Interview with Bob Cleaver

I would like to preface the following by saying that all these comments should not be taken as “gospel” and are all based on my own personal experiences and as such someone else’s viewpoint could be quite different.

There are three species of wombat in Australia – the Common (Vombatus ursinus), The Southern Hairy-nosed (Lasiorhinus latifrons) and the Northern Hairy-nosed (Lasiorhinus Krefftii). The common also has a number of subspecies. The Northern Hairy-nosed is the rarest mammal in the world – there were only about one hundred animals remaining at the last count and 70% of these are males.

There are some major differences between the common and the hairy-nosed. The main one to be considered if you are keeping these animals in captivity is that the common can climb and the hairy-nosed cannot.

Positives of Wombats as pets?
Great fun to hand-raise and become very attached to their carer.

Negatives of Wombats as pets?
As Juveniles very few. As Adults very many. They are very destructive to their surrounds and bite to communicate. This is what wombat’s do - they like to use their teeth.

Do they have scent glands or an offensive smell?
Wombats do not have scent glands but do mark their territory with urine and faeces.

What is their average lifespan?
Wombat - 30 years (the last captive Northern Hairy-nosed died some years ago at a known age of 33years). Note: this is an educated guesstimate.

Do they enjoy interaction?
I’m not comfortable with the word ‘enjoy’, but if handraised, they will certainly crave human companionship.

What is their general personality, disposition, and attitude?
This is an impossible question to answer as they are all individuals and as individuals are all different. I would answer this question by asking another. How would you answer this question if it were asked of a human being? The answer will be the same!

Are they sweet and petable, or mischievous and playful?
The simple answer is none of the above, but again this would be age and individual related. As young animals the wombat and the kangaroo could be considered playful, but not as adults.

How destructive are they for an average household?
None of these animals would be suitable for indoor living on a long term basis. They would all become either very destructive or smelly.

Do they climb or tear up furniture?
Yes to all the above, but particularly the wombat – they very destructive animals and will attempt to dig holes wherever they can and will certainly tear up your furniture.

Are there any problems associated with their claws?
No not particularly, but they all have sharp claws which can potentially inflict severe wounds, although I would not consider this to be a problem and feel that it would be by accident rather than design. The exception here would be the kangaroo. A full male can inflict fatal wounds with his hind feet if you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

How messy are their droppings?
Generally not at all – mostly they are quite dry.

Can they be litter box trained?
NO (but for the wombat you could try putting a litter tray at the point where they would normally mark their territory – for the others no). But then there are always exceptions to the rule!

Can they be trained?
NO, YES, MAYBE ??? but limited. Personally I don’t believe so - but they will train you. The exception here again, would probably be the wombat. Wombats are extremely intelligent and have the largest brain in proportion to its body size of any marsupial and would be equivalent in size to that of a dog. But as for training, I’m not so sure – like I said above they will train you, and believe me they are very smart! (Just as an aside – the Koala, which is the nearest living relative to the Common Wombat, has an extremely small brain, so small in fact that the two hemispheres do not meet in the middle. It is just, basically, an eating & sleeping machine).

How are they with other pets, larger and smaller?
Again this will depend on whether or not the creature concerned has been brought up with the other pet. If yes, then they should get along together ok, if not, then it would be a different story. A wombat has the potential to kill a dog if it (the dog) were cornered. (Through sheer power, strength and brute force, as opposed to biting or scratching).

What size cage do they need?
How long is a piece of string? This is an enormous question and has book potential. This is a subject which I am currently writing up as a four part article for this (and next) years’ issues of “Keeping Marsupials” - the quarterly Journal of The Marsupial Society of Australia Inc. To date there is twenty four pages of text and I have only just started on part four. To subscribe go to http://www.marsupialsociety.com.au/.

What do you feed them?
Another huge question. To try and put this in a nutshell, let me say that the wombat and the kangaroo should be fed a dry pelletised food of some description but be careful not to get one that contains too much protein (avoid horse foods, they are too high in protein and too high in mineral content). We have been using one, which all our animals seem to enjoy that is designed for goats. There is one available in Australia designed specifically for kangaroos but for some reason our animals seem to leave it in preference for the goat meal. High protein levels, particularly for the wombat, can, potentially involve some problems. They should also be offered green feed of some sort and a good meadow hay, also garden prunings are good but be VERY VERY careful that the plants you offer are not poisonous. Avoid grass cuttings from your lawnmower – if a cat has urinated or defaected on the lawn and then the animal eats the grass there is the potential for that animal to contract toxoplasmosis (which all cats carry) and is usually fatal.

What vaccinations/vet care do they require?
We have never had to vaccinate any of our animals for anything, but there will be times when the services of a vet are needed. The most common problems that would be associated with the kangaroos are things like diarrhoea, pneumonia, respiratory infections and mechanical problems (i.e. broken limbs, lacerations etc.). With the other critters, veterinary intervention would be a rarity.

At what age would it be best to get one?
Unfortunately these are not the type of animal where you just go out and ‘get one’. Most (if not all) of our hand-raised animals have been “rescued” and come from road accidents other unnatural trauma. However, animals that have been bred from these can be sold or purchased provided you have the correct permits. I would NEVER take a healthy animal from out of the pouch just to have a tame animal to sell. The only acceptable reason for doing this is that if there is either something wrong with the young or the mother has a problem. For example, some years ago we acquired an Agile Wallaby this way when an adult female contracted toxoplasmosis and had to be put down but she had a joey in the pouch (which was not affected by the disease). If you acquired an adult animal of any of these species it would be unlikely to be tame.

What kind of person should own these animals?
Someone with a lot of patience, plenty of spare time and has a natural affinity with animals in general. If you are an “animal” person they will respond to you but if you have a short fuse – forget it. These animals do respond well to kindness but not to anger or abuse under which circumstance they are likely to “hit back”. If you are not prepared to commit yourself for the lifespan of the animal then do not take it on in the first place.