The “other” owner placed him in a cage with another female and expected them to mate. This caused terrible problems for both birds. Pete took it the worst, eventually plucking his chest feathers because of the stress. She’s an amazing bird who loves to sing and dance. The lady had her in a cage that was completely metal. There wasn’t a trace of wood or anything chewable for that matter in her cage.

Amazons love to chew things. So what I gathered was the stress and nothing to chew on caused the plucking. I heard about her from a friend and went to adopt her. The lady was glad to send her home with me. She’s doing incredible now, loving and living life to the fullest. Pete still doesn’t trust many folks though but with time I hope to change all that.

Thanks for reading!

Any questions or suggestions email me at JamesDWard24@gmail.com.

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Exotics vs. Domesticated Pets

While most people don’t realize that more people are attacked and fatally wounded by domesticated animals more than exotic pets. Most would argue that it is in part because of the popularity of domesticated animals. This is sort of true but looking at the numbers shows a different story. National Geographic reports: more than 20 people in the past ten years have been fatally injured by pet pythons in the United States (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/wild/community/blogs/inside-wild/_pet-python-attack). That number might seem quite large but when compared to Man’s Best Friend isn’t quite as stunning. There were 33 fatal dog attacks just in 2010 (http://www.dogsbite.org/bite-fatalities-2010.htm). 

There reason for this is most canines will stand their ground when confronted and snakes will usually cower away. Reptiles see animals bigger than them as dangerous so why would they waste their time and energy fighting when its easier to conserve that energy for a meal and run away. Rover don't have to worry so much about energy expenditure because he's fed by us. The interesting part is the media doesn’t report dog attacks as often as a python attack. This makes me wonder why? 

 Could it be that dog attacks are just more common? I think so. Things that don’t happen that often are appealing to the media because it gets viewer attention. Exotic pets have lots of potential to be quite dangerous but with proper education and responsible pet owners they aren't as bad as some might think. The secret to good pet ownership is prevention and education. This is a practice that should be drilled into every pet owners mind. Preventing by locking cages, socializing your puppy, and many more.

One thing that is definitely preventable in most exotics is Stupid Feeding Errors (SFE’s). These errors are made when feeding snakes, monitors, and other carnivorous pets. A good example is feeding a python inside its cage. This allows the snake to assume that any time the cage door opens it could be time to eat. By feeding the python in another area this can be prevented.

Exotics get a bad rap. Some exotics shouldn’t be pets for everyone but others aren’t as bad as the media make them out to be. I think exotic or domesticated animals both have the potential to be dangerous. In the end Man’s Best Friend is no more docile than a properly contained python. 

I can recall many times throughout my life keeping reptiles that I have made a mistake and gotten a nasty bite. I didn't blame the animal for what happened, I held myself responsible for it. I remember a time when Rocky my African Rock Python, who already had an attitude problem, took a good bite into my hand. The reason he had done so was because I was feeding the other pythons that I had and went into the cage with the scent of a rat on my hands-an SFE. So it was only natural for him to attack it. I never blamed him and continued to love him everyday after that.

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