Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Orlando, FL
Shown: Swainson Toucan “Fiji”

 

Having a pet toucan is wayyyyyy different than having a pet parrot. Parrots can grab onto things and shred them with their beaks. Toucans can’t do that. Sure, Rocko can step on his newspaper and pull it up with his beak at the same time, tearing it… but you won’t find him chewing on it and making it into newspaper confetti.

 

It’s important with toucans to keep small objects away that they can toss up and swallow like they do with a piece of fruit. Since they don’t chew or much investigate their food besides looking at it (they can’t taste it til it’s already on the way down most of the time though they use the tips of their tongues sometimes and shake their heads at things they dislike) they are very prone to swallowing small objects they can pick up like coins, marbles, screws and other choking hazards.

 

Because toucans can’t destroy things aside from occasionally knocking them over… they’re easier to keep out among the rooms of your home because you don’t worry about something being completely destroyed.

 

Photo by Dave
Location: West Palm Beach, FL
Shown: Swainson Toucan “Fiji”

 

Toucans love noisy toys like keys, bells and anything with something inside that they can see and hear but not get to. Rocko loves playing catch with balls that are really designed for cats… especially the ones that he can squeeze, or the ones with bells or noisemakers inside that he can shake and be entertained with.

 

Parrots like to chew and chew and chew… so shreddable toys that they can take apart by chewing it into pieces are most fun for them. A toucan might pick at a toy a bit (like one with straw) and be able to mess it up a bit, but nothing like a parrot could do.

 

I tend to like to give toys to toucans that already look somewhat destroyed. Like toys that have dangly things already hanging off.

 

It’s important that as I continue to blog here about our experiences with Rocko that you don’t apply everything you see or read to a parrot because though many tips and tricks I use on Rocko can be applied in some way or another to your parrot… it is also different… from diet to toys. So please keep that in mind when reading our toucan related blog posts and applying them to your companion parrots.