International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management

enough), and explore while under supervision. To promote healthy mental, behavioral, and
physical development and skills, stimulating enriched areas designed to fit the animals’ natural
abilities, age, and health must be provided. See below for the substrates and furnishings
necessary for these areas. When cubs grow out of large housing containers (e.g. when they are
around 2 1/2 to 3 months old) and are healthy, they can be housed in safe secure warm small
indoor rooms or in areas that are enclosed within a room. The rooms/enclosures must provide
lighting, adequate ventilation and proper humidity and temperature regulation. In addition,
these rooms/enclosures require enough space and the recommended enclosure furnishings and
designs found in this chapter and in Chapter 2 to allow for healthy development and a suitable
area for the aforementioned activities to be carried out. Chapter 2 describes the recommended
enclosure designs and furnishings needed and this chapter describes how these (esp. swim/wade
areas) can be tailored to fit the cubs’ needs at various ages. Following is only a brief description
of the necessary enclosure conditions and problems that can develop when they are not offered.
The recommended soft loose natural substrate types, qualities, and depths, deep digging area
sizes, as well as the land to water area ratios (i.e. the land area ratio percentages) are among the
most important provisions necessary to maintain the otters’ behavioral and physical health and
to promote successful cub-rearing and adjustment to new/unusual situations. These are the most
important provisions that are needed to prevent and significantly reduce or resolve the following
problems.
When indoor or/and outdoor giant otter enclosure land to water ratios offer smaller land
proportions than recommended or/and land/floor surfaces are not nearly entirely covered with
soft loose natural substrates (including appropriate substrate types, qualities, and depths) or
provided with sufficient size deep digging areas as recommended, physical and behavioral
health problems and/or abnormalities will develop. See Chapter 2 Section 3 for the problems
that can develop. E.g. the foot and toe pads, skin, and webbing on giant otter feet are very
sensitive. They become irritated (e.g. pink color on the pads or webbing is a sign of irritation),
sore, cracked, cut, raw etc. when they are continually exposed to substrates/surfaces that are
hard (e.g. concrete, tile, wood etc.), artificial, very damp/wet, rough, abrasive, or coarse (e.g.
pebbles, gravel, or small rocks or sand or soil with pebbles, gravel, or small rocks mixed
throughout is coarse). (Note: continual exposure to hard surfaces alone commonly cause
unhealthy foot condition, although additional exposure to very damp/wet surfaces worsens foot
condition or causes problems alone.) Long-term (e.g. 3 years or more) continual exposure to
hard surfaces can cause/pre-dispose giant otters to develop moderate and severe degrees of ongoing
walking difficulties/abnormalities involving their lower back and hind legs. Otters’ fur
coats must remain clean, shiny, and waterproof, otherwise animals can become sick (esp. with
pneumonia or enteritis), unhealthy, or die. When the following are insufficient: land area, soft
loose natural substrates, dry area, and/or dry grooming area, this can cause poor coat and/or foot
condition, infection, death etc.. (I.e.: not enough land area because of inappropriate land to
water ratios or/and inappropriate substrate types, qualities, or depths cause land/floors to remain
very damp/wet and health problems can likely result.) Mental/behavioral health problems or
abnormalities, such as the following, can also develop: stereotypical behaviors (esp. swimpacing),
non-goal oriented / non-directed or less-directed behaviors (esp. swimming aimlessly
without real purpose to accomplish something like exercise, play, exploration, interaction with
other otters, catching fish etc.), depression, dulled responsiveness, fear of change, excessive
stress, boredom, frustration, or nervousness etc., can also develop. Also, adjustment to
new/unusual situations and cub-rearing success can also be negatively affected or seriously
compromised.
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