Tamandua Tetradactyla Care Sheet
General Info
The
Tamandua, sometimes referred to as the ant bear, is a medium sized
anteater. They weight about 7-19 pounds. My experience is healthy
adults average on the larger size over 10 pounds. They are about 2 feet
long not counting the tail. The tail is roughly another 2 feet in
length and is prehensile. Most are about the size of a large house cat
or small dog. The standard coloring is tan with a black vest and is why
they are often referred to as collard anteaters. However they also come
in all blond, all black, all tan, gray and with faded vests when
present. The color varies based on the region they live in the wild.
The actual collared anteaters are hard to find now and most in
captivity are non-vested or only partly vested.
Though
considered arboreal it will spend time on the ground looking for
termite mounds and traveling, unlike it's close cousin the pygmy or
silky anteater (Cyclopes didactlus) who is strictly arboreal or the
Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) who is fully terrestrial. Some
even live in the savannas where there are few trees. Unfortunately
because it will travel on the ground this leads to the most common
sighting of tamanduas in the wild by the side of the road, hit by car.
Considered a nuisance animal in their native lands they are also hunted
for the tendons in their tails to make rope. They are also killed on
site as many consider them a threat because they have been known to
kill dogs. They are considered a threatened species.
In the wild they eat mostly termites, ants and some grubs and fruits but avoid any ants that have strong chemicals like the warrior fire ants but will eat the workers and eggs. They have been known to raid bee hives in the wild. They love honey and sweets but may well eat the bee larvae too. They may occasionally eat fallen fruits or flowers since they have a fondness for them in captivity. I often see it mentioned a person wants a tamandua or other anteater because they have ants. Tamanduas are not an effective form of pest control though some natives are said to keep them for that reason. First they will often not eat ants that are not native to where they live in the wild and much prefer to avoid the warrior ants. They also do not destroy any termite mounds they do feed from in the wild. Instead they eat from many nests always leaving enough behind for the nest to recover, making them a primitive sort of ant farmer. Though not tending the crop of ants they only harvest what they need and leave the rest to continue to grow. Also tamanduas held in captivity who were offered termite mounds from their native habitats fared quite poorly.(1) So anyone hoping to get an anteater to control their ants should not be thinking about getting one of these lovely creatures but instead call an exterminator.
When I first began looking for information on keeping Tamanduas in captivity very little information was readily available. I have a great love for these animals however so did not let this apparent road block stop me. I have talked with handlers, private owners, zoo vets and keepers and stud book keepers. I also managed to get my hands on several articles and studies on tamanduas and giant anteaters who have very similar requirements and health issues. I gained a great deal of knowledge about the care of these animals but also sadly realized many who already had these animals were not informed of how to properly care for them. This was not due to the owners not caring or trying to do right by them but simply a lack of readily available information like I myself was confronted with. The worst case I have come across was a business who regularly dealt with exotics. they were experienced and caring but when they acquired their tamandua believed the seller when he told them to feed it rotten eggs. The result was a very sickly animal that died very prematurely. Other problems are not so sever. Some seek answers but often seemingly small things like chronic loose and excessively smelly stools are all to often excepted as normal or unavoidable by owners. This is not the case however and many of the most common problems can be resolved with a proper diet. Seeing the need for a good easy to find source of information on captive tamandua husbandry I felt obliged to try and help with this care sheet.
Diet
Based on the stomach contents of wild Tamanduas their diet consists of about 51% crude protein, 11% fat, 14%ash(minerals) and 4.58 kcal/g (caloric content) on a dry matter basis(2). Thus it is said they have similar dietary needs to that of an obligate carnivore like a cat and in fact need taurine like a cat does for a healthy heart. This does not mean you can just feed them cat food. They need less calcium than most animals and they need only very little retinol(vit A). They do have some special requirements. They are hemophiliacs so need High vitamin K in their diets to aid in clotting. High B12 also helps. Supplementing vit E can be a problem but wheat germ oil is high in natural E and is good since their wild diet is high in E. They also require a good source of Potassium. The most common diet is equal parts Leaf-Eater and cat food. The leaf-eater is high in Vitamin K and fiber to help maintain fecal consistency. Some feed higher Leaf eater than cat food ratio. Though animals do well enough on this diet I do not believe it is truly complete and is used more for convenience. In fact it has become fairly common for anteaters on a long term kibble diet to have a sort of MBD due to vitamin A toxisity and to much Calcium. They like and do well on diets that include raw beef but steps to ensure safety must be taken as they have been known to get Salmonella or choke to death when fibrous tissues from the meat becomes entangled around the tongue(3), though I've only seen this in reference to horse meat one needs to keep it in mind.
While some anteaters can be gluttons and highly food motivated some are hard to get eating when newly acquired. They usually love the flavor of milk so a kitten milk replacer can be used for flavor. Vinegars is also palatable. Honey may also help. We tried anything and everything we could think of. The mixture ours finally ate was milk replacer, baby cereal, powdered oat meal, yogurt, honey, and sugar. If yours wont eat you need to try anything and then wean them onto a healthier diet once they are excepting something. A good dealer will make sure yours is healthy and eating before you get it but you need to be prepared. Some remain picky. It could be a few days after arrival before a tamandua will first eat in a new home so you don't need to panic right away.
We have gone through a few diets as tastes changed and I did more study into their requirments the best is saved for last. The beef diet.
simple easy diet
2 cups powdered dry cat food
1 cup flax seed meal
1/4 cup dehydrated frozen spinach
Grind all in coffee grinder remove anything that doesn't powder small.
Mix with water when ready to serve.
optional
a bit of Wheat Germ oil once a week mixed for skin and extra calories if needed
KMR kitten milk powder to taste
The simple diet is convenient to have and should be nutritionally complete for basic survival based on the analysis of all ingredients compared to wild diet and K content of leafeater. But mine not only liked the fresh frozen diet better it gave her much nicer stools and she seemed all around healthier when on it or a mix of the two. Also as mentioned before there are imbalances like to much Retinol in the kibble. It's a good start though since most tamanduas come accustomed to a kibble diet and you will need to work them onto something better over time.
Gourmet diet
1 pounds bananas (feed without skin)
1 pound tomatoes
1 pound fruit, oranges, kiwi, berries any acidic fruit is preferred
2 boiled eggs
2 pounds feeder insects such as meal worms, crickets and silk worms, ect.
1 pound chicken, turkey breast, or ground beef boiled
1 pound boiled liver
1 pound fresh cooked shrimp (pulverized equivalent of 4oz dried shrimp)
1/4 cup bone meal powder
1 cup flax seed meal
1 cup dried red beans cooked and mashed
2 pkgs frozen spinach(10oz or about 4 & 1/2 cups)
7-15 teaspoons blue green algae, cell tech animal algae (based on size of
animal) or natural multivitamin.
Blend all in food processor with fish/shrimp/chicken water then run through a berry strainer (metal cone with holes and pestle to push liquid through). Reblend the remainder then restrain at least twice should only be a couple cups of waist. The waist should be small enough it could be eaten but mine was always leaving the small bits at the bottom so strain it now so all will be lapped up and it's safer if using chicken or liver in case of sinew.
optional:
add digestive enzymes and probiotics at each meal
a spoonfull of vinegar to aid digestion
All
blended up as fine as can be done give about a half pound twice a day.
Once in the morning around 9-10am or close to sunrise as possible and
once in the afternoon close to sunset they tend to eat more in the
afternoon so maybe split the pound out a little less in the morning and
a bit more for the afternoon feeding. Mine has taken to only eating in
the evenings though she ate several small meals through the day at
first. This recipe will last about a month for one animal so freeze all
extra for later feedings. Do not leave out for more than two hours
after feeding. To leave out longer use a freezer mug to keep it cool
longer.
The gormete diet was a result of the idea that more is more and based on the dortmund zoo diet and modified based on my other data.
Reasons behind some of the ingredients
Bananas are important for the potassium.
Tomatoes are important for the vitamin K and the acid content. Without enough vitamin K they are hemophiliacs, bleeding without clotting from any cut or spontaneous bleeding from nose or genitalia. Tamanduas do not have the stomach acids of other mammals and in the wild rely on the acid in the ants they eat to help them digest their food so tomatoes also help with that. Pua loves ketchup as a treat.
Spinach is very high in Vitamine K so can not be left out of this diet without supplementing another way.
Eggs are a good source of complete protein but cooked may be best as tamanduas are susceptible to salmonella. I've replaced raw meat in the dortmund diet with feeder insects.
Insects: If bought in bulk some insects will work out to only a dollar a day in the amount of insects fed. And it's just a good idea for some insects to be in the diet of an insectivore mammal.
The cat food if used should be a natural brand without chemicals and low amounts of grain. They have very sensitive systems and you want to limit their exposure to chemicals so avoid chemical preservatives in the cat food.
The bone meal was thought to be important for their calcium intake but will also help them have firmer stool. This was a misconception they do not have the calcium needs of other exotics.
Flaxseed is for Fiber they need high fiber and flax seed is healthy but does get a bit gooey when ground and water added so don't want to over do flax That's why the red beans.
Red beans are higher in fiber than flax and they do not gum up.
Liver is High in vitamin B12 which can help with hemophilia, the draw back is it is also very high in retinol.
The gormete diet is really a poor diet long term but better than the kibble diet.
Raw Beef Diet
I was quite against the idea of raw meat being fed to anteaters till it happened to me. Many zoos do use raw meat in their mix. Based on my research it just seemed a bad idea so I was against it and avoided it too. Boy was i so very wrong!
3 cups feeder insects
1 cup beef heart
1/3 cup wheat bran
2 tbls nutritional yeast(for iron and B vitamins)(They have very high iron needs)
Treats
Treats can include melons whole sliced or mashed. Many love breaking apart the melons themselves for an enrichment activity. They then claw it to mush and lick it up. Stewie had fun with coconut parts. Other treats given include blue cheese, oranges, avocado, banana, crickets, yogurt, mealworms, apple sauce, grapes, pumpkin, ants, termites, cucumber, grapefruit, papaya, baby food, honey, tomato, coconut, apple whole or sliced, molasses, frozen treats, other fruits, fruit juices, spray cheese and feeder insects. Mine loved KMR milk and would take meds mixed in this if needed but stopped liking it. I also occasionally trap termites for her to eat out of the woods and she finds ant nests for herself on walks. sometimes she will take crickets if ground up for her and likes cheese in a kong toy. Her tastes often change. She now wont touch milk she liked yogurt for awhile then stopped and likes spicy things like guacamole, tomato sauce, and V-8. She loves ketchup, babr-b-q sauce, and spray cheese and of course ants.
Housing
Housing
of tamanduas varies widely. From fancy enclosures of 100'x100' to
kennels in the home of 2x3x6 and free roam of the home during the day.
I feel a minimum of 4x4x6 for one if they get free roam when awake but
larger is preferred. However they are housed they need things to climb
on and some exercise. They need room to roam as well. mine loves to
explore and gets weekly walks on woodland trails when weather allows.
She loves to run the trails. The male loved to run circles in the
living room each night. They need warm constant temperatures so if the
enclosure is outside they need a portion of it enclosed and protected
from the elements. Ideal temps for health is 65-80. The heat should
never drop below 65f in the indoor portion and they should not be
allowed outside on days with frost advisories in effect.They should be
kept at temps below 90f. If temps reach or exceed 90f then measures
should be taken to keep the animal cool. The male could get heat sick
at 85 and seen both shiver at 65. 75F is the ideal.
Be sure there are no sharp edges on the caging or objects present in it for them to cut themselves on. They will reach out and claw at anything near their cage so be careful of anything they could get hurt on or get their claws stuck in or shread. They need den boxes or covered housing of some sort even hollowed out logs are appreciated. They need heat whether in the form of a heating pad or a heat lamp if the room is allowed to get cool. Mine also will wear sweaters but is not advised if not supervised. They are usualy only on for walks or till she warms up at home. Mine love a pouched hammock I made them my female took to it the first night. Branches shelves and other layers for climbing on are important. Try to avoid wood walls directly to the outside of their enclosures as some have been known to claw their way out.
Contrary
to most information you will find I will say Tamanduas are not
solitary. They love attention and love to have a companion of their own
species. They seem to be much healthier and happier in a home setting
but if they must be housed separately like at a zoo they should have a
friend. One simply needs to take the time to introduce them slowly. I
will go so far as to say they are quite social. They may not live in
family groups but they have been proven to share territory with
multiple other tamanduas in the wild. They have their own instinctual
social rituals, such as poking each others hands and feet with their
claws as part of their bonding and love to play wrestle with each
other. When I only had the female she suffered from separation anxiety
and would cry for me. If one can not be a part of the family, I
believe, they need their own family in the form of another tamandua
companion. She has been more easily startled and upset since we lost
the male but she is happy and plays with me a lot.
Health and life span
Anteater Pox
Healthy Tamanduas are thought to have a captive lifespan of about 9-11yrs, the oldest having reached 19. Tamandua mexican has a lifespan of 16 so tamandua tetradactyla could well be similar with real quality care as the info on life span is limited and based on cases before care and diet were improved with studies. Their normal temp is about 93.6F give or take a little. Tamanduas generally respond well to canine medications when needed. Try to find a good vet that can get information from a zoo vet. There are some medicines like certain antibiotics that should not be given.
Health problems include but are not limited too; abscesses, wounds that don't heal, bleeding, intestinal parasites, External parasites, ringworm, a condition called anteater pox that they usually recover from with no lasting effects and is not zoonic, respiratory conditions from nasal discharge to pneumonia, eye infections and irritations, heart problems, lethargy, kidney and liver disease, strokes, seizures, weight issues from obesity to anorexia, dry skin, dehydration, ear infections, mites, fleas, fungal infections, salmonella and other bacterial infections, intestinal obstructions, and foreign matter wrapped around the tongue. My female nearly died from Streptococcal Toxic Shock, so take care around anyone who has a sore throat that might be Strep. We don't know were she got it but it might have icubated from the time we visited a ranch. Cows can carry it.
My
male died from an auto immune problem. This seems more common in bottle
fed or young that were weaned to early. They really shoud ne be weaned
till 8 month minium to a year. Mom will let them nurse some up to a
year in the wild and definatly not wean them till at least a months.
Many wean at 6 months because they can eat the liquid food but that
does not mean it is good for them. However if one does need to be
bottle fed for some reason getting them onto the beef diet above as
soon as possible plus some colostrum till 8 months to a year would be
ideal.
A proper diet , good hygiene, and a warm constant temperature of about 75f will help in the prevention of many of these concerns. But problems can still come out of no where like my female's illness and the male's passing from an auto-immune dissorder, that cause him to bleed out. A female recently had a serious trauma when she could not use her tongue to eat and drink. We all came to the conclusion something was stuck in there but it never was seen but was luckily diloged while under anestethia the second time. Tamanduas are usually tolerant of bathing and grooming. It is possible and sometimes necessary to trim nails with dog nail clippers or file them. I prefer to file them with a hand held electric file to help maintain a proper shape. They use their claws as fingers and if they get to long it impairs the use. Just be cautious not to cut to deep. You need to avoid the quick and if the nails are to sort it effects their function. It's best to just take the tip regularly as needed rather than wait and have to trim a bunch which could be traumatic and stressful.
Bathing is usually tolerated and they can be given a bath as needed or monthly to every two weeks. I've had to bath more often due to a contact allergy. When I get to itchy it's bath time but have been able to go longer between baths. Their skin does get a rusty orange film that they rub onto things to mark them. In between bathing if not provided a pool they can be misted with a squirt bottle and let them groom the water out. Moisture is good for their skin. You may need to apply lotion, baby oil gel works well, to tails, feet and sometimes the ears. If you can keep the room they sleep in fairly humid. Mine sleeps in the clothes washer, when not being used and it keeps humid in there from her breath and I have a blanket for her to burrow in.
Enrichment
Most tamanduas love to tear things apart. Boxes, paper bags, or pinatas with treats inside are commonly considered great fun. Some might claw holes in your walls so providing appropriate things to destroy is a good idea. They also enjoy rotten logs that have evidence of insects.
A ball with a rattle inside might be tossed about and clawed. Other cat toys may be appropriate as well. Mine likes rubber dog toys and rubber boots some give them old shoes. A box of fresh dirt to dig in is enjoyed. Stewie, the male, has taken very well to training of simple tricks like stand and walk, hold a spoon, and even paints. They can be trained to come when called but do not rely on this being effective outside. They are easily distracted and very stubborn. Pua now pulls a rope up for a treat at the bottum.
Swings and hammocks are sometimes considered fun but mine never trusted swings and ropes, they move to much.
Ropes to walk across and hang from are good or use shelves and branches.
Insects and other treats can be used, see diet.
For an indoor tamandua a cat tree would be good. Mine does enjoy the cat condo from time to time. I would advise it not being allowed much unsupervised access as fiber can come loose from clawing and be hazardous.
Those housed in out door enclosures will appreciate tree limbs or jungle gyms with shelves for rest.
Some tamanduas are taken for walks on lead and harness. I find an H harness to be the best. If the belly is not to big you might add abelt for an dedded safety till you both are confident. I recomend practicing in a fenced area.
Tame
tamanduas enjoy wrestling and play fights with their caretakers and
petting and cuddling. The cuddle time is done on their terms and they
wont stay just because you ask. Some are more cuddly than others. My
male is more independent but also more sociable with strangers. My
female loves to sleep curled up inside my shirt, she enjoys being close
so much. My male trusted me enough he loved for me to pick him up, lay
him on my arm and fly him around on my arm making airplane sounds, just
like a kid. Most exotics would freak out with that, even most domestics
but he would beg me to do it.
They are good swimmers and like water so a child's wading pool on warm days would be good. Not all enjoy getting in water mine loves going to the river but usually avoids getting wet but if heated up she has waded in and even swims but it has to be just right.
They have a great sense of smell so using different scents about their environment could interest them and encourage them to move about. I had an anteater owning pal send us some used shavings with pee to sprinkle about the yard and Pua liked knowing she's not alone.
Durable toys with holes for their tongues to explore are good items especially with hidden treats inside, consider the Kong toys with a bit of honey or cheese inside.
Breeding
The first thing one must know if they choose to breed these animals is what sex their animals are. How to tell the difference was one of the hardest thing for me to find out. People kept telling me that you can't tell but you can. Everyone had different explanations of the differences however. It appears there is no difference on the surface since the males gonads are internal and their sexual organs are small and very similar to the female. It's relatively simple however to tell the difference. When you look at the openings of their external sexual parts there is a marked difference. The male's opening will be a hole at the end and the female a slit down the middle but you need to get hands on as the males have a line that could appear to be a slit and the females have a clitoris which could be mistaken for the head of a penis. The males sexual mound tends to be more pointed and cresent shaped. The whoe thing get firm and the tip is inserted sideways into the female. I got a good look at one of their attemps to mate but no babies from it unfortunatly.
Whether or not the male and female are housed together will depend on how well they get along. Mine have no problems and like to sleep together. Mating generally takes place in the fall but could occur at any time. Females cycle about every month or month and a half. There may be some spotting but care should be taken not to confuse this with a bleed out. Try keeping a log of when spotting occurs and have the vet look at a sample. Other signs are restlessness and genital licking. Their gestation is about 150 days on average. Females will need a private den like place to give birth. All other tamanduas should be kept away from mother and young. Females give birth to one young at a time. Rarely twins are born but the mother tamandua can not care for more than one young at a time in the wid so one is rejected. In the case of twins at least one young should be removed and bottled and the other watched closely. Rarely twins have been left with mom and survived with supplemental feeding of both but this would never happen in the wild and it's more common for mom to reject one or even both so it is risky to try leaving both with mom. It's a tricky decision since mom's milk is best.
Baby
tamanduas can be successfully bottle raised with kitten milk replacer.
Other than the event of twins or other problem such as mother rejecting
them I do not recommend pulling the young and bottle raising them. Even
wild caught tamanduas tame down well and as long as they are handled
regularly babies raised in captivity will be tame and loving to their
owner. There is no need to pull and bottle. Tamanduas have a very
specialized diet in the wild and it has been difficult to get a decent
diet formulated for adults in captivity. We do not have a milk formula
made for them. Kitten milk works but we don't know what vital things
may be missing that will cause problems for them later in life due to
missing out as babies. We do not know if there may be to much of
something or other imbalances. They do keep getting
anitbodies(colostrum) in their milk the whole time they nurse, up to a
year. Shown by one mae born with no immunity of his own who ony fell
ill and died once weaned. For this reason since they will be tame
anyway I truly feel they should not be pulled until strong, healthy and
eating at least some food mix diet barring other reasons that may
necessitate it. This means baby should stay with mom till 6-12 months
of age. I personally think they should be left with mom till 8 months.
They can start eating a diet mix by 6 months but still need mom for
awhile. Mom does not wean them at 6 months but at 8 months to a year.
My male was pulled at 6 months and suckled on my fingers as an adut. I
got to fell first hand how that tongue works inside.
Tamanduas are hard to come by, hard to care for, but very rewarding and special. They can make very loving pets when raised from a young age with people. Even wild caught have become quite sociable with people given enough proper handling. Down sides are smell. Tamanduas do not have a noticeable odor under normal circumstances but their pee does smell skunky similar to a ferret. Most choose one place to pee and one place to poop and stick to it but they may mark and have accidents and they do dribble pee similar to a rat which they can not help. Mine trained relatively well to pee pads but it did take some time and a few accidents. Some may refuse to train and want to mark all over. She had many places she chose to go but have narrowed it down to two outside her cage. My female isn't destructive but some can be. My male went trough a phase of tearing holes in the walls. Mine are gentle but can play ruff at time and most say theirs don't learn to play with gentle claws. Accidents can still happen. There are many health concerns to worry about and the diet can be tricky and a lot of work. Please learn all you can about the good and the bad before getting an anteater.
For further info please join our group that discusses these animals and their close relations http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xenarthra_keepers/
References 1. Formulating Diets for Tamandua, A. Ward, S. Crissy, K. Cassaro, E. Frank 2. Nutrition of the Tamandua, S Oyarzun, G. Crawshaw, and E. Valdes 3. Health survey, S. Morford and M. Meyers.
