Abstract
Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), are small, omnivorous marsupials which are currently increasing in popularity as pets and within animal collections such as zoos. The current range of captive diets is limited and is often unsuitable with regards to nutritional content which may lead to a wide range of nutritional disorders including nutritional osteodystrophy and malnutrition. This study aimed to look at the acceptability of a novel feed item produced by Dodson and Horrell Ltd® to a group of eleven sugar gliders. A comparison was made between the original diet, consisting of a Leadbetters / marmoset gum morning feed and a fruit / insect afternoon feed, and the trial diet, where a novel gel-based feed designed to deliver similar nutrient profiles was used in the morning presentations. No significant difference was found with regards to intake of either feed mass or nutrients (P>0.05) following the diet change. However, the frequency of approaches to feed and latency of approach were both significantly different following the change (P
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | BIAZA Research Newsletter |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |