# You can keep a sloth as a pet! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 29, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-keep-a-sloth-as-a-pet/657023 "2013-04-29T17:05:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-keep-a-sloth-as-a-pet/657023/1 "2013-04-29T17:05:42Z")
here’s the proof: It’s a clip of a sloth ----with a house cat, all curled up together. The sloth has 6-inch long claws and very muscular arms designed for gripping trees…but it very gently hugs the cat and grooms its face. Neat! (the clip is 4 minutes long, but you can skip a bit…watch do the first minute, and the last 30 seconds.) ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-keep-a-sloth-as-a-pet/657023/2 "2013-04-29T17:07:53Z")
I actually looked into this a few months back as my wife is nuts about sloths. They’re pricey, of course (several thousand, depending on the age/gender) and not too many municipalities outlaw them. The site I was looking at had a list of all places you weren’t allowed to own them and it was a fairly short list. From what I learned though, it seemed they were pretty high maintenance pets and could get mean. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-keep-a-sloth-as-a-pet/657023/3 "2013-04-29T17:19:21Z")
The other problem with exotic pets is finding veterinary care. I know a guy with a [Serval](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serval). Anytime the cat is sick, he drives 3 hours to go to the vet. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-keep-a-sloth-as-a-pet/657023/4 "2013-04-29T17:39:54Z")
That’s a Three-toed Sloth, which usually don’t do very well in captivity. However, the caption in Portuguese suggests it may have been made in Brazil, so the sloth may have access to a semi-natural environment. Two-toed Sloths are the ones usually kept in captivity, but are larger and more aggressive the Three-toeds and can inflict a pretty serious bite. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-keep-a-sloth-as-a-pet/657023/5 "2013-04-29T17:39:39Z")
That’s a Three-toed Sloth, which usually don’t do very well in captivity. However, the caption in Portuguese suggests it may have been made in Brazil, so the sloth may have access to a semi-natural environment. Two-toed Sloths are the ones usually kept in captivity, but are larger and more aggressive the Three-toeds and can inflict a pretty serious bite.