Genetta pardina

[kodakira]

Thought I had better introduce our Genets. We have had them quite a few weeks now but like to wait and make sure they are all ok before posting.

We have 6 unrelated Genets ( 3 male and 3 female ) that have been kept together for a long period of time. They have all got on well together with no problems whatsoever. It does appear that one pair has bonded though.

This pair has been placed by themselves in an enclosure and the other 4 remain together to see if they pair up.

The are not tame as in they can be picked up but they do not mind being stroked. The previous owner spent a lot of time to try and tame them down. They are also quite active during the day which is a plus.

Here are a couple of pics

Best Wishes

Neil & Debra

[Martin B]

Where have all these amazing animal just popped up from?

Great pictures, they look wonderful.

Any names for them yet?

Best Wishes,

Martin

[kodakira]

Hi Martin

Currently trying to name them now

They are amazing animals to watch.

Again these are omnivorous and feed on a wide selection of fods.

Best Wishes

Neil

[Pouchie]

wow these are so rare!!! they look very different to the tigrina.

[jerboa]

very very nice Neil. Have you got them in the house? I missed out on an incredibly tame genet last year and am still kicking myself!!!

[kodakira]

Hi Helen ( again )

No they are not in the house.

They are litter trained but have never been in a house before. Therefore we felt it better to keep them in an outbuilding.

Best Wishes

Neil

[skunkwish]

Gorgeous !

Nothing like new animal pictures to go ga ga over.

Best wishes

Karen

[jerboa]

Sounds like a sensible the plan. The youngster I missed out on had been born and raised in a home environment - amazing and certainly something I'd hope to find again in the future... Beautiful beautiful animals

[kodakira]

It would be really nice to breed the Genets and handle the babies from a young but safe age so as to see what they would be like as house pets.

From all accounts they do make good house pets from reading American accounts.

We shall see though

Neil

[jerboa]

I will look back through me emails and see if I can see what species she was... Would be interesting to know if different species differ in suitability for taming...

[TamanduaGirl]

I've actually heard a lot of bad out comes with house pet genetts in the US. They are so high strung sometimes something as simple as moving the furniture can have them turn on you. They do not except new animals into the house. They really do better as most of you keep them, more like zoo animals to mostly be watched with their own enclosure. I've heard some good stories too but they can be pretty touchy to try and make house pets of.

[ForeverHams]

They are gorgeous! very striking markings! I hadnt heard of Genetta pardina until reading this thread, although i have never seen this species in the flesh, from the photographs you can tell how different they look to the other species.

That picture with the four of them is amazing, never heard of anyone having a group like that, must be fab to see the interactions between them.

Will be interesting to see what your experiences are with taming them if you try it!

[kodakira]

We will be having a go at taming the babies to see what they are like as house pets, but for our benfit only.

We would not pass potential problems on to other people by selling them for house pets until we have assessed them for ourselves. One reason why we would never breed Raccoons as we don't believe they are for everyone as a house animal.

Best Wishes

Neil

[TamanduaGirl]

That's good to hear. And being a different species they may just make better pets.

[Pouchie]

I found taming adult Genets in an outdoor enclosure extremely slow going as they are very shy in there.

I tried bringing Kanu in the house and he tamed much more quickly.

He sleeps on the top shelf in a ferret cage during the day and doesn't budge. He comes out at night and is an absolute pleasure to watch as he teleports, slinks around, investigates everything, climbs with ease and periscopes like a rabbit.

Yes he is flighty and would run off at any movement but he certainly would not bite if spooked. He would only bite if touched/ picked up but then he is not tame so this is his natural disposition we are talking about.

I find that especially if I sit still and the lights are out - Kanu is very bold & confident in the dark and will even jump up on me while I sit on the sofa.

Do they make good house pets? Well they smell bad so thats something to get used to but I think a handled kit could make a great housepet SO LONG as the owner is not expecting a cat and has enough respect for what they are sharing their lives with. With a lot of patience I have found Genets extremely rewarding.

Its not great but I have put a bit of video clip on the end of here viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1667&p=20494#p20494

[Basilbrush]

Absolutely mesmerising Neil. You must be absolutely delighted with this little ones!!!?? How long have you had them for and from what age did you get them?? Better than watching telly I bet, LOL???

Cannot wait to hear about their behaviour, natural instincts, etc., etc?? Photos, more photos of course.

Good luck with them Neil.

Jules

[jerboa]

Do they make good house pets? Well they smell bad so thats something to get used to

Bad? How bad? Wet dog bad? Ferret bad? Worse?

[Pouchie]

They use Genet civet to make the base for perfumes. It gets to your throat like skunk spray.

Its as bad as a skunk litter tray maybe worse.

They do not smell bad in themselves, its the spray, pee & poop that is enough to knock you out.

[jerboa]

h'mmm outdoors is starting to look like a better option again!

How much space do you provide in their enclosures if that's not too cheeky a question?

[Pouchie]

Mines 12 x 6

[jerboa]

Thanks! Appreciated Do they have a big indoor area or just a sleeping area and how do you heat it? A plan is forming.....

[Pouchie]

a small 3 foot x 2 foot tiered 'den' with a tube heater having protective cover as it gets very hot.

we plan to add an idea i had the other day which is a tree trunk effect column with entrance hole half way up and heater in base .

[jerboa]

Ooooooh they would love that! h'mmm planning now.... thanks

[kodakira]

Quick update on the Genets.

They have really calmed down, even though they were not to bad in the first place.

They allow you to stroke them, they come to greet us at the front of the enclosure. They take food out of our hands.

They are eating well and take a wide range of foods including veg and fruits.

They now have access to the outside enclosure but as yet they have not ventured outside ( only a few days ). Bit of a shame as they have plenty of branches, tree stumps etc to climb.

Neil

[Elina]

Just reading that bit about the enclosure made me giggle. I still have a 20ft by 20ft outside enclosure Harry and Elspeth have decided they could not care less about . I however am sure your genets will eventually venture out seeing as they unlike Harry and Elspeth have not learnt the joys of the sofa, the bed and that wonderful thing called a bubble bath...and the fire place is quite nice, Oh and the T.V. Oh and CUDDLES!!! .
-
Elina

[kodakira]

Well its over two weeks since the last update.

The Genets have gone from strength to strength.

They are eating a very good diet and they have become quite tame. They actually come for a stroke and will take food out of hands.

However they still do not want to go outside. They have not even had a look out of the hatch as far as I am aware. A little trail of food has been placed from just inside the hatch to just outside but they literally take the food upto the hatch.

Hopefully slightly warmer weather will help them ????.

Best Wishes

Neil

[Elina]

I am glad to hear that they are doing well and even being quite tame.
Look forward to hearing more about them as I really like Genets but sadly I can never have any due to importing them to the states being illegal .
-
Elina

[TamanduaGirl]

There are still some in the states but they are really hard to breed so hard to find. I know someone with a pair and she's done great with them but they still never bred. She was hoping to get another(I think replace the male) and see if that works but it's really hard to introduce new ones, so who knows yet.

[kodakira]

A very very quick boring video of the genets taken earlier.



Best Wishes


Neil & Debra

[Kenizhi]

Hye Niel/Dbes, did ya get a new vid camera for Easter or something?

[shell195]

They are stunning

[kodakira]

Hye Niel/Dbes, did ya get a new vid camera for Easter or something?

Hi ken

No we have had it for ages, just remembered what it was for

They are stunning

Thanks Shell, we think they are a bit nice too

Best Wishes

Neil & Debra