# Meerkat care?



## Lacerta. (Jul 27, 2011)

I don't know weather here or in care sheet section would be more appropriate but will try here for now.

I have recently moved and am vaguely considering a pair of meerkats. I don't really know where to start have done a bit of googleling but it is very hard to find any care guides. 

Any advice or links would be much fantastic, I believe a few people or here keep or work with them so seems like a good place to start. 

I would ideally like to keep them in a pen but be able to let them into house when I am around. not as house pets but wouldn't want them to be totally unruly. would this be possible? or is a let meerkats be meerkats approach better .

I know if I went for an outdoor enclosure they would require heating. but what size would you suggest?


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## Lacerta. (Jul 27, 2011)

Okay lets bump thread with what I know, maybe that will get the ball rolling.

Highly social, must not kept alone. Should become bold and enjoy human interaction if well socialised, some people suggest they can even be kept as free ranging house pets

Diet doesn't seem to hard, omnivores and don't seem all that fussy either. Every thing I have read suggest a good mix of insects and some veg a bit of fruit and a few whole prey items make up bulk of the diet. 

They are intelligent of plenty of enrichment would be provided within the enclosure. Fantastic diggers so at the very least a large dig box would be provide.

Housing is where I am bit stuck and could really do with some advice, or better stlil pictures. Everything I have read says something different some have said 100square foot is minimum for a pair, other around 60 and 1 or 2 simply a large rabbit cage. Most places said levels will be readily used and can be used to increase floor space

What would people say is the minimum size for their living quarters (I know bigger is better but need a starting point), this will be the area they will spend most of their time in but come out for daily exercise? 

I would prefer to have it outdoors so what proportion of the above area would you heat?


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## flatclyde (Sep 7, 2012)

*meerkats*

hi.
lets see if this helps but bare in mind what works for one person wont for the next and this is just how we do things.

we have 2 and to start with they did live in the house when they were small, free to run about when we were home and a large cage when we were out. however this worked well but as they grew we felt the cage was not going to work long term. 
There was also an issue we felt they had there eyes on the parrot :gasp:..

so we went pen building, they now have an outside pen built onto the side of a shed with a cat flat so they can get indoor access. inside is about 4ftx4ft cornered off for them in which they have a tower type cat scratcher (we got on e bay at a good price) they have aslo got a double rabbit hutch with the wire taken off so they can run up and down it, (they spend more time sat on top of it)
on the floor we use puffin pellets and sawdust, they puffin pellets help absorb the smell of pee. we put lino down but they seem to find great fun in finding a week spot and digging it up.

out side it is just large aviary with a roof and ours can climb wire no problem at all. we have underwired it and back filled it with earth and old/odd bits of tunnel type pipe. they have also a large cat scratcher outside that our cats used till it was past its best and the meerkats will finish it off.

I am not sure they are really for house pets but we can watch ours from the window and in the summer they are great to watch with a glass of wine:2thumb:. 
I hope this helps.


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## Turaco (Jul 24, 2013)

My friend who I used to work with also worked for a mobile petting zoo and he got 2 meerkats. He brought them to my work regularly for socialising but they still bite a lot...and are never used for the petting part of the zoo!
They had a large outdoor pen, built up with bricks and it has wiring under the soil and sand to keep them from digging out. The soil/ sand is piled high enough for them to dog, they have things to climb on and an inside area for shelter. I can't remember if he said it was heated or not though. The enclosure is the size of 2 medium rooms...so around 10 metres long by 7 wide ish. They get a good diet that is given so they have to forage. 
Hope this is of some help.
Why not visit a zoo or two and ask keepers about them and see how they are kept?
x x


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## Lacerta. (Jul 27, 2011)

flatclyde, your set up sounds ideal, lets them do their thing while you still get to admire them. Are your guys easy to handle and happy to interact with you? Your enclosure sounds larger than the one I could accommodate at the moment would you say they use/need all that space?

Turaco, again that enclosure sounds very large even for a mob, I am beginning to doubt I have the space I sort of incorrectly assumed that due to there similar size a ferret sized enclosure would be ok. a few bites is fine, its the price we pay for living with such exiting animals. Funnily enough last time I contacted a zoo about animal care they said they were unable to discuss it with members of the public as it would be inappropriate. But yes I always look at enclosures for inspiration!


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

There's probably to been many replies because there are about 1007 threads already on this topic, and it usually ends up in bloodshed. Do a search and have a gander 

Outside, outside, outside is best:2thumb:


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## Lacerta. (Jul 27, 2011)

I will have a more thorough look now. Ah yes they will defiantly live outside but I would want to bring them in most days for a change of scenery and spend some quality time with them. Needless to say I wouldn’t force my company on them; however I would like to get a very well socialized youngsters so they enjoy the change of scenery and a bit of play time.


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