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"Hand
Raising a Baby Ringtail Lemur"
July,
1999
by Linda LaFrentz
The first thing
I want to say, is "to be committed to
the animal before you take it from its
mother." You need to be a full time mom
or dad. A dog or cat for a companion
while you are at work will not take the
place of another lemur or the human
bond! There is a down side to this
animal as a pet, just like there is with
other animals. It will be a loyal pet
and give a lot of love if it is properly
cared for.
Newborns:
Watch to see if the baby or babies
are getting enough milk. On the second
day after birth, if they seem weak or
hungry, I will take the baby from the
mother and check it. When you pull it
loose from its mother it will be scared.
The first thing they do is poop. At this
time you can see how much, what color,
how thick and anything that might not
look right. At this time if I suspect
that something is wrong, I have a
product on hand at all times called
"Ready Mother." It is packed full of
vitamins, minerals, direct fed microbial
(dried acidophilus). The protein is pure
colostrum (from cows). If the baby is in
a weakened condition it will immediately
perk it up, improve appetite and check
e-coli diarrhea. I have used this on
older animals also. A great product to
have on hand. I put 1/4 cc (newborns) on
an infant spoon and give it every time I
feed formula, until I take it from the
mother. For and older baby 1/4 to 1/2 cc
once or twice a day, just until it seems
stronger. I keep mine refrigerated.
Note: It crumbles, mix with 1 drop of
honey. You can get this product and more
information from "Blackburn's Best" in
Junction, TX. 1-800-691-MILK. Note:
Something I found interesting--the
health food company that I purchase my
herbs and vitamins from is putting
colostrum in capsules for people that
are in a weakened state to help rebuild
their immune system.
I also have
formula mixed up in case I need it. A
lot of times twins may need help.
Sometimes the mother's milk will come
down in a few days to where you won't
have to interfere. But sometimes I have
to help until ready to pull. If this
happens I take the baby two or three
times a day and feed it with an
eyedropper. I use Enfamil with iron
(human baby formula). I usually mix up
2-4 ozs. at a time. This is all I use
while baby or babies are with mother,
plus the Ready Mother.
When I take the
baby at 14 days to hand raise I add
1tsp. Gerber bananas with strawberry, 3
Tbs. Gerber rice cereal, 10 drops poly-
vi-sol without iron baby vitamins to 4
oz. formula. I use a marsupial nipple.
The short pointed kind. Feed every 3
hours. First thing in the morning and
the last thing I do before I go to bed.
I don't get up during the night. The
first night or two they will cry, but
they will adjust. I use Mazuri Primate
Leafeater & Monkey Crunch Biscuits
soaked in a small amount of apple juice.
I take a knife and cut into quarters. (
you may have to put a capful of apple
juice on the biscuit to soften.) Because
of the kind of formula that I use, the
stool will be gray and loose. You don't
want it to look thin like water. If this
happens I give some Ready Mother and 1
dropper of Pepto Bismol - and keep
checking. The eyedropper is so small
that I use pipe cleaners to clean it.
You can find these at most arts and
crafts stores. The immunity that the
baby gets from its mother lasts two
weeks. At this time the baby's own
immune system has to kick in. Sometimes
a little Ready Mother is necessary. I'm
sure there are other really good
products besides the Ready Mother, but
this has worked really well for me.
When I take the
baby with me away from home, I carry a
small diaper bag. I also carry an empty
tuna fish can. If you have to stop at a
filling station or somewhere to heat the
formula, just put the bottle in the can
and run hot water over it until warm. I
also take the travel baby wipes and
extra diapers. Just like a human baby.
At home or
away, I put the baby in a small pet
carrier with towels. I sit this on a
heating pad on low heat. I keep an extra
hand towel to hold baby while I feed it.
If I don't, I usually get pooped on. I'm
changing towels regularly to keep them
clean. I keep baby wipes handy for "both
ends."
When the baby
gets big enough it goes into diapers. I
use pamper "preemie" diapers. I don't
put diapers on at night. They need this
time to "air out." They will tee tee and
poop at night until about two months. I
use towels in their bed until they
realize that they don't like soiled
covers. When this happens, I switch to
baby blankets. Back to the diapers--You
don't diaper the baby the way you do a
human baby. Start the tail through the
hole first and hold the baby next to you
and slide the diaper between you and
baby. The tabs go to the back. Cut a
hole for the tail. You want the bottom
of the opening to fit as high as
possible on the base of the tail. (Too
low-the poop falls out). There may be a
better way- but I cut a triangle. On the
inside of the diaper try 1" above the
crease and punch a hole with scissors.
Then make your triangle. (Rounded at the
top maybe better- I'll try later)
Note: They don't like the hair
pulled when it is pulled through the
hole. It will take about 3 or 4 diapers
a day. Sometimes I skip a day-no
diapers. For a pet, I think diapers are
important because when you take them to
strange places and they get scared--they
poop! It's better to have it fall in a
diaper than on me! I never have been tee
tee-ed on though. When they start
wanting to do more than eat, sleep and
poop- (about 3 weeks) they need a cage
and toys.
Minimum size
cage for baby is 2 1/2'w x 2'd x 4'h. I
have the kind with a tray for droppings.
I use news paper in the house. Just roll
up and throw away-shavings make too big
a mess. You can use a large bird cage.
The bars need to be no wider than 1".
Mine is PVC coated welded wire.
(1"squares) I hang a rope from the top.
I also have bird toys. They are colorful
loops hanging by a chain from the top.
They like to hang and crawl through the
loops. They also have human rattles,
stuffed toys, and cat balls with bells.
My pet "Precious" favorite toy when she
was a baby was a broken plastic rocket
that my husband picked up somewhere.
Also a plastic coke bottle. Some of
their favorite things don't make sense
to me--oh well, she was happy. Change
toys often so they don't get bored.
In Texas we
have air-conditioners and ceiling fans.
When the baby is small-protect it from
cold air and drafts. I keep a heating
pad and soft blankets in the cage. If
they get cold they will cover up.
Precious would roll up in the blanket
like a burrito. I also throw a big beach
towel or something to block the air from
blowing directly on them.
I put a water
bottle on the outside of the cage. I use
bowls that fit in a metal ring that
hooks to the cage. I also keep a rabbit
salt spool in the cage. They have a tree
stump to sit on. They also like to poop
off the side of it.
As they
grow-you need to consider the cage size
for later. Eventually the minimum will
be 8' ceilings x 6' x 6'. They will also
need more exercise than they can get in
the cage. I live in the country so it
isn't a problem. Precious and babies
play in the yard and climb the trees.
When it is cold or raining I have a big
steel horse barn that they play in. This
is an important consideration. They
don't stay babies. Like our kids, they
grow up.
I get my
marsupial nipples from WIXCOF, Coreen
Eaton. I use the size T4.
http://www.wxicof.com/index.htm.
I bought my
preemie diapers by the case from, Common
Wealth Inc. Phone: 1-800-543-4932. They
come 240 to a case. Fit up to 5 pounds.
These diapers are bulky. I found some
since then that work better for me. They
are the slim cut preemies. I found them
at Wal-Mart. Common Wealth may have
the slim cuts
now, just call and
ask..
http://www.mazuri.com/main.html
(Information on
acidophilus benefits for animals and
humans)
http://www.hnherbs.com/library.asp
(Information on
colostrum health benefits for
animals and humans)
http://www.bovinecolostrum.com/info/index.htm
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