So today this woman asked me: Do you wanna see something REALLY cool?

[midnight rambler]

This afternoon I met this guy in the ChinaMart parking lot to do a deal. He rolls up in his SUV, gets out and meets me on the passenger side. We make introductions, then his wife opens up the front passenger door and the first words out of her mouth are, "Do you wanna see something REALLY cool??" It kinda caught me off guard but I said, "Sure." She then whips out this large cloth shoulder bag and opens it up. Inside the shoulder bag was this -

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6e/85/2d/6e852dc55724bcf9b4c57f9ebc71ad9c.jpg

A baby red kangaroo female that was only one week out of the pouch. At first glance I exclaimed, "That's not a dog!" as I was thinking to myself, "that certainly looks like a tiny kangaroo." It's big eyes were saying pet me pet me pet me pet me pet me pet me pet me...so I started petting it and it acted like it had died and gone to Heaven. This women told me she's a foster home for the breeder who's been breeding these red kangaroos for over 20 years and that she has a one y.o. female at home. She advised me what wonderful house pets/companions they make. I can see how they do, it was very relaxing to pet this little kangaroo. Being marsupials you don't housebreak them, you put diapers on 'em and onezies over the diaper (their poo is much like deer poo, i.e. pellets). Very interesting critter but I won't be getting one since one of my dogs would probably scarf it down in short order.

And yeah, it was pretty damn cool.

[BrewTech]

Immediately after reading the thread title I thought of this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETC6NSxpFFE

[midnight rambler]

Immediately after reading the thread title I thought of this:


One of my all time fave movie clips, along with the one at the end of the movie doing the same thing.

[Hitch]

This is an awesome thread, thanks for sharing. Cute little gal, for sure!

[midnight rambler]

This is an awesome thread, thanks for sharing. Cute little gal, for sure!

I can totally see how having a red kangaroo female as a housepet would make for a very relaxing and loving home environment, this baby just exuded love and peacefulness. Her foster mom explained what mellow, affectionate, and personable pets they make - and that's what I was picking up on. She advised me that the females only grow to be about 40-45#, the males slightly larger however the breeder only sells neutered males. The intact males are only used for breeding as they can be very aggressive and are inclined to beat the shit out of people.

[midnight rambler]

This is the breeder's page on her 'roos ($3,000/female, $1,800/neutered male, ouch) -

http://castleberrysafari.com/kangaroo/

[Hitch]

This is the breeder's page on her 'roos ($3,000/female, $1,800/neutered male, ouch) -

http://castleberrysafari.com/kangaroo/

That does seem a bit high on price, and also a big difference in the price of a female vs male. Do you think the females make better pets, perhaps?

[Glass]

its just a big mouse..... or should I say mouttthhhe


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk7PX5kd6_k

They do make good pets to a point. Extended family has kept them as pets. They sleep mostly. They can get belligerent or bad tempered but probably mostly the males.

[Neuro]

I can totally see how having a red kangaroo female as a housepet would make for a very relaxing and loving home environment, this baby just exuded love and peacefulness. Her foster mom explained what mellow, affectionate, and personable pets they make - and that's what I was picking up on. She advised me that the females only grow to be about 40-45#, the males slightly larger however the breeder only sells neutered males. The intact males are only used for breeding as they can be very aggressive and are inclined to beat the shit out of people.
Yeah most people don't appreciate having the shit beaten out of them by their pets...

[midnight rambler]

That does seem a bit high on price, and also a big difference in the price of a female vs male. Do you think the females make better pets, perhaps?

Yeah, much like some folks prefer female dogs over males in some breeds. The 'exotic' component comes into play as well.

[Silver Rocket Bitches!]

The thing about exotic pets is usually they have a strict, expensive diet and if they get sick good luck finding a vet qualified to provide care.

[midnight rambler]

They do make good pets to a point. Extended family has kept them as pets. They sleep mostly. They can get belligerent or bad tempered but probably mostly the males.

I figured they sleep alot. As for temperament, I think they would be something like dogs - the appropriate early imprinting when very young is crucial.

[midnight rambler]

The thing about exotic pets is usually they have a strict, expensive diet and if they get sick good luck finding a vet qualified to provide care.

They're herbivores, so if you have property I would guess you just let 'em roam like this particular breeder does. Purina does make a specific feed for them. As for finding a qualified vet the same thing applies to dogs and cats - certainly not all vets are 'qualified'* (i.e. competent). One would need to live near enough to a metro area where one could find a specialist vet.

*competent vets are uncommon from my experience, and even the seasoned ones can screw-up big time

[agnut]

Cool ! My next door neighbor has exotic animals and after her zebras got loose a few years ago and into our clover patch by the barn, I thought I had seen it all.

But last year I was looking out the front door and some big creature was moving behind our orchard fence. It looked like a four foot rat when it began hopping and it was then that I realized that my neighbor's kangaroo had gotten loose. Imagine what images ran through my mind in the seconds before I could identify just what I was looking at ! Jurassic Park was one.

Best wishes,

agnut