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Bennet's Wallaby...anyone have one?

11K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  TamanduaGirl 
#1 ·
I will be waiting for several years to own a Bennet's Wallaby...but I want one! Apparently, I must own my home, not rent, to be placed on a waiting list. A solid, not chain, 5-6' fence must be built to keep these little cuties from panic due to barking dogs, etc. I am amazed that they can tolerate -20 degrees f. with snow but high summer temp. can kill them...odd for an animal that lives in arid conditions to begin with, I thought. Anyway, if there is anyone out there who owns one or has equal interest in them I would love to hear from you or even obtain more info about the Bennet's Wallaby.
 
#3 ·
You might start a correspondence with someone in a zoo locally that keeps them, or with a rescue center in Australia that has experience keeping them. Talk with them about what they think you may need in order to keep them successfully.

DON'T rely on the breeder as your main source of information on how to keep them. The breeder can hardly be considered an impartial source of information. They are looking at thousands of dollars of profit from the animals they sell. They are obviously biased towards keeping the animals as pets.

I've worked with other wallabies, not Bennet's. They never struck me as an animal that would be particularly suitable as a pet. ...especially considering all the financial and legal hoops you have to go through to get one.

They are cute, undeniably so, but other than the novelty of their appearance they don't seem to offer much in the way of "pethood".

They don't seem to be as affectionate as some other animals, not particularly intelligent (my goats are way smarter). They can be rather skittish and easily panicked. Even hand raised ones never seem to warm up to human companionship. They will trust you for food, but prefer to be a bit standoffish.

I'm all too well aware of the reason you have to have the solid fence. It's to keep them from killing themselves. Despite that precaution, I have seen them rush headong into a solid fence for no apparent reason.

Healthwise, wallabies can be a bit "btittle". They are very hardy under most circumstances, but when stressed they will hide any symptoms right up until the last minute ...and then they keel over. You had no idea they were even sick. Unless you are able to use a current or ex zoo vet, it's unlikely your vet will have had much experience with marsupials, let alone macropods.

If I were you, I'd start studying up and collecting info you can supply your vet. Zoo journals, and Australilan veterinary publications are a couple of places to start looking and collecting articles. When the animal is near death is no time for him/her to have to be doing research on sytsems and symptoms.

Again, they are very cute. If this is what you want to do, I hope your able to fulfill your dream. Just be sure you are doing it well. They will no doubt be a challange to take care of....

Good luck.

bob
 
#4 ·
Thank you for your reply. Your giraffe is great, where'd you find it?
It will be many years before I actually own a wallaby, so, many years will I have to obtain a plethara of info. I have tossed a few tidbits of info to my exotic vets (in the behalf of my rats) on the latest med's and post-surgical protocols to their amazement (or mine) they knew nothing about...but then, these tidbits came from the U.K.
 
#5 ·
I hope it all works out for you. Wallabies are too cute, and it sounds as though you are very serious about keeping one as a pet. I love marsupials, i have only had the chance to keep one marsupial, a sugar glider named suggie and she was the sweetest little thing. Hopefully your bennets wallaby is just as sweet as suggie was!!:)
 
#6 ·
I am bringing home 2 grey sibling sugargliders in March. They are so tiny now, and as adorable as can be.:binkie: This is my first time owning them. Maybe I will look for you, among the forums, if I have questions. Their names will be Trinket (female) and Peek A Boo (male)
 
#7 ·
Congratulations!! Your going to love them, they are the funnest little furballs :). If you have any questions, feel free to ask me and i will try to answer as best as i can. Im still learning about sugar gliders every day, they are very interesting little creatures :).
 
#12 ·
Benett's wallabies actually live in an area that gets snow. The whole of Australia is not all desert.

The ones I worked with weren't bottle raised but the original moms were. They were handled a lot when they began coming out of pouch and mom's were happy for the break and the babies loved being carried around in the pouch or just in your arms. One old grandma hopped in a bag ontop of her grandchild, lol. They love their pouches.

They were very friendly loved to lick your hand and when cleaning up on the farm the one little girl would hop into your overalls wanting to be in a pouch with you.

Zoo animals are not a good representation of what they will be like as pets. They do have draw backs and it's true about them getting sick easy. If stressed and not treated for it they can die from Stress myopathy but you don't see symptoms right away.

This is the best book on their care - http://lyndastaker.hainsnet.com/pages/dont_step_backwards.html
 
#13 ·
As for the book we actually use one written by David McCaully (www,davesanimailfarm,com) "Macropods: Their Care, Breeding and the Rearing of Their Young". Mr. McCaully is a well respected and published authority in Macropods. He has also worked with Purina to develop a Wallaby feed.
We purchased him from a place called wallypets,com with Hal and DJ Newsom but Dave breeds them also. We get most of our wallaby supplies through peewee's pampered pets/ foxhill farms and they are VERY prompt with their shipping and carry a variety of milk replacers nipples etc.

Wallabies are a huge time commitment but they are not as fragile as some may lead you to believe. When we first got our wallaby we were terrified from all the rumors online about how easily they get stressed or sick. As long as we have had our wallaby he has never been sick however he is an indoor pet. We had heard how easily they can die from stress and thought our bulldog would stress him out to no end but if she came too close he simply hopped away. Slowly but surely he began to go up to sniff her when she was in the kennel then he allowed her to come up and sniff him and we haven't had any problems. They co-exist very peacefully now and every so often they will snuggle, usually until the bulldog drools on the wallaby and then he's had enough of cuddle time. They are really good pets if you have the freedom in your schedule to take care of a new born then you might have the time for a wallaby. If you were retired or a stay at home mom/dad then chances are you could handle one. The biggest issues and most time consuming is discipline. Our wallaby has always been very strong and healthy, and of the other owners we have spoken to they have all agreed that they are much healthier and more resilient than they were lead to believe prior to buying one. Anyway, that is enough of a tangent for now. If anyone has any questions about daily life feel free to ask, we are not experts on them but we do live with one. :)
 
#14 ·
True the ones I worked with never got sick while I was there, except a little loose stools that wasn't serious.

Don't step backwards is more of a technical book and covers all the illnesses and treatments that's she's come across. It's good to have for your vet.
 
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