International Giant Otter Studbook Husbandry and Management

through. Temperature can be checked by placing a small amount on the handrearer’s wrist.
Too hot or too cold is not good (esp. for digestion) and the cub may refuse to eat it. Warmed
formula should be offered to the cub as soon as possible (i.e. before it cools). To keep formulas
warm during feeding, feeding apparatuses (e.g. bottles, syringes) filled with formula, can be
placed in a container of warm/hot water. Water must be prevented from entering the feeding
apparatus (e.g. cap syringe ends etc.).
It is very helpful to place labels on each container/jar of formula/food that state the formula’s
name/type, dilution (e.g. Esbilac at 1: 1, 75% water : 25% Esbilac, 100% electrolyte solution
etc.), which animal the diet is for, and the date and time that the formula/food was first prepared.
This will help to avoid confusion about the formula/food’s content and if it is fresh or it needs to
be thrown out because it was made longer than 24 hours ago.
All feeding apparatuses (e.g. bottles, nipples, syringes, dishes, tube-feeding tubes) and utensils,
containers, blender parts etc. used to prepare formulas (e.g. sieve, blender blades, spoons, jars)
must be cleaned thoroughly after each feeding and after each time the formula is prepared.
Formula/food storage containers should be cleaned routinely as well. Small round long-handled
brushes are needed to clean insides of tubes and bottle nipples etc., where milk can coagulate.
(Even small milk deposits can support bacterial growth and hence cause contamination and
health problems such as diarrhea.) Hot clean water and soap should be used to clean items and
each item should be rinsed with clean hot water afterwards. Items should be left to air dry. All
feeding apparatuses should be sterilized at least one time per day. Some items (e.g. glass tubes,
rubber nipples, syringes) can be sterilized by boiling or disinfecting solutions can be used.
Kitchen areas, counters, and all food preparation areas, storage containers, etc. should be kept
clean. Using unclean feeding apparatuses, utensils, areas, etc. can cause cub sickness (i.e.
diarrhea etc.).
Handrearers should always wash their hands before handling cubs or their food and feeding
apparatuses. Also different clothing (i.e. clothing designated for cub care only) or cover
clothing (e.g. lab coats, smocks) should be worn when handling cubs. Sick cubs should be
isolated from healthy cubs. To avoid cross-contamination, handrearer clothing, feeding
apparatuses, cleaning tools, bedding material etc. that are designated only for use with sick cubs,
should be used. These items should be cleaned and disinfected separately from items used for
healthy cubs.
Section 7
Switching from Mother’s Milk to a Milk Replacer or One Milk Replacer to Another
Formulas should be introduced and adjusted or changed according to the cubs’ needs and
how well they tolerate and thrive on the formulas. Critical: slow gradual change-overs
should always be made from mother’s milk to substitute milk replacers (e.g. Esbilac TM etc.)
and/or from one kind of milk replacer to another.
Quick diet/formula switches can cause many problems; most especially common is diarrhea and
digestion failure, or rejection of the new diet (Kirk 1994). Only one dietary variable should be
changed at a time, rather than several simultaneously (e.g. either formula concentration or
addition of Lact-aid TM , but not both), and changes should only be made in small increments to
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