|
In 2001 I agreed to participate in an online
interview with particular reference to the following animals as ‘pets’ and
highlighting their positives and negatives as ‘pet’ potential.
I have to
say from the outset, that ‘pet’ is a word that I am not comfortable with,
when referring to wildlife, but I agreed, nevertheless.
The animals in question
were:-
1.
The Common
Wombat
(Vombatus ursinus)
2. The
Western Grey Kangaroo
(Macropus
fuliginosus)
3.
The
Brush-tailed Bettong
(Bettongia penicillata)
4. The
Long-nosed Potoroo
(Potorous
tridactylus)
The base
questions asked were:-
1.
Do they have scent
glands or an offensive smell?
2. What
is their average lifespan?
3. Do
they enjoy interaction?
4. What
is their general personality, disposition, and attitude?
5. Are
they sweet and 'petable',
or mischievous and playful?
6. How
destructive are they for an average household?
7. Do
they climb or tear up furniture?
8. Are
there any problems associated with their claws?
9. How
messy are their droppings?
10. Can
they be litter box trained?
11. Can
they be trained?
12. How
are they with other pets, larger and smaller?
13. What
size cage do they need?
14. What
do you feed them?
15. What
vaccinations/vet care do they require?
16. At
what age would it be best to get one?
and
17. What
other considerations are there for owners of these animals as pets?
18. What
kind of person should own these animals?
19. About
the author?
My
Response:-
I would like to preface the following by
saying that all these comments should not be taken as “gospel” and are all
based on my own opinion and based on personal experiences and as such
someone else’s viewpoint could be quite different. Also the copyright
of this script remains with the writer.
Bob Cleaver
First, a very brief background on each of
the animals.
The Wombat
There are three species of wombat in
Australia – the Common (Vombatus ursinus), The Southern Hairy-nosed
(Lasiorhinus latifrons) and the Northern Hairy-nosed (Lasiorhinus
krefftii). The Common also has a number of subspecies. The
Northern Hairy-nosed is the rarest mammal in the world – there were only
about one hundred animals remaining at the last count and 70% of these are
males.
There are some major differences
between the Common and the Hairy-nosed. The main one to be considered
if you are keeping these animals in captivity is that the common can climb
and the hairy-nosed cannot.
The Western Grey Kangaroo
The Western Grey Kangaroo is a peculiarity
in the kangaroo world in that it does NOT (as do all the others) display
embryonic diapause.
The Brush-tailed Bettong
Commonly called rat kangaroos, of which
there are many species, and was almost extinct until it was brought back
from the brink only a few years ago. They were almost
wiped out when white man first came to Australia and introduced the cat,
the fox and the rabbit. The rabbit ate their food and
took away their homes. The cat
and fox ate them.
The Long-nosed Potoroo
This is a shy and usually gentle creature
which prefers to hide in dense undergrowth. Wild populations are still
viable but there is always the potential of habitat destruction. They,
also, would be no match for a cat, dog or fox.
These animals as pet potential:
Positives
Wombats
Great fun to hand-raise and become very attached to their carer.
Western Grey Kangaroo
Are affectionate towards their carers and remain so throughout their
lives.
Brush-tailed Bettong and
Long-nosed Potoroos
Are
affectionate towards their carers only whilst young.
Negatives
Wombats
As Juveniles; very few. As adults; very many. They are very
destructive to their surrounds and bite to communicate. This is what
wombat’s do - they like to use their teeth and to dig.
Western Grey Kangaroo
Time consuming and expensive to hand raise. They would be one of the
more difficult kangaroos to hand raise, although they do become very
affectionate towards their carer. Males should be ALWAYS
castrated when around 5kgs in weight. This is NOT AN OPTION. IT
IS ESSENTIAL. All adult male 'roos, of whatever species, are
dangerously unpredictable if not castrated when small.
Brush-tailed Bettong and Long-nosed
Potoroos
They can make good 'pets' but tend to revert to a 'wild' state as they
mature. When adult, although may remain tame, they generally do not like
being handled.
Back to
top
Care Q. & A.:
1. Do they have scent
glands or an offensive smell?
Wombats do not have scent glands but do mark their territory with urine
and faeces. Western Grey Kangaroos do have scent glands and the males
can become very pungent – not so much with the females ( unless they have
been in close proximity to a male). Potoroos and Bettongs do not have
scent glands as far as I am aware, but they also scent mark their
territory with urine and faeces. The Potoroos also have a particularly
disgusting habit of vomiting partly digested food as a puddle on the
ground and then re-eat it.
2. What is their average
lifespan?
Wombat - 30 years (the last captive Northern Hairy-nosed died some years
ago at a known age of 33years); Kangaroo – 20-25 years (depending on
species – Greys seem to live longer than Reds), Brush-tailed Bettong
and Potoroo – 10-12 years. Note: these are all educated guesstimates
3. Do they enjoy
interaction?
I am not comfortable with the word ‘enjoy’, but
Wombats and Kangaroos, if handraised, will certainly crave human
companionship. Bettongs and Potoroos tend to revert to a 'wild' state
as they mature. When adult, although may remain tame, they generally do
not like being handled.
4. What is their general
personality, disposition, and attitude?
This is an impossible question to answer as they are all individuals and
as individuals are all different. I would answer this question by
asking another. How would you answer this question if it were asked of
a human being? The answer will be the same!
5. Are they sweet and
'petable', or
mischievous and playful?
The simple answer is none of the above, but again this would be age
and individual related. As young animals the wombat and the kangaroo
could be considered playful but not as adults and for Bettongs and
Potoroos the answer would be no, at any age.
6. How destructive are they
for an average household?
None of these animals would be suitable for indoor living on a long term
basis. They would all become either very destructive or smelly.
7. Do they climb or tear up
furniture?
Yes to all the above, but particularly the wombat – they very
destructive animals and will attempt to dig holes wherever they can and
will certainly tear up your furniture. One of the Bettongs’ natural
abilities is to collect seed in the mouth and then hop off and bury it
somewhere as storage for a “rainy day”. Unfortunately, they tend to
forget where they’ve put it and in this way it would have been one of the
major seed distributors of flora species within Australia. They will
also try to do the same thing in your carpet. You will end up with
small piles of seed buried deep within the pile of your carpet.
Potoroos as I mentioned before also have this disgusting habit of vomiting
partly digested food as a puddle on the ground and then re-eat it. This
will also happen on your carpet!
8.
Are there any problems
associated with their claws?
No not particularly, but they all have sharp claws which can potentially
inflict severe wounds, although I would not consider this to be a problem
and feel that it would be by accident rather than design. The exception
here would be the kangaroo. A full male can inflict fatal wounds with
his hind feet if you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
9. How messy are their
droppings?
Generally not at all – mostly they are quite dry, however, with the
Potoroo and Bettong - they can be a bit messy, depending on what they have
eaten. Some foods will produce soft faeces (particularly in a ‘false’
or captive diet) a more natural diet will not, unless they have ingesting
copious quantities of fresh green feed.
10. Can they be litter box
trained?
NO (but for the wombat you could try putting a litter tray at the point
where they would normally mark their territory – for the others no).
But then there are always exceptions to the rule!
11. Can they be trained?
NO, YES, MAYBE ??? but limited. Personally I don’t believe so - but
they will train you. The exception here again, would probably be the
wombat. Wombats are extremely intelligent and have the largest brain in
proportion to its body size of any marsupial and would be equivalent in
size to that of a dog. But as for training, I’m not so sure – like I
said above they will train you, and believe me they are very smart!
(Just as an aside – the Koala, which is the nearest living relative to
the Common Wombat, has an extremely small brain, so small in fact that the
two hemispheres do not meet in the middle. It is just, basically, an
eating & sleeping machine).
12. How are they with other
pets, larger and smaller?
Again this will depend on whether or not the creature concerned has been
brought up with the other pet. If yes, then they should get along
together ok, if not, then it would be a different story. As a general
rule Kangaroos and dogs don’t mix (dogs like to play – kangaroos do not =
conflict). A wombat has the potential to kill a dog if it (the dog) were
cornered (through sheer power, strength and brute force, as opposed to
biting or scratching). Conversely, a large dog is a potential killer
of the wombat.. Bettongs and Potoroos would be a tasty meal for either
a cat or a dog.
13. What size cage do they
need?
How long is a piece of string? This is an enormous question and has
book potential. This is a subject which I am currently writing up as a
four part article for this (and next) years’ issues of “Keeping
Marsupials” - the quarterly Journal of The Marsupial Society of Australia
Inc. To date there is twenty four pages of text and I have only just
started on part four.
To subscribe go to
www.marsupialsociety.org
14. What do you feed them?
Another huge question!
(I was tempted to say – food – but I shouldn’t be facetious).
To try and put this in a nutshell, let me say that the wombat and the
kangaroo should be fed a dry pelletised food of some description but be
careful not to get one that contains too much protein (avoid horse foods,
they are too high in protein and too high in mineral content). We have
been using one, which all our animals seem to enjoy that is designed for
goats. There is one available in Australia designed specifically for
kangaroos but for some reason our animals seem to leave it in preference
for the goat meal. High protein levels, particularly for the wombat,
can, potentially involve some problems. They should also be offered
green feed of some sort and a good meadow hay, also garden prunings are
good but be VERY VERY careful that the plants you offer are not
poisonous. Avoid grass cuttings from your lawnmower – if a cat has
urinated or defaected on the lawn and then the animal eats the grass there
is the potential for that animal to contract toxoplasmosis (which
all cats carry) and it is usually fatal.
The Bettongs and Potoroos should also be offered a dry proprietary puppy
food (for their teeth), plus a range of fruit, fungi, nuts, carrots,
apple, orange, in fact any sort of fruit and vegetable material. Think
of it this way – if you are prepared to eat it, and it is
vegetarian, then you are at liberty to feed to your Potoroos or Bettongs –
however, they may not eat it, but you will soon find out their
preferences. The important issue is to offer a varied and good quality
diet. Infrequent protein is not a bad thing either, so the occasional
chop bone for them to chew at would not go astray.
15. What vaccinations/vet care
do they require?
We have never had to vaccinate any of our animals for anything, but there
will be times when the services of a vet are needed. The most common
problems that would be associated with the kangaroos, are things like
diarrhoea, pneumonia, respiratory infections and mechanical problems (i.e.
broken limbs, lacerations etc.). With the other critters, veterinary
intervention would be a rarity.
16. At what age would it be
best to get one?
Unfortunately these are not the type of animal where you just go out and
‘get one’. Most (if not all) of our hand-raised animals have been
“rescued” and come from road accidents other unnatural trauma. However,
animals that have been bred from these can be sold or purchased provided
you have the correct permits. I would NEVER take a healthy
animal from out of the pouch just to have a tame animal to sell. The
only acceptable reason for doing this is that if there is either something
wrong with the young or the mother has a problem. For example, some
years ago we acquired an Agile Wallaby this way when an adult female
contracted toxoplasmosis (from cat contaminated food) and had to be put
down, but she had a joey in her pouch (which was not affected by the
disease). If you acquired an adult animal of any of these species it
would be unlikely to be tame.
Back to
top
17. Other considerations for
owners?
Basically this question can be included with the next.
18. What kind of person should
own these animals?
Someone with a lot of patience, plenty of spare time and has a natural
affinity with animals in general. If you are an “animal” person they
will respond to you but if you have a short fuse – forget it. These
animals do respond well to kindness but not to anger or abuse under which
circumstance they are likely to “hit back”. If you are not prepared
to commit yourself for the lifespan of the animal then do not take it on
in the first place.
If you are going to take on a kangaroo, for example, then you must
consider that, should you be likely to move home during their lifespan,
you will probably have to leave it (them) behind. Adult kangaroos do
not like being moved and as a very general rule, (if you can apply rules
to animals, which I am reluctant to do), a high percentage of adult ‘roos
that are moved will die within the twelve to eighteen months following the
move. Under these circumstances they can suffer from myopathy which, in
layman’s terms, is an extreme form of stress. Basically the animal
becomes lethargic, may refuse to eat, it may even go into spasm, but
generally becomes tense and unhappy, all of which have the same net
effect – death. It is treatable, but success is limited
and not guaranteed. The main factor in treatment would be massive
doses of vitamin E and or injectable atropine.
We found ourselves in these circumstances some years ago and moved
seventeen adult ‘roos (with much care and forethought) and were lucky in
that we lost only four over the following twelve months or so. We
cannot say that it was the move that killed them, but the deaths were all
suspicious and unexpected.
Myopathy is not easily diagnosed without veterinary intervention and
generally there are no visible symptoms to you or me, except death, and by
that time you don’t need the vet unless you want a post mortem performed.
19.
About the author?
Whilst writing the above diatribe I have had some difficulty in reaching
the keyboard because I have been taken over by a rather sooky wombat.
She insisted on sitting on my lap and then curled up and went to sleep and
it is somewhat difficult to try and balance an 18kg
wombat on your lap and type at the same time.
Back to
top
Summary of my experience working with native wildlife over the past thirty
years.
1974 and
ongoing
I obtained
my first ‘Keep and Sell’ permit from The National Parks and Wildlife
Service which enable me to keep and care for a range of Native wildlife
species.
My permit
is still current, due for renewal in June 2004.
1982 and
ongoing
My wife and
I both became members of the Avicultural Society of South Australia Inc. –
our membership is still current.
1984 and
ongoing
We both
joined the Marsupial Society of South Australia Inc. in an effort to learn
as much as we could about keeping native animals before expanding our
interest in that direction. We also expanded our interest to a wider
range of birds including birds of prey and softbills.
It was this year that we first had ideas of creating our own wildlife
sanctuary as an eco-tourism venture. This is when Wombat Rise Sanctuary
first started to take shape.
1986 - 1995
We obtained
our first pair of Wallabies. We also took possession of our first
rescued kangaroo in June of 1986 closely followed by our first wombat.
It was also that year, we were both elected to the committee of the
Marsupial Society of South Australia Inc. and I was elected as editor of
their magazine. I continued with this work for nine years (to 1995)
during which time I learnt an incredible amount about our wildlife (and
continue to do so).
1988 and
continuing
A group of
people, myself included, purchased a 17 square kilometre strip of coastal
scrub in October 1988 to preserve the last mainland habitat of the Death
Adder (an endangered species of snake). The area is known as Point
Jarrold and is found on the west side of the Yorke Peninsula in South
Australia. The ownership of the land is registered to the Point Jarrold
Flora and Fauna Research Association
1989 – 1992
I was
persuaded to become the co-coordinator of a T.A.F.E. (Tertiary and Further
Education) course entitled ‘The Care and Management of Rescued Native
Fauna’ which was extremely well received and ran from 1989 through to
1992.
1993 – 2002
Wombat Rise
Sanctuary was registered as a business in 1993 and continued until 2002
when the property was put up for sale.
1994 – 1995
I was
elected as President of The Marsupial Society of Australia Inc. and we
also joined The Native Animal Network Inc. The Native Animal Network is
very heavily involved with the rescue of injured and orphan native
wildlife whereas the Marsupial Society leans more towards conservation,
education and captive management issues.
1996 – 2002
Both my
Wife and I were honoured with a life membership of The Marsupial Society
of Australia Inc. in 1996 and received an award in that year for having
achieved first recorded captive breeding of the Southern Hairy-nosed
Wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) in South Australia. At the time of
writing (December 2003) we have now bred thirteen, and three of these were
sired by our firstborn.
2001 and
ongoing
Since March
of 2001 I have, once again, taken on the position of Editor for the
Marsupial Society’s Journal “Keeping Marsupials”.
2002 and
ongoing
Now retired
from ‘paying’ work (but definitely not from my animal interests), I am
attempting to write a book of some of our exploits and experiences in
working with native wildlife. I have absorbed an awful amount of
knowledge over the previous almost thirty years. It would be a shame
if others cannot take advantage of it. If it helps or amuses others,
then I will rest in peace.
2003 and
ongoing
I was elected as webmaster for the website of the
Marsupial Society of Australia Inc.
www.marsupialsociety.org
so now I have three hats (President, Editor & Webmaster).
2007 and
ongoing
Nominated myself to take on the Editorship of "The
Wildlife Telegraph", the twice yearly magazine of The Native Animal
Network. So now I have another hat - I must be nuts!
|
