# African scops white faced owls as pets



## Natlovesowls (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum! I fell in love with an owl that I saw in a reptile shop today and now I am looking into them but cannot find much info about keeping them as pets. A lot of sites say not to keep them as pets as they don't make good pets but this one today just looked so happy and content and they are just mesmerising and so beautiful! Any tips on where to look for more info? Thanks


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## MrJsk (Jul 29, 2012)

Which shop did you see owls for sale in??


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## Natlovesowls (Mar 18, 2015)

Ahh sorry I wasn't clear. The owl was not for sale, it belonged to the lovely guy who owns the shop.


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## DONTLOOKATME (Apr 5, 2013)

The best resource available is another keeper, ie: the owner in that shop.


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## Natlovesowls (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok great thanks


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## DAZWIDD (Feb 9, 2009)

DONTLOOKATME said:


> The best resource available is another keeper, ie: the owner in that shop.


Sorry, but that is not always the case, there are a lot of people out there with Birds of Prey who don't have a clue and not all pet shops have the best interests of the animals in mind.
The best sources would be books written by people like Jemima Parry Jones or reputable courses at well established falconry centres or join a group.
They are definitely not birds to just go and buy.


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## Wingnut2711 (Feb 16, 2015)

With owls they are purchased as chicks and hand reared through a manning process in order to make them 'tame'. They are however not pets. There is a huge amount of knowledge needed and weight management is vital. If you plan to fly the owl you will need to find a mentor who does it and pay them for their experience or you will very quickly lose it. If you planned to keep it teather or just on a block, don't get one, its a bird and needs to fly. There are a few forums but the IFF forum is great for obtaining knowledge. I have flown BOPs for many years and have seen cases of lack of knowledge causing all sorts of surrering. Please be 100% and make sure you know what you are getting into, too many people use them as status trophy birds. 

Don't mean to sound critical of you getting one but as suggested above there is plenty of knowledge out there from various authors, I spent around 2 years researching and training with my mentor before committing and it is very rewarding.

Marc


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## Natlovesowls (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi and thanks for your reply- I absolutely agree and if I am going to get one it would be once I have learned everything I can about. BOP and spoken with people who can help me. Thanks so much for your help. Xx


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## adamis40 (Feb 15, 2011)

Volunteer at a local falconry centre, you can learn a huge amount and get some hands on experience to see if it is really an animal for you. I have a bengal eagle owl, she was 16 days old when i had her and she is lovely to be with and being a bigger bird weight is not so crucial. The little scops owls weight is hard to manage and too little or too much can kill it.


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