Living with Anteaters

Sorry we're a bit behind he's 40 days old now but got to catch up with a few posts first.

Aurora still eats soup but have her on plain beef diet now. So have experimented with beef fiber. I don't like having to throw a portion of the food out when straining to make "soup" for Aurora's liking to drink her food but fibers are not safe. So am soaking the strained "waist" in a solution of vinegar and a bit of citric acid. Citric acid is sometimes sold as meat tenderizer so check labels or buy it in bulk online, used in lots of food and drinks.

Beef fiber experiment a remarkable success. Soaked in vinegar and a couple spoonfuls of citric acid(might not be needed)for two days. Fibers were soft. Blended with water and produced a gelatinous mess with no fibers. Re-blend back into original strained mixture. Kept in fridge the two days. Full beef diet nutrition can now be achieved in liquid form. Great for picky eaters or ill animals.

Cinco crawling all over mom

Mom keeping baby warm

Baby Cinco alone, 30 days old
Aurora was off taking a break from him

Baby Tamandua kisses

Baby finger pokes

More kisses

OMG you're huge
So far he's only gotten to know my hand and arm. When he got close and I exhaled so he could smell my breath he ran back in but kept playing with my hand.

Time to make the bed
Eventually he got bored with me and went to mess with the bedding.

Where Aurora was while I baby sat
The next night

Aurora stayed close and protective of baby last night but that's okay because Pua wanted snuggle time.

I think inside your shirt would be warmer
It's not uncommon for her to wake up and be shivering for awhile even when it's warm in here. Seems to just be how she warms up but I work to help her warm up. They go into a biological torpor. It's a sort of mini hibernation, similar to humming birds and some other species. They slow their metabolism and heart rate and their temp drops by 10+ degrees F(6C to be exact), while sleeping.

There is also a dysfunctional form of torpor as an illness that can be deadly, brought on by stress, extreme temps, famine, illness or unknown causes. Extreme cases they appear dead, totally limp, unresponsive and you need to look really really close for a bit of time to see shallow occasional breaths. It can be nearly impossible to pull them out of but best hope is fluids, a B12 shot, and electolites(and something for sugar if not giving sub-Q fluids from the vet).

Fluids with honey given orally, warmth, and rubbing have sometimes been successful in Gambian rats who also can fall to dysfunctional torpor.

Okay back to more fluffy material.

Pua in biker jacket

2 kilo of ants

2 kilo of ants is one gallon plus a quart. By my estimates 100,000 ants give or take.
Smelled like someone burned a birthday cake to charcoal. Was thinking someone "dried" these ants over an open fire but then if a species of ants can smell like blue cheese & Gorgonzola then maybe could be their natural aroma. So I woke Pua. She sniffed all over my hand and thought she was going to nix them but then she chowed down and was looking for more.We can now always have ants on hand for treats and emergencies.

We won! Thank you. http://animalconscious.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/winner/
Money goes to Creature Safe Place. A animals rescue, exotic and domestic, wildlife rehab all kinds even cranes as they have a special permit.