Literaturdatenbank
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Steele, M., batten, A., & Plowman, A. , Diet reviews and adjustments for three species of tortoise, geochelone gigantea, g. carbonaria and testudo graeca at paignton zoo environmental park (abstract). Unpublished paper presented at 6th European Zoo Nutrition Conference.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich (30 Jun 2012 22:01:56 UTC) |
| Resource type: Conference Paper BibTeX citation key: Steele2010 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Ernährung = nutrition, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises Creators: batten, Plowman, Steele Collection: 6th European Zoo Nutrition Conference |
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| Abstract |
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The family Testudinidae (tortoises) includes 46 species in 12 genera and occurs in the wild in a wide variety of habitats including rainforest, savannah, semi-arid and desert environments in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate climates. Within the family there is a similarly diverse range of natural diets including strictly herbivorous and largely carnivorous species. Some species, particularly in desert environments, may go for days between feeds, whereas others will feed every day and many have large seasonal differences in food intake that may be important in triggering and/or maintaining reproductive activity in the breeding season. Despite this natural variety, in captivity all tortoise species tend to be fed similar diets on similar feeding schedules with little regard to seasonality, with the exception of hibernating species. Captive tortoise diets tend to be of a higher nutritional value than wild diets leading to higher growth rates, carapace malformations, earlier sexual maturity and reduced life expectancy. High sugar and lower fibre levels in captive diets generally lead to faster gut transit times and can cause gastro-intestinal disorders and loose faeces. It has been estimated that 40% of deaths of captive tortoises are due to nutritional ailments. Over the summer of 2009 we measured the dietary intake and apparent digestibility of three species of tortoise on the current diet provided at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park using standard techniques of weighing all food provided, all leftovers and all faeces produced. We also estimated grass intake using the bite count method. The diet as eaten was analysed using Zootrition. Where nutrient values of dietary items were not available in Zootrition the items were sent to a commercial laboratory for analysis, except for minerals which were analysed by the authors at the University of Plymouth. Faecal samples were all analysed in a commercial laboratory. We conducted a literature review of wild tortoise diets and recommended nutrient levels and developed adjusted diets based on this information. The major changes were the provision of a greater range of green leafy material, including browse but reducing the amounts of brassicas, increasing calcium levels and feeding only on alternate days for some species. After a changeover period to the adjusted diets we reanalysed the dietary intake and apparent digestibility. It is too early to identify long term health benefits of the diet change but short time effects which were immediately noticeable were an increase in weight of faeces, improved (more solid) faecal consistency and greatly reduced odour and increased activity particularly in G. gigantea while eating browse. The new diet is probably still not ideal and further review and improvements, including introducing seasonality and opportunities for enrichment, will be continued.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich |