Pua on the wall

[TamanduaGirl]

It depends on the state if you need a liscense or permit. They don't consider them a threat to the envornment or people in mine so I don't she just needed a permit to get into the state. I have my USDA now thjough so I can start doing educational shows with her at schools and things like that.

[wolflady]

Wow! That is certainly some diet! Thanks for sharing all of this information about your unique girl! I'm sure kids will really like her when you start doing the educational programs

**hugs**

[TamanduaGirl]

thanks.

I beleive in feeding a diet that is as little processed as possible. I feel feeding nothing but kibble is like feeding nothing but cerial to a person. But mimicking termites and ants isn't easy. I compaired a study done on the nutritional stomach contents of wild tamanduas and compaired it to what I was mixing up and with spinach to match the amount of K most tams get on kibble.

[lvpets2002]

WoW you just wore me out with that diet.. And I thought taken care of 9 cats & 2 dogs was busy .. You do know & love your baby.. Just adorable..

[TamanduaGirl]

Ha I was teased about making up a witches brew when I made it before. It is a lot of work. Especialy the straining process, makes my arms tired, but I could use the work out

[ramanth]

What do your other animals think of Pua or do they have to be kept seperate?

I just love reading your posts about her. Very informative.

[TamanduaGirl]

They all do okay with each other. Pua was terrified of the cat the first time but has now gotton used to her. She'll sniff noses with the cat. Kat doesn't seem to care much either way. She has warmed up a bit and made a few febal play swipes in Pua's dirrection but Pua ignored them.

Jupiter was scared at first of Pua at first and then got to chasing her out of his cage if she wandered in but will lick her tail sometimes when it hangs down within reach. He also aproach her when they were both running free.

The dogs both flee from her tail. You'd think she was part scorpion. Hyzzie is a big bully and will push Pua around sometimes if not watched. She's jelouse of her. Quasi mostly avoids her but will grumble if she disturbs his sleep.

Hyzzie thinks Jupiter is her puppy and loves him to peices and tries to teach him to play like a dog. No one really knows what to make of Pua. I think Hyzzie thinks of her more like a cat. She followed her around at first when she climbed things and whined worried that woeird dog would hurt herself. So a big part of her problem is jelousy. Though the dogs still get plenty of attention and several walks a day.

[ramanth]

Having just adopted a new dog, I totally understand the jealousy aspect. Kia was a single dog for 5 years and along comes this new pup. I get that look quite often.

She whines when I hold the new snake too. Kia's a momma's girl.

I bet Pua turns heads when you go for walks. Do you take her to pet stores when you shop?

[TamanduaGirl]

Do you take her to pet stores when you shop?

That's a trick question, lol. I have my own pet store. Just supplies and in a small town. Pua comes with me every day so I can keep an eye on her. She has a nice big pen here but since she decided she prefers being mostly nocturnal sleeps in my lap most of the time. Sometimes she runs off and sleeps in the sink or on a shelf or in a box ect. Right now the sink is her favorite place. She's been waking up in the mornings recently so gets fed then when we get to work she runs off to sleep in the sink.

I took her when they had a pet photo day for a fund raiser. She didn't want to sit still. she wanted to explore. But it was outside too. I may have to try her in pet's mart sometime when I'm feeling social. I live in the mountains though so the real city is 45 miles away. Maybe when i take her for her next check up we can stop by.

[wolflady]

It's so great to own your own business and bring your Pua to work with you. How neat! You may have already mentioned this somewhere else, but when/how did you first start learning about tamanduas?

**hugs**

[TamanduaGirl]

Well I wanted a fewnnec fox and to work with exotics but lived in CA. I moved eventualy to OR. When I was looking OR had a list of what animals you can have, can't have or need a permit for. Tamanduas were on the okay list.

Way back had seen the wild on the set with a tamandua http://babyitscoldoutside.net/video.html and remembered how cute it was in a parka. so I looked into them as a possibility for working with some day and the more I learned the more I loved them so Tamanduas became my top love and got a tamandua first.

[Twisterdog]

I just stumbled across this thread.

WOW, that is a cute little critter! I had no idea they were so cute!

Are they bred domestically, or wild caught?

[TamanduaGirl]

Unfortunatly most are still wild caught but with more research into their diet ect there have been more captive births and that is slowly changing. I tried to buy a captive born and bred baby from a lady who had a pair but she claimed she wasn't getting my messages and sold him to someone else.

I plan to get her a mate in the future. I also know someone kind of local with a male but he needs to grow up first. Then we will do our small part to help ensure their future in captivity and we will be educating about them in the wild as well.

She basicaly came right to me from the wild with a stop or two along the way. She was in ruff shape and so likely wouldn't have survived much longer in the wild. For a "wild" animal she is very loving. She has no want to escape either. When I take her in the yard when the weather's nice she knows her way right back to my door and when I take her out to pee at the shop when it's warm enough she also heads right back for the shop door when done.

I know how some feel about it and thought it over myself and decided I was fine with it long as I did something to help out. I can't feel bad about it myself. Aside from the fact I feel her life was saved by coming here they aren't excatly a prized species down there. One study showed they are tied with capuchin monkeys as most comonly killed as nusance/pest animals. They are known to wander into homes and trash/dumpsters also killed by hunters on sites for the mistaken notion they are dog killers. They can but only in self defense. Sometimes killed for food or tourists and as with most wildlife is most common to see them dead on the road than in the wild.

They are not endagered though or officialy threatened. The trade is heavely regulated and the amount they allow out gets smaller each year. So trade may be stopped in the near future.

Even on my Xenartha keepers forum(anteaters, sloths, and armadillos) there are differing views so I know how some people feel. But all species in captivity started somewhere. Even hamsters haven't really been raised in captivity all that long, a few decades.

But however anyone looks at it look on the bright side in a few years if all goes well you'll get to see baby anteater pictures

Sorry if that got to long winded but I just figured I would go ahead and explain how I saw it all before anyone commented. Most exotics are bred in captivity. Certainly no one prefers to get a wild animal over a captive bred baby but it all starts somewhere. The way I see it if I'm succesful in breeding it will help give others an option to wild caught.

[GSDOG]

Pua is beautiful..Love the pics...I see nothing wrong with what you are doing. If educating some people on animals like her you will make people want to protect them, then all the better. Lucky for you Oregon allows so many different kinds of animals to be kept.

[trayi52]

Pua sure is a cute little thing. I really enjoyed the pictures and the video. Thanks for the info on her. She sounds like a wonderful pet to have.

Willie