Animal Biographies
Tier One- Novice
Screaming hairy armadillo (Rose, Axel)
Animal Facts:
Sex
Date of Birth
Scientific Name
Life Expectancy
Normal behavior:
Rose
Axel
Female
Male
1/13/2011
1/13/2011
Chaetophractus vellerosus
16 years
Screaming hairy armadillos are very deep sleepers and it may take a few minutes to get them to wake
up. They also experience torpor. When they are coming out of torpor they will tremble in your hands
and they will feel cold. This is not an emergency. They should be awake and aware after a few minutes.
Rose – Rose is a very friendly. She will normally allow people to hold her. She is friendly and curious and
will approach people when she is down and she will allow people to pet her. Rose normally sleeps on her
back.
Axel - Axel does not like to be held. He will scratch your hands trying to get out of you hands and will
sometimes scream when you pick him up. When he is down he will allow people to pet him and he does
not show any aggression. Axel normally sleeps on his back.
Signs of stress or discomfort:
If any of these occur during handling you should stop handling the animal and complete an incident
report:
x
x
x
Screaming - If the armadillo starts to scream while you hold them put them down. If the
armadillo is screaming during the program when they are down then put them away in their
crate.
Too cold – They experience deep sleep or torpor when they are in their enclosures. Once you
wake them up they should stay awake and alert for your program. If they start to feel cold or
shiver put them away and return to enclosure as soon as possible and inform a keeper.
Heat exhaustion – Armadillos have low metabolic rates and low body temperature to prevent
overheating. Screaming armadillos do avoid the heat by foraging at night and staying in
burrows during the day. In the winter months they will come out and forage during the day.
Because of this never have a screaming armadillo out in the direct sun. You have to find a
place in the shade. If they get too hot they will try to find a place to burrow either in their
bedding or under someone’s legs.
Abnormalities: None for Rose or Axel
Medical issues: Can include wounds or bleeding, coughing or sneezing, diarrhea, vomiting, discharge
from eyes or nose. Report any medical issues to a keeper.
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Animal Biographies
Rose – Rose has menses so it is normal for her to have blood around her vulva and there is
an obvious amount of blood when it is happening. There will be a sign on her enclosure
when she is in menses so you will be aware. If a sign is not up inform a keeper so we can
get a sign up. You can still use her but she will bleed when you have her out. You can clean
Rose off using a wet paper towel. Ask for assistance if needed.
Temperate guidelines:
Outside conditions
Sunny
Partial sun/overcast
Overcast/shady
Temperature range
N/A
70q - 90q
70q - 90q
Length of exposure
Cannot be out in the sun
unlimited**see below
unlimited**see below
**Unlimited length of exposure allows an animal to be handled for the full duration of a program or
encounter without time restrictions, barring any stress signals.
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12/5/2011