In order to determine if the absence of vitamin C in the diet of capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) causes scurvy, a group of seven young individuals were fed food pellets without ascorbic acid, while another group of eight individuals received the same food with 1 g of ascorbic acid per animal per day. Animals in the first group developed signs of scurvy-like gingivitis, breaking of the incisors and death of one animal. Clinical signs appeared between 25 and 104 days from the beginning of the trial in all individuals. Growth rates of individuals deprived of vitamin C was considerably less than those observed in the control group. Deficiency of ascorbic acid had a severe effect on reproduction of another population of captive capybaras. We found that the decrease in ascorbic acid content in the diet affected pregnancy, especially during the first stages. The results obtained suggest that it is necessary to supply a suitable quantity of vitamin C in the diet of this species in captivity.
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1 January 2000
SCURVY IN CAPYBARAS BRED IN CAPTIVITY IN ARGENTINE
Gerardo Ruben Cueto,
Roman Allekotte,
Fernando Osvaldo Kravetz
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 36 • No. 1
January 2000
Vol. 36 • No. 1
January 2000
Ascorbic acid
Capybara
experimental study
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
nutrition
reproduction
scurvy