International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management

problems and abnormalities that develop when enclosures do not provide the recommended
conditions above. It is necessary that any enclosure, whether it is already in use or not, that
does not provide at least the recommended minimum requirements be modified so that it
does. I.e. this applies to any enclosure, whether it is already constructed and giant otters are
being kept in it or the enclosure is being designed or modified to hold P. brasiliensis in the
future.
A significant amount of water will always be tracked, carried, or splashed onto the land by the
otters. Continually very damp or wet surfaces are caused by not enough land area because
of inappropriate land to water ratios, substrates depths that are below the recommended
minimum depth, or inappropriate substrate types or qualities (esp. hard or artificial
surfaces, poor draining/slow drying soil, mulch bark pieces that have broken into small pieces
and packed down). Surfaces also remain very damp or wet when there is not enough land
area bordering and extending away from the water’s edge, more land area is exposed to
the water’s edge than recommended, inappropriate water area contour lines are used, or
nestboxes, dens, or areas for natural underground dens are located too close to the water.
Nestboxes (including bedding substrates), dens, and natural underground dens, as well as
a significant proportion of the other land/floor areas, can remain very damp or wet when
any of the inappropriate enclosure conditions aforementioned exist. Note: wet or damp
conditions can occur easily and rapidly or become worsened from rain or high humidity, esp.
extended periods. Daily enclosure cleaning with water is not necessary when the recommended
substrates are offered, but when unsuitable substrates are offered (e.g. hard surfaces) this form
of cleaning can cause land areas to remain damp/wet.
Surfaces will not remain dry enough when an insufficient amount of land area, because of an
inappropriate land to water area ratio, is offered. It is important to note that the smaller the
amount of land area available, the more difficult it is to keep the land dry. This is one crucial
factor that determines land to water ratios for enclosures. It is also just one reason why land
area percentages (in the land to water ratio) must be increased proportionately and water area
percentages must be decreased proportionately, as the enclosure size is decreased below 240 m 2
(2,583 ft²). When more sides of the enclosure land area than recommended are bordered by and
therefore exposed to water, a large amount of land will remain wet/very damp. In these
situations, esp. when enclosures are smaller than 240m² (2,583.4 ft²), otters will not be provided
with enough dry land. When the otters’ water area is bordered only by small areas/thin strips of
land or not enough land area that extends in width in the direction leading away from the
water’s edge (i.e. less than 5 m [16 ft] in width), this land will remain wet/very damp. When
enclosures are smaller than 240m² (2,583.4 ft²) in size, long water area contour lines/edges can
also create insufficient amounts of land area that extend behind the water. When long water
area contour lines/edges are used in enclosures that are smaller or somewhat larger than 75 m 2
(807.3 ft²) a large amount of land will remain wet/very damp, because not enough land area will
extend behind the water’s edge. As well, with long contour lines in both situations above, a
large amount of land area will be exposed to carried/tracked in water.
Substrates that are hard, poor draining, slow drying, non-absorbent, or artificial can also remain
very damp or wet. These substrates include: concrete, cement, tile, artificial or natural rockwork,
bricks, gunnite, wood, and poor draining or slow drying soil (with/without vegetation). (When
otters are directly exposed to more than a small area of these land and floor substrates within
their indoor and outdoor enclosures, these substrates are called “inappropriate substrates” within
this manual.) E.g. even after continual use (i.e. regular digging and grooming throughout the
entire enclosure and digging away large areas of vegetation/turf and exposure to water), soil (and
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