_________________________________________________________________
If you are very well aware and confident about needs and requirements of mongooses (space, family etc.) and can
absolutely guarantee the welfare of them for very long terms, caring for mongooses can provide great joy and contentment.
Mongooses are very social animals and can accept a caregiver as a full member of a mongoose-pack, which can lead to a certain
affection.
There is a highly regarded report (German only) about the successful keeping of Meerkats available at
'Erdmaennchen.Info'.
It is quite a challenge, to take care for mongooses in desperate need: In early October 2009 a cry for help from Kenya
came in via contact-adress 'www.mangusten.info'. Tanja and her husband Jarat found a dishevelled little mongoose
besides the road. They felt compassion for the unfortunate creature and picked the foundling up for proper caring.
As it turned out, it is a little 'white-tailed-mongoose', that was believed to have been abducted by a bird of prey.
After some time, the catch was apparently too heavy, so the bird dropped the cargo harshly onto the dusty roads of Nairobi.
Good thing, attentive Tanja found the animal by the roadside, recognized the black despair and took the kidnapped mongoose
in her care. A tender and loving care began: Frequent feeding - even at night - had to be ensured and many
hours of sleep have been sacrificed for the sake of the little foundling.
This raises the question of proper feeding: Aggressive and high-protein cow milk is hard to digest for a small
mongoose and could lead to severe digestive problems. Alternatively, the cow milk was generously diluted
with soy milk and fed every two hours.
Other sources report good experiences with puppy milk, which can be purchased
relatively easily in a pet shop and should be well-suited for small predators. Now and again, slight (!) massage
of the belly helps the animal to digest properly.
Good experiences were made with a syringe with attached rubber-tubing instead of a needle.
Thus the animal could independently suck the hose, much like it would suck on the tits of the mother.
An ordinary baby bottle did a great job as well. The bottle is not outfitted with a normal baby mouthpiece, but with a
stretched rubber tubing provided (medical: 'surgical tube', 1-2 mm in diameter). Again, the mongoose can suck independently
and does not have to get milk squirted into it's mouth, which could cause to throw up, or taking too much
air, which impairs digestion.
A hot-water-bottle covered by a towel was very much appreciated to sleep and sit on.
Due to the occupation of the foster parents, there was a lack of time and a proper solution had to be provided: Luckily,
after intense search in the suburbs of Nairobi, they found Angie and Jim, who already have experiences with the breeding
of various small mammals.
The future for small 'Nanji' (Swahili for 'security') is uncertain but not hopeless at all: Critical weeks lie ahead
until Nanji will have fully recovered from his ordeal on the roads. But thanks to great care of foster parents Tanja and Jarat,
as well as Angie and Jim, expectations for the foster child are looking much brighter.
The estate of Angie and Jim provides plenty of space for fun and joy in particular because there are other foundlings
as company, too.
Nanji's long-term outlook is bright: Other white-tailed-mongooses have been spotted in the area and so there is
the opportunity to release Nanji into the adjacent woods into freedom.
The pictures shown here were kindly provided by Tanja - Thank You!
Back home, she cared fondly for the little animal and attended carefully to proper feeding and digestion.
Back to top of page