4 Tips for Buying Camels and 2 Biggest Mistakes

Camels (as you probably already know) are very unique animals. But it’s not just their looks that are unique (and cute), their temperament, nature and natural abilities are like no other animal and a similar thing can be said for their welfare and camel husbandry needs. We’re not saying this to discourage you, BUT, to encourage you to get all the know how before you consider buying a camel. Owing a camel is a life changing decision – they have completely changed our lives! We beg you to PLEASE not want to own a camel on the basis that they are cute (which they are). They are a highly misunderstood animals and they appreciate you greater when you can understand them. Camels do get confused and offended – they are really really sensitive creatures and work best and safest with their owner when gentle training and handling methods are used.

What type camel should you consider buying?

Here in Australia we only have dromedary (one humped) camels, so we are only speaking on the basis of having experience and knowledge with dromedary camels.

4 Tips for Buying Camels & 2 Biggest (avoidable) Mistakes

Tip #1 Buy Two Camels. Camels are better off in pairs. By nature camels are a herd animal, for a very good reason! If you muck around with nature, nature will muck around with you, so stick to natures rules. We prefer to sell camels in pairs or to homes that already have camels.

Tip #2 Avoid Bull Camels unless experienced. Bull (intact) camels – it has to be said that bull camels ‘can’ be dangerous when in rut (in season – the male comes into season not the female). Normally, we don’t sell older bull camels and only will sell older bull camels to very experienced camel handlers.

Tip #3 a word on young bull camels: Young bull camels, are generally safe (and adorable). It’s important to allow the young bull camel to grown into themselves before your vet neuters. This can be at around 3-4 years of age depending on the camel. Some camels grow quicker than others. If neutering occurs sooner there can be growth complications in the future.

Tip #4 Female camels (cows) are not necessarily better or worse in temperament than a male camel. All camels come with their own personal makeup and they all have completely different personalities. Read this article / blog post for more info. We very rarely sell female camels and they are harder to come by lately since the camel dairy industry in Australia has built up a keen interest for female camels. Female camel prices have increase because of this.

And...Two Biggest (& Avoidable) Mistakes

#1 Biggest mistake that people make is they assume that a camel will be have a better temperament if they acquire a young (baby) camel and bottle / hand raise the camel. We’re shouting form the roof tops here: DON’T DO IT! Again, camels are very different animals and they really do need their mum, aunties and uncles (other camels) around them to teach them the laws of life and most importantly – boundaries. Camel grow big – REALLY BIG – yes, they are deadly cute when the are young and very affectionate, but when they are older they don’t know their own size and, we’re sorry to say, that people have been killed by their ‘pet camel’ because of these reasons. We always say “Give us a wild / unhandled camel over a ‘hand raised’ or ‘bottle raised’ baby camel A -N -Y DAY OF THE WEEK!” For camel and owner best interests we don’t sell baby camels (0 -2 years) for this reason.

#2 The biggest mistake that people make is that those who have owned other large animals such as horses, cows, hippopotamus’ etc believe that a camel will be no different to training and husbandry needs. Spoiler alert! Many people in our community that we’ve mentored have had lots of large animal experience from professional horse trainers to zoo keepers, they all realised that a camel cannot be compared to any other animal and they are in fact ‘unique’ and require a ‘unique’ way of handling and training.

Some of our camels have been domestically bred from our beloved and well natured and selected bulls, other camels are / were wild Australian camels.

Australian Camels, young female (cow) camel

The problem is that we see it way too often, someone buys a camel (tick), camel is maturing and confusion is setting in for camel and owner (tick), camel owner is now unsure about the whole camel idea (tick), camel gets sold on to another person that has always wanted a camel (tick)…. You get the gist. Not a very fair ‘gist’ for the camel – a living, breathing creature.

We have a rock solid belief here within our company (Australian Camels) that if we were to sell you a car without the keys how will you drive it? You could muck around with the engine to try and start it, possibly making mistakes along the way or you could simply just ask the previous owner for the keys.

THERE IS GOOD NEWS! We can give the new camel owner (you) the “keys” to understanding your camel better. Our Level 1 Trust Based Camel Training Course (clinic) is the perfect place to start for any new camel owner or someone interested in camels.

We will mentor you in the basics of understanding the camel, how to break down (not break-in) the communication barrier between you and the camel and we share camel husbandry and caring for camels information that is specific to your area where the camel will be paddocked – yes, it’s different for every area. Do yourself (and your new camel) a favour – Check it out

On some of our courses we offer the option to buy the camel you train – perfect right!? Check it out here.

Gentle Camel Training

Camels, like any other animal, especially in domesticated situations, can in-cure high expenses, often at the error of the human owner. If you’re resisting to spending the money on learning how to care for, communicate with and understand your camel, then maybe you be thinking twice about buying / having camels? Camel's are a lifetime commitment. They can live up to 40-50 years some even more than this. We know people who have even set up a retirement plan for their camels so that they are always well looked after even after their human friend (owner) has passed on.

We’re here for you! We will set you up on the right pathway for your camel journey!

Did you like what you read and you want to own a camel in the most responsible and humane way possible? If yes please fill in the form below to get started on your camel journey.