Zoo nutrition

Question 1

What factors affect nutritional requirements

Answer 1

-> life stages

→ health status

→ Season

→ climate and environment

Question 2

What life stages are there

Answer 2

Juvenile - young animals generally require a higher energy, good quality protein diet. They also may need feeding more often

→ Adult -an adult diet must contain all the required nutrients to maintain a healthy weight.

→ Pregnant/ Gravid- females may need an increased amount of food as well as additional supplements e.g. calcium, Vitamin D3.

→ Lactation - increased amount of food, usually with a higher proportion of carbohydrates and calcium.

→ Geriatric - smaller portions, reduced amount of salt, good high quality protein.

Question 3

What are minerals

Answer 3

provide the essential nutrients animals need for metabolic functions such as growth and development, immunity and reproduction.

Question 4

What are concentrates

Answer 4

Concentrate feeds are specially formulated diets that contain all the required nutrients for a species.

Question 5

What are examples of concentrates

Answer 5

Marmoset jelly, primate pellets, herbivore pellets, insectivore mix.

Question 6

What are advantages of feeding concentrates

Answer 6

-> Reduces chances of selective feeding

→ Provides a balanced diet - contains all required nutrients

→ Can be stored for longer than fresh foods

→ Exact nutritional content is known

→ Developed by nutritionists to meet specific species’ requirements

→ Easy to use/ prepare/ store

Question 7

What are disadvantages of feeding concentrates

Answer 7

-> Can become boring for the animal

→ May lose nutritional value over time / if not stored correctly

→ May become mouldy/damp if not stored correctly

→ May not be appropriate for all species/feeding types

→ Unnatural