Zoological Collections - Feeding Plans in Zoos

We need to calculate the energy requirements of each individual animal. We first need to take into account the animal’s weight as well as how much energy the animal needs to sustain its basic metabolism.

Many zoological establishments use Zootrition™ to calculate BMR on the basic of several different equations. However, it is unusual for a collection to receive an animal that is new to its collection that does not come with 

Many species in the wild spend most of their time looking for, processing or eating food. Captive environments offer only few opportunities for foraging and feeding. Many feeding enrichments aim to prolong the feeding experience by making the feeding experience by making the acquisition of food more difficult.

For example, Pygmy Marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea) can be given gum feeders, filled with acacia gum. This enables them to display species-specific feeding behaviours.