# OMG! Wife wants a sloth



## spidersnake (Dec 1, 2009)

We found a site called cutehomepets.com (i was doing some scorp research, they had the answer). It then went on to sloths. I admit they are cute but apparently they are good with kids & are more affectionate than cats & dogs & are pretty much like babies. Its an american site but they did say you can own them although they are an endangered species.
We were wondering, can we legally own sloths in UK without being classed as zoo keepers?
We really do want 1, any help please......


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## rum&coke (Apr 19, 2009)

You can legally own a teenager in the U.K not much different than a sloth TBH


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## spidersnake (Dec 1, 2009)

Lol. Sloths are nothing like teenagers. Sloths are affectionate, easily house-trained, dont make much mess, any mess they make is in the same place, they enjoy baths & they dont smoke, drink, do drugs or ask 2 borrow the car lmao. Much better than teenagers......


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## Elina (Jul 22, 2009)

I have seen one for sale so I think you probably can but I am not 100% sure. . . 
I am on a yahoo group where quite a few people have them (all of them are in America though but the group is:xenarthra_keepers : xenarthra_keepers .)
Personally I find them a bit worrying as once I went into a nocturnal bit in a zoo and when I first went in I could not see but when my eyes adjusted I was nose to nose with a sloth, freakishly scary! I had nightmares for weeks about sloths lurking in my bedroom in the dark :lol2:. 
-
Elina

PS:
To be fair this is pretty cute: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xenar...riginal&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&dir=asc


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## mat_worrell (Sep 20, 2009)

Join the club!! I want a pair of sloths one day too. You can legally own them in the uk without a licence. They are expensive though!!


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## spidersnake (Dec 1, 2009)

I suppose as there endangered they'll have to be bred in captivity. Wild ones would certainly be illegal & if we got caught owning a wild one, we'd probably have to pay for everything the justice system throws at us (including the vaseline they'll use) lol.
Oh well, one day!


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## snowdrop (Feb 5, 2011)

i've always wanted a sloth i find them fascinating, and beautiful creatures. Maybe one day :2thumb:


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

spidersnake said:


> Lol. Sloths are nothing like teenagers. Sloths are affectionate, easily house-trained, dont make much mess, any mess they make is in the same place, they enjoy baths & they dont smoke, drink, do drugs or ask 2 borrow the car lmao. Much better than teenagers......


BUT algae does grow in their hair!


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## spidersnake (Dec 1, 2009)

Wild sloths have algie in their hair to stop more harmful things like ticks & other parasites, also it helps to waterproof them to some extent. Captive bred sloths wouldn't be exposed to the algie, how would it get there then? Plus captive bred sloths enjoy warm baths, again not helpful to algie.


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

It was a joke:whistling2:


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

I can't believe you can own these. They'd be asleep most of the time surely?


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

Morgan Freeman said:


> I can't believe you can own these. They'd be asleep most of the time surely?


Think they're more common as pets in america. Here's a lovely clip:
YouTube - The Funniest Baby Sloth Video Ever!!!


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Can't view at work!

They had one in the Amazon walk through exhibit at London Zoo.


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## madcatfergus (Dec 7, 2009)

*Sloths*

I too am a complete sloth nut (seen them in the wild in all their slothyness) the ones in the clip are from a rescue centre in costa rica where they have been saved from the illegal pet trade. Its an unfortunate thing that because people want these as pets in the Americas the hunters will kill the mums to take the babies (this is true of some WC mammals)
I would suggest that if you want one then to get it from a CB breeder and be 100% sure that it hasnt come from the wild (not just for your own legal reasons  )
I dunno how I feel about these being kept as "pets" its one of those things that I would love to have one but I would feel guilty that I am treating it like a baby and that I wasnt giving it all the right care it needs. its like keeping anything that smart and wild as a pet really, you have to ask yourself is it in the animals best interest. 
If I lived in SA then I would be happy to have one come visit me


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

madcatfergus said:


> I dunno how I feel about these being kept as "pets" its one of those things that I would love to have one but I would feel guilty that I am treating it like a baby and that I wasnt giving it all the right care it needs. its like keeping anything that smart and wild as a pet really, you have to ask yourself is it in the animals best interest.
> If I lived in SA then I would be happy to have one come visit me


I agree....I think some animals just don't really need to be kept as pets. If you had two to breed them, and a facility like the london zoo rainforest to house them in, then go for it. But an animal so specialised shouldn't really be kept just to doss about the house (if only because it needs plenty of stuff to hang upside down on!)

They don't really like to be handled either. As adults, their claws can be pretty nasty.


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## sam gamgee (Apr 8, 2009)

Agree with you two......same could be said with a few other animals being desired.

Dave.


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

sam gamgee said:


> Agree with you two......same could be said with a few other animals being desired.
> 
> Dave.


True true...I think sometimes people just want to have the most exotic animal possible, when quite often there is a very good reason that they're not often seen in the pet trade.


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