Effect of dietary enrichment with wild food items on the proximal composition of muscle and fat of Caiman latirostris in captivity

SANTIAGO A. FLORES-MARISCAL; LÁBAQUE M CARLA; MELINA SIMONCINI; CARLOS I. PIÑA ; PAMELA LEIVA

Congreso; Working Meeting CSG-IUCN; 2022

Animals’ diets, such a crocodilian, are reflected in their tissue’s chemicalcomposition. Therefore, the incorporation of items belonging to the wild diet into the farm dietwould be evidenced in the tissues of individuals, where each item could induce a change as asource of nutrients. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of enrichment diet with wild fooditems of Caiman latirostris on the proximal composition (ash, moisture, protein, and totallipids) of caiman muscle and fat. Four dietary treatments were offered: diet with insects (DI),with snails (DM), and with red meat (DCR) and captivity diet (control, DC); the diets wereoffered ad libitum for 30 days. The proximal composition of the diets, muscle and fat ofcaimans under study were analyzed. Our work showed increases in total protein concentrationsin the DCR and DI diets, and an increase in total lipids in the DCR diet, with respect to the DC.The PCA of muscle tissue showed that the data from caiman fed the DI diet were associatedwith changes in lipids and ash, and those fed the DCR diet were associated with few changesin all parameters of proximal composition. In the fat, it was evidenced that DI and DCR reducedmoisture content, while DI reduced protein content with respect to DC. Data indicate that DIand DCR diets are recommended for the feeding of C. latirostris in captivity, since theirincorporation would be a source of proteins and lipids that would favor the correct developmentof caimans.