Analysis of the nutritional components of Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth Choloepus didactylus diets in UK and Irish zoos

Abstract

Two-toed sloths Choloepus spp. are poorly studied folivores and currently lack species-specific research on the nutritional composition of their diet in the wild. Some studies have been published on zoo diets; however, direct comparison between collections is not common in the literature. A nutritional assessment was performed on nine zoo diets of Choloepus didactylus from eight zoological collections across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Diets were compared against one another to test if there were significant differences in the nutrient content between collections. Analysis focused on average dietary provision per sloth for the following nutrients: crude protein (CP), crude fibre (CF), Neutral detergent fibre (NDF), Acid detergent fibre (ADF), calcium (Ca), phosphorous (P) and nitrogen-free extract (NFE), which is an estimate of the easily digestible carbohydrates. Zootrition™ was used to determine the nutritional content of each diet. Results showed there were variations in the quantity of food provided per sloth as well as differences in the nutritional composition of diets between collections. Browse is recommended for this species; however, only five out of nine diets (56%) included browse. Compared to recent recommendations, all diets exceeded the minimum protein content recommended; however, fibre contents were lower than recommended. This may be due to limited browse and leafy vegetable provision in some of the diets. Browse is recommended for this species because it improves digestive health, increases overall NDF levels in the diets and reduces the NFE content. Conclusions drawn from this study highlight the importance of further nutritional research and consideration of published guidelines to improve the health and welfare of C. didactylus in zoos.