How to Care for Toucans

Toucans are frugivorous South American rainforest birds, best known for their enormous, colorful beaks. Handfed toucans make surprisingly good pets. They are playful, friendly, affectionate, and can be trained to do simple tricks such as catching items. Unlike most pet birds, toucans cannot inflict a painful bite nor do they scream like parrots. They are not much more difficult to care for than other pet birds, although their needs are different and they do require a very large cage.

Things You'll Need

  • Large flight cage or outdoor aviary
  • Low-iron softbill pellets
  • Mixed fresh fruit
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Instructions

    • 1

      House your toucan in a very large flight cage or outdoor aviary. Toucans are unable to climb, so they must have enough room to fly. An average-sized toucan requires a cage or aviary measuring approximately 12 feet by 8 feet by 6 feet.

    • 2

      Bring your toucan inside, if you are keeping him in an outdoor aviary, whenever the temperature exceeds 90 degrees F or drops below freezing. Although toucans can acclimate to these temperatures over time, this requires a significant adjustment period.

    • 3

      Feed your toucan a diet consisting of about half chopped mixed fruit and half low-iron softbill pellets. Good choices for the fruit portion of the diet include papaya, cantaloupe, bananas, apples, grapes and blueberries. Toucans should be fed the fruit and pellets twice daily.

    • 4

      Do not clip your toucan's wings. As they are unable to climb, they must be allowed to fly in order to get sufficient exercise and to move about their environment.

    • 5

      Provide a large, shallow pan of clean water to your toucan at all times. Toucans drink very little, because they meet most of their needs for water by eating fruit. However, they need to bathe frequently.

    • 6

      Take your toucan to an avian veterinarian for regular checkups, or if she shows any symptoms of illness. Although toucans are hardy birds, they are prone to certain health conditions such as hemochromatosis and internal parasites.