Proximate Composition of Milk of Captive Nine-Banded Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus)

Citation

Power M, Watts S, Murtough K, Knight F. 2017. Proximate Composition of Milk of Captive Nine-Banded Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus). In Ward A, Coslik A, Brooks M Eds. Proceedings of the Twelfth Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition, Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition Foundation and AZA Nutrition Advisory Group, Frisco, TX.

Abstract

Armadillo dams have a potentially unique challenge in that their pups rapidly grow a bony carapace, suggesting a high requirement for the transfer of calcium and phosphorus from dam to pups via milk. We examined milk samples from 10 armadillo dams, samples collected at days 1 – 6, 14 – 15, 33 – 38, and 49 – 51 after birth. Water, protein, sugar, fat, ash, Ca and P content were assayed using standard methods at The Smithsonian National Zoological Park Nutrition Laboratory, and gross energy (GE) was calculated from protein, sugar and fat.

[Power3] Proximate-composition-of-milk-of-captive-armidillos.pdf     89 KB