Mixed species exhibit ideas

[Jurek7]

Now would you guys think that a mix between Large Flying Foxes (Pteropus vampyrus) and Philippine mouse-deer (Tragulus nigricans)

It would in a larger aviary with enough space to protect mousedeer and their food from falling faeces.

 

[Jurek7]

I thought whether any animals could be mixed or pseudo-mixed with big cats:

LION, AFRICAN LEOPARD:
– Indoors: East African giant termite, possibly walking out through the bars to feed near humans on hay
- Indoors: naked mole rat below the exhibit underground (not really mixed)
- Outdoors: small fish, frogs and water turtles in the moat

TIGER, ASIAN LEOPARD
- Indoors: giant orb-web spiders near the visitor viewing panel, possibly coaxed to remain there by placing sticks to set their webs.
– Outdoors: small fish, frogs and water turtles in the moat

JAGUAR
– Indoors: leaf-cuter ants possibly walking in and out of the exhibit
- Indoors: poison arrow frogs, near the visitor viewing panel, possibly coaxed to remain there by a low barrier
- Indoors: leaf-nosed bats in a tree trunk with a way out very high. To check: whether cats can hear ultrasounds of bat echolocation frequency. This could be stressful noise to the cats.
- Indoors: goliath bird-eater and emperor scorpion in a cut-out hollow tree trunk (not really mixed)
– Outdoors: diverse small fish in the pool

Note: Big cats are known to catch wild mice and small birds in zoos. Several zoos tried to mix lions with rose-ringed parakeets, meerkats, yellow mongoose, corsac foxes and jackals during 2000s, but all failed.

 

[WalkingAgnatha]

I would fear the big cats hunting down the river turtles, especially if they were the larger species like batagur, etc.

 

[Mr Gharial]

I thought whether any animals could be mixed or pseudo-mixed with big cats:

LION, AFRICAN LEOPARD:
– Indoors: East African giant termite, possibly walking out through the bars to feed near humans on hay
- Indoors: naked mole rat below the exhibit underground (not really mixed)
- Outdoors: small fish, frogs and water turtles in the moat

TIGER, ASIAN LEOPARD
- Indoors: giant orb-web spiders near the visitor viewing panel, possibly coaxed to remain there by placing sticks to set their webs.
– Outdoors: small fish, frogs and water turtles in the moat

JAGUAR
– Indoors: leaf-cuter ants possibly walking in and out of the exhibit
- Indoors: poison arrow frogs, near the visitor viewing panel, possibly coaxed to remain there by a low barrier
- Indoors: leaf-nosed bats in a tree trunk with a way out very high. To check: whether cats can hear ultrasounds of bat echolocation frequency. This could be stressful noise to the cats.
- Indoors: goliath bird-eater and emperor scorpion in a cut-out hollow tree trunk (not really mixed)
– Outdoors: diverse small fish in the pool

Note: Big cats are known to catch wild mice and small birds in zoos. Several zoos tried to mix lions with rose-ringed parakeets, meerkats, yellow mongoose, corsac foxes and jackals during 2000s, but all failed.

I have a feeling that the cats will disrupt the army lines (idk what else to call them) and will both play with and crush the termites and ants. All the animals in separated terrariums will definitely work. Fish and frogs will probably also work fine

 

[Mr Gharial]

Since mixes with maned wolf and giant anteater work, would you be able to add them to a pampas exhibit?

Maned wolf
Giant anteater
South American tapir
Greater rhea
Guanaco

 

[Marie]

What about these two?

-Lowland Tapir, Maned sloth, and Capybara
-Greater Glider (Petauroides volans), Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo, and the Musky rat-kangaroo

 

[Mr Gharial]

What about these two?

-Lowland Tapir, Maned sloth, and Capybara

Should be fine, Lowland tapir and capybara are mixed often enough. As well as mixes with sloths and larger ground animals (With giant anteater in Zoo Parc Overloon)

-Greater Glider (Petauroides volans), Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo, and the Musky rat-kangaroo

Rat-kangaroos have been held together with tree kangaroos before, as well as with galagos and cuscus. Tree kangaroos have been held together with giant squirrels.

Neither of those are gliders, but it does mean that they're fine with quick-climbing animals

 

[Sphenisciologist]

This thread is for posting your ideas for mixed species exhibits. They should be realistic but don't have to exist currently.

Hippopotamus and Red-Billed Oxpeckers.

 

[DaLilFishie]

Wondering about possible tankmates for Spotted Handfish, I imagine sea stars (species would have to be carefully chosen due to risk of predation on handfish eggs) and other handfish would work but what about other small, peaceful fish like Pencil Weed Whiting? Possibly even Big Bellied Seahorse, Leafy Seadragon and/or Weedy Seadragon for an endangered species display? Ornate/Shaw's Cowfish could work but the consequences of potential pahutoxin release would be disastrous for a species as endangered as Spotted Handfish.

 

[Ztlabraptor211]

Could cheetah's mix with giraffes, assuming the giraffes aren't breeding? I know a cheetah doesn't stand a chance against a full grown giraffe but would they test their luck and end up getting injured by a giraffe defending itself?

 

[Mr Gharial]

Could cheetah's mix with giraffes, assuming the giraffes aren't breeding? I know a cheetah doesn't stand a chance against a full grown giraffe but would they test their luck and end up getting injured by a giraffe defending itself?

Giraffes would definitely attack or trample the cheetahs

 

[Strix]

Could cheetah's mix with giraffes, assuming the giraffes aren't breeding? I know a cheetah doesn't stand a chance against a full grown giraffe but would they test their luck and end up getting injured by a giraffe defending itself?

Giraffes are very skittish animals despite their size. I’ve even seen giraffes get spooked by creatures as harmless as zebras and ostriches, so whether or not the cheetah tried to hunt them, it would not be a safe mix. Edit: Cross-posted with Mr Gharial! Their point applies too.

 

[Marie]

Does anyone think this would work?

Raccoon and Virginia Opossum
Nine-Banded Armadillo and Striped Skunk
Mottled Duck and Wood Duck
Largemouth Bass, Shadow Bass, Bullhead Yellow Catfish, and the Florida Gar
Sailfin Molly and Mosquitofish
Atlantic Spadefish, Ballyhoo, Gray Triggerfish, and the Knobbled Porgy
Pompano, Red Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, Pinfish, and the Blue Runner

 

[15399]

Sailfin Molly and Mosquitofish

I've mixed these before. My mother is a science teacher and used to do an ecology project that included mosquitofish (and a few other animals/plants). We'd often bring home at least a few each year, and we also had a few mollies in the same tank. Unfortunately the curriculum changed a few years ago so no fish anymore. I don't think they were sailfins, but close enough that I'm sure they would mix together fine.

 

[Mr Gharial]

Does anyone think this would work?

Raccoon and Virginia Opossum
Nine-Banded Armadillo and Striped Skunk

Raccoon and Virginia opossum shouldn't bother each other

I've seen mixes of Six-banded armadillo and striped skunk, so nine-banded should be fine

 

[Mr Gharial]

How about
-Madagascan big-headed turtle (Erymnochelys madagascariensis)
-Pinstripe Damba (Paretroplus menarambo)
-Mangarahara Cichlid (Ptychochromis insolitus)
-Madagascan Silverside (Bedotia longianalis)
-Red-tailed silverside (Bedotia geayi)

as well as

-Red-fronted parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae)
-Eastern rosella (Platycercus eximius)
-New Zealand scaup (Aythya novaeseelandiae)
-Australian swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus)

and

-Giant chameleon (Furcifer oustaleti)
-Malagasy spider tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides)
-Cuvier’s madagascar swift (Oplurus cuvieri)

 

[Austin the Sengi]

I have now decided that today would probably be a good time for me to show you all another batch of four possible ideas of mine, that I hope could easily be worth mixing the following animals both successfully and feasibly long term.

And also, I would certainly appreciate everyone’s response to this post if possible. So please do feel free to give out any of your ideas and opinions whenever it is necessary. But now here are my current ideas as of late: (June 2021)

(01): - Sitatungas (Tragelaphus spekii) and Northern Talapoins (Miopithecus ogouensis) in a spacious and guest-accessible walkthrough enclosure.*

(02): - Patagonian Conures (Cyanoliseus patagonus) and Elegant-Crested Tinamous (Eudromia elegans).

(03): - Northern White-Cheeked Gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys) with Asian Small-Clawed Otters (Aonyx cinereus).

(04): - African Brush-Tailed Porcupines (Atherurus africanus) with Straw-Colored Fruit Bats (Eidolon helvum) in a rather simplistic, nocturnal house-like setting.


* - means that only non-breeding individuals will be housed in this enclosure to prevent any aggression usually caused by either territorial males and or females that will attack anything else to protect their young.

~ @Austin the Sengi

 

[Haliaeetus]

1/ you need to prevent the escapes of the monkeys
2/ ok. I've seen several cohabitations Tinamous / Conures
3/ I would avoid the cohabitations between Otters and any other species
4/ ok for me.

 

[Austin the Sengi]

Thank you @Haliaeetus for your help. I certainly will consider a plan to keep the monkeys from escaping. But the general purpose of this post was to simply understand if the monkeys could be easily mixed with the Sitatungas or not. And also I will eventually consider a plan to remove the otters from the gibbon mix and will have a plan to keep them both separated from each other if possible. (or at the very least I will edit my post to say that the mix ended up being a no-go) And also does anyone else have any opinions on any of my ideas perhaps?

 

[Mr Gharial]

(03): - Northern White-Cheeked Gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys) with Asian Small-Clawed Otters (Aonyx cinereus).

3/ I would avoid the cohabitations between Otters and any other species

Actually, Otters are mixed with plenty of animals, including gibbons
(Other examples include Sloth bears, Orangutans, Red pandas, Langurs, Raccoons, Crested macaques, Binturongs, Muntjacs, Indian rhinos and Visayan warty pigs)

(Also giant otters with White-faced sakis)