The passage of digesta, particle size, and in vitro fermentation rate in the three‐toed sloth Bradypus tridactylus (Edentata: Bradypodidae)

Abstract

The digestive physiology of six three‐toed sloths (Bradypus tridactylus) fed exclusively on Cecropia palmata foliage was studied. The mass of digesta in the gut was between 17 and 37% of body mass. This was between 133 and 282% of that expected in an animal of this size, based on published allometric equations. The concentration of total short chain fatty acids in the stomach was similar to that in the fermentative regions of other foregut fermenting herbivores but the rate of fermentation measured in vitro was very slow (6–12 mmol.l‐1.h‐1) and substantially lower than that observed using similar techniques in other small foregut fermenters. The overall (dose to excretion) mean retention time of particulate and solute digesta markers was about 150 h. Most of this (73%) occurred in the stomach but a substantial proportion (17%) could be attributed to the storage of faeces in the rectum. The slow rate of passage of digesta through the gut together with the slow rate of fermentation in the stomach is not typical of small foregut fermenting herbivores. However, such a pattern is feasible in Bradypus tridactylus because of the large volume of digesta retained in the gut and the very low metabolic rate of these mammals.

Feeding ecology and postural behaviour of the three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus flaccidus) in northern Venezuela

“…fibre takes place (Goffart 1971;SchmidtNielsen 1997). This is a slow process that requires the retention of the food in the gut for long periods of time (Foley et al 1995).…”

Morphology and Vascularization of the Gastric Compartments in Three-Toed Sloth (Bradypus torquatus Illiger, 1811)

“…The B. tridactylus gastric compartment classification diverged among the authors (Britton;Grassé, 1955;Andrade, 1972;Langer, 1984;Foley et al;Pacheco et al, 2007), whose compiled data (Table I) were used as the basis for the interpretation performed in this study. The macroscopic observations of the B. torquatus stomach, the above-mentioned literature and the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria allowed the proposal of the following division and situation of the stomach compartments in this animal: the cardiac stomach was situated around the cardiac region, subdividing itself in three sacks (right, middle, left); the fundic stomach, represented by the right lateral sack, continuous with the diverticulum, projecting caudal-laterally to the left (Fig.…”

“…Some of these vessels were described in rodents and chelonians (Rodrigues et al, 2003;Culau et al, 2008). Studies on digestive tract morphology in Xenarthra refer to the morphology and vascularization of these structures without specifying aspects of the origin, route, destination or domain territory of the arteries destined for gastric compartments (Britton, 1941;Grassé, 1955;Langer, 1984;Foley et al, 1995;Diz et al, 2006;Souza et al, 2010).…”

The Nutrition of “Browsers”

“…11 In two large representative samples, the latter observation has led to explicitly recognized "syndromes": the "wasting syndrome complex" in moose (Alces alces) 9,69 and the "peracute mortality syndrome" or "serous fat atrophy syndrome" in giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis). 31,61 In tapirs (Tapirus spp.) 48 and langurs, 56 a soft fecal consistency is frequently observed, and browsing arboreal foregut fermenters, such as sloths or langurs, have a high prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) upsets.…”