How to Curve Kinkajou Biting Habits

Kinkajous are naturally mouthy animals, especially as youngsters. They will play bite. However, as they grow, biting pressure will increase and adult canines are nothing to mess with. You need to start setting boundaries with your kinks immediately.

Kinkatopia does not encourage any negative reinforcement with kinkajous (such as flicking the nose or pinning) at any time. I have found this species responds best to positive reinforcement and a mutual respect. This is very important. Kinkajous can easily lash out at you if they feel threatened, and they hold grudges. Negative reinforcement can damage your relationship with most kinkajous leading to constant aggression and a hands-off animal.

So how can you discourage biting without damaging your relationship?

Learn their “tells.” A tell is a behavior you can observe to preface what is coming next. Kinky, for example, wraps his tail around my arm like a boa constrictor. I know he is setting up his body to come in for a full wrestle maneuver. When this happens, I know to prepare myself to set some boundaries. I don’t suggest participating in rough play when your kink is frustrated or overtired, this can promote overstimulation … and then injury.

Set boundaries with temporary disconnection. This works best with younger kinkajous. If the biting is getting to be too much, stop playing and take your attention away from the kinkajou. Ignore them for a few moments and then return your attention. With babies, you can try saying “ouch” and then disconnecting so they get familiar with the association of the word. However, with adults, this can catalyze aggression. If temporary disconnection doesn’t work, try timeout … see below.

Set boundaries with timeout. I find the most promising solution is setting boundaries and using timeout as a deterrent. When play biting starts to escalate, simply put your kink back in its cage for a couple minutes. If they are engaging in play with you, they want to be with you; therefore, timeout is going to be a consequence to them. The idea is after you do this repetitively, they will start to pick up on the boundaries you’ve set with them. This takes time and consistency.

Enrichment. A bored kinkajou is a destructive and high-energy kinkajou. You can avoid them taking their frustrations out on your arm by keeping their minds enriched and active. Visit our enrichment page for more information.

Redirection. Replace your hand with a favorite toy. Redirect their playing onto an item they can really go ham on. You can even give them some treats to really reward the redirection onto the toy – this will encourage them to play with the toy and not your limbs.

Reward. Keep their favorite treats on hand to reinforce good behavior. They will start making positive associations with lighter play and utilizing toys as play partners.

Stay calm no matter what. Kinks feed off our energy and are easily overstimulated. Do not yell at, hit, or move suddenly around the kinkajou. This can startle them into biting harder or really biting to cause damage. Stay calm to avoid aggression.

There is no quick fix to biting. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. Hitting or yelling “no” at your kink will just provoke and upset them. Practice consistency and implement a routine. All of the above mentioned are suggested to be used together to train your kinkajou to be mindful of play biting.