Red Panda As a Pet – Should You Get One?

Are you interested in getting a red panda as a pet? Well, before getting one, there are a few very important things you should know about the red panda. This article will give you some great pointers on pandas as pets and whether they make for good companions or not.

Did you know that red pandas have a false thumb?

The Giant panda actually has a wrist bone that comes out of the paw, which looks just like a thumb. This is usually called a false thumb.

Important Facts

Their Location

While in the wild, Pandas will usually be found all across the Himalayas, from Bhutan to Myanmar, China, and Nepal.

Their Habitat Requirements

Red Pandas usually like to live at a high altitude, in forests made of lichen, moss, and dense trees. They are also known as Lesser Pandas or Firefoxes. This type of animal is the only species for the whole Ailurus taxonomic group and is a wild animal with a very robust body. Being a high-altitude dweller, it will have a hard time tolerating high heat conditions. This is why it won’t be able to survive in temperatures that go over 25 degrees C.

Body Structure and Size

This creature has a tottering page, a fluffy tail, and fur with brown and red hues. It is basically bestowed physically, having a very petite body structure. Its pudgy and short front legs will cause it to have a gait that looks unsteady. The usual length of a red panda is anywhere between 18 and 26 inches. This length won’t include the tail, which is also around 15 to 20 inches long. It will only have reddish-brown fur on the upper body, while the lower parts of the body will have black-shaded fur.

The weight of the female specimens will be somewhere between 3.5 and 6.5 kg, while males will weigh somewhere between 4 and 7 kg. Their visage will have soft features. Its alveolar makeup is pretty strong and it also has a solid head build. Its ears have an appropriate size and sit upright, while the eyes will be deep dark. It has a fluffy and bushy tail. The combination of red and yellow rings on its tail is great at camouflaging it against most predators. They also have a thick fur layer on the sole of their paws. The red panda will have no issues surviving in low temperatures due to its thick fur. It provides great thermal insulation for all the body, including its feet.

Its daily Routine

The first thing they usually do just after waking up is to clean their fur from dust. To do this, they will also allow barks and branches of trees to brush their bodies.

They usually speel on tree branches. These creatures are considered crepuscular and nocturnal by nature. This basically means that the animals will be more active during the night and right on the onset of twilight.

Eating Habits

When it comes to their diet, in the wild they will either eat maple leaves and bark, or go for some small birds, eggs, and even berries when these are available. WHat’s interesting about these creatures is that they will use their front paws for feeding and drinking water. They will grab food with their paws and then bring it to the mouth. When thirsty, they will also use their paws, swiping through a body of water and slurping whatever gets picked up by the paw.

So you should get a panda as a pet only if you’re looking for an arboreal animal that has sharp, strong, and curved claws, that it can use for eating.

Life Span

Although most of them will only live to about 10 years on average, there are a few that might get to celebrate their 15th birthday.

Breeding

New offspring will usually come to life during spring and summer. Although there will be some fluctuations in the final number of days, the gestation period will be somewhere around 145 days. The babies will live next to their mother in the nest for the first 3 months, before starting an independent life. The usual litter will have 1 to 4 babies.

Need For Protection

The main reasons behind a decline in the population of this species are loss of habitat and poaching. It has gotten to the point in which red pandas had to be listed as endangered species on the ICUN’s red list status. The decrease has been so violent in the last decades that scientists have pointed out that this species might disappear completely.

Can Pandas Be Kept As Pets?

So can you actually keep a red panda as a pet? This creature can’t be kept as a pet, although it is very cute and fluffy. Being an endangered species, you have really clear rules that prevent you from owning one and interfering with its habitat.