Pet Dinosaur?

[Mamasaurus]

I have a backyard full of chickens, so I already have a few dinosaurs for pets, but if prehistoric critters were available...

Some small ceratopsian like psitticosaurus or protoceratops would be good, and fairly realistic.  I'd imagine that they would be like a cross between pigs and turkeys.  Pretty manageable on a farm or homestead.  Even a relatively aggressive species may become manageable in the process of domestication (cows almost failed domestication), and if the species has a herding tendency it would be relatively simple to become the herd's "boss", even for an animal that is the size of a cow.  Easy diet, follow the leader tendency, rapid growth to full adult size, lots of young at a time...ceratopsian "hogs" would be awesome!   

It's also not really far-fetched to think of raising velociraptors or other small, bird-like critters.  We farm ostriches, and one kick from one of those things can kill a lion, so imagine the risk potential for humans!  Also, have you seen the size of the spurs on tom turkey and rooster legs?!  They can do some serious damage that probably isn't all that different from a raptor.  Main difference is that turkeys and chickens have a long history of domestication, and can get by with a diet of grain, scraps, bugs, and who-knows-what-else in the yard.     So flocks of raptors being fed feed probably wouldn't be all that different from owning turkeys.  People clip spurs, beaks, and claws all the time anyway.

As far as my personal preference, I think it would be cool to have a small herd of protoceratops or psitticosaurus.  The boar was most likely the most grumpy and aggressive one, so I'd keep him in his own paddock unless he's a gentleman to his ladies.   

[LophoLeeVT]

i would have a pet dilophosaurus its not a spitter like in jurassic park it woul be fun to ride one.

[Concavenator]

I would have an Archaeopteryx or Microraptor.

[spinosaurus1]

if offered to have any sort of dinosaur as a pet, it would definitely be a raven

[Tyto_Theropod]

My Mum has chickens and they're sort of mine by extension when I stay with her (as I often ending up being the one who feeds them!), so in that sense I already have pet dinosaurs. I'd also love a barn owl, but only if I had the proper knowledge and equipment. It's cruel to keep an owl or any bird of prey like an ordinary house pet - you need an aviary and falconry skills.

In terms of extinct animals, though. Well, that just increases my already extensive pet wishlist! I'd want a dodo, a small moa, a thylacine (don't think anyone's mentioned those yet - they'd be a bit like dingoes I guess, but they might need a bit more exercise than I'd be able to give...), a small Dromaeosaurid or Troodontid (or both!), a little Pterosaur (I like the idea of a Rhamphorhynchus) and, yes, in a farm setting, I'd totally have herds of a little Ceratopsian like Protoceratops or Psittacosaurus, and also of a Hypsilophodon type dinosaur. I don't think it would be fair to keep a single Hypsilophodon as house pet, as they probably lived in groups and would need a lot of space to run round in - it would be like keeping a deer in your house! People tend to lose just how big some of these species were because they're standing them up against bigger dinosaurs rather than modern animals.

[Arul]

Reptile now is the "modern dinosaur", so if we keep a dinosaur can it bonding with us like dog cat ?

[stargatedalek]

My Mum has chickens and they're sort of mine by extension when I stay with her (as I often ending up being the one who feeds them!), so in that sense I already have pet dinosaurs. I'd also love a barn owl, but only if I had the proper knowledge and equipment. It's cruel to keep an owl or any bird of prey like an ordinary house pet - you need an aviary and falconry skills.

As with any animal the best way to raise it as an adult is based on how it was raised as an infant. You wouldn't take an adult alligator that had spent its life in a farm and let it sit on your lap, but if you raised it from a chick they can be very affectionate even as adults. I would imagine the same would go for birds of prey, if a crow or myna can be happy as an indoor pet (not in a cage mind you, but free run of a home) than that would also go for most small/mid size birds of prey.

My dream dinosaur as a pet would be an Atlantic Puffin, despite being rather prevalent in captivity they can't be kept here because of our rather obsessive native laws.

[Tyto_Theropod]

My Mum has chickens and they're sort of mine by extension when I stay with her (as I often ending up being the one who feeds them!), so in that sense I already have pet dinosaurs. I'd also love a barn owl, but only if I had the proper knowledge and equipment. It's cruel to keep an owl or any bird of prey like an ordinary house pet - you need an aviary and falconry skills.

As with any animal the best way to raise it as an adult is based on how it was raised as an infant. You wouldn't take an adult alligator that had spent its life in a farm and let it sit on your lap, but if you raised it from a chick they can be very affectionate even as adults. I would imagine the same would go for birds of prey, if a crow or myna can be happy as an indoor pet (not in a cage mind you, but free run of a home) than that would also go for most small/mid size birds of prey.

My dream dinosaur as a pet would be an Atlantic Puffin, despite being rather prevalent in captivity they can't be kept here because of our rather obsessive native laws.

I think it's good that the laws are like that. All sea birds need as much conservation as they can get these days. Also, I believe that they're quite demanding pets even if raised from the egg. And I don't mean to sound like the party pooper here, but as someone who spent the majority of my childhood on coast, I can vouch for the fact that seabird poo STINKS. And I don't believe you can litter train a bird. :/

[stargatedalek]

Ha-ha, I live on the coast too and it really does stink!
I meant on how Nova Scotia prevents owning of any native species even if captive bred, when most places allow it if you have the proper papers to prove captive breeding. Atlantic Puffins are endangered in the wild but in captivity they breed easily and so are a mainstay of aquariums worldwide, its a real shame that more reintroduction programs aren't more successful.

I've seen chickens and ducks that could use a toilet.

[Tyto_Theropod]

LOL! I must tell my Mum that - perhaps I could persuade her to let the girls into the nice warm house at night instead of having them sleeping in their old coop which is steadily falling apart (she says it's not worth spending money on a new one because they're old and she doesn't want to get any more after they snuff it. She's been saying that for years, and they're showing no signs of slowing down...)! Doubt the cat would like it though. 

[Gwangi]

I had a couple house chickens a few years ago, it's a more popular notion you would think, especially with the little bantam chickens. Ours were let outside most days and would return on their own at night and peck at the door to be let in. When indoors they lived in a large rabbit cage and they knew to head right to it when let in. On the rare occasion that they did walk around indoors they actually wore chicken diapers. They didn't get to walk around indoors much though because they would always peck at the carpet. I've read you can train them to use a designated spot but it's hard because they can't really hold it in like a dog or cat can. They were also clicker trained. They were great pets but unfortunately when we moved and did decide to build an outdoor run for them, a predator got them. The risk you take when letting/keeping any pet outdoors.

I love birds, but birds as indoor pets don't thrill me. Too much mess, noise etc. The dust generated by their feathers alone is maddening. I would probably skip on any stem-bird dinosaur just because it would be too much like a modern pet bird. That said, I love chickens, turkeys, ducks and other outdoor birds. It's my dream to someday own various game birds and some emus some day. I guess you could keep Oviraptorids and Dromaeosaurids similarly.

[Takama]

I had a couple house chickens a few years ago, it's a more popular notion you would think, especially with the little bantam chickens. Ours were let outside most days and would return on their own at night and peck at the door to be let in. When indoors they lived in a large rabbit cage and they knew to head right to it when let in. On the rare occasion that they did walk around indoors they actually wore chicken diapers. They didn't get to walk around indoors much though because they would always peck at the carpet. I've read you can train them to use a designated spot but it's hard because they can't really hold it in like a dog or cat can. They were also clicker trained. They were great pets but unfortunately when we moved and did decide to build an outdoor run for them, a predator got them. The risk you take when letting/keeping any pet outdoors.

I love birds, but birds as indoor pets don't thrill me. Too much mess, noise etc. The dust generated by their feathers alone is maddening. I would probably skip on any stem-bird dinosaur just because it would be too much like a modern pet bird. That said, I love chickens, turkeys, ducks and other outdoor birds. It's my dream to someday own various game birds and some emus some day. I guess you could keep Oviraptorids and Dromaeosaurids similarly.

Sorry to hear that about your Chickens. I was wondering why we havent seen any recent pics of them

[tanystropheus]

I had a couple house chickens a few years ago, it's a more popular notion you would think, especially with the little bantam chickens. Ours were let outside most days and would return on their own at night and peck at the door to be let in. When indoors they lived in a large rabbit cage and they knew to head right to it when let in. On the rare occasion that they did walk around indoors they actually wore chicken diapers.

Silkie chickens are pretty cool....btw, regarding chicken diapers...is that also possible with ducks. I always liked ducks and wanted to keep one as a pet...but they poop all over the place. How do people keep ducks indoors? are they litter trained? diapers?

[Gwangi]

I had a couple house chickens a few years ago, it's a more popular notion you would think, especially with the little bantam chickens. Ours were let outside most days and would return on their own at night and peck at the door to be let in. When indoors they lived in a large rabbit cage and they knew to head right to it when let in. On the rare occasion that they did walk around indoors they actually wore chicken diapers.

Silkie chickens are pretty cool....btw, regarding chicken diapers...is that also possible with ducks. I always liked ducks and wanted to keep one as a pet...but they poop all over the place. How do people keep ducks indoors? are they litter trained? diapers?

They actually do make duck diapers, not sure if they can be trained though. The problem with ducks is that their poop is a bit more offensive and I believe they do it more often.

Thanks Takama, I do miss them still. People may find it hard to believe or understand but having lived with them I can honestly say they were some of the coolest and best pets I ever had. Someday I'll have chickens again, probably with a proper coop though.

[Tyto_Theropod]

I'm sorry to hear about your chickens Gwangi.  Fortunately we've never had any predators, but some of my Mum's would escape and just never come back, and once we got rats in the run and a lot of the girls died shortly afterwards, so I think they may have caught a disease from them. The most distressing (and frustrating) was probably when one of the Araucana pullets we were raising was taken by a pet Harris hawk as the owners weren't handling it properly. They also walked right into the garden and took the body away for their own uses. This happened right in front of me and naturally I had quite a few things to them!  I think that was the point at which Mum decided she wasn't getting any more hens. We just have the two Pekin bantams now.

I have to say I love chickens, and I love ducks too. I don't think I'd ever keep ducks, though - any garden I had would end up looking like the Somme! But I like going out and feeding the ducks on my university campus. There's a big lake and you get mallards all year round and tufted ducks in the winter. The tufted ducks tend to stay in the water and aren't as bold, but the mallards will happily walk all over the place, even right into the accommodation complex. Last semester I had two drakes (males) and a duck (female) arrive under my window on a regular basis. I and someone else in the hall used to feed them stale bread by throwing it out. It was great when I didn't have time to walk round the loch, and it was very de-stressing having them there when I was working. They even took to sleeping under my window - no one else's, though. I felt rather privileged.



Last winter, two male call ducks arrived on the loch. I think someone must have abandoned them. They'd follow people and quack, and they loved being fed. I phoned the SSPCA about them, but to my knowledge they never came out, because the ducks are still there. They seemed to do well in the wild, but I haven't seen one of them for ages, so perhaps he didn't survive the winter. The white one is still a regular sight though and just hangs out with the mallards as if he was one of them. I have to say though, I have had far-fetched dreams of taking him to my parents' so he can live with the hens, but they don't want ducks. Also, apologies for the bad pictures - the light was never good.

[GojiraGuy1954]

Yi

[Shark Toothed Lizard]

Aquilops: I like Ceratopsians, especially the ones that were around before true ceratopsians. This one is just really cute, and small, so I won't be picking up mounds of poop. There's even an article about it on DontMessWithDinosaurs.
Sinosauropteryx: I like it's little Lemur tail it's often depicted with, and once again, isn't too big. Plus floofy compsognathids are the best.

[HD-man]

"Could We Domesticate (Non-Bird) Dinosaurs?": https://tetzoo.com/blog/2018/8/16/could-we-domesticate-non-bird-dinosaurs

[Cretaceous Crab]

I would imagine keeping any type of small dromaeosaurid would be akin to keeping a large modern bird of prey, on a equal or larger scale.

If we are strictly talking pets, and not keeping dinos in a zoo-like setting...

For the average person, I would think the small ornithopods or tiny theropods would be the easiest to house.

For those with a lot of outdoor space, any herbivore no larger than a bull wouldn't be too hard. A adult mid-sized ceratopsian would be no more dangerous than an aggressive bull. I would think ankylosaurs maybe harder to confine due to their club-tails potentially being used to batter down barriers. Pachycephalosaurs would be similar like keeping a sheep or goat in the body of a emu!

Of course, any of the ornithomimids would be akin to keeping their modern relatives, ostriches, emus & rhea.

The biggest expense of any animal is typically the food bill. Herbivores are generally cheaper than carnivores. So my personal preference would be probably be some small ceratopsid. If I had the room, maybe a Nasutoceratops named "Ferdinand!"

[Bowhead Whale]

It would be fun to have ammonites in a big aquarium. No?