You know how everyone is always telling you to look inward and discover the inner child within you? Well. . . , I looked inward, and this is what I found.

General Attributes

• Life expectancy –I could expect to live about six years in the wild; 10 – 14 years in captivity.

• Sexual maturity – Usually , females mature when they’re a year old, males at 2 years.

• Progeny – 1 to 7 kits in a litter are usually born in the spring.

• Newborns –

  o 1 – 7 days – Very lightly furred – faint mask and tail rings. The ears are pressed against the head21 days – eyes open

  o 63 days many begin eating solid food.

  o 70 days baby begins to travel with mother

  o 112 days (4 months) weaned by mother.

Unique Skeletal Attributes

• Underneath all the fur, my skeleton looks like the one pictured below.

• Teeth – I have 40. My two lower molars are unique. They are low crowned with rounded cusps for crushing, appropriate for my omnivorous diet. I also have a bony palate extending beyond the molars.

• Feet – I am 5 toed and plantigrade, which means I walk flat footed.

• Penis – I have a unique bone in my penis which bends downward at a 90 degree angle at the tip. During copulation, it hooks over the pelvic bone of the female. By elevating my pelvis, I can prevent the female from pulling away. By sagging, I can "unhook".

Internal Attributes

Body temperature – 100.5 – 101.5 is normal.

Serum Chemistry	Avg. (+/-)	Avg.(range)
Total Protein gm/dl	6.6 +/- .8	7.6 (6.4 - .8.1)
Albumen gm/dl	5.5 +/- .2	3.7 (3.4 – 4.0)
Cholesterol mg/dl	258 +/- 58	121.6 (95 - 142)
Calcium mg/dl	6.6 +/- 3.0	7.26 (6.4 – 8.1)
Phosphorus mg/dl	5.8 +/- .9	6.64 (3.8 – 8.7)
Total Billirubin mg/dl	.2 +/- .1	.12 (.1 - .2)
Uric Acid mg/dl	1.3
BUN mg/dl	13 +/- 8	18.4 (14 – 27)
Glucose mg/dl	51 +/- 27	61.6 (36 – 121)
Createnine mg/dl	.6 +/- .3
Sodium mEq/L	147 +/- 4
Chloride mEq/L	115 +/- 8
Akaline Phorphatase IU	43 +/- 11	74.2 (28-135)
SGOT IU	114 +/- 40	117 (82-148)
SGPT IU	79 +/- 3	167.8 (55 –277)