318 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 



will be out of reach of claws or fingers. The cloth can be arranged 

 as a curtain so that it can be raised for inspection of the interior 

 when necessary. 



FOODS 



Under this heading we might include everything that can be eaten, 

 but obviously it is impossible to list all foods that might be available 

 or desirable for animals. Therefore, the best that can now be done 

 is briefly to list foods that are ordinarily obtainable, or that in general 

 must be supplied to meet the requirements of a considerable variety 

 of animals. The saying, "What is one man's meat is another man's 

 poison" is particularly true of animals. Some thrive on foods that 

 would be fatal to others; therefore, if one does not know definitely 

 just what a particular animal requires, it is important that careful 

 heed be given to determine as nearly as possible what it probably 

 eats, and to offer a wide variety within this range, in order that it 

 may find among the foods offered something that will serve its pur- 

 pose and not be forced to satisfy hunger by eating foods injurious 

 to it. In general, very few animals will eat foods that are harmful 

 to them if they are supplied with a wide variety. The instances of 

 animal deaths from the eating of foods that are harmful are usually 

 the result of endeavors to satisfy cravings arising from the lack of 

 some necessary element in the food given, but sometimes they may 

 be from actual hunger cravings. 



Persons interested in maintaining animals in good condition should 

 consider every possible food obtainable in their native haunts. It 

 would be ideal to supply a complete array of such material, but 

 obviously from the practical standpoint, this is impossible. It be- 

 comes necessary, therefore, to offer the animal such food as can be 

 obtained. 



In the wild, many animals that are normally supposed to feed 

 principally on fruits or other plant life supplement their diet with 

 insects or other animal material, and most carnivores do not strictly 

 limit themselves to meat. Wliile the quantity of supplementary food 

 may be small, it appears to be of great importance, in some cases at 

 least. Many rodents should be offered small bits of meat, mealworms, 

 or other forms of insect life, and eggs, either fresh or boiled; also 

 bones with dried meat on them. This material takes the place of 

 the insects, animal carcasses and bones they would find in the wild. 

 Carnivores should likewise be offered fruits, vegetables, and bread. 

 The rejection of any given food on one or two occasions is not 

 necessarily conclusive evidence that the animal will never eat it; 

 therefore, it is a good plan to continue offering such food from time 

 to time. 



When it becomes necessary to offer animals food to which they are 

 unaccustomed, it will frequently be found that they are hesitant about 



