Posted by Chris L. on March 11, 2002 at 19:33:56:
Domestication:
In South America nobody would have the idea of domesticating an armadillo; they prefer to eat it, as the white meat is said to be very tasty, and use many excuses to kill it. They say that it destroys plantations, transmits a lot of diseases and that cattle break their legs when stepping into a tunnel. That's the reason why some species are endangered.
On the other hand, people in North America make use of the armadillo for insect control and also keep it as a pet. Even when captured as an adult this curious animal can become very tame and loves to be scratched softly. There are even armadillo races where the owner crawls behind his little pet...
Husbandry:
The main problem in armadillo husbandry is that you may never get to see this animal because it usually hides during the light hours. A simple remedy is to hang up an infrared light; armadillos at the zoo in Zurich love to sleep under the warm lamp. They even build a hill out of the bark compost and lie at the top of it to be closer to it. And don't think armadillos are not intelligent: they are even able to adjust the height of the hill depending on the temperature: if sunlight warms up their pen, they remove some of the material, and when it cools down, they stock it up again!
Armadillos should be held in pens constructed of solid materials. They are excellent climbers of wire netting, and injuries from falling may occur if climbing is not prevented.
Since armadillos are burrowing animals, it is imperative to give them a floor surface in which they can dig. Otherwise there may appear serious injuries on claws and feet due to their constant attempts at digging.
The first armadillos held in captivity often died of dehydration. The reason is that the male marks its territory and needs to be constantly surrounded by its own scent. As some guards had the obsession of cleaning the pen continuously, the males were obliged to mark the whole day long until they died.
As it is impossible to breed the huge amount of ants and termites needed to feed an armadillo, some special mixture had to be found. In several zoos a mixture is used which is composed of minced meat, grated carrots and apples, an egg, evaporated milk and vitamines. Crickets, fish, chicks or fruits can be added once in a while. They have a tendency to become overweight, and there may appear injuries of the jaws and the gums if the food is too soft, because they have to abrade their continuously growing teeth.
The stereotypies so far reported are constant digging and eating the nesting material, both of them resulting in health problems.
