Rescued Sloth Hangs Around Texas Pet Store

By Eric Gonzales

FLOWER MOUND, TEXAS (CNN) -- It's a slow day for one animal at the Earthwise Pet Store in Flower Mound. Sandy the sloth comes from the jungles of South America.

Pet store owner Deana Otis says she put her name on a sloth rescue list and eight months later, she adopted Sandy for keeps.

While you don't have to worry about a pet sloth ever running away, Deana says they are handful to care for because they can get stressed out easily.

"Yeah, they're good pets, but they're not cuddly. A lot of people think you can pick them up and hold onto them and have them wrap around you, and that's not the case most times. They're solitary animals, so they like to be on their own," Otis said.

And unlike a dog, you don't have to take a sloth out for a walk everyday. But it's that one day of the week when they do have to go that might be a doozy.

"In the wild, they come down once a week to urinate and defecate and they go right back up into the trees; they spend most of their time in the trees," she said.

Some sloths are legal to own as pets, but it all depends on where you live and, apparently, the number of toes your sloth has.

"Anybody, if they can get permits in their state, county and their city, they can own a two-toed sloth. A three-toed sloth is protected. Only zoos and those with special permits can have three-toed sloths," Otis said.

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