Kinkajou Weaning and General information

Feeding A Baby Kinkajou

6 Weeks Old

You should be feeding your baby every  5 hours hours. The food mixture will consist of:

Formula 1

1. Stage 3 Banana Flavored Baby Food -25%

2. KMR Formula -50% (can be purchased at most pet stores)

3. Banana Rice Cereal -25%

Formula 2

1. Esbilac -20%

2. Rice Cereal -20%

3. Warm Water- 40%

4. Pureed Bananas- 20%

1 meal should be roughly 10-12 cc. If the baby kinkajou does not eat all of the food do not force them.Let the baby kinkajou go back to sleep and wake them up in a couple hours to try again.  You can make enough for a couple of days and keep refrigerated.

8 Week Old

At 8 weeks of age you will be feeding a formula mixture every 8 hours. You also want to start mixing in banana with the formula. You will want to mash it up until its like a  smoothie consistency.You do not want the consistency to be a thin liquid, this can harm the kinkajou if it inhales the liquid through its nose. Place the mixture into a shallow dish. You will want to place this dish directly in front of your baby kinkajou, this will help the kinkajou get the scent. Once your baby gets the scent, they should eagerly begin to lick it up.  You may also begin introducing various soft fruits into the diet. Use fruits to hand feed your baby kinkajou cut up pieces.

9-10 Weeks Old

Your baby should be eating the smoothie mixture mainly with some of the fruit offered.If your baby is eating the mixture and fruit just fine then Remove the formula completely. Now its time to start introducing dry food into your Kinkajous diet. Try offering these types of dry foods in a dish.

1. Kaytee Monkey Biscuits/ Birdy Biscuits

2. Zupreeme Primate Diet (You can soften in warm water, then drained)

Slowly you should removing the mixture from your kinkajou’s diet as he/she is eating fruit and dry food mainly. DO NOT FEED ANY CITRUS OR ACIDIC FOODS . The adult diet of a kinkajou should include:

Adult Kinkajou Diet

1. Kaytee Monkey Biscuits/ Birdy Biscuits

2. Zupreeme Primate Diet (You can soften in warm water, then drained)

3. Fruits: Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Cherries, Figs, Grapes, Kiwi, Mango, Melons, Papaya, Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, Plums, Oranges,Tangerines

4. Vegetables: Artichokes, Brussels Sprouts, Carrots, Corn on the cob, Romaine Lettuce, Sugar Snap Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes

5. New World Primate Biscuits, or Leaf-Eater Biscuits

6. Protein Sources: Small handful of dog or cat food, and small amounts of meat like chicken, ham, eggs, insects.

7.  Treats: Graham cracker, Fig Newton, Raisins, marshmallows, dried plums, honey, juice, fruit nectar, wheat bread

*Avoid: Avocados, strawberries, Citrus Fruit, Chocolate, Caffeine, Alcohol, House Hold Cleaning Products

*Kinkajous also should not be fed dairy products other than yogurt.

Size/Life Span

A average adult kinkajou weights  4- 7 pounds but can go up to 18lbs depending on sub species, its roughly the size of a house cat and can live up to 25 years.  The average length of the body is around 20 inches with the average tail length of 19 inches.  Making an average adult kinkajou length around 39 inches from head to tip of tail.

Enclosure

When considering size bigger is always better for adults. Baby Kinkajous should be in a small enclosure because they won’t be running around much when you first get them. You should keep a heating pad in the enclosure kept at 80 degrees.  The general enclosure temperatures for an adult and baby  should never be less an 70 degrees. Remember Kinkajous come from the rain forest and are used to higher temperatures  The minimum size enclosure is 4’x 8’x6’ per adult kinkajou. If you live in a milder climate you may keep your kinkajou outdoors all year round providing heat in the winter if needed . If you plan to keep it in a smaller parrot size cage you should give the kinkajou several hours per evening to get out and play. If you are going to keep a kinkajou in a bird cage make sure its at least a double macaw cage.  In the cage you should include ,Branches and ropes to climb,Cozy-e Cubes ,Large Bird Nesting Boxes ,Bottles for Water,Food Dishes. You can use larger bird products for the toys and climbs.

Activeness 

Kinkajou’s are nocturnal so it will be the most active during the night time. Playful times would be between 7pm and midnight and a few hours before dawn.