Zoo database

Crested porcupine

Hystrix spp.

Natural diet Crested porcupine

Fruits
Herbs
Leaves

Crested porcupines are herbivorous rodents that forage during nighttime. Their diet mainly consists of bark, roots, fallen fruits and cultivated crops. Occasionally, it is complemented with insects and small vertebrates.

Feeding advice Crested porcupine

Feed quantity per day

15% of body weight

Sample percentage calculation

If an animal weighs 15 kg and eats 15% of its body weight, it will get

15 x 0.15 = 2.25 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

10% Concentrates
85% Other vegetables
5% Other

Proportions (fresh product)

0.1 x 2.25 kg = 225 g concentrates
0.85 x 2.25 kg = 1912.5 g other vegetables
0.05 x 2.25 kg = 112.5 g other

Diet suggestions

In moderation

Fruits

Additional advice

Divide the “Feed quantity per day” over at least one feeding moment per day.
Avoid calcium deficiency by feeding adequate concentrates.
Limit the amount of fruits given since their high sugar level increases the chance of diabetes (read more about nutritional values of (wild) fruits and vegetables).
Stimulate foraging behaviour by hiding, stacking or hanging their feed. Besides this, scatter feeding is also a good option (read more about feed enrichment and foraging behaviour).

Common diseases

An unbalanced diet may result in one of these more commonly occurring diseases/conditions:

Dental diseases
Hepatic lipidosis

Feed quantity per day

Sample percentage calculation

Feed composition

Proportions (fresh product)

Rodent rat 12 mm

Blackberry leaves - 10-20 kg bag

Walnut leaves - 10-20 kg bag

Birch leaves - 10-20 kg bag

Annemarie Nijhof

Finance