Wild Diet

Analysis of Fatty Acid Profiles in Eastern Box (Terrapene carolina carolina) and Common Snapping (Chelydra serpentine) Turtles for Wild and In-Human Care Environments

Diets of wild animals are often more diverse and offer higher concentrations of nutrients than those of animals’ in-human care (zoos, rehabilitation facilities, etc.). Managing wild animals within human care facilities is often necessary, and we hypothesized that chelonian dietary differences within circulating fatty acid profiles would be reflected in wild vs human care data. The current study examined the...

Baseline Intake Study for Four Species of Primates in Captivity: Callithrix pygmaea, Nycticebus pygmaeus, Propithecus coquereli and Callithrix geoffroyi

Little information is known in regards to the natural or seasonal diets of primates. In captivity, nutrition can be an important part of preventative medicine and lead to an improved quality of life for primates. To better understand the nutrient intake of four primate species in the collection at the Philadelphia Zoo, we conducted an intake study over a minimum...

Comparative Serum Analysis of Free-Ranging and Managed Green Moray Eels (Gymnothorax funebris) and Relationship to Diet Fed to Eels Under Human Care

Green moray eels (Gymnothorax funebris) under human care are reported to have elevated plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations with associated development of lipid keratopathy (Clode et al. 2012). Nevertheless, serum trace mineral and vitamin analyses have not been assessed, and the complete nutrient content (cholesterol, vitamins, and minerals) of managed eel diets has also not been reported (Clode et al....