Zoo database

Rodrigues fruit bat

Pteropus rodricensis

Natural diet Rodrigues fruit bat

Rodrigues fruit bats are generalized feeders that mainly consume fruits and flowers. By doing so, they are important pollinators and contribute to local ecosystems.

Fruits
Fruits
Nectar
Nectar

Feeding advice Rodrigues fruit bat

Feed quantity per day

10%

Sample percentage calculation

If an animal weighs 0.25 kg and eats 10% of its body weight, it will get
 
0.25 x 0.1 = 0.03 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

25% Concentrates
70% Other vegetables
5% Fruits

Proportions (fresh product)

0.25 x 0.03 kg = 6 g concentrates
0.7 x 0.03 kg = 18 g other vegetables
0.05 x 0.03 kg = 1 g fruits

Diet Suggestions

Recommended

Variety of fruits
Variety of root and watery vegetables
Variety of leafy and cabbage vegetables

Not recommended

Supplements

Common diseases

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

  • Obesity
  • Metabolic bone disease
  • Iron storage disease

Additional advice

  • Divide the “Feed quantity per day” over at least two feeding moments per day.
  • Fruits and vegetables should be well-mixed to prevent selective feeding on fruits.
  • Although present in their natural diet, feeding cultivated fruits contain too high sugar levels compared to wild fruits (read more about nutritional values of (wild) fruits and vegetables).
  • Additional supplements are not recommended because of over- or underdosing.
  • 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).