What to Feed Your Exotic Pet

How to Feed Your Exotic Pet: Diet Tips for Birds, Reptiles, and Small Mammals

Feeding an exotic pet involves more than simply opening a bag of food and filling their bowl, as you would for a dog or cat. Each species has unique nutritional requirements and can benefit from a varied diet with the addition of fresh produce or live prey. Overfeeding, underfeeding, or failing to provide essential, species-specific nutrients can be disastrous for your pet’s health, but the Avets team can help you prepare the optimal exotic pet diet.

Understanding what to feed your bird, reptile, or small mammal is critical to providing a healthy, happy life. Although you should always consult a veterinarian for individualized advice, here are a few tips for feeding your exotic pet.

Feeding your pet bird

The ideal diet for pet birds should include:

• 75% uniform pellets — Uniform pellets provide consistent nutrition and prevent birds from picking and choosing their favorites from a seed mix.
• 20% fresh items — Choose fresh, colorful veggies (e.g., bell peppers, green beans, squash) and the occasional fruit (e.g., mango, berries) to supplement a pelleted diet.
• 5% healthy carbs — Give cooked rice, grains, or seeds sparingly.

Avoid feeding birds meat, eggs, or dairy, which can cause serious health issues since their digestive system isn’t designed to break down these foods.

Feeding your reptile

Reptiles may eat plants (i.e., herbivore), bugs (i.e., insectivore), or both, and need a delicate balance of vitamins and minerals.

Here’s what to feed adult bearded dragons and other herbivores:

• Fresh greens — Offer lettuce, mustard greens, dandelion greens, and other leafy produce. For picky eaters, try chopping or processing them into a finer texture.
• Fruits and veggies — Adding small pieces of sweet potato, butternut squash, mango, strawberries, blueberries, or carrots can keep the diet interesting.
• Calcium supplementation — Lightly dust greens with plain calcium carbonate powder daily and add vitamin D3 two to three times weekly.

Adult bearded dragons should eat 75% greens and 25% insects, but juveniles under 1 year should eat more insects to support rapid growth.

Here’s how to feed insectivores:

• Gut-load insects — Feed insects a quality diet so they’re packed with nutrients for your reptile. Try a laying chicken diet or Mazuri Better Bug Gut Loading Diet.
• Choose the right insects – Dubia roaches are the best choice due to their superior calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. Avoid superworms, which have poor nutritional value.
• Dust the insects — Lightly dust feeder insects with calcium carbonate powder before offering them.

Feeding your small mammal

Fiber is essential for small herbivorous mammals like rabbits, guinea pigs, and chinchillas. Their digestive systems need large amounts of roughage to keep the gut moving and prevent gastrointestinal stasis, a life-threatening condition. Here’s what to offer your small mammal:

• Timothy hay-based pellets — A measured amount of daily pellets provide concentrated, balanced nutrition.
• Free-choice hay — Offer unlimited hay of any variety except alfalfa, which has a high calcium content that may contribute to bladder problems.
• Low-calcium greens — Daily greens and herbs are a staple that adds variety for herbivores, but avoid spinach and iceberg lettuce.
• Treats in moderation — Give fruits and non-leafy vegetables as treats in small quantities.

Ferrets are carnivores, so they need a diet high in protein and meat. You can feed ferrets a dedicated ferret or cat food, but dog food is not an appropriate diet.

A well-balanced diet helps your exotic pet avoid diseases related to nutrient deficiencies or imbalances. Because most exotic pets need freshly-prepared foods, feeding can be time- and labor-intensive, requiring frequent trips to the grocery or pet store. However, good nutrition is an investment in your pet’s long-term health.

Ask our Avets avian and exotics team about the optimal diet for your pet’s species, age, activity level, and health history, or contact us to schedule a checkup.