Prehensile-tailed porcupines are nocturnal South American rodents with complex arboreal needs. Their welfare in zoo settings depends on appropriate climbing structures and low-disturbance management.
Prehensile-tailed porcupines in zoos face welfare challenges from their nocturnal nature and strong arboreal motivation. Standard daytime exhibit hours with bright lighting force them into a rest phase that conflicts with visitor viewing expectations. Nocturnal house designs with reversed light cycles allow both natural activity expression and public viewing at the animals' peak activity period. Their strong climbing motivation requires multi-level exhibit design with varied substrates and enriched foraging opportunities at height. Without adequate vertical complexity and dietary variety, captive prehensile-tailed porcupines show reduced activity and stereotypic behaviour indicating environmental inadequacy.