During the past ten years or so armadillos of several species have become more commonly kept and bred within Europe, both on zoological institutions and in private collections. Although various species have a long history within European animal-keeping – especially the Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) which has been used as a research model particularly for leprosy studies for many years – it is only relatively recently that consistent breeding has been achieved.
In the first section of this article I hope to give a summary of the current situation in Europe concerning the holding and breeding of the various armadillo species, to refer back to species that have previously be held in captivity in Europe (in some cases albeit for very limited periods) and to project forward to see what may transpire in the coming decade.
In the second section I will consider typical husbandry regimes for the maintenance and breeding of armadillo species, using knowledge gleaned from private keepers and zoos and drawing-upon, wherever possible, my personal experience with six species. The later including the successful breeding of the Three-banded Armadillo (Tolypeutes matacus) of which our first success – a delightful male by the name of Dillon – now stars in Edinburgh Zoo’s Education Department’s demonstrations. A further pair of this species – supplied by us to another NAPAK member, Scott Gendall – have themselves gone on to already produce a young male of their own.
Armadillos as a group have had a somewhat chequered past within collections in Europe. A good number of species – indeed the majority – have featured in private and/or public collections in the past century or more. However, the success rate has not been universally high and some species have proven next-to-impossible to keep alive over an extended period of time (notably the two largely subterranean species of the so-called fairy armadillos Chlamyphorus truncatus and Chlamyphorus retusus from the more southerly regions of South America). Failure with these species seemed to revolve around an ability to provide a suitable diet, high stress levels and sometimes heavy parasite loads. With the wider availability of live foods, of stress-reducing additives and of effective parasite treatments any future importation could be expected to secure a higher success rate than previously has been the case.
Other species have been imported in such low numbers that, although they lived well in captivity, they have not been maintained over multiple generations into something akin to a self-sustaining population – examples include the Pichi (Zaedyus pichiy) from southern Chile and Argentina and two species of Naked-tailed Armadillo (Cabassous chacoensis and Cabassous tatouay), although in the case of the Naked-tailed’s a few specimens remain in private hands.
Prior to the 1990’s the species most commonly available was the common Nine-banded Armadillo both from captive-breeding, imports from the US and transfers from research laboratories and university hospitals. However, being a large species, the number of private keepers able to satisfactorily keep this species (remembering that all armadillos are avid diggers) remained relatively limited. This situation has prevailed up to the present day with a few successful holders – almost all private hobbyists – successfully keeping and breeding this species. Only eleven individuals are currently recorded in European zoos (ISIS records, 2004)
A close relative of the Nine-banded, the Southern Long-nosed Armadillo (Dasypus hybridus) has been imported into Europe in small numbers in the past 10-12 years and a few captive-bred babies are made available each year. As far as can be ascertained all those in Europe are held in private hands with none recorded on ISIS for European zoos.
Two species of hairy armadillo are both being kept and bred in European collections having been decided rarities up until the 1990’s. Poznan Zoo has had great success in breeding the Greater Hairy Armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus) in the past decade and stock from this source now inhabits a considerable number of European zoos (64 currently held according to ISIS records 2004). Furthermore, several private breeders continue to be successful with this species. The smaller Lesser Hairy Armadillo (Chaetophractus vellerosus) is only now recorded as being held in Paris Zoo (one pair according to ISIS records 2004) but several pairs exist in private collections.
The Six-banded or Yellow Armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus) has six representatives currently listed amongst European zoos – including the pair supplied by ourselves to Banham Zoo and, again, this species is gradually increasing in numbers amongst private specialists as breeding achievements continue to be recorded.
Finally, the wonderful and unique Three-banded Armadillo has become one of the most readily available of species, despite the nonsense perpetrated by some zoo “professionals” who try to tell people that the species is extremely difficult to maintain. This is palpable rubbish (though may be true for those making the statements!), as evidenced by the repeated success of captive breeding in private hands in collections around Europe (as previously indicated in this article by ourselves, and others, within NAPAK to give but two examples). Ten are recorded in public zoos in Europe at the present time, including Poznan Zoo that has replicated the breeding successes witnessed in private collections.
Moving on to the husbandry and breeding of armadillos in captivity, the first thing to say is that the requirements are, in many ways, very similar from species to species. The relative balance of dietary items, enclosure size and construction, etc., might vary but will be consistent within a generalised set of guidelines. It goes without saying that, in general, the larger the species kept the larger the enclosure size should be, particularly when housing pairs together.
Armadillos as a group are not generally sociable but, when housed together in captivity, usually choose to sleep scrunched together and rarely display any antagonistic behaviours towards each other even during the breeding season. For the smaller and/or less cold/damp hardy species such as the Small Hairy and Three-banded the optimal housing is a secure escape-proof enclosure indoors that still allows for a deep substrate. For such species we choose a mix of minimum-dust wood shavings, aspen bark bedding and bark chips (invariably damper than the other two substrate choices). To this we add lengths of cork oak bark, large quarry pieces, and rotting branches from fallen trees all of which prove enticing exploration areas for the armadillos. Two blocked-out nesting areas are provided to allow the individual animals to sleep separately should they wish. We recommend temperatures for these smaller species of between 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, dropping to 60-70 degrees at night (a drop to 50 degrees or so will not prove harmful to well acclimated animals).
Larger armadillos such as the Dasypus Spp. and the Six-banded can be either kept in large fully indoor enclosures or in a securely lined outdoor enclosure provisioned with an indoor shelter heated to around 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit during the colder months of the year. The latter arrangement allows for larger enclosures and a greater inclusion of décor. All of which helps to ensure the animals remain active and interested in their environment.
In both the wild state and in captivity the smaller species – especially the Three-banded – are more predominately insectivorous than their larger relatives. However, we prefer to give a generalised and varied omnivorous diet to all species, simply discarding uneaten items. Nevertheless, we do bias the diet of our Three-banded’s towards invertebrates and animal protein (two-thirds – versus plant matter (one-third). Every day our Three-banded Armadillos receive defrosted crickets and locusts, mealworms, red worms, giant mealworms (morios), wax moth larvae and either rabbit mince (including the minced bone) or minced turkey. On alternate days they receive defrosted pinkie mice, scrambled egg or tinned cat food (in jelly rather than in gravy). Also on alternate days they receive crushed digestive biscuit, mashed banana, diced papaya, shredded Mediterranean salad and grated sweet potato. Once a week they receive an addition of small amounts of seafood items (white bait, mussels, squid, scallop, prawn and haddock – white, not smoked).
For the larger species such as the Southern Long-nosed, Six-banded and Greater Hairy Armadillos we balance the diet approximately 50:50 animal to plant material, but comprised in very much the same way as that described for the Three-banded Armadillos. The exceptions being that the larger species also receive the likes of diced apple and pear, dog biscuits, diced ox heart, mixed berries and grated low-fat cheese. Pinkie mice are replaced by defrosted day-old chicks and defrosted adult mice or defrosted large rat pups.
Although some breeders choose to move the male out of the breeding enclosure prior to young being born we have not personally found this to be necessary, with our males showing little if any interest in the young. However, we do have evidence that certain males can be disruptive by digging around the female causing female desertion or the baby being crushed or – in a specific instance – drowned. The last incident occurred with a private hobbyist near Stuttgart, Germany who we had helped set-up a dietary regime for a pair of Three-banded Armadillos after our close friend Dr. Anna Holtkotter (Deputy Director : Stuttgart Zoo) had asked for our assistance knowing of our successes with armadillos. Hobbyists need to get a good understanding of their individual animals in order to determine whether or not to remove the male prior to parturition.
Our first successfully reared Three-banded Armadillo – Dillon, as referenced previously, is living proof of just how tractable this species can become and how well trained they can prove to be. Edinburgh Zoo’s Education Department have taken this little charmer as a five month old some two years ago and he has proved a major success in the zoo’s education presentations. He follows the keepers’ feet much like a heel dog would, responds to his name and performs on a daily basis to school parties and the like.
In summary, the armadillos as a group are, we would suggest, a wonderful choice to specialise in, several species are available – although waiting lists exist for most species – and others may become available over time.
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