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Marsupials
The grey short-tailed opossum from South America has been used extensively in laboratory research, leading some to refer to it as the 'domestic opossum'. As is often the case with lab animals, surplus opossums have been disposed of into the exotic pet trade in large numbers, and they are commonly available in pet stores in several states. Their small size makes them more manageable than the larger Virginia opossum, but they are still wild animals and should be treated as such.
The remaining 70 or so species of New World marsupials are considerably less common in captivity in the US, which is not to say that they are never imported, but some are quite rare, and others are considered rather unattractive, like the big-eared opossum, whose lack of a thick coat gives the impression that it is infected with mange.
The majority of marsupial species are found in Australasia, and none are more familiar than the kangaroos. It has been claimed by many that Australia has a prohibition on all export of its native wildlife, but in reality, animals from "approved sources" can be legally exported without much difficulty, and smuggling is always an issue as well. Kangaroos are regular imports into the US, and breeders produce many more animals inside our borders. Few hobbyists are able to provide the large amount of space required by these animals, nor are they able to deal with their great strength or their powerful punches and kicks. Their ability to knock out a grown man made red kangaroos a popular Australian sideshow attraction in the early 1900s - a practice that for the most part has been discontinued, but has taken place in China as recently as 2006, and is sometimes featured in American cinema.
Wallaroos and wallabies are similar in appearance to kangaroos, but are smaller and less dangerous; as a result, Bennett's wallabies are popular exotic pets, and breeders are in business throughout the US. As with so many other exotic species, wallabies are often sold before they are weaned, and must be bottle-fed. The cruel practice of separating infants from their mothers is pervasive in the wild animal trade, but it can be an especially unnatural and traumatic severance for marsupials, as their mothers provide not only food and protection, but also a warm pouch in which to sleep.
At least two species of tree kangaroo are known to be present in the exotic pet trade, but it is likely that other species are represented as well. These animals from Australia and Papua New Guinea are primarily folivores, meaning that they eat leaves, but most species will also consume fruits and insects, and some eat tree bark as well. A diet of leaves has a fairly low nutritional value, and to conserve energy, tree kangaroos spend a good deal of time sleeping. These animals are large and powerful; captive individuals in New Guinea have been documented to quite handily defend themselves against groups of village dogs. In addition to the pet trade, tree kangaroos are hunted for meat and pelts, and most species are under strain from habitat loss; captive born individuals face the same identity crisis as other captive wildlife, unable to shed their fundamental unsuitability as pets, but lacking the survival skills to live in the wild.
Another well-known marsupial, and another folivore as well, is the koala. While they are heavily protected in their native home of Australia, many koalas are kept illegally in Australia, and intense interest among Americans in having one as a pet dictates that smuggling must take place on some scale. What may save them from ever becoming common in the pet trade is their specialized diet, which consists of around 50 varieties of eucalyptus leaves, with around a dozen, preferred species forming the bulk of their nutritional intake. To compound the difficulty in their care, the seemingly cuddly koalas are armed with powerful claws for climbing, which can also be used effectively in defense.
The spotted cuscus is another slow-moving, arboreal marsupial from Australia and Papua New Guinea, which has been exploited for its fur, and for the exotic pet trade. It is frequently seen as a pet in indigenous villages, but the animals are also exported to Europe and North America. Cuscuses eat mostly leaves and fruits, but their dentition suggests that they may also eat meat on a regular basis, and captive animals have demonstrated this as well. Even very young cuscuses can deliver serious bites, as one traveler discovered when he attempted to rescue a baby cuscus from tribal hunters; the animal slept soundly inside a sock, but later awoke, and in search of food, left the sock and delivered a painful bite to a very personal area.
Similar to the opossums in North and South America are the possums (no O) of Australasia, which fall into five separate families. This very diverse group of animals is found in the wild from Tasmania to Japan, with the majority residing in Australia. Many have been exploited for the pet trade within their native ranges and abroad. Perhaps the most striking of the possums is the striped possum, but it is another member of its family, the tiny sugar glider, which has the distinction of being one of the most popular exotic pets in the United States. Despite their popularity, little information is readily available for sugar glider care in comparison to the body of literature about more traditional companion animals, and the sugar glider's dietary needs can be difficult to meet. Like other small mammals, sugar gliders expend a great deal of energy in the production of body heat, and they need to eat more in relation to their body size than larger animals. In captivity, this means multiple feedings in the same day, and some kind of staple available at all times. Many pet owners quickly come to rely on the staple, often a commercial cat food, and without fresh fruits and proteins, the gliders quickly become ill from the unhealthy cat food. The provision of live insects, both for their nutritional value and as a behavioral enrichment tool, is something few pet owners are willing to provide with any degree of regularity. In addition, veterinarians with experience in diagnosing and treating marsupials can be very difficult to find; there may be only a handful, if any, in each state.
Other Australian marsupials are less common in the pet trade abroad, but may be seen more frequently as pets in their home range, where they also fall prey to automobiles, domestic dogs and cats, and introduced species like the poisonous cane toad, or rabbits, which compete for food. The wombats are a particularly popular family, somewhat resembling a terrestrial form of the koala. Others, like bilbies, bandicoots, and the numbat, certainly hold appeal for wild pet enthusiasts, and are kept illegally in many part of Australia.
Some marsupials have evolved to fill the predator niche typically occupied by wild cats and dogs in other parts of the world; the Tasmanian devil, made famous by Warner Brothers' cartoons, is primarily a scavenger, but will take live prey as well. The challenges of keeping one in captivity are similar to those of maintaining any medium-sized carnivore, however it is also reported that Tasmanian devils possess a strong, unpleasant odor. They are also difficult to house communally, as they tend to be very abusive of one another; mating is usually performed by force, and the resulting offspring often drive their mothers away after a few months of living outside of the pouch.
The thylacine, also called a Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, is almost certainly extinct; efforts to breed and raise the animal in captivity failed, and ranchers wiped
out the species' wild population. Some scientists believe that a few thylacines remain in the wild, in the most remote forests of Tasmania, while others have begun research on cloning the animal from preserved specimens.
Posted on January 8, 2007
