ORIGINAL PAPER
Digestive physiology, resting metabolism and methane production of captive Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica)
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University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Winterthurerstr. 260, 15 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
2
Naturschutz-Tierpark Görlitz, Zittauerstrasse 43, D-02826 Görlitz, Germany
3
Leibniz Instiute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) Berlin, Alfred-Kowalke Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
4
Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS) – SGGW, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Department of Animal Breeding, Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786 Warsaw, Poland
5
ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Universitätsstr. 2, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Publication date: 2019-02-20
Corresponding author
M. Clauss
University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife,
Winterthurerstr. 260, 15 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
J. Anim. Feed Sci. 2019;28(1):69-77
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Limited physiological measurements exist for the digestive
physiology of porcupines. We measured CH4 emission in three captive Indian
crested porcupines (Hystrix indica; 16.1 ± 2.7 kg) fed a diet of pelleted lucerne,
and measured feed intake, digestibility, and digesta mean retention time
(MRT) of a solute and three particle markers (<2, 10 and 20 mm). Marker
excretion patterns suggested secondary peaks indicative of caecotrophy, with
MRTs of 26.4 h for the solute and 31.5, 26.8 and 26.2 h for the three particle
markers, respectively. At a dry matter intake of 58 ±10 g/kg body mass0.75/day,
porcupines digested 49 and 35% organic matter and neutral detergent fibre,
respectively, which is in the lower range of that expected for horses on a similar
diet. The respiratory quotient (CO2/O2) was 0.91, the resting metabolic rate
274 kJ/kg body mass0.75/day, and CH4 emissions averaged at 8.16 l/day and
17.9 l/kg dry matter intake. Accordingly, CH4 yield was so high that it resembled
that of a hypothetical ruminant of this body mass. The results are in accord
with general understanding of hystricomorph rodent digestive physiology, and
support recent findings that CH4 production may be more prominent in rodents
than previously thought.
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