Camels

Not all ZooBabies are small enough to sleep in the bed; however, this doesn’t mean they can’t snuggle! When it comes to the animals most people generally qualify as “exotic,” camels are unfairly overlooked. Because they are part of the Camelid family, which includes llamas and alpacas, many people believe camels are used only as pack animals. This is not the case! Besides being excellent for riding, camels are amazing companion animals.

Due to their high intelligence, raising a camel is very similar to raising a child. A camel is not only sweet, loving and playful—he is also stubborn, willful, and ornery. The better part of taking care of a baby camel is spent disciplining him. Not only is it better to raise an animal to be obedient, it is especially necessary when the animal will grow to weigh more than 2,000 pounds. Fortunately, it takes at least 5 years for a camel to reach maturity, so there is plenty of time to properly train a camel.

Camels respond very well to human body language and verbal commands. Using the words “hey” and “no” in a forceful manner works well with a young camel. It is also essential to physically dominate a camel. With a camel, a handler must simply always be the boss. A handler must take up as much space as he wants within the camel’s pen. This means the camel cannot be allowed get in the handler’s face, step on his feet, or prevent him from going the direction he wants to go. The handler needs to use his body to push the baby out of the way and he must use loud, aggressive language. None of this will hurt the camel; in the real world, a mother camel will kick her baby across a field if he irritates her. While it is not necessary to be this firm, a handler must always be ready to correct bad behavior.

Although discipline is a significant aspect of raising a baby camel, this ZooMommy places the most value on the baby-bonding process. As with every ZooBaby, his most important year is his first. A baby camel drinks 1 to 2 pints of milk every 4 hours in the beginning, with this number steadily climbing to a quart of milk or more within his first year. This means being outside at 2 AM every day, holding the large bottle at chest-level for as long as 20 minutes at a time. Heads-up: camels are messy eaters, and there’s no way to avoid being covered in warm milk and saliva!

Speaking of being covered in saliva, most people are aware that camels are known for spitting when they are upset. While it is true that camels do spit (and it is green, smelly, and disgusting), a hand-raised baby usually will not spit unless he feels extremely antagonized. I’ve raised or helped to raise several camels, and the only times I’ve ever been spit occurred when we were teaching the camels to be ridden.

Riding a camel is a wonderful experience, but it can be extremely difficult to train a camel for this! This involves teaching him to “kush” (pronounced like the first half of “cushion,” it teaches him to crouch down), move forward, backward, left, and right. If you find the right person to help you, this process can take as few as a day or two. Even if a handler neglects to continue the training regularly, a camel will never forget what he is taught.

Camels are extremely intelligent animals. They bond well, accept authority when it is established, and they learn new things quickly. A camel raised by humans will generally grow up to be sweet with a strong desire for constant affection and attention. He will always feel like a giant, hairy child to any ZooMommy who brought him up, and he will always want kisses and hugs!

ZooMommy

My dog helps me take care of every ZooBaby. He gets paid in kisses.