# Meerkat Advice (",)



## t1ny03 (Sep 14, 2011)

Hey,

I'm after some help and/or advice on meerkats and the best way to keep theese amazing animals happy & safe.

I have pre-ordered 2 pups that will be ready in around 6weeks time, and I have this time to meerkat-proof my house! I planned to house them in the conserventary (as they love to look out windows and sunlight) when I'm home they will be free to roam the house as they please. In addition to this they will also be having an outdoor enclosure, for this I plan an extra large chicken coop kind of arrangement, would this need heating and if so what kind of heating could I use?

Any help/advice will be very gratefully accepted.

All I ask is for no timewasters to give it the usual Dont do it, You shouldnt keep meerkats as pets, blah blah . .I have researched for many weeks now and I've made my decision.


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## adamntitch (Jun 17, 2007)

if you had reserched for many weeks you would no the answers to simple basic questions


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

adamntitch said:


> if you had reserched for many weeks you would no the answers to simple basic questions


 

Simples


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## t1ny03 (Sep 14, 2011)

Oh yes, I get it.. 'simples' cross referencing your smart arse answer with the insurance comparison advert which also contains meerkats. . . How clever of you. . Sad little crettins. If I wanted a pair of balls to perk up and give completely the wrong information I asked for, I would of gone elsewhere. Silly me for thinking this forum actually HELPED people as opposed to trying to mock them. Either offer advice or dont comment at all, it's not that much of a difficult choice. Cheers


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

t1ny03 said:


> Oh yes, I get it.. 'simples' cross referencing your smart arse answer with the insurance comparison advert which also contains meerkats. . . How clever of you. . Sad little crettins. If I wanted a pair of balls to perk up and give completely the wrong information I asked for, I would of gone elsewhere. Silly me for thinking this forum actually HELPED people as opposed to trying to mock them. Either offer advice or dont comment at all, it's not that much of a difficult choice. Cheers


 
You wont get far on this forum without a sense of humour or a thick skin:whistling2:


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## lovemysnakes (Apr 17, 2011)

hi,

im not sure about the outdoor enclosure heating. i wouldnt imagine that they need masses of heat. most people i know have the meerkats in at night and outside during the warm season days. 
and regarding proofing the house, this will probably work out as you go along. 
the conservatory sounds great  
wish i could help more. ignore people being nasty and negative. i hope you get some sound advice.


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## herper147 (Feb 7, 2009)

t1ny03 said:


> Oh yes, I get it.. 'simples' cross referencing your smart arse answer with the insurance comparison advert which also contains meerkats. . . How clever of you. . Sad little crettins. If I wanted a pair of balls to perk up and give completely the wrong information I asked for, I would of gone elsewhere. Silly me for thinking this forum actually HELPED people as opposed to trying to mock them. Either offer advice or dont comment at all, it's not that much of a difficult choice. Cheers


LOL, that was a tad unexpected

I never go onto exotic mammal section and the one time i do the first thread i open is this


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## lovemysnakes (Apr 17, 2011)

its a real shame  hope it doesnt put you off too much. there are some really good people on here happy to give constructive advice.


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

I get the feeling a troll is in our midst


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

Infra red heat lamps and insulating their sleeping quarters would be good for outside. Pm me so we don't have to have the stupid comments.


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

lovemysnakes said:


> hi,
> 
> im not sure about the outdoor enclosure heating. i wouldnt imagine that they need masses of heat. most people i know have the meerkats in at night and outside during the warm season days.
> and regarding proofing the house, this will probably work out as you go along.
> ...


Oh haven't you seen the advert? Don't they live in russia and walk miles through the snow, all they need is a smoking jacket and slippers!


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## lovemysnakes (Apr 17, 2011)

animalstory said:


> Oh haven't you seen the advert? Don't they live in russia and walk miles through the snow, all they need is a smoking jacket and slippers!


 
that truly is a pathetic comment. why are you even using this forum if you cant be helpful? 

did you know sarcasm is the lowest form of whit? if you want to behave like a child i believe there is a forum for children.


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

To make your house Meerkat-proof will be quite a task. They will enjoy trying to dig up carpets, scratch at skirting boards, dig into your sofa, etc etc. Of course you will have to keep electrical wires out of their reach, & certain houseplants are toxic if eaten. 

Your outdoor housing will need some form of heating in the indoor section, such as an infra-red lamp. The enclosure must be on a concrete base or be meshed well underneath, as to avoid the Meerkats digging out.


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## lovemysnakes (Apr 17, 2011)

Zoo-Man said:


> To make your house Meerkat-proof will be quite a task. They will enjoy trying to dig up carpets, scratch at skirting boards, dig into your sofa, etc etc. Of course you will have to keep electrical wires out of their reach, & certain houseplants are toxic if eaten.
> 
> Your outdoor housing will need some form of heating in the indoor section, such as an infra-red lamp. The enclosure must be on a concrete base or be meshed well underneath, as to avoid the Meerkats digging out.


just out of interest what temperatures do they require? 
i thought the conservatory was a good idea because often the flooring is tiled and generally an easier room to make more safe. 

i play with the meerkats at the zoo i volunteer for sometimes, they certainly require a lot of enrichment.


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

lovemysnakes said:


> just out of interest what temperatures do they require?
> i thought the conservatory was a good idea because often the flooring is tiled and generally an easier room to make more safe.
> 
> i play with the meerkats at the zoo i volunteer for sometimes, they certainly require a lot of enrichment.


Im not sure of their required temperature to be honest, but if using a suspended heat lamp, you could achieve a comfortable warm temperature by altering the height at which it is hung.

The conservatory idea is good, as they will enjoy looking out at the world beyond the glass.


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## lovemysnakes (Apr 17, 2011)

amazingly interactive animals. wish i knew more about them in captivity. will try and do some more research at the zoo and online. i personally wouldnt keep them but i know many people do successfully.


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

selina20 said:


> I get the feeling a troll is in our midst


He/she isn't a troll.....I have a good idea of who this person is.

If it's who I think he/she is, they're actually seriously considering getting meerkats, and has been made aware of the responsibilities away from this forum. But i can say that they haven't undergone had "weeks" of research.

No-one can really stop someone getting a pet they aren't really prepared for, but we are all justified in worrying for their future charges........good luck to 'em!


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

lovemysnakes said:


> that truly is a pathetic comment. why are you even using this forum if you cant be helpful?
> 
> did you know sarcasm is the lowest form of whit? if you want to behave like a child i believe there is a forum for children.


If you look at my post just before this one you will see I was being helpful and asked the OP to pm me questions rather than talk on the thread. My joke was referring to the silly comments from the start and obviously completely above and beyond you. Your tone is what's pathetic and as for your last two sentences you can go sit on them. 
To the OP I would rather help through pm due to all the posters on here that haven't said one word of help, yet. Typical of a thread which you didn't want just like most other help threads on here.


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## t1ny03 (Sep 14, 2011)

Erm, Don't really know what to say as it seems there are a few genuine people with help to offer, in which I am grateful for and hope you continue to share with me your fountains of knowledge hehe.

To the . . erm. . 'Other' posters; just do yourselves a favour and go ruin another thread, throw some wise cracks at random people looking for help or whatever it is you get your cheap kicks from.

So, I'm going ahead with the conserv. idea, possibly a cat flap cut into the PVC going out into the enclosure. . ? also, somebody mentioned to concrete the underneath or wireguard it, I was thinking more along the lines of the base of the enclosure being sat on a foot or so of sandy substrate for them to dig in (hopefully get lots of digging outside and not inside  ) as for the basking bulb idea, do you think this will still be necessary if I do the whole catflap indoor/outdoor venture? 

Cheers


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

If they have constant access to indoors then no.


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

If you don't have a hard standing underneath all the digging sand, you'll soon end up minus 2 meerkats!


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

Yep these guys are amazing diggers! You will need to fence your enclosure in on all sides. It should be a cube/cuboid. I would go with metal posts and strong mesh which is welded on. They can get out of smaller gaps than you think too so go for 1inch mesh and you will want the thick stuff. They can climb mesh well so definitely a roof and mesh attached to the bottom under their digging substrate


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

concrete base and block walls high enough not to climb/jump out of, with a wooden structure like your chick coop idea sitting on top of the brick work would work well. door would need a smooth sheet 3ft high to prevent climbing on the inside


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

Oh and to state the obvious - it is much easier for your inspections if you can walk upright in their outdoor enclosure!


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

Nix said:


> Oh and to state the obvious - it is much easier for your inspections if you can walk upright in their outdoor enclosure!


for certain, a mistake i made with our skunk enclosure! really need to put the enclosure on blocks!


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

animalstory said:


> for certain, a mistake i made with our skunk enclosure! really need to put the enclosure on blocks!


 
Yep it was the voice of experience speaking. Some lessons are learned the hard way! At least you remember those ones  Skunk - how fantastic. I'd love one or two but the landlady is iffy about my mog and was worried that my 5 snakes would "make a mess"!?


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## roblouth (Nov 15, 2009)

Feel free to msg me if you want some more advice, they are real handful but well worth it imo. Just be careful with the wire as they can climb the corners.


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

roblouth said:


> Just be careful with the wire as they can climb the corners.


That is why I recommended a roof ! Awesome watching them climb though. Surprisingly dextrous!


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## t1ny03 (Sep 14, 2011)

Hey again 

Thanks a lot for your help! I had something like this in mind;

COCOON CHICKEN HEN HOUSE COOP POULTRY ARK RUN BRAND 8FT | eBay

But you can buy extra 'runs' which I would be doing to give them somewhere to run around properly, although this would only be a part-daytime pen anyway as they will be staying in the house/conserv most of the time anyway. This isn't a definite decision, but this is just something i had in mind but maybe a little larger and with a sand pit across the base for them to dig in and somewhere to scatter mealworms for them to find


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## t1ny03 (Sep 14, 2011)

*?*



t1ny03 said:


> Hey again
> 
> Thanks a lot for your help! I had something like this in mind;
> 
> ...



Any opinions would be appreciated


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## africa (Sep 12, 2008)

I keep meerkats and have done for some time now :2thumb: for a while we had one living in the house as we were unable to integrate him with the others as he was too used to living on his own before we had him. He had a very strong desire to dig at everything but otherwise was ok aound the house, however he did want to bask under the reading lamp! He is now outside and has two ferret friends, for some reason he likes all animals but meerkats!They and our meerkat mob live side by side in indoor outdoor set ups consisting of a shed with a basking lamp and a ceramic plate panel heater with a cat flap through to a welded mesh outdoor enclosure,with a welded mesh floor on top of which is a substrate of sand/gravel/fine barkchip with a rock structure, hollow bark tunnels and a large piece of mango wood. They have a couple of lookout points worked into this.
You would have to watch the heat in a conservatory in summer and coolness in winter as meerkats like many other animals prefer a temperature variance.


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## henryfreston (Jun 14, 2010)

Any update on whether you went ahead?


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## DJC776 (Jan 4, 2008)

lovemysnakes said:


> that truly is a pathetic comment. why are you even using this forum if you cant be helpful?
> 
> did you know sarcasm is the lowest form of whit? if you want to behave like a child i believe there is a forum for children.


Sarcasm may be the lowest form of wit but my favourite 

Sure you have thought off it but if you have an outside enclosure make ssure you have a safety door.

Enjoy (that is not being sarcastic) :lol2:


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

DJC776 said:


> *Sarcasm may be the lowest form of wit*
> 
> 
> :


I always found this to be a very weak retort.... used as a standard answer by people that, for whatever reason, are simply unable to cope with it. I think that sarcasm, when done well, can be a truly sophisticated form of wit!


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## t1ny03 (Sep 14, 2011)

Not gone ahead wity the meerkat yet mate, went out f work befote xmas and been concentrating on asian water monitors pre-dom. I'm back in work now though so looking for a uk breeder if thetes any that anybody knows of?


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## mandwhy (Mar 1, 2012)

Wow I had no idea people kept meerkats (wondered over from lizard forum) but I bet they would be fun and they are sociable so I don't see why you shouldn't. It's no different to keeping most other animals... are they bred in captivity out of interest?

What about a big aviary style enclosure? Full height would be good and you would have plenty of room for lookout points, don't know how high up they would go.... might get expensive though :-/

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

mandwhy said:


> Wow I had no idea people kept meerkats (wondered over from lizard forum) but I bet they would be fun and they are sociable so I don't see why you shouldn't. It's no different to keeping most other animals... are they bred in captivity out of interest?
> 
> What about a big aviary style enclosure? Full height would be good and you would have plenty of room for lookout points, don't know how high up they would go.... might get expensive though :-/
> 
> eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace


Look here... http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/exotic-mammals/820552-our-new-additions.html


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## mandwhy (Mar 1, 2012)

Oh they are so sweet! They seem pretty inquisitive around the house! Shame I am allergic to small furries :-(


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## Celisuis (Jul 5, 2011)

I'm looking at meerkats aswell  

Needing to know the low-down. 
I know the enclosure requirements and feeding etc.

However, where could I see about actually purchasing one? and what price am I roughly looking at?


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

Celisuis said:


> I'm looking at meerkats aswell
> 
> Needing to know the low-down.
> I know the enclosure requirements and feeding etc.
> ...


you should really get 2 or 3. They don't do well by themselves


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

........or _it's not fair_ to keep one alone.


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## Celisuis (Jul 5, 2011)

Fair Enough  - I shall scout around for a pair/group


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## kodakira (Jul 11, 2008)

Meerkats kept as a group are fantastic.

I sit and watch ours for hours !!!.

The interactions and the hierachy structure are amazing to observe.

Best Wishes

Neil


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

prices can be from £800-£1500 each depending on where they are from and the breeder. they can easily eat £40 + of insects per week.


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