Maintenance and breeding of aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) in captivity: a review

Abstract

The husbandry practices of the 3 institutions currently holding captive aye-ayes outside Madagascar (Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, Duke University Primate Center and Paris Zoo) are reviewed. Information on housing, diet, oestrous cycles and infant rearing is included. Aye-ayes are active, nocturnal animals that are mainly solitary in the wild. They need large cages that are well furnished with arboreal substrates. Captive diet consists of fruit, nuts, insects and a pellet- or cereal-based gruel. Breeding of aye-ayes occurs either within stable pairs of animals or in pairs that are mixed only during the peri-ovulatory period.