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Originally Posted by insite
do kangaroos make good pets? how on earth did you get one in texas?
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Insite, I love animals and purchased the wallaby from a breeder close to San Antonio. I live in a warm climate just south of Dallas, TX, but they actually prefer a cooler climate being from Australia/New Zealand as they have snowy winters there. They make great pets and are pretty hardy as long as you take care of them. However, if you neglect something, they can die very quickly and most vets down here don't know how to probably care for them, however, there are some great books that need to be studied in advance and then you can basically tell your vet what to order, how to treat, etc. . Their lifespan is approximately 12 years in captivity. As a baby, you have to bottle feed them at regularly occuring intervals with a special milk formula imported from Australia, this is the time period where you develop a bond with them that will last forever as they consider you their "mother". As they grow older, they live on grasses, and commercial wallaby diet. (kind of like dog food, but it's a special formulation) Purina markets it under it's exotic brand Mazuri Kangaroo and Wallaby Diet. They are friendly if hand raised, although most are kinda shy. Mine is named Irwin and he will hop up to me and every member of my family every time we are in the backyard, but if strangers are around, he will keep his distance as you have to earn their trust. They will occasionally nip like a puppy, but you know when its coming so it's not a big deal. Their worst habit is boxing and as they get bigger, they get stronger, and it's definitely something you want to nip in the bud and break them of. When they are small, it's cute, but when they are large, it hurts if they hit you right. Typically if you neuter a male early enough, then they don't develop boxing, but then you can't use it as a stud either.
I definitely recommend them as pets. They are a joy to watch and very curious albeit shy creatures. Also, they stay a manageable size in comparison to a Red Kangaroo so even if they act up, you can still be safe and not get hurt too bad. If you get a larger species of Kangaroo, they can hurt you pretty bad if you aren't careful, they are very powerful creatures.
Mike