# Exotic Guests



## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

from time to time.. i get asked to baby sit animals who are part of on going TSKA sales.. although it can be a pain, its also a chance for me to get to know some pretty funky animals..

this time.. i have a pair of coati here on short term stay.. coatimundi to some..

they are not nearly as manic as i thought they might be.. the bolder of the two, the male, will come and take food from my hands, and whiffle at me through the door..

i managed to get some quick shots last night at feeding time.. these guys eat for england and are truely masters of eating anything i can give them it seems..

this food bowl contained.. chicks, raw eggs.. a little yoghurt.. some chopped veg, some cooked chicken and quite a bit of fruit.. mango, melon, dragon fruit and apricot.. oh and apple.. and a little plum...

basically, those who have read what i feed the rest of the gang here, will see they got some of the ferrets food.. (chicks and egg) some of the skunks food (veg, chicken and yoghurt) and some of the gliders stash of food.. at least they fit in well with the general feeding regime here.. but my god they eat a lot, i am glad they are only here short term!!

anyway.. pics..

this is a temp pen for them incidently.. and is designed to make it easy to a) deal with them and b) re box them when the time comes.. but also has to take into account them having enough space and so on, to be comfortable for the time they are here. this is not designed as a long term unit for them!










the male, i think, is the one with the broader head.. on the right of the pic..

he is more confident than the female, although she is still happy to come out with me sat in the door less than 2ft away holding a camera in the pen..



















they love their food!!










and do have a good set of jaws and teeth on them










they are pretty little guys tho, and have great noses 










hope you like seeing the pics anyway..

N


----------



## Zodiac (Apr 17, 2008)

awwwwwwwww, well cute!


----------



## hermanlover (Jul 8, 2007)

they are abserloutly amazing!! if i ever get the chance to get some exotics, i would deffinatly get something like these!! there face is sooooooooo cute!! :flrt::flrt:


----------



## JPReptiles (Dec 2, 2007)

They are stunners!

What size enclosure would you say is ideal for a pair of them?

John


----------



## leggy (Jan 18, 2007)

thanks for posting these pics nerys, ive always loved watching coatis at bristol zoo.:mf_dribble:


----------



## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

Reptile world said:


> They are stunners!
> 
> What size enclosure would you say is ideal for a pair of them?
> 
> John


something like a 12x12x10 would give them something to work with.. but of course, if you can go bigger they will not be unhappy with it 

N


----------



## JPReptiles (Dec 2, 2007)

Nerys said:


> something like a 12x12x10 would give them something to work with.. but of course, if you can go bigger they will not be unhappy with it
> 
> N


Thats not as big as i thought, but as you say bigger is better.

What kind of size are the coaties? say compared to a breed of dog?

They look amaizing.

John


----------



## leggy (Jan 18, 2007)

Reptile world said:


> Thats not as big as i thought, but as you say bigger is better.
> 
> What kind of size are the coaties? say compared to a breed of dog?
> 
> ...


their not tall ,kinda low to the ground its when their tails are standing up makes them look taller ,lovelly to watch them in a group when they charge around with the tails up:mf_dribble:


----------



## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

are these the same as the one you had in the back of the van that i kept my distance from :lol2:

if so they look alot cuter than they sound :lol2::lol2:


----------



## bosshogg (Nov 19, 2006)

i was having a cuddle with a coati on sat gorgeous i just love the noses i would say there are roughly the same size as a working cocker spaniel if i had the space here i would have one in a shot.


----------



## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

they are indeedy.. some are nicer than others yeah lol.. the male above will let me sit in the doorway and tickle him on the back whilst he is drinking from a bowl i am holding... which is sweet, the female is a bit more nervous but will still come when i call, and come up and take food from me.. she is a bit more shy of being touched tho yet.. i think they will end up taming down really nicely for their new owner 

N



Emmaj said:


> are these the same as the one you had in the back of the van that i kept my distance from :lol2:
> 
> if so they look alot cuter than they sound :lol2::lol2:


----------



## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Nerys said:


> they are indeedy.. some are nicer than others yeah lol.. the male above will let me sit in the doorway and tickle him on the back whilst he is drinking from a bowl i am holding... which is sweet, the female is a bit more nervous but will still come when i call, and come up and take food from me.. she is a bit more shy of being touched tho yet.. i think they will end up taming down really nicely for their new owner
> 
> N


was nice to see a pic of what was in the box they are really very cute :flrt:


----------



## RoninUK (Aug 30, 2007)

If you still have them Nerys you might like to try them with garden snails. My girl used to love going out on her harness to forage for them in the garden (which was expressly allowed in my DWA licence at the time) and crunched the shells in her jaws before scraping it away and eating the snail.

She was also keen on prawns and -especially - king prawns as a treat. It might have been a better idea not to introduce her to those though - it got pricey

Mark


----------



## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

i have for this week yes, they go this weekend.. have to admit it will be a shame to see them go as me and them are getting on well together.. even if they are eating me out of house and home!

will go snail hunting later cool ta.. how about slugs?? 

N


----------



## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

they are unreal, good little house guests, much better than my relatives :lol2:


----------



## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

lol, and mine.. i've been inventing things for them to play with, bless them.. they are not in as big a space as i would like them, being only here in holding, so i've been working on enrichment and giving them things to do..

big knuckle bones have proved popular.. and another fun game is fruit bobbing.. i fill a big deep bowl with water, and dump a load of fruit in.. and then they spend the time apple bobbing and fishing it back out..

it does make a bit of a mess, when they throw water everywhere. but they seem to enjoy it and its fun watching them i have to say.

they came out for a stretch the other evening.. which was fun.. until the female shimmied up the ferret pens and into the roof rafters.. cue nerys shedding shoes and shimmeing on up there after her lol.. so that was fun.. we played scramble round the rafters for about half an hour before she decided that the food on the floor was looking good.. they are seriously agile i have to say..

N


----------



## RoninUK (Aug 30, 2007)

Nerys said:


> i have for this week yes, they go this weekend.. have to admit it will be a shame to see them go as me and them are getting on well together.. even if they are eating me out of house and home!
> 
> will go snail hunting later cool ta.. how about slugs??
> 
> N


 
No not slugs - I think a lot of them make up for the lack of a shell by producing a foul tasting foam if bitten. Garden snails were the first choice.

Mark


----------



## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

kk ta 

i have to be honest and say so far i have not found an awful lot they don't like.. 

they love quail.. they smelt it before i even got near them... i had two noses and 4 paws sticking out the bars as soon as they smelt them...

and they also like gerbils.. the male raided one of my boxes...:devil:

but then they loooove over ripe fruit.. like sharon fruit or kiwi, and banana is a big favourite too.. as is water melon.. 

N


----------



## RoninUK (Aug 30, 2007)

Yes - seeing how fast they can rip the skin off a rat reminds you they don't have to be all cute and funny. 

Boiled eggs (she would spend ages taking the shell off) , most any kind of fruit and M&S flapjacks (but only *M&S* flapjacks ) were all favourites of Bungle. I used to drill holes in a coconut and fill it with treats for her to get out. I tried one of those pet shop treat balls but she realised it only took a moment to smash it - coconuts were tougher. 

Giant mealworms were an occasional treat and she loved locusts. If you fancy some fun release 7 or 8 locusts with one coati and watch her try to work out how to catch them all at once!

If you can get them the little pots of jam and marmalade you get in hotels with breakfast are favourites too - Bungle would never break the jar but spend ages getting every last drop of jam out with her tongue.


----------

