Buy Porcupine Pet
Yes, it's possible to pet a porcupine, and a number of states allow you to keep one as a pet. But safely handling this spiky rodent takes patience and skill. That lesson has been learned the hard way by one too many curious dogs who have found themselves on the receiving end of a quill attack.
buy porcupine pet
Pocahontus and Poca-hurt-us are a 10 month old, unrelated pair of giant African crested porcupines. We bottle raised them and used them in educational performances all over the country...they've even been on TV! Extremely easy to work around, anyone...
Ny-Quill is a 6 year old, extremely friendly, giant African crested porcupine. He was born and bottle raised here at our facility. We've used him in educational performances all over the country, and he's even been on TV numerous times! Extremely eas...
Pocahontus and Poca-hurt-us are an 8 month old, unrelated pair of giant African crested porcupines. We bottle raised them and used them in educational performances all over the country...they've even been on TV! Extremely easy to work around, anyone...
Pocahontus and Poca-hurt-us are a 7 month old, unrelated pair of giant African crested porcupines. We bottle raised them and used them in educational performances all over the country...they've even been on TV! Extremely easy to work around, anyone c...
Ny-Quill is a 6 year old giant African crested porcupine. He was born and bottle raised here at our facility. We've used him in educational performances all over the country, and he's even been on TV numerous times! Extremely easy to work around, any...
Pocahontus and Poca-hurt-us are a 6 month old, unrelated pair of giant African crested porcupines. We bottle raised them and used them in educational performances all over the country...they've even been on TV! Extremely easy to work around, anyone c...
Among rodents, porcupines rank third in terms of size after capybara and beaver. They are approximately 25 to 36 inches long and have an 8- to 10-inch long tail. Porcupines weigh about 12 to 35 pounds and are rounded and large. They come in different shades: gray, brown and the unusual white. In the wild, their lifespan is around 6 to 8 years, but in captivity they may live up to 12 to 14 years.
In general, they are near-sighted, slow-moving animals that are ill equipped to avoid getting killed by predators, but for their unique and natural defensive system. Porcupines are generally benign creatures. Porcupines that are threatened turn their backside to the predator and try to drive the tail into them. Porcupines also produce a noxious odor and clack their teeth as a sign of warning. Contrary to common belief, they do not throw quills at attackers. People and animals have to come into contact with the porcupine in order for the quills to become embedded in their bodies.
You can keep your pet porcupine in a fairly big cage having a solid floor, but proper ventilation is a must. You can place stalks of wood or branches of trees on the housing in order to give the feeling that they are in familiar environment.
As they are solitary animals, you must have one cage for one porcupine. Further, the cage housing the porcupine(s) should have only one level as it has poor eyesight. Moreover, they can easily break their legs. Include space for toys, food bowls and litter tray when building the cage for your pet. You must include a hiding spot as porcupines need to stay away from light, prying eyes and general activity during day time.
In the wild, porcupines eat a whole range of things: roots, crops and tubers. Therefore, you must give your pet with a varied diet consisting of root vegetables and other kinds of vegetables so as to mimic their natural diet's nutritional content. They love to chew. They need to do this in order to wear out their incisor teeth which grow constantly. You can give them branches of different trees to chew on. You can also occasionally give them bones to chew on. This will help them to maintain the sharpness of their teeth and get a supply of mineral calcium.
Therefore, you can feed your pet porcupine with different types of fruits and vegetables, including yams, apples and carrots. Commercially prepared rodent food is also available. However, you should provide sufficient quantity of food as hungry porcupines can be harmful. You may feed your pet porcupine twice a day, but it is important that you feed them on a regular basis at the specified time. You can refer the Rodent TAG Porcupine Care Manual for more information on developing a diet for your pet.
In about 18 months, a female porcupine attains sexual maturity. The breeding season is between September and November. Prior to mating, the male porcupine urinates on the female partner, spraying at a high velocity. The gestation period is around 210 days, the longest among rodents. The female delivers one to two young ones (pup or "porcupette") in the spring (late April to early May). At birth, the young ones will have soft quills. They harden within a few hours of birth. The young ones open their eyes in about 10 days after their birth.
It may also depend on what type of porcupine you get. There are actually 29 different species, but the one most commonly kept as a pet is the North American porcupine, which just happens to be the largest of them all.
Many porcupines love to climb, and some will even hang from branches like possums. You should include at least a few branches or other climbing areas for them so they can get some exercise and mental stimulation.
No. Because of the tiny barbs on the shaft of porcupine quills, they actually tend to move inward - deeper into the tissues - rather than working themselves out. This opens the door for infection, and the deeper the quills penetrate, the more serious the infection can be. Dogs can end up with abscesses over much of the body, making treatment much more complicated and increasing the risk for a body-wide infection that is potentially fatal.
Unfortunately, most dogs who get into trouble with porcupines do not learn from their mistakes. The best defense against porcupine quills is prevention. Avoid allowing the dogs to roam at dusk or after dark, and prevent them from going into areas with known porcupine dens.
Another popular pet that is legal in many states is the hedgehog. Hedgehogs are cute nocturnal mammals easily recognized by their quills which, unlike those on a porcupine, do not readily detach from their bodies.
The first thing that probably comes to your mind when you think of porcupine is; a creature with sharp needles likes spikes, waiting to throw them at you if you get closer. Well, that is really not the case.
This article is laid out for you in great detail to help you guide and decide if you really do want a pet porcupine. Even if you already have one, I hope this is still going to help you better care for your porcupines. (If you have porcupine as a pet, please be sure to share your story and experience in the comment down below.)
Depending on where you live, it may be illegal to keep some species of porcupines. Keeping some could turn out to be quite expensive in the long run. Other major reason is the difficulty in housing them. While housing them you have to consider their wild habitats and build housing accordingly.
The one that is probably most commonly kept as pets is the largest species, the North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum). Some people also keep African crested porcupines (Hystrix cristata) as pets. Another species that is kept is the Prehensile-tailed porcupines (Coendou). These porcupines can climb like a squirrel and hang like a possum. They are full of energy, curiosity and needs.
Keeping porcupines is a great challenge so you have to be ready for it. They have a lot of daily needs which has to be taken into considerations. Like I mentioned above, they also need to be housed imitating their natural habitat. I have included more on housing, in detail, in the Pet Porcupines Care section below.
To be on the safe side, find your country, state or county/province/district laws regarding keeping exotic wildlife beforehand. It might also be illegal to cross country/state boundaries with porcupines. Also note that, if you want to breed them then very likely you may need a license from your local Department of Wildlife.
Porcupines are slow-moving and may look weak but they have a unique physical attribute, the dreaded quills, which are their natural defensive package. They are incredibly protective of themselves and do not hesitate to use these threatening defensive structures. Having said all that, you can keep a porcupine without getting hurt at all.
Be extremely careful introducing an adult porcupine if you already have a pet dog or a cat. Dogs and cats are curious in nature and might get hit by the quills due to their inquisitiveness. If a young porcupine is kept together with cats and dogs from the very early years, they all may be able to coexist together without anyone getting hurt.
If you got a baby porcupine as a pet but later, down the road, want to release it in the wild, keep in mind that it may not be able to survive in the wild. This is because once it gets used to you, your pets and the surroundings; it may have no fear of other pets, wild animals or humans. It can end up getting killed because it may not be used to using the quills for defensive purpose when it needs to.
Snickers, later renamed as Stinkers (take a guess why), is a male porcupine who lives at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, Alaska. He was found alone orphaned as a porcupette (baby porcupine) and was raised in a home as a pet before being relocated in the conservation center. He is a very friendly porcupine who loves to climb on everything. Over the years he has been great for school presentation and animal shows and loves to entertain people. Just like a puppy, he jumps up and down, chases his tail and even rolls on his back. 041b061a72