Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) and rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta) are two reptiles who are both classified as endangered. They naturally eat several types of plant and are considered important seed dispersers for their ecosystems. They scavenge for food on the ground where they spend most of their time in the wild.
Feeding enrichments can stimulate natural behavior and lead to better welfare for animals kept in human care. Reptiles often get overlooked in enrichment-related research because of their negative reputation relating to their cognition. Because of this, this study aimed to see if a simple feeding enrichment could get the two mentioned species to be less passive and use their enclosure more, spend their time more like they would in the wild and to stimulate their natural behaviors. The enrichment consisted of the food being scattered in the enclosure to try to make the feeding more like they would eat in the wild.
The results indicate that this feeding method had the intended effect for the Hermann’s tortoise but not for the rhinoceros iguana, for the tortoises the scattered feeding method massively decreased the time they spent staying still, mimicking how they spent most of their time in the wild. For the rhinoceros iguanas no change in behavior was seen, this is most likely because they spend a lot of time in the wild being passive. Barely 18% of their time in the wild is spent on foraging for food. Leading to the conclusion that enrichment needs to be specific to the animal for it to be effective.
This study also concluded that more research is needed to understand how to enrich the rhinoceros iguanas along with more general research about the species to make sure that we are keeping this species in the best way possible.