Considerations of a feeding plan.

Medication
1. Some animals hate taking medication, so as a way of getting it in to their stomach's, we can crush up their tablets and mix it in with their food so they can't taste it, or if It is a liquid then we can put it in their drink, water or for kitten's 'Kitten milk'.
Natural feeding
1. In captive, animals should still have the ability to show some natural behaviours whilst eating. This could be from a lion eating a freshly killed deer, as it will still be moving slightly and will still smell alive, to a dog in a pack in a house experiencing a fight over the food due to hierarchy.
Quality
1. Some animals have a weak immune system meaning they can not digest cheap food. They need good quality food in order to keep their stomach's happy.
Size of cut food
1. The food needs to be cut to the size of the animals' mouth otherwise they will not be able to consume it. For instance for the t they can not consume food wider or longer than their beaks as their throats are very small so they wont be able to swallow it and they will choke.
Chopping board
1. Colour coordinated chopping boards, red for meat, blue for fish and green for fruit and veg.
Amount of food
1. This is how much they get fed. For instance rabbits and guinnea pigs get 40g of pellets a day each, however this could be topped up if needs be (adlib) and they also get fruit and veg on top of that.
Right food
1. It has to be the right food for the animal as there is no point in giving a kitten adult dog food.
How it's presented
1. This is where you don't just put food in a bowl. For instance for the lemurs you could make fruit kebabs to make them work for the food, by climbing and getting the food off the rope.
Additives + supplements
1. If an animal doesn't want to eat it's food, you can add an additive of supplement to make it taste better making them want to eat it.
Preporation
1. This is where you decide if the foods need to be prepared the night before or if it is a matter of just grabbing it in the morning. For instance the lemurs need to have their food prepared the night before as then feeding time in the morning with be sooner, whereas the otter has a fish which can be grabbed in the morning from the freezers.
Alternatives
1. This could involve giving the animal sweet fruit instead of treats as it is a healthy alternative and doesn't make them put on much weight.
Feeding method
1. This could be given to the animal in the form of enrichment. Therefore food could be scattered around the enclosure and hidden. This could also be in the form of fruit kebabs for instance for the lemurs. I t is just a new way of presenting the food to the animal to help with exercise.
Diets
1. If an animal is on a diet make sure they are getting the correct nutrients however no more food than they are allowed to follow their dietary plans.
Allergies
1. Make sure you do not feed the animals anything they have allergies to, if not sure look it up. Most animals have an allergy to avocado.
Shape/size of food container
1. If you give a kitten a full grown dog's bowl full of food, the kitten will not be able to get to it's food easily
Storage
1. How is it stored? For otters in captive, the fish for them is usually kept in a freezer to keep it cold and fresh. Whereas the cat biscuits for the marmosets are kept in a container in the cupboard so that they are kept dry
Time of feed
1. Day or night, AM or PM. Due to the animal being nocturnal or diurnal. A hedgehog is nocturnal and an otter is diurnal.
What not to feed it
1. Most animals can NOT eat avocado because the substance around the stone is toxic to them.

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Considerations of a feeding plan.

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	Created by clemmie1uk about 9 years ago