Vaccinations for Meerkat Pups
Posted at 12:41 pm May 9, 2008 by Laura Weiner
Our little meerkat pups are growing by leaps and bounds every day (see Laura’s previous blog, Crowd-pleasing Meerkat Pups). Last week was their first set of vaccines, which always proves to be fun. The meerkats don’t seem to agree! I have been training everyone to come into the back keeper service area so they are easy to catch. Every day I wait for them all to come into the back for their meatballs. They are all very enthusiastic about eating and will follow me basically anywhere. Getting the four pups all back there at the same time can be challenging.
Three run in, one is scared and stays right outside the door. Then one will run out and that fourth one will run in. It’s like they planned it!
The vet staff came down in the afternoon to give them their shots and their Trovan numbers. These are similar to the microchips people use to identify their dogs if they get lost. This time everyone came into the back well because they were hungry. I put my gloves on and one by one caught the pups. They are pretty fast but I quickly grab the tail and they are ready for their shots. They are squirmy little critters and holding them can be difficult. I hold their head with one hand and the back half with the other and press them against my stomach. The vet asked if I ever got bit that way. “Not yet,” I replied.
Each one was checked over by the vet, sexed, given a vaccine and a Trovan shot. We check their number with the Trovan reader and assign them an identification card that has all of their information written on it for the time they live at the San Diego Zoo. When each one is finished, I put them in a large crate filled with hay.
We have three boys and one girl. All of them are doing very well. We could not even figure out which pup had the leg issue in the beginning. One of them seemed to have a small difference upon palpitation, but it was barely noticeable.
Their next set of vaccines will be in about two weeks and we get to do it all over again. They are still coming into the back well, so next time should be as easy as the first.
Next time you stop by the Zoo’s Elephant Mesa, make sure to take a look in the exhibit. You will probably see the pups fighting it out on a regular basis. They are just trying to figure out their dominance. The funny thing is, the adults back down sometimes! All in a meerkat’s day.
Laura Weiner is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
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May 10th, 2008 at 6:22 am
That picture of the cubs is too cute for words! Is that a recent photo? Do they have names? I would not think you would be able to confine Meerkats to the zoo. I would think it would be in their nature to roam.
Moderator’s note: The photo was taken March 31, 2008.
May 10th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Thank goodness for those tails! Enjoyable blog. Hope the next time goes as well as the first. May you never get bitten! Keep giving those meatballs b/c it seems the meerkats will do put up with anything as long as they get to eat their treat. Smart of you to put the vaccinated meerkats into a crate, otherwise I imagine you might keep catching the same ones and the unvaccinated pups could elude you indefinitely. Guess there was a lot of noisy chatter coming from them as they got caught!
May 12th, 2008 at 6:49 am
I know this is off the subject but, does anyone know if the giant earthquake, that his China this morning, hit anywhere near the Panda reserves? I know I am terrible but, that is the first thing I thought of. They said in the mountains. Please advise????
May 12th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Thank you for the update — they are simply adorable.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Mmm, yummy meatballs! These little ones sound like great fun, and lovely to hear the latest about them. I know they eat mealworms (mealworm meatballs?!!) but what kind of meat do they like best? I’m very pleased to hear that the one with the bad leg now seems to have healed himself. Maybe he saw the Meerdoctor. Sorry, that was a bad bad joke.
Thanks Laura, enjoyed the read.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Hi Laura – Thank you for a very enjoyable blog.
Watching the meerkats interacting with one another is so much fun. This past Saturday, we visited the meerkat family and found them to be quite amusing. They in turn enjoy gazing at the visitors. We also noticed that the pups are rather fearless – not only do they scoot around constantly; we witnessed one pup in particular nipping the backside of an adult, who was lounging in the sun, and then quickly running away. They enjoy nipping and chasing each other around endlessly.
While observing, one adult meerkat was putting on a show for all of us. He amused us by climbing up and walking across the tops of the small bushes. All the while I was thinking he was going to fall through the bush onto the ground. No way, he knew exactly what he was doing. This was the first time that I have ever seen a meerkat performing this feat at the San Diego Zoo
The four pups are adorable. I never noticed one with a faulty leg – they’re all perfect and charming.
P.S. Hope the next set of vaccines will be much easier. Thanks for taking such wonderful care of these
entertaining mammals.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Hi Laura, what a great blog, Believe me you should have someone video tape these events and make a series of different animals, it sure would be a money maker. These meerkats are very entertaining and easy to watch. Thank you to all the keepers who take great care of all our critters
May 13th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Marie (#3); yes, there was a monster quake in SW China in Sichuan Province on Monday, May 12, which registered a 7.9 on the USGS Richter scale. The epicenter was in the mountains about 55-60 miles from Chengdu, China. The 2 major panda reserves, Chengdu and Wolong, were in the earthquake zone. Chengdu Panda Reserve was a little bit farther away, and they didn’t have hardly any damage, the staff and other people who work and volunteer there are ok, and all 60 pandas are doing fine. Wolong Panda Reserve was much closer to the epicenter of the quake. The updated news about Wolong was today, May 13, and Wolong has gotten thru the quake, but no one knows how much damage there has been to the panda buildings and other buildings on the reserve. The staff, volunteers, keepers at Wolong have not been heard from since the quake hit with electricity and landline phones still out, and SDZ has been trying to get in touch with them since yesterday. With the roads pretty much taken out or blocked by mountain slide debris, the rescue personnel has had a tough time getting into the region to start in their rescue efforts to save people that are buried in the rubble, and to get to Wolong. The news about Wolong came from someone calling by sat phone, and by Pandas International website. According to PI and other sources there, Mei Sheng and Hua Mei and the other 82 pandas are apparently ok, but won’t know the status of all of the 84 pandas until some people can really get in there. The baby panda cubs in the nursery areas were taken to a safer place until the staff can determine how much damage has been done and what needs to be rebuilt. Check back with SDZ website and the National Zoo website for any more updates about Wolong, ok? Hope this helps explain what’s been going on there up to now for you.
(Sorry Laura, but Marie really wanted to know about the panda reserves.) Now about these 4 cute little meerkats! That little pic that you took in March is sooooooo cute!! As usual, it reminds me of the Animal Planet program, Meerkat Manor, when I see a pic of these little guys! I wish you all could have a cam on these meerkats! They are fun to watch! By the way, to all of you meerkat fans, Meerkat Manor will be coming back on Animal Planet on June 6. There are 3 Meerkat Manor specials coming up on Animal Planet on May 25 and May 30 that will also be interesting. So, check your cable listings, ok? I’m glad that no one got bit by these babies! Grabbing them by their tails is a good thing, isn’t it?? Sounds like their favorite food are the meatball snacks! They just love their meatballs! In a couple of weeks, you all will have to go thru this routine again for their second set of shots. Good luck and have fun, you all! Have the other baby meerkats grown up now? Hope they are doing well in their group.
Thanks for a great update on the meerkats!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
May 14th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Pups are getting really big. In a few weeks, we may not be able to spot the kids easily. I’m really glad that they were able to grew up in their own family.
May 16th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
SO CUTE!! I was wondering do meekrats ever eat meat? And How do you tell meekrats apart?
Are there more than one kind of meekrat? PLeas answer my questions! I hope these pups grow up big and strong! Have you thought of the name Tamon?:) well hope to hear more!
Moderator’s note: To learn more about meerkats, visit our Animal Bytes section at http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-meerkat.html
We did have a meerkat animal ambassador named Timon about 10 years ago. He was an extra feisty little guy!
May 18th, 2008 at 11:05 am
To answer your question Aly, yes meerkats definitely eat meat. That is one of their favorites in their daily diet. Meat, crickets, and mealworms. As for how to tell them apart…that takes time. The four adults are pretty easy because they all have different length tails and scarring on their faces. The younger ones are more difficult. As of now I do not know the difference between them. I use their trovan (micro chips) #s to tell them apart for weights and vaccines.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:59 am
Laura, do those 4 meerkat pups have names yet? Hope so! Let us know, ok? Don’t forget about Meerkat Manor coming back on Animal Planet on June 6, plus the specials on May 25 & 30. More meerkat fun to watch on TV! Looking for more updates about the meerkats, especially if Ngami has more pups. Hopefully, maybe, she has learned how to be a strong, loving meerkat mom with the next litter!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
May 24th, 2008 at 4:05 am
Hi I am from South Africa. We have two baby meercats called ‘Mo’ and ‘Flo’ . The mother died and babies were found next to her. As we also have a bird farm they were kept in a large cage at first and they slept in the birds nest boxes. The are now only coming back at night to sleep otherwise they roam around in the veld all day. The food that is freelly available for them is crickets, earthworms cat pellets and they adore cooked chicken and avocado pears. They are also fond of Pro-Nutro a kind of breakfast cereal with milk. Regards Bonny
May 30th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Bonny (#13), thanks for your comments about the meerkats in South Africa, especially the 2 little pups that you rescued. Sounds like these 2 pups have done pretty well under your care, and that they are growing up. I’m glad that you were able to take these meerkats in and save their lives, and it sounds like that you are letting them live their own lives as meerkats should even with the occasional visit back to your home. At least these 2 pups know who their caretakers are! Hopefully they can become mature enough to start their own family groups of their own soon.
Meerkat Manor is back on Animal Planet! Watched the specials on May 25 and 30, and they were very good. The 2 half hour specials were about the film crew and the researchers from Cambridge University that have been in the Kalahari for nearly 14 years, and they all explained what they were doing, why they were doing the research, and why they have been filming these meerkats for Animal Planet for us to watch every week. These meerkats are fascinating animals and one of my favorites. The main Meer Kat Manor series starts on Friday, June 6, 9pm EDT on Animal Planet. I know that there are a whole bunch of meerkat lovers out there that will watch this program! I sure will!! Meerkat Manor-The Story Begins was a great little movie about Flower and her life from a little pup to becoming the dominant female of the Whiskers group. It was great! I think this was the small movie that will lead to the movie about Flower that is coming to the big screen sometime this year. Will let you know when I find out, ok?
Looking forward to your next update about the meerkats, especially Ngami. Is she pregnant again? Hoping that she has learned how to be a real mother to her pups now whenever she has another litter!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL