Who hasn’t asked their parents for a cat or a puppy when they were little? This is usually a very common trend, contrasting to asking parents for pet sloths. In fact, there are some studies that suggest that parents allow their children to have a pet to better develop certain aspects of their personality.
However, nowadays children no longer ask for cats, dogs, birds, fish, or turtles, but it has become fashionable to have other types of animals at home. Such as, for example, pet sloths. Yes! You heard that right! Next, we will talk about the possibility of having this exotic animal as a pet.
General characteristics of the pet sloths
Sloths are herbivorous animals originating in South America, which have adapted to arboreal locomotion in such a way that they have lost the ability to move on the ground. These animals live at low altitudes, in dry grasslands and forests. Their average lifespan is 20 years. There are two families of sloths, differentiated by having three toes or two toes. It measures approximately 16-30 inches. Although the tail is 1.5 inches. It weighs between 5-12 pounds.
Food and behavior
In their natural habitat, sloths consume leaves from up to 96 different tree species. Regarding their behavior, they are usually quite solitary. They meet together only during mating. Or when the mother raises her children.
In danger of extinction
As they inspire a lot of tenderness due to their appearance and their slow movements, many people want to keep these pet sloths. However, buying them is feeding the illegal trade of the species and putting its life at risk. And it is that being defenseless animals, traffickers tear the young from their mothers in a simple way.
By Jordan
More drawbacks of having pet sloths
On the other hand, you have to keep in mind that if you want to have a sloth as a pet, you will have to acclimatize a room or garden for them alone. In addition, they are worth a lot of money. Pet sloths can only be purchased from professionals and you need to obtain CITES.
