Kinkajou Caresheet

Lifespan: 20 to 24 years
Adult Weight Range: 3 to 8 pounds
Adult Diet: Fruits, honey, eggs
Puberty: Males: 1.5 years (18 months), Females: 2.5 years (30 months)
Breeding Season: Fall
Gestation: 98 to 120 days
Number of Young: 1 (occasionally 2)

Kinkajous come in 14 subspecies and various sizes. The larger varieties of Kinkajous can reach a weight of up to 8 pounds, and attain a body length of about 25 inches. My breeding pair of kinkajous weigh about 5 pounds and are roughly the size of a small housecat.

Kinkajous have fully prehensile grasping tails, which can be used like an extra "hand" when climbing. The tail can be almost as long as the body (up to 45 cm), and is also used for balance when moving from one tree limb to another. If you look carefully at a Kinkajou's tail in the proper light, you can see a series of dark rings similar to those of their cousins, the raccoons and coatimundis.

Like their cousins the cacomistles and ringtailed cats, Kinkajous can turn their hind feet backwards, so that the clawed toes can be used when descending head-first. Their front paws are very sensitive and the palms are bare-skinned. They often dip their front paws in water or small openings and lick the food or juice off their paws much like another cousin, the raccoon.

Kinkajous' vision is poor, and they can't sense differences in color, so Kinkajous rely primarily on their highly developed senses of touch and smell. Kinkajous communicate with each other by scent-marking around their home range and travel routes. Scent glands are located in bare areas on either side of the face, at the corner of the mouth, on the throat, and on the abdomen. However, they have no noticeable odor to humans. They also have a wide range of signal calls, from soft chitters to barks and shrill quavering screams.

Being nocturnal, Kinkajous are primarily active at night, with peak activity between about 7:00pm and midnight, and again an hour before dawn. During the light of day, they sleep in tree hollows or in shaded tangles of leaves, and avoid direct sunlight. Being arboreal (tree dwelling), Kinkajous in the wild live in the canopies of the rainforest jungle, and seldom, if ever, come down to the jungle floor.

Kinkajous are beautiful animals and can make wonderful pets, since their personalities are often playful, yet docile and sweet. They are not destructive animals and have been known to be kept in some houses without a cage.

Kinkajous are generally quiet and docile, and they have no noticeable odor. Because they are slow and languid, especially just after being wakened from a nap, they do not particularly like quick sudden movements. As a rule, Kinkajous are gentle and nonaggressive most of the time, although they can get wound up and become quite playful, and like to "dive bomb" and pounce on you from high places!

Although primarily arboreal and nocturnal in their native habitat, they will play on the ground in captivity, and if you spend a lot of time playing and socializing with them during the day, they will sleep at night. However, be prepared for the fact that they may also want to play and explore much of the night, and a good sized cage with branches is usually the best night-time solution for them if you want to get any sleep!

Most Kinkajou owners do not have much luck in getting their Kinkajous litter trained. Generally, Kinkajous climb to a high place and "let go"; However, they seem to get into a habit of going in the same locations, so after a while, you learn where to place mats to catch the droppings. Some people place a piece of vinyl flooring under the inside and outside of the cage for easier cleanup.

Your new baby kinkajou will come to you still on its bottle, and will need its bottle about four times a day. I feed my baby kinkajous puppy esbilac with yogurt added. At 4 to 6 weeks you may start introducing various fruits and monkey biscuits. When you start supplementing its diet, you can slowly start weaning it from its bottle. You should wean somewhere between three and four months of age.

When raising a bottle-fed baby, remember you are the "momma" now, and you're responsible for taking care of whatever baby needs. This includes stimulating before or after each feeding to make it go to the bathroom.

Babies can have trouble thermoregulating themselves and should always be kept warm. Keeping your baby in an aquarium or a kennel with a heating pad underneath and turned on low ensures the baby stays nice and warm. Never assume the temperature is right, however; always put your hand inside where your new little one is sleeping to make sure the temperature is not too cold or too hot. I also like to have a little stuffed animal in with it to keep it company.

I recommend that you have some sort of area or enclosure where you can be assured of your baby's safety as well as the safety of your home. How much time is actually spent in this can somewhat determine what size it needs to be. When designing your enclosure, please use common sense and always keep safety in mind. If you have an outdoor enclosure, it needs to be very secure with both a top and a bottom on it, as kinkajous are very clever escape artists. A cement floor makes for easy clean up. Nest boxes are essential for your kinkajou to sleep in. I like Rubbermaid's five gallon boxes. Simply cut a round hole in the side of it and hang it from a wall. Bigger is always better for the size of your enclosure.

The enclosure for our breeding pair of kinkajous is in our barn. The inside cage portion is 12 feet long by 4 feet wide by 6 feet high. The outside portion is 12' x 12' x 6' high. The floor is cement. We designed our enclosure to potentially fit a variety of animals, so we used vinyl coated hardware cloth for wire. I would not recommend less than 1x1 holes in your wire, and since kinkajous can mark their territory, vinyl coated wire will last longer.

Kinkajous will need a heat source when the temperature falls below about 60 degrees. We can close the outdoor portion of our enclosure and we add a heat lamp above their nest box for warmth when it gets cold. They cannot touch the heat lamp or get to it in any way. Since kinkajous are arboreal by nature, enrich the enclosure with ropes, shelves, playstations, and anything else your creative mind can come up with.

Basic Diet: Bananas, grapes, mangoes, melons, eggs, dry monkey chow

Treats: Honey, Fig Newtons, Fruit Loops, marshmellows, gummi bears

Avoid: Strawberries, avocados, chocolate, caffeine, dairy products

Kinkajous are important pollinators - an ecological role which is filled by no other carnivore. Kinkajous' tongues are long (up to 6 inches or 20 cm) and flexible, and can be used to extract nectar from flowers. As the Kinkajou feeds, pollen adheres to its face and is subsequently deposited on other plants as the animal moves from blossom to blossom in the jungle canopy.

While Kinkajous are classified as carnivores (meat-eaters), they are primarily frugivorous (fruit-eaters). They particularly like figs, grapes, bananas, melons, apples, and mangos. Kinkajous also eat berries, insects, honey, and eggs. Our hand-raised breeding pair Keena and Cosmo have found fruit yogurt, some vegetables, wheat bread, and cereal yummy too. (Warning: There is some evidence that some Kinkajous might be allergic to strawberries.)

We like for our Kinkajous' main diet to be monkey chow, supplemented lavishly with a variety of fruits, veggies, and grains. We occasionally add various other protein sources for them such as a small handful of dog or cat food, and small amounts of meat like chicken, ham, and eggs.

In their natural habitat, Kinkajous drink water that has pooled in tree crotches and on leaves, but fruit is an important source of fluid - when eating, they will turn on their side or back, or even upside down so as not to lose any of the juice.

Note: Once they are weaned off the bottle, Kinkajous also should not be fed dairy products other than yogurt, as Kinkajous are lactose intolerant, and dairy products can make them very sick.

Sexual maturity: 1.5 to 3 years
Breeding season: Year round, April to December in the wild
Gestation: 98 to 120 days
Litter Size: usually 1, occasionally 2

The Kinkajou is sexually mature at 18 to 30 months. Male Kinkajous reach sexual maturity at 1.5 to 2 years, and females in 2.5 to 3 years. The female Kinkajou is in season approximately every three months. The mating ritual comprises of the male sniffing and nipping at the female's lower jaw and throat. He then stimulates her by rubbing her sides with the insides of his wrists where he has an enlarged, protruding bone. The female also has this bone but on the male it is not covered with fur.

In their native habitat, Kinkajous usually give birth between April and December. Captive Kinkajous can give birth throughout most of the year, to usually one cub and occasionally two. Gestation lasts from 98 to 120 days, and the infant is born in a dark den with its eyes and ears closed. Generally a single offspring is produced, but twins do occasionally happen. Within two to six weeks, the eyes and ears open, and in another three to six weeks, the infant's tail becomes prehensile.

The mother Kinkajou is very protective of her infant and in times of danger, carries the infant upside down just below her chest. When clinging to a branch with all four limbs and tail, the infant is therefore completely protected. The nursing period usually lasts between 3 to 5 months. Juveniles increase their mass by 12 times in the first six months following birth.

Kinkajous have a life span of approximately 23 to 24 years, with some known to have lived up to 39 years in captivity.

Because they are nocturnal, Kinkajous are sometimes called "Nightwalkers", but because of their honey colored fur and their love of honey, they are more often known as "Honeybears". Kinkajous are also known by a variety of other names in local, regional and other languages:

Family: Procyonidae
Latin: Potus Flavus
French: poto
Japanese:
Russian:
Polish: Kinkau, wikawiec, chwytacz
Czech: kynkau
Hungarian: kinkaju
Dutch: Kinkajoe
German: Wickelbr
Swedish: veckelbjrn, kinkaju, gripsvansbjrn
Danish: snohalebjrn, honningbjrn
Portugeuse: kinkaj, jupar, macaco-de-noite
Italian: cercoletto giallo
Esperanto: kinkajuo, rul-vosta urso
Spanish: mico leon, mico de noche, martucha
Mexico: marta, martucha, tancho, oso mielero, godoy, mico de noche
Honduras: micolen, guatuza
Belize: nightwalker, martilla
Nicaragua: mico de noche
Costa Rica: martilla
Panama: cusumbi, mico de noche
Venezuela: cuchicuchi
Columbia: perro de monte, oso mielero, micolen, leoncillo, leoncito, cuchicuchi
Ecuador: martica, tutamono, chuche, cuchicuchi, cusumbo
Bolivia: mono michi
Peru: chosna, martucha, chuchumli
Brazil: jupar, macaco-de-noite
French Guiana: singe de nuit
Suriname: meti-keskesi
Miskito: uyuk
Maya: akabmaax

Average Body Temp: 100 to 101.5 F
Vaccines Recommended: canine distemper, feline leukopenia, rabies not necessary
Hematological Values:
RBC: 10.0-12.0
PCV: 10.0-11.0
WBC: 14.0-19.0

The Kinkajou's status in the wild is currently threatened, as Kinkajou numbers are falling as a result of deforestation and fur hunting. As a result, taking Kinkajous from the wild is highly discouraged, and Kinkajous in captivity are relatively rare. Most Kinkajous in the United States are the descendents of decades of captive-breeding programs. Hopefully with captive breeding programs such as ours, we can help save this special animal and help propagate the species.

Baby only: $2000-$3000

Other Costs: Shipping or pick up, supplies (as babies and as adults), enclosures (caging), toys, and food. Routine veterinarian services can include general health check up, vaccinations, worming, spay/neuter. Often a vet will charge more for exotic care than for domestic animals (cats or dogs).

Chances are the answers to your questions are found somewhere on our site. There are also questions we ask of you BEFORE we'll answer any inquiries. Please review our site completely, especially our Policies page.

Please remember that the animal health and husbandry information contained on this page is merely what has worked for us. Please realize that we do not claim to know all the answers about each animal, but can only offer you the best information we have based on our experience. This information is not meant to be a substitute for common sense and proper veterinary care. Remember that age, health, sex, metabolism and individual temperament can vary from animal to animal to dictate the proper environmental and nutritional requirements for each individual animal. Please use common sense and monitor your animal's condition daily. If you have questions, please consult your veterinarian directly if the health and welfare of your animal is in question.

This caresheet is just a beginning and is not intended to be your entire education about Kinkajous. There are so many things to know and talk about that we simply cannot remember to list everything you will need to know. We are also just one opinion, and you should solicit other opinions to see what others think before you make up your mind. It is your responsibility to find out as much as you possibly can BEFORE you decide to buy a Kinkajou.

For more information on Kinkajous, you can join these free discussion lists at:

• http://www.topica.com/lists/Kinkajous

• http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kinkajous

• http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PROCYONIDAE

• http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Procyonid_Viverrid