Developing a husbandry manual to facilitate the distribution and presentation of information: with special reference to Slender loris Loris tardigradus nordicus at Ruhr University, Bochum

Generally the practical information required for husbandry of wild species in captivity is not readily available in a single comprehensive source. This paper describes the sort of information which would be most useful for species management, using the Slender loris Loris tardigradus nordicus as an example, and provides a practical model of the possible form and content of a husbandry manual. A single, easily available source of husbandry data would be a valuable tool for all institutions and individuals which are willing to participate in coordinated breeding programmes, helping to maintain genetic diversity and increase the size of captive populations. It would be of particular interest to small institutions, such as zoos with limited staff, breeding colonies in scientific institutions, veterinarians and private breeders. Husbandry manuals which are updated at intervals using, for example, a subscription‐based amendment service or a database of husbandry information which can be accessed using a computer are both reasonable possibilities. Some existing sources of information for the management of Asian loris species and details about on‐line World Wide Web services, for accessing conservation information and species‐management data, which are in the development stages are described. This paper also presents some general information on minimum necessary requirements for successful husbandry of Slender lorises which, in captivity, are cautious but curious animals that become extremely familiar with their environment and react with excitement to novel stimuli. They are prone to both environmental and social stress, and stress‐related symptoms observed in the species, such as slow movements, freezing to motionless or apparent loss of fear in stressful situations, may be based on earlier learning and are sometimes difficult to gauge unless keepers are familiar with the habits of each individual. Enclosure design, lighting and temperature are all significant to the well‐being of the species. Slender lorises prefer to use the upper part of the enclosure, although they will use the lower area to avoid aggressive confrontations with conspecifics, and a system of branches and wiremesh which allows continuous locomotion with no ‘dead ends’ and furnishings that encourage locomotor activity should be provided. Because the species has a tendency towards adiposity and diabetes diet is a serious consideration. A comprehensive husbandry manual for Asian prosimians has been developed (Fitch‐Snyder et al., in press).