ACCEPTANCE OF AMAZON AND NON-AMAZONIC FRUITS BY SCORPION MUD TURTLE, KINOSTERNON SCORPIOIDES (LINNAEUS, 1766), IN CAPTIVITY

Abstract

Chelonians have, historically, played an important role as a natural resource for human food in the Amazon region, among them the Kinosternon scorpioides species, the muçuã. This is a semi-aquatic freshwater chelonian that has an omnivorous feeding habit. Due to the lack of research on the feeding of this species in captivity, the present study aimed to evaluate the acceptance and preference of fruits by K. scorpioides and to describe their feeding behavior in captivity. The study was conducted between January and June 2017, at the Scientific Breeding Ground of the Bio-Fauna Project / ISARH-UFRA. 36 muçuãs were used, 18 in the fattening phase and 18 in the brooding phase, with an average initial weight of 438g (± 16.22g) and 84g (± 16.11g), respectively. The animals were housed in polyethylene boxes with 60% of the flooded area and 40% of the dry area, with three animals per box. In order to assess food preference, fresh fruits were used, classified as regional and non-regional Amazon. Each fruit was offered in a food/animal unit for 50 minutes. Monitoring of food preference was done with the help of video cameras. It was observed that the animals in the breeding phase were those that consumed a higher percentage of regional fruits (48.89%), when compared to the fattening phase that consumed 46.67% of the same fruits. Among the fruits offered, it was possible to observe a higher consumption of pupunha (Bactris gasipaes Kunth), melon (Cucumis melo L.) and mango (Mangifera indica L.) by both groups. The regional Amazonian fruits obtained great acceptance in which the pupunha was more prominent (88.89%) for the fattening phase, however the melon (63.19%) was the most consumed by the young.