Tenrec Care Guide

hi guys this is a care guide i have put together for the rescue for lesser tenrecs. feel free to use in part or full if needed and also add any information that you think would be benificial ect .

cheers col






introduction

The Lesser Tenrec (Echinops telfairi) is a small Hedgehog type species from Madagascar, Its habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrub land, and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. often confused with the greater tenrec which is somewhat larger and generally darker in color .
The Lesser Tenrec comes in several shades of brown from chocolate to Apricot in colour and often shows several shades of colours through out the body as opposed to the stable colour in most hedgehog species. so it is not uncommon to have a tenrec of chocolate on the back fading to near apricot along the sides . They are smaller then aph in genral and grow to approx the size a a small subadult aph , males are genrally smaller than females and can be only told apart by the slight diferance in the head shape and the bald patches around the eyes , there are no visable sexual organs to be seen. the spines are shorter and somewhat softer than aph. and continue to cover the tail


Housing

In a captive setting there are a few options to keep these well, the enclosure should be of a reasonable size and as a minimum i would suggest 40" long by 15" wide and 24" in height , but bigger is always better . the enclosure should take into account there need to exercise and climb to explore , many people have mentioned a problem with there tenrecs running off surfaces and injuring themselves, after being place on tables ect and advice not allowing them to climb . This is not however correct , if the tenrec is allowed to climb there way up to a structure it will be sure footed and a very skilled climber that rarely if ever falls , tenrecs have a very small and primitive brain and if simply placed on an item can not work out that they are at hoglet ect. so just let them do what comes naturally , if they climb themselves they will understand just where they are and how they got there . if they do fall they have very quick response in balling to protect themselves and injury is very seldom seen , for these reasons an enclosure that takes into account height as well as length and widths in important , and a semi arboreal viv would make a good choice for them .
ventilation is a must as they come from dry areas and do not fair well with excessive moisture , if using a glass vivarium such as the exoterra range the addition of a circulation fan would be of benefit.


landscaping the enclosure

As with all Exotic creatures people with have there own ideas when is comes to setting out the enclosure , and many options will work . although some people will prefer a highly artificial setup , i prefer a more natural setting that allows the animal to feel more at home and display its natural behaviors. for substrate large wood chippings , children's play area bark chippings , work great and give a much more natural look and feel , although finacard and megazorb work just as well . tenrecs are naturally very clean animals and will generally chose one specific area to go to the toilet in making keeping the substrate clean an easy affair. avoid anything such as fleece as the sharp claws can easily get caught up in such material causing damage and distress to the animal. for somewhere to sleep a variety of things can be placed in the enclosure but , things like igloos and other homes preferred by hedgehogs are generally ignored by tenrecs , instead a variety of wood and bark are the preferred medium for sleeping in , the large bark pieces sold in many reptile stores make perfect homes which will be used be the tenrecs , or pieces of wood in which they can squeeze into or under . i have used many types of wood and found all wood available from reptile shops works really well . such as bogwood or specialist reptile woods , and again the large bark pieces you can get. woods in the enclosure should be positioned to allow plenty of exploring both around and over them , any wood should be secure so that it does not fall when the tenrecs try to climb . if using light pieces of wood attach with aquarium safe sealer and allow 48 hours to cure before adding your animals. this makes for a very natural and secure playground for you tenrecs to explore . like hedgehogs ,tenrecs travel large distances on an evening so the ability to carry this out must be catered for in the vivarium . they can and do use exercise wheels , if using a wheel the same size wheel as used for hedgehogs should be used , although if enough thought and planning goes into there enclosure they can fully exercise without the addition of a wheel quite well. they will use each and every item in the enclosure . if you have a fussy animal that will not use a wheel then make sure that other items are placed to allow the animal to exercise its need to roam.
plants - as information is poor on what plants they may eat in the wild or more so which may be harmful to them , it is best to go for artificial plants if required . i have found all plastic and silk aquarium plants to be safe , again i anchor these down with the use of aquarium safe sealant and allow a full 48 hours to cure before allowing the animal back into the enclosure



food and water .

As will most animals water should be on offer at all times of the day and night . a simple bowl will suffice , but they will use water bottles also . a good alternative is the use of a exoterra size medium or large artificial waterfall , they keep the water from going stale and attracting bacteria , and seem to attract the attention of the tenrecs more so then just a bowl or bottle , they also look much more natural and will fit in well with the other decor in the setup. for food i offer a staple of marleys insectivore diet , which they take in small amounts , with the addition of crickets , locusts and meal and Mario worms , you can also use roaches ect ect. food will be taken both live and pre killers , so which ever you prefer really .

a high quality cat dog or ferret food can be used in place of the Marley diet , but mate sure this is high in protein and low in fat content , with a quality ingredient as the very 1st ingredient . anything of cereal base or poor quality will be simply ignored .

don't expect your tenrec to eat large amounts , they only eat between a tea spoon and a table spoon of food a day. i also add fresh fruit to there diet , banana and mango are a firm favorite , but some experimentation may be used to see what yours prefer .

avoid citrus fruits as they are too rich for them and avoid raisins as it is unknown if these have the same effect in tenrecs as some other animals.


temperatures

one of the main confusion points in keeping and breeding tenrecs is the debate on the correct temperatures to keep them at . in truth there is no set temperature that is recommended.
my preferred method is to allow them to generally follow ambient household temperatures , to give you an idea of what they would experience during the year in nature , the following are actual temperatures recorded within there natural habitat. the average temperature in the warm season is 22 deg with the temps varying between 26deg on a hot day to 17 deg on a cold day , in the cold season the average temps are just 15 deg raising to 20 deg on a good day and as low as 10 deg on a bad day .

bearing these natural temps in mind , i generally allow the temps in summer to follow the ambient air temps with the addition a a single low wattage red light bulb added to aid in keeping the temps stable on an evening and for aiding in viewing pleasure during the night ( the red is not seen by the tenrecs so to them it is still dark) and allowing the temps to drop as low as 15 deg during the winter cooling months which should last for around three full months. they will safely go as low as 10deg without problem but i can see no added benefit for reducing to this level as torpor still occurs at the higher level . i do have a thermostat attached year round as a failsafe set at 19deg during the summer and at 15 deg during the winter . the higher temps in summer in the uk do not seam to have a detrimental effect on them and did not require any additional cooling , the temps in my animal room where at 30deg for several weeks and peaking at 32deg during last summer , and the tenrecs showed no ill effect.

if not wishing to breed your tenrecs a single year round temps can be set at around 24deg and will allow for year round activity , little is know about what effect if any not having a cooling period has on the animals other than they will show no interest in breeding without a cooling period . and it is suspected the raising temps is the natural marker that stimulates them into breeding mode . it is also said that the sexual organs are in some way conditioned through the cooling period but actual hard evidence of this has not been shown


breeding .

the most important point if breeding other than choosing unrelated animals from good stock is to follow the cooling procedure , without this breeding will not take place. breeding usually takes place in the early part of the warm season and is generally limited to just one litter a year ,the first sign of breeding will normally be the smell of the male , who secrets milk from tear ducts in the eyes , this has a very potent ouder. the male will chase the female most of the evening and will continuously squeak. the gestation period is between 47 and 65 days with a litter count of between 3 and 5 on average . weaning takes place by day 35 , the initial growth in on par with aph , and the same precautions should be put in place
the male should be removed to another enclosure when pregnancy is noticed (the female will show unmistakably by the 3/4 of the pregnancy) , if colony breeding then removing
the pregnant female/s is the preferred method .


keeping together

unlike aph and other hedgehog species , the lesser tenrec is found both solitary and in colonies in nature , and can safely be kept the same in captivity. with a rule of only one male to each group . if keeping this way please ensure the enclosure is enlarged to accommodate each and every additional female. they are also quite happy living alone as like aph and being brought together only at breeding time and then being separated again.
i hope i have covered the basics , and invite anyone to add there experiences , tips and tricks to the above information . as information for these wonderful creatures is few and far between
it is important that each and every one of us share what things we have found to work or not work with them so we can built a better and more in depth care guide for them

What they are like as pets

Tenrecs will look and feel very familiar to all hog owners , but as soon as you are handed one you will be able to tell the difference , the legs with sharper and more agile feet will immediate grab hold of your hand , and cling on for deer life in fact so much you need to encourage them to let go . they will hang on to a hand upside down with no effort at all. the next noticeable thing you will notice if they have just been woken , it how cold they feel . if a pygmy hog was this cold you would be very concerned . this is quite normal for tenrecs who enter a state of torpor each day while sleeping. when awoken they slowly bring back up there body temperature and become active .

if handled from an early age they will stay very tame , they do not huff or pop or jump , they very rarely go into a ball and far weaker muscles controlling the quills ensures they are never as prickly as a pygmy hog . i would describe them as more bristle like to feel then the quills of a hog. they will very rarely bite out of anger but as with all animals can bite . there brain being far more primitive than that of a hedgehog means that if they wish to go in a certain direction and something is in the way they will not recognize this may be your finger , and just as with any other object they will try first of all to move that object out of the way with there teeth , once you are aware of this ,you simply do not put your fingers in the direct path of a tenrec trying to get somewhere. If provoked there first defense is to erect there quills , after this they will sometimes rub there quills together making a vibration , this noise is a clear sign the tenrec is not happy and stop whatever you are doing , the next stage is to charge at whatever is annoying it , with mouth open and a bite is then given . a tenrec bite is around twice as painful then that of a pygmy hog and they often do not let go , the jaw muscles are far stronger on a tenrec . a tenrec bite out of anger is really something you do not wish to happen . saying this it would be very rare for an owner to be bitten out of anger , and plenty of notice is usually given , the most likely time to upset your tenrec is waking them during there cooling period . they can sometimes become a bit stroppy at this time.
anointing is carried out when new smells and tastes are encountered just like aph , but the diferance is where a aph will contort its body and anoint over its self , the tenrecs will anoint by licking there hands and then rubbing them selves all over there body , this is quite comical to whitness .
generally as with aph and long-eared , tenrecs will make fantastic pets to the right people and will make very poor pets for most people . there are certainly not ,and i really do hope never become a mainstream pet . if you love aph and and you also love just as much grumpy long eared chances are you will fall head over heals in love with the tenrecs.

i would like to thanks all that have supplied information to help me put this together

cool - interesting read there Col