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ANSC20005 > 11 Small Mammal and Exotic Animal Nutrition > Flashcards

11 Small Mammal and Exotic Animal Nutrition Flashcards

1
Q

Order Lagomorpha

A

Lagomorphs (rabbits)

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2
Q

Order Rodentia (3)

A
  • guinea pigs (family caviidae)
  • mice/rats (family muridae)
  • hamsters (family cricetidae)
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3
Q

Why do rabbits continuously gnaw their teeth

A

because they continually grow; will protrude through jaw and spiral like goat horns

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4
Q

Domestic rabbit weight

A

1-6 kg (in cat range)

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5
Q

Rabbit nutrition

A

herbivores; eat largely plant based diets

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6
Q

Rabbit digestive process

A
  • hind-gut fermentation
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7
Q

Hind-gut fermentation (3)

A
  • rabbits’ stomachs and small intestines aren’t efficient enough to extract all the nutrients from tough plant materials
  • a large quantity of undigested food will remain
  • matter that can be further digested is sent cecum where billions of bacteria eat away at the material, fermenting it and breaking it down further.
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8
Q

Coprophagy

A

“faeces eating” - soft green faecal pellets are ingested directly from the anus
and broken down again, allowing for the extraction of many more nutrients

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9
Q

Why do rabbits eat their faeces? (3)

A
  • digestive systems can’t extract all the nutrients from food the first time it is digested.
  • during the digestion process, soft pellets called cecotropes are formed which contain valuable nutrients, such as protein and fiber.
  • Rabbits eat their cecotropes to extract these nutrients by digesting them a second time.

first poop is very moist and wet (a lot of nutrients in it); will generally never see it
- what we usually see (brown pellets) is their second poop

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10
Q

First faeces content (rabbits)

A
  • protein content 25-30% DM

- high in fibre and B vitamins

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11
Q

Fibre (rabbits)

A

stimulates intestinal and hindgut mobility

  • requirement 140g/kg
  • not just from carrots
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12
Q

Lipid (rabbits) (3)

A
  • improves palatability and pellet quality
  • increases energy intake without carbohydrate overload (veg oils, soya, linseed)
  • lactating doe increase fat >increase milk yield and increase litter growth
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13
Q

Minerals (rabbit)

A

Important despite the fact that theyre in small quantities

- Ca and P for growth, gestation and lactation

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14
Q

Too much minerals (rabbit)

A

Rabbits are prone to kidney and bladder stones (formed form excess minerals)
- high dietary Ca = urinary calculi

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15
Q

Why is it important to avoid high levels of alfalfa (plant) for rabbits?

A

Has very high calcium content

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16
Q

Vitamins (rabbits) (3)

A

BAKE

  1. vitamin E
  2. Vitamin A (beta carotene); not just from carrots
  3. B vitamins and vit K
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17
Q

Vitamin E deficiency (rabbits) (2)

A
  • muscle weakness

- myocardiac problems and death in severe cases

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18
Q

B vitamins and vitamin K (rabbits)

A
  • can synthesise their own (by microbes)

- requirement met from caecotrophy

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19
Q

Guinea pig nutrition

A
  • vitamin C (prone to deficiency in the same way we are; leads to scurvy and scorbutism)
  • picky eaters (neophobic; reluctant to try new foods, learn whats good from their parents behavior)
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20
Q

How to tackle neophobia in guinea pigs?

A

introduce experimental feeds early and gradually

21
Q

Vitamin C sources (guinea pigs) (4)

A
  • use commercial diets within 90 days of milling
  • cabbage and kale high in vit c
  • oranges/green pepper
  • vit c in water must be changed daily (oxidises very quickly)
22
Q

why are guinea pigs prone to Vitamin C deficiency?

A

a lot of animals can convert from other compounds but due to the deficiency of one enzyme in guinea pigs, cant break down glucose to AA

23
Q

Clinical signs of Vitamin C deficiency (5)

A
  1. swollen, painful joints
  2. . delayed wound healing
  3. haemorrhages
  4. impaired bone/teeth formation
  5. death
24
Q

Why is vitamin C required daily?

A

It is water soluble and will be excreted everyday; cant be stored

25
Q

Metastatic calcification

A

excess build up of calcium; common in guinea pigs over 1 year
- guinea pigs take that Ca out of circulation and begin to excrete it across entire body in little modules; deposited all over body in the form of calcified lumps

26
Q

what is calcium balance in guinea pigs?

A

not particularly the amount of Ca but the BALANCE with other minerals in the diet
- Ca might not be excess in terms of how much the animal needs but excess in relation to another mineral

27
Q

metastatic calcification signs

A

typically no clinical signs

- widespread tissue mineralisation (kidney, stomach, liver, heart, uterus)

28
Q

how to induce calcium balance?

A

by feeding excessive phosphorous or mg

29
Q

herbivorous reptiles (2)

A
  1. iguana

2. tortoise

30
Q

tortoise digestive tract features (3)

A
  • hind gut fermentation
  • heavily cornified oesophagus and mouth (lined with very hard, thick tissue; similar to our fingernails)
  • numerous mucous glands along GIT
31
Q

why is the oesophagus and mouth of tortoises heavily cornified

A

desert living animal; a lot of the food it eats is desert vegetation (spiky)
- oesophagus allows them to eat cactus etc without getting hurt

32
Q

purpose of mucous glands in GIT of tortoise

A

cacti are reasonably dry so the numerous mucous glands ease the movement of the spiky material through the gut

33
Q

hind gut fermentation (desert tortoise)

A
  • same as rabbit/guinea pig
  • takes a long time (14-15 days) to digest so that they can get the maximum amount of nutrition from their diet
  • the quicker the food goes through your system, the less nutrients you will be able to absorb from it
34
Q

desert tortoise hydration

A

not a lot of water in desert environment + eat dry plant material
- tortoises store a lot of water in their bladder, where it can be reabsorbed0(can store up to 1 year)

35
Q

tortoise dehydration (blood and urine)

A

able to extract water from the bladder back into the blood to stop the dehydration

36
Q

Carnivorous reptile- Salamander tongue mechanism

A

T-shaped tongue

  • doesnt actually roll out like in cartoons; arm of the T at the end is mobile
  • normally when it sits in the mouth, the T is folded back
  • when they project their tongue, then slap the T out of the mouth onto the insect
  • basically forms a cup shape and able to grab the insect back into it’s mouth
37
Q

Frog tongue mechanism

A

similar to salamander - rotate tongue through a pivot at the front of the mouth (anchored at the front unlike humans which is at the back)

  • slap insect with tongue which is covered in sticky saliva to trap
  • retract back into mouth
38
Q

Amphibians and most reptiles: swallowing

A
  • most practice inertial feeding; dont have the ability to manipulate food in their mouth for swallowing
  • moves towards food which is hanging in space momentarily; relies on inertia of the food
39
Q

Snakes: swallowing

A
  • a bit hard to use inertial feeding bc they have to move their whole body
  • snakes have the ability to grip their prey with alternate jaws, edging the prey backwards into the throat
  • able to dislocate all 4 parts of their jaw and use those 4 parts independently to bring food to the back of the throat for swallowing
40
Q

Ca-P imbalance in reptiles

A

Very common; not enough Ca or too much P, lack of vitamin D (essential for calcium metabolism)

  • depends on bioavailability of calcium
  • can use supplements (ground cuttlefish, calcium lactate)
  • Low levels of calcium in the blood is termed hypocalcaemia, and in reptiles most commonly results in a condition called metabolic bone disease.
41
Q

Bioavailability of calcium (reptiles)

A

ability to get calcium from food supplement; just bc somethings in a food stuff doesnt mean youre able to get at it
eg shell of insect is full of calcium but animal cant extract it

42
Q

Avitaminosis A (reptiles)

A

lack of Vitamin A

  • seen mainly in turtles fed poorly supplemented commercial foods (dried shrimp mix) and muscle meats
  • supplement with cod liver oil/injections
  • affect growth and cartilage development
43
Q

Signs of Avitaminosis A

A

swollen eyes, loss of appetite

44
Q

Avitaminosis B

A

b1 (thiamine) deficiency commonly seen in fish eating snakes
-convulsions then death

45
Q

Why is thiamine deficiency common in fish eating snakes?

A

thiamine degrading enzyme in fish deprives snake of vitamin

46
Q

Avitaminosis D

A

common in basking lizards and turtles

*vitamin D3 rather than D2 (humans)

47
Q

Vitamin D (reptiles)

A

-essential for Ca/P uptake; dont have vit D, body will not use Ca and P effectively; skeletal structure will suffer

48
Q

Vitamin D sources (reptiles)

A
  • reptile uvb lights

- available as supplement (issue is need to get supplementation right, need to look at mineral balance)

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