Zoo database

White-faced saki

Pithecia pithecia

Natural diet White-faced saki

Fruits
Grain / seeds
Leaves
Nectar

White-faced sakis are herbivorous primates that naturally live in tropical rainforests in northern South-America. Their diet consist largely out of fruits, seeds and leaves. Besides this, occasionally insects and flowers are consumed too.

Feeding advice White-faced saki

Feed quantity per day

10-15% of body weight

Sample percentage calculation

If an animal weighs 2 kg and eats 10% of its body weight, it will get

2 x 0.1 = 0.2 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

2% Insects and other invertebrates
10% Concentrates
40% Leafy and cabbage vegetables
30% Other vegetables
10% Browse
8% Other

Proportions (fresh product)

0.02 x 0.2 kg = 4 g insects and other invertebrates
0.1 x 0.2 kg = 20 g concentrates
0.4 x 0.2 kg = 80 g leafy and cabbage vegetables
0.3 x 0.2 kg = 60 g other vegetables
0.1 x 0.2 kg = 20 g browse
0.08 x 0.2 kg = 16 g other

Diet suggestions

In moderation

Insects
Sunflower seeds and peanuts

Not recommended

Fruits

Additional advice

Divide the “Feed quantity per day” over at least three feeding moments per day.
Although present in their natural diet, feeding fruits might lead to abnormal fermentation in the hindgut because of high sugar levels in cultivated fruits compared to wild fruits (read more about nutritional values of (wild) fruits and vegetables).
Supplement the diet with sufficient vitamin D and folic acid. When feeding appropriate concentrates, this is not necessary.
Supplement a diverse selection of vegetables (read more about differences between vegetables).
Provide less palatable food in the morning, when hunger is greatest.
Feeding in bowls is not recommended.
Stimulate foraging behaviour by hiding, stacking or hanging the feed. Examples can be feeding puzzles, tubes, hanging boxes and/ or scatter feeding (read more about feed enrichment and foraging behaviour).

Common diseases

An unbalanced diet may result in one of these more commonly occurring diseases/conditions:

Periodontal disease
Reproductive failure
Cardiovascular disease
Diabetes mellitus
Gastrointestinal problems

Feed quantity per day

Sample percentage calculation

Feed composition

Proportions (fresh product)

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Marieke Post

Manager R&D & QA