Loris and potto captive Care - Husbandry Information

If you buy lorises you are directly responsible for their misery and for the deaths of the many animals who do not survive the stress and bad treatment in trade! Even if you buy an animal in order to help - please consider that you promote trade and aggravate the problem by paying the trader. Poaching and selling of lorises must be stopped!

We thank all who helped us to show what happens in illegal trade by sending information and photos!

There was a discussion whether husbandry information for threatened wild animals, available via Internet, may promote interest in keeping them as pets, or whether awareness of problems and a possible increase of life span in captivity will rather reduce the amount of illegal pet trade. Any information allowing to verify this would be very interesting (mail-contact). Experience showed that lorises are bought illegally, even if the buyers have no idea how to keep them, so at present the majority believes that longevity of captive lorises increased from few months to possibly about 18 years (their natural life-span) will probably lead to diminished pet trade. If openly offered husbandry information promotes pet trade, this chapter may, in the future, be only available to authorized institutions such as rescue facilities or zoos via password.

Studbooks, captive management

Some printed sources

Fitch-Snyder, H.; Schulze, H. (eds.); Larson, L. (compiler), 2001: Management of Lorises in captivity. A husbandry manual for Asian Loridae Nycticebus & Loris spp.). Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species, Zoological Society of San Diego, Box 551, San Diego, CA 92112-0551.
Coworkers / coautors: Karen Worley, Lisa Bottcher-Law (Woodland Park Zoological Gardens), Janet Hawes (San Diego Zoo), Jackie Ogden (Disney´s Animal Kingdom), Ilse Stalis, D.V.M. (San Diego Zoo), Meg Sutherland-Smith D.V.M. (San Diego Zoo), Barbara Toddes (Philadellphia Zoo), Kerri Slifka (Brookfield Zoo), Barbara Lester (Houston Zoological Gardens), Helga Schulze (Ruhr-University Bochum).

Fitch-Snyder, H.; Schulze, H.; Larson, L. et al.; vietnames adaptation by Nguyen Xuân Dang and Dang Ngoc Cân, 2001: Huóng Dân Ky Thuât Nuôi Cu Li Châu Á [Management of Lorises in captivity]. Vietnamese edition of the husbandry manual for Asian Loridae (Nycticebus & Loris spp.). Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species, Zoological Society of San Diego, Box 551, San Diego, CA 92112-0551. Online edition in preparation

Editors of husbandry manuals or databases for other species may find some ideas concerning husbandry research and useful captive management information in:
Schulze, H.; Benirschke, K.; Doyle, G. A.; Johann, A.; Meier, B.; Wirth, R.; Zimmermann, E., 1998: A "check list" of possible items for prosimian husbandry manuals and research. Folia Primatologica 69, Suppl. 1 (Proceedings of the international conference on the biology and conservation of prosimians, Chester, 13-17 November 1995): 152-170.
Updated word file of this publication available on request as an e-mail attachment: mail to helga.schulze@cityweb.de

We thank the editors of "Ceatures of the Dark" (Lon Alterman, Gerald A. Doyle and M. Kay Izard) and of the "International Zoo Yearbook" (Fiona Anne Fisken) for allowing full use of figures and data published by them for other conservation and animal welfare purposes.

More husbandry literature

Some useful links to external websites

http://white.primate.wisc.edu/pin/idp/idptags.html: International Directory of Primatology: Taxon Advisory Groups, Species Coordinators and Studbook Keepers,
http://www.isis.org: list of species currently held in ISIS member Institutions
http://www.australasianzookeeping.org/Husbandry%20Manuals.htm - a collection of husbandry manuals within the Australasian Zoo keeping website compiled by Geoff Underwood

Captive care and breeding - online information updated permanently Husbandry information for Loris from Ruhr-University, general information (all species), updates	Loris husbandry manual - online edition: table of contents Fitch-Snyder et al., 2001 / Zoological Society of San Diego with additional pdf files for printing	.
Safety of keepers; handling of lorises, danger by loris toxin	.	.
Recommendations for construction of the cage itself Light, temperature, humidity		.
Cage furnishing and use, possible causes of accidents Substrate preference during activity period by captive slender lorises Substrate use Choice of sleeping places and meaning of different sleeping postures Technical considerations - artificial light in preparation	Minimum Standards for Housing Asian Lorisines Habitat design Temperature Levels Lighting Conditions Cleaning Cages	.
Behaviour: see behaviour chapter (under construction, at present only literature references and vocalization) Abnormal behaviour in captivity	Behavior	.
Determination of sex	.	.
Environmental enrichment: under construction	An Enriched Environment	.
Mixed species housing: in preparation	Mixed species exhibits
Judgement of wellbeing: see disease database: Behaviour indicating environmental stress Behaviour indicating social stress Judgement of behaviour: facial expressions Behaviour evaluated as a sign of wellbeing Behavioural signs of weakness or unwellbeing More: see disease database index	.	..
Nutrition Judgement of the nutritional state	Nutrition	.
Health: see disease database Special needs and problems of old animals	Health	.
Reproduction, breeding: in preparation Signs of reproductive state, estrus	Reproduction	.
Handrearing	Infant care, handrearing	.
Transport with consideration of stress problems	.	.
First care for confiscated animals, animals after transport to new locations and sick wild animals	.	.
References	References	.