# Penguins!



## kerrithsoden (Dec 6, 2009)

Can penguins be kept by a hobbyist?


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## angels1531 (Aug 27, 2008)

kerrithsoden said:


> Can penguins be kept by a hobbyist?


If you live in Antarctica....


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## salad dodger (Feb 13, 2007)

theyre not dwa so i assume as long as you have all the correct cites paperwork etc it should be viable .


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## JDKREPS (May 16, 2007)

Never seen any for sale! Would love a pair


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## Tuatara (Feb 1, 2009)

if you had the money to get the birds, enclosure, food and stuff then yeah why not :whistling2:


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## kerrithsoden (Dec 6, 2009)

I wonder what their requirements are? So nobody has heard of anyone owning any penguin species?


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

I believe that the advice is to keep them in an airtight box in a cool place


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## Denise aka Martini (May 27, 2009)

That was funny :2thumb::2thumb:


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## liam.b (Sep 2, 2006)

you "could" keep penguins i know someone that can get them but it would be a masive project housing them correctly!


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## penguinsandtigers (May 2, 2012)

No. You need at least 14 of them, and in the UK and the US it is illegal to keep them as pets due to their strict dietary requirements and other needs (water, fresh fish, LOTS of companionship etc.)


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## animalsbeebee (May 19, 2008)

You need at least 14 :banghead:,cant keep because of there dietary:2wallbang:

Yes you can keep ,they are quite expensive ,what makes a private keeper any less likely to meet the dietary requirements less than a zoo


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## miss_ferret (Feb 4, 2010)

i want a penguin!

i shall teach it to dance and it will be my own happy feet :flrt:


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## alcamee (Feb 15, 2009)

Duncan Goodhugh, the Olympic swimmer used to have 2 which he kept I believe in a converted swimming pool.


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## duffey (Mar 1, 2012)

Penguinsandtigers - 
"No. You need at least 14 of them, and in the UK and the US it is illegal to keep them as pets due to their strict dietary requirements and other needs (water, fresh fish, LOTS of companionship etc.)"

Where did you obtain your misinformation?

In the UK & Europe it is *NOT* illegal to keep Penguin species!

Whilst they are very difficult to obtain from the private keeper perspective, it is not impossible. They are very willing to breed - and fascinating to hand rear - helped hand rear two!


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## Takora (Feb 29, 2012)

duffey said:


> In the UK & Europe it is *NOT* illegal to keep Penguin species!
> 
> Whilst they are very difficult to obtain from the private keeper perspective, it is not impossible. They are very willing to breed - and fascinating to hand rear - helped hand rear two!


Agreed! I've worked at 2 zoos, one with jackass penguins and another with humboldt, their daily husbandry requirements are comparatively simple conpared to species a lot of people on this forum keep, and they breed like rabbits. The zoo with jackass penguins had breeding strictly prohibited because there is a surplus in captivity. Hand rearing humboldt penguins was easier, imo, than handrearing scarlet macaws. Sorting out a decent enclosure goes without saying, just like any other species and if you had the resources you could make it quite fun and imaginative! Zoo enclosures look pricey but remember you wouldn't have to cater for thousands of visitors, so it could be kept quite simple... a big rockery with a filtered pool and indoor enclosure would be more than some of the smaller zoos have.


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