Poo in a chair - Pua

[TamanduaGirl]

Yep I had borrowed a camera for a bit and took pics of Pua in a chair
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p169/TamanduaGirl/Pua2006/Picture6742.jpg
She thought it might be a good place to nap but it wasn't quite working for her
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p169/TamanduaGirl/Pua2006/Picture6743.jpg
I thought she was going to yawn but no tongue came out
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p169/TamanduaGirl/Pua2006/Picture6744.jpg
A little grooming to help her relax
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p169/TamanduaGirl/Pua2006/Picture6745.jpg
Pondering if over there might be better
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p169/TamanduaGirl/Pua2006/Picture6746.jpg
ANd Pua on a chair
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p169/TamanduaGirl/Pua2006/Picture6747.jpg

[wolflady]

Pua is so neat looking! I just love all these pictures! ;) How much does she weigh? She looks like a pretty decent size girl! ;)

**hugs**

[Argranade]

AwwWwwWwWw ...

lol I love the second photo best, what an adorable pet hehe! :D

[Suki Wingy]

*squeal* She's so cute! :D

[TamanduaGirl]

Thanks.

Her favorite position to sleep is with her head tucked underneither her body so she is sleeping on her head which is what she had been going for in the second pic. Of course I have some pictures of that but it's not that exciting.

she's a little girl really just 9-9.5 pounds. tamanduas are weird that way they often look huge in photos the boys get a bigger up to 16 pounds or so.

Here's a couple of her balled up to sleep on on a shelf at the shop and the other in her hammock then to make up for the ball of fur a couple of her sprawled out too.

oh and one of her when she went into the mop bucket to sleep. Nothing bad in there I don't use the thing but when I do soon it wont be anything dangerouse. She likes finding new places to nap and has sleep in the sink and in variouse boxes here at the shop too. Anyway that is sort of a decent size compairson pic if you know the size of a mop bucket :-) she's similar in size to my 15 pound Quasi dog but Tam bones are sort of light and sponggy so they don't break to easy if they fall out of the rainforest canopy.

[TamanduaGirl]

well I do have this one I took of her next to a CD but this was the same month as when we got her and she was still ill so she put on some weight and her fur got lusher but she hasn't grown any.

[Chilli]

She is one of the most unique pets I've seen.. very beautiful! :D
I was wondering.. does she have a cage she is put into when not supervised, or is she like a cat or something, and have full roam of your house? I'm just curious. ^_^

[TamanduaGirl]

She basicaly has roam of my room at night but occasioanly she gets a time out in her cage. She only needs that for clawing at my door at night wanting out and not stopping when told. this behavior cycles along with her "cycles" She roames orwants to rome more looking for a man.

She gets supervised free run of the house I just follow her around. When I move in a year or two i want to set it up so she has a safe room for free run when gone. Otherwise think she could just be left free run when there.

It's not a big deal since I am rarely gone in the evenings and she tends to sleep all day. so I usualy hang her up on her hammock in her cage on my days off and she sleeps in my lap on days I work. Though one day after a walk in the park, walks are worth waking up for during the day, she went and slept on the top shelf of my closet instead. I just made sure she was locked in my room when I left to walk the dogs then but she didn't wake up again till evening.

So really she pretty much has free rome during waking hours. she has been allowed to wander the house by herself only then the pet door must be sealed and the door to the "lab" where my dad makes his soap for her safety the rest of the house is safe but I just prefer to keep an eye on her still. Because at the moment I am living with others and want to avoid any incident like her peeing somewhere she shouldn't and not knowing till they find it.

[CatLuvrs]

Pua is such a neat looking animal. She is adorable!

[Sadie_Sasha]

This may sound weird, but I have a lot of questions.. lol.

first- what kind of animal is she??

Waht does she eat?

Where does she go to the bathroom? A littler box?

Where did you get her?

I think she is awsome looking! Just wondering what exactly she is.

[ComedyDevil]

Where does she go to the bathroom? A littler box?

That's what I was gonna ask. Is she house trained?

Either way she's beautiful :) Give her a hug from me :)

[Cookiebaker]

Whoa! I have never in my life seen anything like that before. Where did you get her. She is so cute!! Is she cuddly? What country does she originate from??

[lvpets2002]

;) ;) How adorable.. I am getting such a kick out of this cutie pie Pua.. Now in case I missed it = is this baby litter box trained? Also does those long claws not tear up furniture? :)

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Oooooooo isn't she lovely? Does she make a good pet? Looks very happy to me


http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/679.shtml

[gini]

She really is very beautiful - her coat is lush and she looks very healthy.

I am just as curious as everyone else - can you tell us more about her - how you got her - is she affectionate - what do you feed her and so on.

Thank you for sharing her pictures.

[shais_mom]

she is ammmmaazzing!
I just sat with my mouth agape looking at your pics!
wow!

[Husky15]

Is Pua an anteater? If so, I never knew it was possible to own one. That's pretty amazing. I am looking forward to seeing the questions answered as well. Very fascinating.

[gini]

Hi everyone, just so you know - Tamandua "is" the name for an anteater - from Central and South America.

There are some that have very bushy tails too, but I believe those are another breed of anteater.

[GreyhoundGirl]

Whoa! She's beautiful! I've never seen anything like her... Cool.


* goes back and reads posts, which serve as FAQ. :p

[TamanduaGirl]

Was spending my distracted time distracted elswhere today. Most of the quastions were answered in my first post about her in this forum. I suppose it was a bit to early to use a nickname but that's why I had her real name taged on. Oh well. First thread was here http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=117999
Not that I mind saying again but I'm not sure I'll have enough time to them all before I go home but will go through them and reply. You might get quicker answers with the link if you don't see a reply yet here. Plus it's windy and the power could go out again. I'll answer all questions here though too cuz it's hard for me to remember all that were asked where and there are probably some new questions too.

[TamanduaGirl]

Yes she's a Tamandua which is a medium sized anteater. Giant anteaters, Tamanduas, and Sikly/pygmy anteaters.

She gets a complex mix of things turkey or shicken breast, liver, flaxseed and red beans for fiber, and sinach for vitamin K are the prime ingredients or simple basicaly replace the proteins with a quality cat food(nature's varriety). She's not so fond of the simple diet by it's self. For the whole recipie view the other thread about her or read the whole CareSheet: http://www.phoenixexotics.org/cs-tamandua.html

She uses a few stratigicly places washable pee pads for releif. One being in my closet. This does mean she still thinks all closets are fair game so must keep an eye on her.

A guy in FL but it took a long time to get her over a year.

Yes she's very cuddly. More so than I expected. She's a little clingy and needy really.

I'm not sure of the origination question is specific to her or her species. I'll asue the latter for now. They range all over south america and part of mexico. But there are two species of Tamandua and her kind is more southern. Tamandua Tetradacyla.

No she doesn't tear up furniture during daily activity. She did shread the arm of a love seat that was to near her cage when she was in it and wanting out. She will reach out and grab anything near, hoping to pull or claw her way out. But she really is hardly ever in there when awake and has chosen to go in there and nap on her own recently. And she did pull a part of the door jam loose when wanting out of my room at night, which is what she usualy get's time out in her cage for.

I think she makes a great pet but the diet is high mainenance. Eveen if you use a more common simple mothode most have to tweek it to fit each individual. They need to be kept warm and are considered delicate. You really need to know what you are doing with them for their sake. As for the person, she is very sweet and affectionit and not really destructive but heard of some that are more destructive than she is but then most aren't kept with as much interaction as a real house pet.

A male would make a better pet. Female tamanduas cycle about monthy and do spot blood. During ans for a period after this she is more restless and active, leading to the clawing at the door and more roaming around the house or my room at night. Her pee is a bit skunky but she doesn't have a body odar. Most are very messy eaters. It's instinct to claw at their food source.

eek the power just flashed off a moment. I'm going home early. It will be near impossible to get Jupiter crated to go home in the dark if it really goes out.

I'll check the rest of the posts later.

[Giselle]

I don't know much about exotic animals, but she is very adorable. Wouldn't you just love to wake up to a face like that? :D I'd love a cuddly thing like her!

[Randi]

LOL! What a sweetie :) I had no idea you could have an anteater as a pet - although.... it made me think about the post John (Jonza) posted a few years back, can't remember what thread is was - could have been " Dear Phred" :D

Here's a picture John posted.
http://studio16a.dk/Cats/anteater.jpg


Let's hear more!

[RedHedd]

Her fur looks soft! What does it feel like?

I've never heard of anyone having an anteater for a pet. Is it legal to have an anteater for a pet where you live? Where do you live?

[ramanth]

She's beautiful! How unique!

My aunt had a zebra for a short time. :)

[TamanduaGirl]

I'm in Oregon. Yes she's legal here. You need permits for things they consider dangerous or threatening to the envornment and anteaters don't count.

Tamandua is Tupi for antcatcher so can mean any anteater, especialy in south america. In north amaerica Tamandua usualy just means one of the two with Tamandua as part of their scientific name. The bushy tailed ones are the Giant anteater and what most people think of as an anteater since they are most known. The Silky anteaters have fur on their tail but it's short.

Pua is Tupi for Heart :)

That joke ad is funny but reminds me of this crazy old man came in my store but I wont bother wih that story right now.

Her fur is actualy fairly corse. I usualy compaire it to a goat but well not a soft furred breed of goat like angoras. It's not real corse like pig coarse and she's softer underneith. *runs and does a feel test* coarser than the guinea pigs :)

I pet a zebra once he like most was realy nippy. Sure pretty though.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p169/TamanduaGirl/NewUploads/Picture115s.jpg

[gini]

I hope you don't mind if I post this for people on your thread. I do it because it is absolutely fascinating.

Thank you for the opportunity to learn so much through PUA!


http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/southamerica/tupi.html

[wolflady]

I just have to say again, that it's so interesting reading about Pua! :) I think she has gained a whole set of fans here at Pet Talk since you joined! :o

Do you have to trim those long nails? :eek: *snicker*

**hugs**

[TamanduaGirl]

Do you have to trim those long nails? :eek: *snicker*


Yes and Poo is not thrilled with you that you reminded me as that was in the plans for the day. I like to file them to to keep a point though not a sharp point they aren't naturaly sharp but she uses the long claws as her fingers since her actual fingers are stuby. They do continue to grow if not worn down and she hasn't shown any intrest in tearing upen boxes and things for enrichment and wear the claws. Just trimmed today will file later.It's kind of like when I trim Kat's claws do a few let her rest do a few more. Now I'm sure it would be much harder if I tried this in the evening when she's awake. She has little and big thick claws so I use the cat nail trimmer and a guilotein dog nail trimmer, depending which claw.

and thank you.

[luckies4me]

CUTE! I saw one at the Exotic Expo in Hillsboro last time I was there and I've been smitten ever since. :D Where abouts are you? I'm in Eugene. Can I come visit? hehehe.

[TamanduaGirl]

Wow that's pretty close. I'm in Oakridge.

There was one at the expo! Darn when was that. I wanted to go but never got around to it. since can't have any more critters till i move. But it would be worth going just to look. Especialy if there was another Tam owner there. I know of one in the Portland area and another that used to have them but sold them :( I'm kinda hopefull the one lady, when her baby grows up will consider a breeder loan for Pua. Darn maybe if that one was and adult male she could get a man loaned to her soon, lol, if i could find them.

anyway if you really wanted to come all the way to see her you could seeing as I have her in a public shop anyway. I'm closed Mon and Tuesdays.

[luckies4me]

Where is your shop located?

The expo is coming up again if you want to go. ;) Hillsboro is right next to Portland and it's definitely worth going. I usually go and keep my eye out for small mammals, but their selection has been quite poor as of late. Of course, their petting zoo last time was definitely the best. They had about 4 cavies out, munjak deer and silka deer, and of course the regular type of petting animals.

There is a lady who comes and brings her servals, caracals and lions. Here's a photo from the last expo.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/RompingRatties/Caracals.jpg

Here is the website if you want to check it out.
http://www.uniqueanimalexpo.com/

[luckies4me]

Pssst. Who's fennec is that?

[Alysser]

I've heard you could have anteaters before, but I also heard they are very rare. That's so cool! Pua is beautiful, thanks so much for sharing those pictures with us. I want her! :D

[TamanduaGirl]

Aw then if it was awhile ago the tam you saw was probably Cyrano and she sent him and his mate to a breeding program :( in England. It's so sad because they could have bred them here.
Pic of him she used to have more up but don't see them now
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/WildCatDancer/cyrano-face.gif

thanks. I did manage to find the link last night and favorited it to check on.

The shop's right on the highway in oakridge so it should be easy to find. Sort of red building. 48019 HWY 58 just before you hit the stop lite.

Which fennec. If you mean my avatar I made that. If you mean the one I'm holding in a photo in my photobucket account that was at a fair I was working.

[luckies4me]

The one in your journal playing fetch like a little dog. haha. :p

[tikeyas_mom]

pua is just so pretty!!! Is she soft?? she looks like a stuffed toy, fake almost lol.. I wouldnt even know what to do with an animal like that lol. i bet you researched like crazy when you got her eh?

[chrissycat21]

Pua is so cute! What a unique pet to have. I just loved looking at all the pictures and reading all of the info you posted about her. :)

[TamanduaGirl]

Oh forgot all about that. That fennec is in Japan.

Her fur is thick and wavy so is actually kind of course. She's soft underneath Especially the underside of her head/ch is velvety. Her over all coat I tend to compare with a goat. But the goats I know got regular baths so she kinda feels like a clean goat :)

Yes I dug up all the research papers I could and talked to other owners, zookeepers, and vets. Some in South America and even the keeper at the Dortmund zoo where they have had the most success breeding them.

Thanks for all the nice comments.

[king2005]

Isn't she the coolest critter ever!! :D

I love getting to meet people who love rare exotics like myself (Axle isn't rare, but not many ppl have them) & work their butts off too keep the critter happy.

My exotic is rare cause they aren't easy to keep. I have a Common Snapping Turtle... His care is too easy. He hardly eats, doesn't need walks during the summer, doesn't need any grooming, no toys, no special $$ foods... Its the summer time he gets annoying lol He always gets out of his pond & trashes the place. My goodness hes like a tank that likes to move furnature & sleep ON MY BLOODY PILLOW!!! <-- He has a thing for pillows & dog beds lol Woke up to him once sleeping on my chest with his neck stretched out close to my chin.. Good morning! lol

Axle is legal in many cities. However in this city he is not. BUT I have notified the government & since I have had him for 7yrs (since he was a hatchling) & I do take great care of him & its all documented in photos & hes in an aducational program/study.. they don't care that I have him, as long as I keep him on my property & away from others. So no more walks in the park for him, but he has a fenced in yard to play in lol. Saddly he doesn't have anymore doggy friends :(

[BC_MoM]

Wow - that's extremely intriguing that you such an exotic animal! I'm not sure if I'd be the best owner for one, but I'd love to meet one! She's beautiful. I thought she was a stuffed toy at first! LOL :eek:

[TamanduaGirl]

Thanks.

Wow now that's neat. I know people with pet tortoises but not snapping turtles. I've seen a few displayed and have a great picture of this huge old one but as far as I know not kept as pets in the same sense as your's getting to run around the house and yard, even if in the house is more of accidents due to escape, lol.

Pua figured out how to unlatch he cage so had to start latching and bolting it but then she got it open that way so have to padlock it when gone. Don't want her waking up and slipping out the pet door. She has a great homing instinct and when it's nice and have her out she comes right back to my door. But she is also more inclined to just curle up where she is when tired and come back later if it were up to her so she would die from hypothermia. Not to mention all the other problems with a tamandua at large in a neighborhood!

That's the reason Tamanduas are rare too. They are so sweet tempered and easy potty habbits but they are considered delicate to keep healthy. So I did tones of research especialy into diet.


Isn't she the coolest critter ever!! :D

I love getting to meet people who love rare exotics like myself (Axle isn't rare, but not many ppl have them) & work their butts off too keep the critter happy.

[TamanduaGirl]

Thanks Bc Mom