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Posts: 3,540
Just for fun...and mostly to see if I can get the pics on here.... I wanted to share pictures of Amanda, our pet coati.
Okay, the top two pictures were taken when we lived a long time ago (in a land, far far away 
) in Florence, Oregon. Lucky us! We lived at the beach 
But I digress... the top pic, Amanda is a little spazzed because her favorite event used to be to enthusiastically bound up and walk on every man made object she could get ahold of....the National Conservation people used to have their bridges and railings thoroughly tested. She's spazzing because eyesight is not a forte with coatis ...and she's just noticed its a long way down with water underneath her.
Coatis are NOT good pets, just for the record. You can oooh, and awwhhhhh, and says she's cute...which she is, but they are incredibly destructive, and not for the feint of heart. If you truly want a pet...get a dog or cat, they've been domesticated for much much longer. The second photo where it looks like she's going to eat my face is a good illustration of why they are not overly good pets....those teeth. Actually, I'm blowing in her face, and she's 'eating' the air, just like many dogs do. I wanted the photo to show off her teeth...I'm also about only 24 in that pic, so I don't look that young anymore! Amanda's canines were not like any other mammal I've ever seen. They were triangular, and serrated on the edges for ripping into gourds. They also slice through flesh, and clothing faster than you can say 'spit' and hubby and I were a big supporter of Band-Aides for awhile. Its not like she'd always intentionally bite (although we did go through those issues too), but if a tooth snagged, her solution was to twist her head to unsnag it...too bad, so sad your finger might've been in the way 
. And yes, we did have the vet remove them at age 3 for safety concerns. Her claws, for the record, are trimmed. They're longer than the usual dog claws, and get trimmed every 2 weeks.
We've owned her since she was 4 1/2 weeks old. She was bottlefed for 4 1/2 months. Actually she weaned herself...first food was Fruit Loops ...so funny how a mother remembers Anyhoo...coatis are pack animals, but only consisting of females, with a matriarch in the lead. Males are kicked out of the pack at age one, and only a single male is allowed around during breeding season. Otherwise, the males lead solitary lives. As babies, they can take food from any member of the pack...they are the little darlings. As they turn one year, and the new babies are born, they get the snot beat out of them, and they become the bottom of the heap. In domestic terms, this means hubby has always been treated as a second class citizen, even though I did everything to discourage this. It also means despite my best efforts to socialize her, that she's not really that social, and became very clannish as she got older.
Now our old lady is 11 1/2 years old!!! 
Hard to believe! The bottom pic was taken just a few weeks ago, while she's at a favorite activity....scratching. She's all ready older than they live in the wild. The oldest zoo specimens have lived 14 years, and a friend in the UK said she's seen one report where one lived to be 17 years. Coatis range from Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, down through Mexico and Central America into South America. Amanda was bred in Oregon, so no 'wild caught' girlie for us! She's from a federally licenced breeder.
Amanda does have a cage that she lives in. I tried to get the pics on of it, but wasn't able...I think my files are too big. Its a nice, double level, with her sleeping quarters up top. Unfortunately, she can't have any plush animals or nice blankies....Amanda eats fabric, 
always has, always will, silly goose. She has Fisher price toys, and especially loves her smaller squeaker toys for cuddling with for bedtime. When she was younger, she was seriously rough on toys! Loved to slam them about her cage...the weeble wobble chickie got the worst of her brunt because it always popped back up :twisted: Now that she's an older lady, she quietly plays with her squeaky toys instead...and that's if its not naptime, or bedtime. Sometimes she's not 'all there', forgets where she's at, or seems to have troubles smelling etc, but she is an old lady...so we can't really blame her for that.
Just thought I would share... 
Posts: 3,540I forgot to mention her diet...coatis are omnivores. Over the years, we've always kept dry cat food and dry cereals like Chex or Frosted Wheat squares in her cage as a staple. I tried dog food for years, and monkey chow as well to no avail. To that, she gets various fruits and veggies such as cucumber, zuchini, melons, corn on the cob, radishes, lettuce, just about anything we would eat, she'd give a try.
Although she can eat meat, and does love chicken, she's not a big meat eater. In fact, other than chicken, and not much of that either, she only nibbles on mussels. She'd rather have bread, or even better the pumpkin pie, complete with whipped creme please! Her all time favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, and she traditionally gets a plateful of whatever we get.
Amanda's all time favorite, handsdown food is marshmellows. We learned early on that it had to be mini marshmellows, as the dear child would try to bolt the big ones A coati choking on a whole marshmellow is not pretty.
And lastly, she's always weighed 10 lbs throughout her life...although during her 'twilight' years she's seriously gained weight. So she's roughly the size of a housecat. Kitty, our birman was her companion for many years. No, not the same cage, but they shared the same room til Kitty passed away.
Nowadays, her diet is mushier, consisting of canned Pasta roni, and the occasional pressure cooked sweet potato. She still delights in various veggies so still gets cucumbers and corn on the cob when I can find it.
Posts: 8,574Hey! Its like Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdon!!!
Coool We have our own beary special Marlon Perkins........
So nteresting Deb, she looks like she could do some major damage in no time at all!
Did you mention the average life span? I loved your animal husbandry info, very very very interesting.
We have a parrot.....she was Ricks before he met me. Its a good thing he didn't date alot, because parrots are like your little girl. They are flock creatures and it would have been too confusing for her to have girls going in asnd out all the time. So she did accept me. BUT like your hubby, I can be chopped liver too.
We love play school toys and fish price. The kind she can make do stuff, play music etc.
Thank you so much for sharing the photos and story. I loved it!
dilu
Posts: 3,540Oh yes, we've had an eclectus female as well...so fully know what you mean about parrots They are fun, though!
Glad you enjoyed reading about Amanda....the lifespan...they figure roughly anything over 8 years is well, old!
Posts: 3,177WOW JUST LOOK AT THOSE TEETH!!!!!
Hope she's a good girl most of the time or as you say......CHOPPED LIVER!
Penny :hug:
Past Time BearsLove the pics and the info on your coati - aren't they in the raccoon family? Before I scrolled down and read the story, I thought the photo of you blowing in her face must be a pic of your child!! LOVE your red hair!! Amanda is quite the charmer . . . sort of reminds me of our little ferret, Slinky, that we had for 10 years.
How incredibly cool. I had no idea people had coati as pets. In fact, I only recently learned that de-"fragranced" skunks are fairly popular housepets as well.
She might be a pain, but she sure is interesting and cute.
Thanks for posting!
DoodlebearsWow! Deb what more can I say...what an awesome incredible pet. I think I'll stick to dogs though. Amanda is a very special little girl who need a very special Mum to look after here...well done. 
Jane
Flying Fur StudiosThat's soo cool.
As an animal lover, I'm suprised I've never heard of a coati before. How neat, thanks for sharing what it's like, and not promoting other people to get one.
I really enjoyed reading your post, thanks
Patsy Lake Bearswhat wonderful pictures, thank you for sharing.. I also have never heard of a coati ... but I think I will stick to my birds .....
Cleathero CreationsDitto never knew coatis but then i am Australian so I may be forgiven for the lapse. I love unusual animals and have reared bats, kangaroos, possums and others to release them.
She looks like a handful. But she would be interesting.
Posts: 3,540
Amanda thanks you for the kind comments! Yes, she can be a :twisted: child one second and a little 
the next....very much like having a permanent 2 year old. For years hubby and I would watch 2 and 3 year olds have temper tantrums in the grocery stores and just look at each other "Remind you of anyone?" She'd go through the same thing of having a total hissy fit if she was too tired and needed a nap ~ and yet refused point blank to take one! 
Sue Ann, yep, they are a member of the Procynidae family...same as raccoons. One HUGE bonus is that they're diurnal, not nocturnal like the coons. Come twilight, she's ready to tuck in, and if you're slow to turn out the light, you get some serious power sighs.
I had to go back and relook at my hair in the pic! I'm actually a blonde, but I bet my hair picked up some red highlights from the shirt...my sis is a strawberry blonde, so maybe I was just showing different colours that day. Better than the funky green I used to get in the summertime from swimming! 
Heather, we've stuck with Amanda through thick and thin, and not the least of our worries has been finding a vet qualified enough to take care of her. We had a brilliant one when we lived on the Oregon coast, Doc Bauman, he was phenomenal...then we had to move back here 
and I haven't found a decent one since.
I do worry about all the ones that get sold as pets. So many people think they can let them roam about the house unsupervised. Well you can, but there's a good chance your coati will come to serious harm, and you can kiss off having a house. A raccoon is curious, a coati is flat out destructive. Think the cartoon Tazmanian Devil, and you've got it!
Mountain Dreamer BearsVery cool and interesting Deb. I thoroughly enjoyed reading you posts. I never knew coatimundes lived in the U.S. or that people had them for pets.
Heather, we've stuck with Amanda through thick and thin
So many people seem to think animals are disposable and abandon them at the first sign of trouble. It sound like your lovely lady is a handfull but you've given her a good home. Good for you! :clap: :clap: I hope you can find her a good vet.
Thanks for sharing, it has been a treat.
:hug: hugs,
Kiprie BearsWoe Deb, thank you for sharing very cool photo !
I never heard about Coati before ... 
Jazzy RagsThanks Deb i enjoyed all that maks TT fun
MerBear OriginalsThanks for sharing and like others have said, special thanks for also explaining the difficulties in keeping a coati for a pet. People should do research on a pet before they take one on. I had a mitred parrot for 5 years, which I got on a whim. He was already a problem and afterwards I discovered that this breed of conure was 'difficult'. We immediately built a much larger cage for him, which helped, and then I went thru a year of nasty bites before I gained his trust. Unfortunately he bonded to me and hated our kids and especially my husband and made it know by loud screeching and attacks. (large beak) I was able to find him a very good home with experienced parrot caretakers and since they don't put up with his nonsence he's settled down to being a better behaved bird.
Marion
BEAR ME SHOOTKADebbie, wow! That's the coolest pet I ever saw! I like her..she looks like cat so much !
Thanks for sharing//
Julia
Baird'sBears
Deb, what a beautiful coati--I've only seen them in zoos!
She's lucky to have such a patient Mom, though I'm sure she'd never admit it. Those are TEETH!!
Eileen
Posts: 3,540:hug: Awwwwhhhhh :hug: "Thank you for the kind comments", says Amanda, "Now fork over the mini marshmellows, and no one gets hurt!"
Actually, she was a good little coati as we came in tonight from a long day away. She was all excited to see us, even more excited over her marshmellows, and then settled down for her nap. 
Tiring work being excited, you know!
Posts: 8,574Deb said
you get some serious power sighs.
I can understand power sighs. Our parrot starts saying goodnight in this really creepy Boris Karloff voice when she doesn't want to be bothered any more.....did I miss the life span?
if I did I'm sorry- But I did enjoy learning all the things you had to share....perpetual 2 year old....yep.....at least I can put our perpetual 2 year old in her cage......
thank you
dilu
Posts: 3,540 Dilu ....perpetual 2 year old....yep.....at least I can put our perpetual 2 year old in her cage...... Yep! We think the exact same when someone's having troubles with their toddlers... at least Amanda's got a cage she can go into time out for until she finally gets her nap, or squares up temperment wise. :hug:
Lifespan...the 'experts' figure anything over 8 is old age. Although they've sorta been kept as pets since at least the 1950s, no one seem to be keeping track. Along the lines of a cat or small/medium sized dog. I know she's all ready much older than the wild ones. The oldest zoo specimens we'd heard of were 14, and then a friend in the UK said she'd read of one that reached 17.
Like Dilu said, TT is Wild Kingdom! We need to have a TT Zoo thread!
Thanks for sharing the pics and the info. It was really interesting. What an unusual pet. I love animals too and am suprised I've never heard of a coati. I know you said you got her from a breeder. How did you decide to adopt her? Do you need a license for her?
Past Time BearsLike Dilu said, TT is Wild Kingdom! We need to have a TT Zoo thread!
Thanks for sharing the pics and the info. It was really interesting. What an unusual pet. I love animals too and am suprised I've never heard of a coati. I know you said you got her from a breeder. How did you decide to adopt her? Do you need a license for her?
We do have an animal thread in the "Reference Library" . . . it's FULL of great stuff!
Posts: 3,540We do have an animal thread in the "Reference Library" . . . it's FULL of great stuff!
...why does that not surprise me?
Chrissie we'd actually lived in Guatemala, and spent a lot of time observing them at the zoo. When we relocated to Oregon, we went to an Exotic Animal show, and found a breeder, and began serious discussions. I picked Leslie's brains that day over coati husbandry! And at the end of the day, we got placed on a waiting list that took 18 months before she was born....so no, she wasn't a whim purchase.
Although the breeder needs to be fully licensed through the USDA, and inspected, the owners/buyers do not need to be licensed. We have always carefully maintained Amanda's original purchase papers, and I photocopied it so we could have a copy in the glove compartment at all times. Coatis are NOT allowed into California, and we were warned that the Wildlife people would destroy her if they could get their mitts on her....even though they are native to a neighboring state, go figure 
Also, since they are native to Arizona, I believe it was 5 days of travel time to get through the state, but you have to be 'just passing through', not actually living there. She's always had her vaccinations, both dog and cat, but not the rabies. There's no federally tested vaccine for it, and we worried that she could contract the disease via the vaccine.
Posts: 1,277Very cool, Debbie! I really enjoyed your pics of Amanda and all the info about her.
