Living with Anteaters

Let's see if I can get caught up and not forget to much.

So Mandua is slowly coming out of his shell. He was happily paying with the stuffed raccoon on his own on the 15th so let him be while I went with Pua to do her rounds. Later Pua went to the closet wanting to pull her rope up for a treat. Mandua had been down on the clothes bar but came up behind her and "attacked". Having been goosed she dropped her treat and turned on him. She backed him up onto the window shelf and I pulled him down. No injuries or pulled hair.

He has staked out the closet as his territory now, sleeping in there most nights. First night Mandua came down from the closet bed for food but was nervous and I had to carry him to the cage food bowl. Pua was begging me so I brought him over for a sniff. We have since compromised and I put his food on the window shelf.

Mandua finely decided to explore on the 18th and he found his way onto Pua's tower while I was playing with her. She went up there to chase him off but he shoved her off her tower instead.

I guess she needed knocked off her pedestal a little bit, lol. She still very much likes his scent and is good when I hold him for her to sniff. They just need some time to get used to each other and lay down some rules.

This happened before he peed on my shirt in the closet. Which came as a shock when I went to clean up and found crystals in his urine.

Have played with him by hand a couple times but he does pinch a little rough for my taste. Still nothing like Eldorado pinches so we play till he gets rough then let him get the toy instead. Told he didn't play like that before so he may just need to learn to play gentler. Think he may be young enough to learn that.

So the 20th Mandua was sick of his soupy food & found his way to the drier & ate Pua's food while I was playing with her. Then he went behind the washer. He wanted to stay there. That's not a place to live so I lured him out as far as I could with a treat then moved him to the playpen. I was also worried about Pua's reaction as she would get really worked up and freaked out when Eldorado would get back there. He went back to sleep in the closet.

(looking over my tweets here) After playing with him in the tree house(Closet shelf bed) he curled up around the noid.

21st Mandua came down at 8am explored a little then made his way to Pua's food. After a bit she realized he was there & was coming to chase him away. So I moved him to his food. After eating he came back but was looking behind the washer. Pua came out & they had a face off. Both stood claws raised. He backed off since he is smaller.

He went behind the sink, she decided that was far enough away & went to bed. He came out after a bit & went back up but went over the tower. He dug into the pet clothes basket and went to sleep there. He stayed there all day. He'd look up when I would go by and I brought him a drink a couple times. He woke before Pua and played with me then I took him out and he ran the yard, peed and had a nice formed but huge pile of poop.

Pua enjoys sniffing over his trail when she goes out.

Mandua sleeping oddly

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Meant to post this like a week ago

Eldorado settled in Quickly. Here are a couple videos of him playing with his new friend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLWiUf4gTEU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_3SAwmZUkA

Pua sniffing a tree

At her favorite stump

Can we take this home?
I'll sleep here instead of the washer

It just needs some curtains

I'm just resting my eyes

Napping in a stump

Where's the anteater?

Napping in the dry creek bed

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Well I tried letting Mandua come out to Pua when she came over. She was nervous and turned away. He came out slowly and sniffed Quasi first(I don't know how I failed to notice he was there but it was to late). He didn't care about Quasi and went around him sniffed Pua's tail came up behind her growled and pounced her clawing fiercely and a fight broke out. I pulled Pua away and he went back to his cage satisfied. Pua got a scratch to her leg, pink with a little red but not bleeding. Next day was just a little reddish pink spot left.

PS Quasi did nothing and went back to sleep.

Pua wasn't too rattled short time later she was trying to take a vinegar bath in the sink. I rinsed a cup out earlier so she smelled it. I didn't to give her any to bath in though. It would likely sting that scratch.

Saturday I gave Mandua his treat. When he ran out he wanted to grab me so I tried letting him. It turned into a full blown attack with him growling at me as he clawed at me savagely. However savage for Mandua still isn't very savage. He did not leave me bruised or bloodied or in pain after. I'm not sure if he's a weakling or he just can't muster being mean even when he's trying. It was obvious he meant it though.

This behavior only happens after I've given him a treat and it's all gone so I just wont give him treats any more, unless they are just left with his food and not given by me directly. I have been giving him probiotics in his treat. His last poop was very nice just in a bad place(well get to that later).

Last night I took things slower. After his attack I didn't want him getting away with that behavior and Pua had just gotten up so I peeled Mandua out of his hammock and held him up for Pua to sniff on her tower. The boy is a limp rag when held. Pua had been looking for him so happily sniffed but gave a couple nervous growls, each time coming back to sniff again. He set to eating when put away. Pua kept wanting me to bring him back. Pua is smitten now to win his heart or at least enough for a summer fling would be nice.

She still might do better with a youngster to raise into the man she wants for a true companion like she did Stewie so she could teach him to share the bed and food like she liked to do. It was cute. Stewie when young followed her around and copied what she did. She even let him ride on her back once when he got scared.

Mandua getting into his food

Small snack and then he was just standing there. He let me get him back out so we repeated. No growls this time. Both nervous. Let them sniff then pull him back when he squirmed or one raised a claw a little. Pua kept wanting more but after a bit she left to do her rounds and he went back to eating in his cage.

Then later the night got weird. He wouldn't settle in his hammock. Found he pooped it in! So I pulled him out and stuck him in the closet so I'd have time to change it before he got back. Well he surprised me by exploring the closet.

On the closet wall

On the cat condo

On the way back he saw the Noid. Remembering play with it from before he attacked.

Playing with the Noid

Then he explored more wanting to go up where Pua is. I just picked him up each time to let them sniff then moved him back and played with him with the Noid and raccoon. He decided later he liked the raccoon more and we payed for hours.

Playing with the Noid


Some relaxed sniffing
After lots of play he rested awhile sniffing out.

So Pua and Mandua got to sniff a lot last night with me holding him. She was more nervous later with growls but towards the end she quit growling and then had passed out.

A little royal drool
You'll have to look close but there's like a foot long stringer of drool hanging down.

I'll have to see how he will play with me tonight or if he will. After all if he didn't hurt me when he was serious he should be fine during play.

Oh and he was upset about the hammock switch so slept in the cave instead.

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Pua contemplating the new guy

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A day cleared up so we did the trade a bit sooner than expected. The night before He was being sweet and while I was playing with Pua felt something on my leg. He had come up behind me and touched my leg with his paws wanting me to play with him too.

Later though Pua showed us why he was better off going.

Pua had a normal night and raided the fridge and played in the closet and had cheese there. Then she sought out Eldorado. I thought we were turning a corner but it was a corner into a dark alley I think. She fooled Eldorado too. He came to great her but apparently she wasn't coming to say hi but was hunting him down.

Our last photo of him

He clawed at the crate the whole drive up and I let him run around the car some when we got there till we met for the trade off. Seems he slept on the ride home for them. Sounds like he is settling in pretty well there after his first night. Taking treats and got out to explore.

Mr. Mandua is finding it a little hard to adjust. He's fine to handle as he's a type C personality, in contrast to Eldorado's type A. He's scared and depressed but he should come around. He's taken treats but spent the first night sleeping in the cave. He moved to the dirt box to sleep and sit there. He started to come out once but heard my dad clear his throat in the other room and darted back in.
Checking out the food

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