Bandicoots are only found in the Australia – New Guinea area of the world. There are 20 different species of the Bandicoot and they are medium sized marsupials.
Lots of people wonder if you have a Bandicoot as a pet(see also: What Do I Feed My Pet Bandicoot? (Diet & Nutrition Guide)). This article will explore having these animals as pets and whether it is possible or advised. Read on for more information!
Does The Bandicoot Make A Good Pet?
Bandicoots are endangered animals that live In Australia. For this reason, it is against the law to trap these animals, and to kill them.
There are different rules in different states regarding keeping bandicoots in the home that have been born in captivity, so you would have to check the legislation in your state in order to do this.
Bandicoots are not the best pets to keep. They are very shy and are nocturnal animals, who hide away from interactions. This makes them fairly boring as pets.
What Is A Bandicoot?
Bandicoots look like a large rat. They have long, thin tails, a pointed nose and large ears. These animals are the size of a rabbit and they use their legs in a similar way to the rabbits. They sometimes hop around, and sometimes they walk on all four legs.
Male bandicoots are much larger than female bandicoots, sometimes being twice the size. The bodies of male bandicoots are covered with fur that can be brown, gray, white or golden.
Bandicoots make pig-like grunting sounds when they detect food. They also make snuffing sounds when they search for food. If these animals are interrupted or disturbed, these animals will make very high-pitched noises.
These animals include sheep, poultry and cattle. Because these animals often have close contact with humans, the bacteria can easily then transmit to humans.
They can catch this bacteria through inhaling airborne particles that are released into the air from these animals.
This is another reason why Bandicoots don’t make the best pets for humans. They can carry a bacteria that is dangerous to humans so it is very important to ensure that these animals are treated in a way that is safe for them and for humans.
Are Bandicoots Endangered?
The number of Bandicoots that there are is largely decreasing. This is the result of loss of habitat in most cases. Domestic cats, foxes and dogs have also caused the loss of many bandicoots.
Lots of Bandicoots are often the victims of road kill, and they are killed in fires. Indigenous Australians have been known to hunt Bandicoots, but this is very rare.
Bandicoots eat a lot of grubs and garden pests which is why they are so useful when it comes to aerating lawns.
Bandicoots are an endangered species in Australia, and it is illegal to trap and/or kill these animals. They are a protected species.
These animals are often chased by other animals, so they usually live in habitats that have a lot of places to hide. They live within areas that have thick vegetation, such as swamps, forests and thickets.
What Do Bandicoots Eat?
Bandicoots are omnivores. They eat other animals and plants. These animals feed mostly on insects such as ants, spiders, flies and worms. Bandicoots also eat fruits, seeds, nuts and eggs, as well as other small rodents.
Different species of Bandicoot will have slightly different diets, and some of the smaller bandicoots will be herbivores, only eating plants.
Bandicoots have not been domesticated, and they have a very unpredictable nature. If you attempt to handle these animals, they will likely become stressed.
They should be protected from loud noises for this reason. Unusual smells will also cause them stress.
In some situations, when vets are treating injured bandicoots, they may keep them in rabbit hutches temporarily.
How Do Bandicoots Behave?
Bandicoots live on the ground and you will not find them in trees. They are very territorial animals, and the male Bandicoots will defend an area as large as 17 acres.
When these animals are defending their territory, they will stand on their hind legs to make themselves tall.
All Bandicoots live on their own, only interacting with other Bandicoots for mating purposes. They usually build themselves a nest from leaves and twigs that they spend the day in.
Bandicoots have a very strong sense of smell, which allows them to find prey that might be underground. They are very good at digging up their prey which they can do with their strong front paws and nose.
When Do Bandicoots Reproduce?
At around 5 months, male and female Bandicoots become sexually mature. The females can have a new litter every 7 or 8 weeks. Usually, they produce around 2 or 3 litters each year which contain between 3 and 6 bandicoots.
These animals usually breed between June and December, and their babies are usually born after just 12 days, making it a very short gestation period.
Bandicoots are marsupials, which means that the female Bandicoot has a pouch on their belly where they carry the young for 54 days.
They are very underdeveloped when they reach the pouch, but they will become strong in the pouch as they feed off their mother’s milk.
Interesting Facts About Bandicoots
Bandicoots entered public consciousness when the video game Crash Bandicoot was released. This was released in 1996 for the PlayStation. Crash is a Bandicoot who has been genetically modified and has very unique powers.
Bandicoots carry (see also: Do Bandicoots Carry Ticks? (How To Deal With Them))their young in pouches until they are strong enough to enter the world. This is the same as lots of other marsupials. These pouches face inwards rather than outwards because the animals do a lot of digging, and this prevents any dirt from entering the pouch.
Bandicoots have the ability to switch between different types of movements. They can hop around on their hind legs, or they can walk on all fours.
Bandicoots have a very short pregnancy. It is one of the shortest of all mammals, as the babies are born after 12 days. They then spend around 54 days in their mother’s pouch until they are strong enough.
Bandicoots have their second and third toes fused together. These toes are used for grooming.
Baby bandicoots are called “joeys”. They are born at the tiny size of 0.5 inches.
The name Bandicoot comes from the Telugu language. In this language, this means “pig-rat”.
Final Thoughts
Bandicoots are not domesticated animals and in lots of states in the US, it is illegal to keep bandicoots as pets.
It is always illegal to capture a Bandicoot in order to keep it as a pet. Rules vary slightly when it comes to captive born Bandicoots, but in most cases they are not kept as pets.
Bandicoots don’t make very exciting pets as they are very shy and they are nocturnal.
Hi, I’m Olivia Kepner and I am a zookeeper here in San Diego. Since I was a young girl I have always been fascinated by animals and species across the globe.
I used to beg my parents to take me to our local zoo every single weekend. Well, I say local – it was more like a two hour drive away. But they took me as much as they could, allowing me to fall in love with the animals again and again.
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