In order to keep terrarium pets healthy, it is vital that they are fed in accordance with the needs of their particular species. This is the only way to avoid deficiencies e.g. rickets or illnesses caused by malnutrition (fatty liver, renal gout). It is important to know the natural eating habits of the animals in order to provide a balanced diet. In a terrarium, many omnivores or opportunists especially like to eat types of food which they would rarely find in the wild, or only at certain times of the year.
For example, some herbivores will also eat live food. If terrarium pets are given fully atypical food, for example, toast bread soaked in milk, cooked pasta, minced meat or cat food, a surprising number are certain to greedily devour this. However, not everything that the terrarium animals like to eat is good for their health. The reason why large common iguana do not eat cat food in the rainforest is not that the tins are hard to open, but simply because there is none there. Simply giving the animals their favourite food (he just loves to eat it) for convenience or out of excessive care is the wrong way to feed.
À quelle fréquence donner de la nourriture ?
There is no simple general answer to this question. The amount of food to give per meal and the intervals between feeds can vary widely according to the species. Of course, young animals usually need to be fed daily in the first few weeks, whereas adults only have to be fed 2-3 times a week. Depending on their age, snakes only need food at very long intervals, whereas the small colourful tree-climbing frogs (Dendrobatidae) develop serious problems after only a few days without food. The amount of food given should also be suitable for the pet. Many animals eat ahead so-to-speak so they will be ready for the annual dry season in their natural habitat when food becomes scarce. Of course, they are not aware that there will be no food shortage in the terrarium and, as a result, do not stop eating ahead when their owner constantly feeds them too generously. This is why desert animals are at a far greater risk of developing fatty degeneration than rainforest animals. Overfed animals become sluggish, their sex organs may become fatty, leading to sterility, or they may even die from organ failure, e.g. when their liver stops functioning because too much fat has been stored.
Nourriture pour « mangeurs d'animaux »
Most terrarium animals are “animal eaters”, so-called because they eat whole, live animals. As they are “programmed” to particular stimuli, such as the movement of the live food or, in the case of snakes, the warmth of the small mammal or bird serving as the victim, they can rarely be trained to accept substitute food, with few exceptions. Snakes can often be successfully brought to accept dead prey if it is warmed to 37-40 °C (microwave) before being offered as food.
Nowadays, specialist pet shops offer a wide range of live food animals e.g. small mammals, grasshoppers, cockroaches, crickets, house crickets, flies, fruit flies, springtails, worms, mosquito larvae, wax worms or crustaceans. Compared with the vast range available in the wild, this is still a very moderate selection. To avoid deficiency symptoms, the type of food animals purchased should be changed frequently instead of buying just one kind. Last, but not least, the food animals that are purchased should be improved by feeding with high-grade food prior to being fed to your terrarium pets. This can be done by feeding them up with high-grade food mixtures such as JBL TerraCrick , du son, des herbes, des fruits, des légumes, des minéraux et donc « remplies », ce qui va améliorer significativement leur valeur nutritionnelle. Attention ! Il est IMPOSSIBLE de reconnaître la valeur nutritionnelle des animaux alimentaires de l'extérieur. Les herbes, minéraux et autres fibres qu‘un grillon mange avant d‘être lui-même dévoré, sont en effet ingérés indirectement, en même temps que l'insecte « rempli», par le mangeur d'animaux qui dédaigne normalement la nourriture végétarienne. Si vous ne voulez pas toucher aux animaux alimentaires et ne pas risquer d'avoir vos doigts dans la zone dangereuse lorsque les animaux vont happer la nourriture, vous pouvez distribuer la nourriture en toute sécurité à l'aide d'une longue pince JBL PROSCAPE TOOLS P STRAIGHT or JBL PROSCAPE TOOLS P SLIM LINE ) to offer the live feed.
En été, vous avez aussi la possibilité d'élargir avantageusement le menu des mangeurs d'insectes avec du plancton des prés que vous attraperez vous-même. On évitera bien sûr la capture sur des parcelles dédiées à l'agriculture intensive, par exemple après l'épandage d'herbicides ou autres produits. Vous remettrez aussi en liberté les insectes protégés. Procurez-vous la permission du propriétaire des lieux pour vous épargner des ennuis.
Nourriture pour végétariens
Les animaux exclusivement ou majoritairement végétariens, tels que les iguanes verts, les chuckwallas ou les tortues terrestres européennes, doivent aussi être nourris en terrarium avec des herbes sauvages (dont pissenlit, trèfle, plantain lancéolé), des salades et des plantules diverses, des légumes hachés ou encore des mélanges d'herbes séchées ou des granulés de paille et de luzerne. Avec JBL Iguvert pour les iguanes JBL Agivert ainsi que JBL Herbil pour les tortues terrestres, JBL propose trois aliments prêts à l'emploi de grande qualité pour les animaux de terrarium herbivores. Ces aliments ne contiennent volontairement que des ingrédients végétaux à teneur élevée en fibres et peu de protéines. D'autre part, on peut également donner aux lézards fouette-queue des graines diverses, que l'on achètera, par exemple, au rayon nourriture pour oiseaux. En règle générale, les animaux purement herbivores ont besoin d'une nourriture pauvre en protéines, mais riche en fibres pour rester en bonne santé.
