Feeding
A fat-tailed dwarf lemur bites into a juicy persimmon fruit. Click image for larger version.
The western dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus medius, can increase its body weight by 75g (about 40%) at a time. It effectively gorges during times of food abundance, to prepare for Madagascar’s dry season when its diet of fruits and flowers is scarce. In the winter months, most dwarf lemurs enter a state of torpor. While mouse lemurs also enter into a winter torpor, only dwarf lemurs experience it for such a long time each year. Neither captive nor wild mouse and dwarf lemurs actually hibernate, but they do experience a slow down in their metabolic rates and show a marked decrease in activity and appetite which may last for up to six months. During this period of increased torpor, these lemurs live off of fat stored in their tails.
Since the climate is more variable and extreme in the western part of Madagascar, the western dwarf lemur shows a greater degree of torpor than the eastern dwarf lemur. Torpor begins as early as March, when the dwarf lemurs retreat to shelters such as those offered by hollow tree trunks. They sometimes do not emerge until the beginning of the wet season in November. Up to five animals may be found huddled together during this period.
To prevent obesity in our captive dwarf and mouse lemurs during their torpor period, the DLC has established a “winter diet” and a “summer diet.” The winter diet is initiated in early to mid-September, with a gradual decrease in rations fed to the animals. Starting in mid-March the diet is then increased gradually, reaching the full summer diet amount during the breeding season. Without the reduced rations of the winter months, the dwarf lemurs would continue to consume any and all food provided, which, coupled with a greatly reduced rate of metabolism, could result in extreme obesity!