What Do Coatis Eat? A Guide To Coati Diet

As a coati lover nowadays, I would like to explore more about it. The amazing thing is that I found an amazing aspect of their life that is coati eating behavior.

When I was exploring it, I was shocked because it feels as if they are focusing on the guidelines of any nutrition expert.

So, let’s find out deep facts about the coati diet.

Coatis are omnivores and eat everything from plant material to venomous snakes. Rather than this, they also love to eat ripened fruits.

According to a journal of Oxford academic, the coati diet comprises plant material, especially fruit, spiders, insects, millipedes, gastropods, and vertebrates.

Let’s take a look at a deep explanation.

1.  Smaller Vertebrates

The smaller vertebrates are their favorite eating options. Lizards, beetles, spiders, and centipedes are all included in their diet.

Whenever they find termites, they eat them with so much fun. It is because termites live in a collective form. So, whenever a coati found the termite’s collection, it found a feat.

2.  Venomous Animals

Snakes and scorpions are also an option in their diet. They can handle their bites while they are found to avoid most venomous snakes.

Despite this, frogs and worms are also involved in their diet.

3.  Birds

Their living place is tree canopy; even they mate, give birth, and raise their children on trees.

So, birds are also one of the most carrying options for their diet and they never miss a chance to eat a bird.

4.  Fruits

Their most targeted plant material is fruit.

Mostly, they tend to ripen fruits, which means they love juicy fruit pieces or they want more vitamins to nourish their body.

They mostly like to eat bananas, mangoes, and papayas. It is because, they are soft and juicy fruits that are easy to access for them.

5.  Seeds, Nuts, Leaves

Rather than fruits, seeds, leaves, and nuts, plant material is also involved in their diet.

6.  Nectars And Pollens

In harsh areas and due to shortage of food, they also eat nectars and pollens of plants. This seems fascinating. A single creature weighs between 2 to 8 KG and eats on such a massive level.

7.  Eggs (Croco, Sea Turtles)

The eggs are considered one of the top-notch protein sources. So, their diet also comprises eggs. Just see! They eat crocodiles and sea turtles’ eggs. Just astonishing.

8.  Carcass

As an opportunistic creature, they can eat carcasses in case of easy opportunity. This way, coati plays the role of a scavenger and helps the echo system by making it clean from carcass garbage.

9.  Human Food

Human food is also a reasonable diet for them, and they are often seen while searching garbage cans. This is why it is not recommended to put your garbage can in your home’s outer environment.

Note: The thing to concern is that they did not use seeing ability to find food. They use their nose, which is highly adaptable, to sniff the food smell from far away.

What Does A Baby Coati Eat?

Coati baby becomes agile after just one month. When it comes to a baby coati diet, they rely on mom’s milk, which provides them with necessary nourishing nutrients.

This process goes long, commonly for 3 months.

What Do Adult Coatis Eat?

An adult coati needs protein on a huge level. This is their basic requirement to grow. So, they mostly focus on protein-rich diets, including insects, termites, and beetles. Fruits are also a part of their diet in those days due to the need for vitamins.

Despite this, a grown one adds more fruits to their diet as compared to meat.

What Does Coati Eat In Captivity?

Basically, coati eat various foods according to their nutritional requirements, but they also have to depend on their owner’s choice.

In most cases, they get some limited kind of fruits and invertebrates, while in some captivities, they live a fascinating life. Here, they eat a variety of food that can be left behind a variety of wild food choices.

In vertebrates, they eat termites, roaches, locusts, mealworms, and crickets. The feeders also keep an eye on the coati’s choice to eat these animals alive or dead. They do this to keep them active in captivity, which also reduces their boredom.

Fruits

In plant material, especially fruits, they get a lot to eat. This diversity is key to ensuring their happy mood in prison. Their feeders mainly take care of and provide their favorite fruits to them.

Bananas, mangoes, berries, and melons, like juicy fruits, are their priority. Despite this, they also eat leafy material, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

What Kind Of Food Coati Must Avoid In Captivity?

All oily things, including chips and snacks, chocolate, or any processed. Further, avocados and grapes are also not beneficial for them. It is because the coati’s digestive system is very sensitive to poison, even in a very low form.

So, these things contain preservatives and small amounts of toxins that can easily lead to digestive issues.

Further, it is also necessary to ensure that the rappers of eating things are also avoided. The remains of past diets also need to be cleaned before the next meal. It is recommended because, in case of any illness, you can lose a little, cute, and curious creature from your courtyard.

What Do Coati Drink?

Eating ripened fruits helps fulfill drinking requirements while they also drink water. For this purpose, they visit forest streams and rivers.

Coatis loves to eat in shaded areas under the canopy. Further, they drink in collective form, where some members also take care of predators.

Conclusion

The shocking and fascinating thing about their dieting behavior is that they eat different foods in dry and wet weather. Further, their interest in food is uncommon in different ages.

Such as, they focus on eating meat in their growing days while tending to ripen fruits in their last years. It seems as they know what they are eating and how their eating can lead them to a healthy life.

On dry days, they eat ripened fruits filled with high juice that helps them to maintain their body’s liquid requirements. Compared to it, when the winter days came, they tended to eat protein-rich diets, including termites and beetles.

FAQs

What fruit coati eat most?

Mangoes are their most favorite fruit. Bananas and papayas are also on the list of coati’s favorite fruits.

What can you feed a coati?

They are omnivores and eat almost every kind of food. So, you can feed them everything from minor insects to plant material or meat of different animals.

Can I feed vegetables to coati?

Surely, there are no restrictions on feeding them vegetables, including carrots.

Can coati eat chocolate?

They can eat it, but preservatives present in chocolate can harm coati on a massive level. I explained above that their stomach is very sensitive against venoms. So, always avoid processed or oily foods when it comes to a coati diet.