International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management

their normal daily terrestrial activities to their full extent because the outdoor temperatures
are too low. It is not necessary to heat outdoor enclosure (swim) water. During colder
temperatures and in temperate climates although, sufficient indoor swim areas must be
made available so that they can be used instead of the outdoor water areas. Caution
should be taken when otters are exposed to swim water when the air temperature falls
below 5 o C (41 °F). As a precaution, unheated pools (i.e. those made with man-made materials)
should be emptied at these temperatures. (It is important that otters can not jump or fall into the
deep areas of empty pools. Pools should be designed with these cautions in mind.) Outdoor
water areas can be heated when temperatures fall, although otters must always have access to
heated indoor enclosures, with the recommended conditions, during these times. It is not
necessary to heat swim water when it is located in indoor housing that is heated to the air
temperatures recommended. If pipe water is extremely cold when water areas are being
filled, it can be helpful to add warm water to the pool to temper the cold water.
When air temperatures become extremely cold, around minus 10 o C (14 °F), then the
animals’ response to outdoor temperatures should be closely monitored and it may likely be
necessary to limit their access to exposure to these temperatures to short periods of time. In
colder temperatures their outdoor access may likely need to be totally restricted. If an otter has
just been imported from South America or it is a juvenile or sub-adult (i.e. 6 months to 2
years old), it should be gradually introduced/exposed to colder temperatures (both air and
water), at least during its first fall and winter. Otters can then become slowly acclimated to
lower temperatures over the cold months of their first fall and winter so that they can be allowed
normal access (i.e. compared to other acclimated otters) to the outdoors throughout the
following years. Young individuals (i.e. less than 6 months old) should be kept out of
colder temperatures and parents should be prevented from taking them outside during
such conditions. Additionally, see the recommendations in the opening paragraphs to this
section.
Shelter from the wind, rain, heat, cold, and direct sun and the recommended land and
water area designs and locations (esp. land to water ratios) and substrate types, depths,
and qualities (all needed to keep the land area dry enough) must be provided in all climates.
Offering plentiful natural furnishings is especially important during the rain and rainy seasons, as
well as when it is very hot, sunny, or windy etc.. When natural underground dens are not
available, nestboxes filled with the bedding substrates recommended, must also be provided.
These will help to offer some protection from rain and other adverse climatic elements and offer
a small amount of additional/supplementary drying and grooming area, as well as, dry resting
area. (The recommended land and floor substrates are the most important and primary areas that
otters need to dry and groom themselves.) If nestboxes are not offered then natural underground
dens that are dug into hillsides/banks (with the hill designs and substrates recommended) must
be provided and they can serve the same purpose. [Note: wild giant otters do not collect
materials to use within their dens, they instead depend on the soft natural ground substrates
within their underground dens to serve as bedding (Duplaix-Hall 1980).] (See Section 2 for the
recommended substrate types, qualities, and depths needed for land and floors as well as bedding
materials for nestboxes. See Section 14 for nestbox construction and Sections 10 & 5 and above
for locations to provide nestboxes.) When otters are housed solely outdoors hollow logs (large
enough for entrance), logs large enough for the otters to lie on, deciduous trees, bushes, bamboo
stands etc. should be offered in the enclosures to provide additional shelter from the elements.
Logs, esp. those with bark, and hollow logs can provide a small amount of additional drying and
grooming areas as well as dry resting areas, as they are elevated from the ground surface and are
somewhat absorbent. Hollow logs also offer an enclosed space. Natural furnishings, e.g. such as
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