• Devi@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Pica is an issue that you can work on. No animal should have it.

    • V H@lemmy.stad.socialOP
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      1 year ago

      Pica is eating things that are not food, but as pointed out in the article I linked, eating dog poo is providing a significant source of nutrition for foxes. In those circumstances, it by definition is not pica.

      • Devi@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        Poo is not food, I’m extremely concerned that you’ve got to adulthood without anyone telling you this. Do not eat poo.

        • kapitol
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          1 year ago

          No need to make personal attacks. Cecotrophy is a common phenomenon in certain animals. I don’t know specifically about foxes but it wouldn’t be a stretch if it was common behavior for them. Do you have any sources that suggest otherwise?

          • Devi@beehaw.org
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            1 year ago

            Herbivores taking more time to digest greenery is really not related to eating the poo of another animal due to nutritional deficiency. It’s a silly comparison.

            • kapitol
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              1 year ago

              Fair enough. How about this:

              "Domesticated and wild mammals are sometimes coprophagic, and in some species, this forms an essential part of their method of digesting tough plant material.

              Some dogs may lack critical digestive enzymes when they are only eating processed dried foods, so they gain these from consuming fecal matter. They only consume fecal matter that is less than two days old which supports this theory."