"What's for dinner Mom?"
"Yeah! I'm SOO hungry!"
Everyone knows the struggle of "What's for dinner?". Needless to say its not any easier with these little buggers.
Like any child Tenrecs have their favourite food and their least favourite food. As a general rule worms are a delicacy and never looked over, but you do get the VERY picky eaters, like Bubbles. Bubbles has a taste for Iams dried cat food and the occasional dried meal worm with a sprinkle of Calcium powder.
Her sister, on the other hand, has eaten things from pear baby food to egg and spinach! She is the complete opposite to her sister! She is ferocious with Super Worms and hunts them down with lightning accuracy!
The list of things that are safe to feed Tenrecs isn't terribly well known. Here are some that we know are OK!
BUGS:
 |
| Mealworms |
 | |
| Waxworms |
 |
| Superworms |
 |
| Silkworms |
 | |||
| Crickets |
Cat food is considered a staple and should always be available. High Protein GOOD QUALITY cat food is best. Iams Kitten food is high in protein but like Bubbles, some Tenrecs only like certian brands and flavours of cat food. Best is to ask your breeder what they used.
It should be emphasised that cat food and bugs DO NOT meet all of their dietary requirements. Calcium and multivitamins should be introduced through a powder on their dried food or as a liquid in their water. Zolcal-d is a water based supplement that has Calcium and Vitamin D3. It is considered the best by many.
Other than conventional bugs and dried food you can give them flash frozen mealworms. These are not as nutritious as living mealworms but our Tenrecs love the crunchy snack. This is also where I introduce calcium into their diet. Sprinkled over the worms. Any brand should be fine. Most exotic pet stores and fish pet stores would have these. They can be pricey depending on the brand but are a delicious snack for the Tenrecs.
Some people advise that too many dried worms can cause constipation. While I have never experienced this from dried worms we did have Bruce go through a bit of a culture shock when we got him. He developed a lump in the bottom of his abdomen and didnt want to eat anything. This was due to stress mostly and new kinds of foods.
In this event we introduced Soft Kitten Food, Pumpkin and Veggies. Pumpkin and Kitten Food are natural laxatives for them. Best is canned pumpkin. This is not available where I live but eventually regular boiled pumpkin did the trick and the lump passed!
With regards to veggies and fruits in our experience the boys were never really interested but most veggies and fruit are fine. One of the Tenrec breeders we follow gives apple, melon, courgette, carrot, occasional pear, peppers and sweet corn. Tenrecs natural habitat is in the vegetation bed of Madagascar. Most fruit and veg is naturally available to them when they choose to eat it. Think of veg to a Tenrec as grass to a Dog. More of an extra for the sake of digestion instead of a dietary staple.
I have seen Buttercup eat broccoli and spinach and then go ham for some Pear Purity (baby food). And the next day steal some boiled chicken and run off with it! She eats EVERYTHING!
Chicken, Ground Beef, even Liver can be given to them on a weekly basis (the same with veg). Keeping them interested in their food can be more tricky than actually thinking of things to feed them. All meats should be cook and unseasoned. I take a bit of meat and put it in a small bowl, then cover the meat in boiling water. This cooks the small piece through in a few seconds and then you can chop it up nice and fine and serve it to them once cool. They tend to like meat more than veg and it is better for them to have more meat and protein than veg since the veg tends to give them the runs if they eat too much.
Other than these basics I would advise against most other foods. Tenrecs are natural insectivores and should be fed more insects than other regular foods.
See other Tenrec Parents responses here - Lesser Tenrec Survey
It should be emphasised that cat food and bugs DO NOT meet all of their dietary requirements. Calcium and multivitamins should be introduced through a powder on their dried food or as a liquid in their water. Zolcal-d is a water based supplement that has Calcium and Vitamin D3. It is considered the best by many.
Other than conventional bugs and dried food you can give them flash frozen mealworms. These are not as nutritious as living mealworms but our Tenrecs love the crunchy snack. This is also where I introduce calcium into their diet. Sprinkled over the worms. Any brand should be fine. Most exotic pet stores and fish pet stores would have these. They can be pricey depending on the brand but are a delicious snack for the Tenrecs.
Some people advise that too many dried worms can cause constipation. While I have never experienced this from dried worms we did have Bruce go through a bit of a culture shock when we got him. He developed a lump in the bottom of his abdomen and didnt want to eat anything. This was due to stress mostly and new kinds of foods.
In this event we introduced Soft Kitten Food, Pumpkin and Veggies. Pumpkin and Kitten Food are natural laxatives for them. Best is canned pumpkin. This is not available where I live but eventually regular boiled pumpkin did the trick and the lump passed!
With regards to veggies and fruits in our experience the boys were never really interested but most veggies and fruit are fine. One of the Tenrec breeders we follow gives apple, melon, courgette, carrot, occasional pear, peppers and sweet corn. Tenrecs natural habitat is in the vegetation bed of Madagascar. Most fruit and veg is naturally available to them when they choose to eat it. Think of veg to a Tenrec as grass to a Dog. More of an extra for the sake of digestion instead of a dietary staple.
I have seen Buttercup eat broccoli and spinach and then go ham for some Pear Purity (baby food). And the next day steal some boiled chicken and run off with it! She eats EVERYTHING!
Chicken, Ground Beef, even Liver can be given to them on a weekly basis (the same with veg). Keeping them interested in their food can be more tricky than actually thinking of things to feed them. All meats should be cook and unseasoned. I take a bit of meat and put it in a small bowl, then cover the meat in boiling water. This cooks the small piece through in a few seconds and then you can chop it up nice and fine and serve it to them once cool. They tend to like meat more than veg and it is better for them to have more meat and protein than veg since the veg tends to give them the runs if they eat too much.
Other than these basics I would advise against most other foods. Tenrecs are natural insectivores and should be fed more insects than other regular foods.
See other Tenrec Parents responses here - Lesser Tenrec Survey
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