1. Invertebrate
Enrichment
And its applications within
animal husbandry
Suzanne Rowe
The Deep

2. What is Enrichment?
Enrichment enhances animal environments
within the context of an animals’ behavioural
biology and natural history.
It is designed to encourage the presentation of
natural behaviours within individuals or social
groups and therefore enhance animal welfare.

3. How do animals respond to
enrichment?
Animals fall into two categories:
Neophillic - Very explorative and inquisitive and
will be drawn to new objects and
situations/environments.
Neophobic - demonstrate a preference for
avoiding new objects or situations

4. The 5 Types of Enrichment
 Occupational – occupying time
 Cognitive – mental challenges
 Novelty – Exploration and curiosity
 Co-operative – Team work
 Emotional – response through senses and
emotion (seeking, care, lust, play, slight fear
element, even rage)

5. Enrichment Objective
Key Points in deciding on the type of enrichment to
provide:
 What is the main objective of the enrichment –
what are you wanting to achieve?
 Is the enrichment suitable for the species in
question?
 Is the skill required by the animal achievable?
 Overall cost? – Money? Time expenditure?
Objective worthwhile?

6. Designing Enrichment
What to consider:
 Know your animals’ natural history.
 What are its behavioural needs?
 Can you mimic its natural habitat as close as possible? If not
how can you make an artificial or lab setup more stimulating to
meet the needs successfully?
 Can the enrichment increase sensory/cognitive/emotional
stimulation?
 Level of stress that may be resulting from the enrichment. Acute
short term stress can be a positive to maintain healthy natural
response to threats; chronic and constant repetitive stress can
however have a negative impact on an animal’s welfare and
should be avoided.

7. Introducing Enrichment to
Invertebrates
Why?
 Environmental variance
 Enhance/promote natural behaviours
 Increase reproductive success
 Dietary variation
 Reduced stress
 Engage senses and curiosity/exploration
 Optimise overall health
 Increased Welfare!

8. Current Methods of Enrichment
Environment and Exhibit Design
 Natural photo period
 Heat source (if relevant)
 Humidity
 Substrate type (compost, bark chip, leaf litter, moss etc.)
 Climbing structures (logs, branching, exhibit theming)
 Hides and caves
 Water sources (misters, drip feeders, water bowls, shallow streams,
moats)
 Live plants
 Social structure of the animal (solitary/group housing)
Many of these we would consider to be ‘enriching’, and they undoubtedly are,
however because they are a constant within the environment they would not
be classed as ‘enrichment’.

9. Environment and Exhibit Design
What else can we do?
 Seasonality
Temperature and humidity can be adjusted to stay in-line with the
animals’ natural habitat allowing for variation throughout the year.
Seasons can be a trigger for carrying out essential behaviours and also
for courtship, breeding and hatching/emergence
 Minor re-theming following full cleaning
 Novel Substrates
Live plants, moss, grasses, leaf litter and bark chips can be added to
exhibits to create a new area of interest and heighten their senses, both
visual and olfactory, they may even use it as an extra source of food for
general grazing.

10. Enrichment at The Deep
Basic enrichment has been trialled to try and offer food in a
variety of ways to try and enhance the sensory and explorative
behaviours, thus increasing activity levels and cognitive ability.
Focal Species
 Archimandrita tesselata - Bullshead Cockroach
 Gromphadorhina portentosa – Madagascan Hissing Cockroach
 Cryptoglossa verrucosa – Blue Death Feigning Beetle
 Mastigopractus giganteus – Giant Vinegaroon (seasonal variation only)

11. KONG
Stuffed with protein based food
pastes (fish flake, soaked cat
biscuit, dried mealworms, seed
mix)
It plays to the occupational and
cognitive aims of enrichment.

12. Cardboard Tubes
or Pipes
filled with food and leaves/grass at
each end to offer a minor barrier
Appeals to the cognitive, novelty
and at time co-operational aims of
enrichment.
Other opportunities similar to this
include the use of forage trays
with varying types of substrate,
leaf parcels and paper piñatas.

13. Seeded coconut
shell and logs
Stuck on with a harmless flour and
water glue these feeders allow for
grazing opportunities that can
occupy the animal whilst it worked
out how to remove the food item.

14. Browse
Fresh leaves and flowers can be
provided to add an added interest to
the exhibit and also as a natural
grazing diet.
Appeals to the sensory aims of
enrichment as well as a variation in
diet.
See zooplants.net for a list of non-
toxic species

15. What Else?
providing protein options
alongside fruit and veg to give a
well balanced diet.
Recognise the need for minor
cannibalism in some species such
as our Sunburst Diving Beetles.
Prolonged maternal care until
natural dispersal time. This seems
to be a required trigger in
Mastigopractus for a successful
first moult.

16. Suggested Benefits….
 Greater longevity and reproductive rates
 Increased activity and interest in foraging
behaviours
 Identification of preferred food types
 Stress indicator?

17. Future Trials
Scent
Use of herbs within the exhibit, either as a
temporary or permanent fixture
Novel objects
provided with no food incentive attached
Seasonal Variations
wider spread across all exhibits
Sensory mats
using cellulose matting to grow grasses, moss
and low lying flowers. These can be easily
removed to maintain novelty.

18. Evaluations
All enrichment devices should be fully
evaluated to determine how successful their
application has been. A simple form can be
created for use throughout the institution to
maintain informative records, this can also
be shared amongst others.
Table on slide 19 taken from
Young, Robert J 2006, Environmental Enrichment for Captive Animals

19. Institution
Method or Device Title of the enrichment technique/device
Design and Implementation Brief description of the actual device/technique (size, position
in enclosure)
Species Individual species or groups being use on
Purpose Reason for the enrichment (cognitive, sensory, natural
behaviours etc.)
Advantages Main good points. Practicality, species appropriate?
Disadvantages General drawback, husbandry problems, health risks?
Improvements Ways it could work more effectively, new design/location
Comments Any other comments
Frequency of use How often the method/device is employed
Ratings methods are rated from 1-10 (10 = best). A new rating is to be
given per species or an average rating per taxonomic group
Usefulness How well the technique/device achieves its goals
Convenience How easy the technique is to implement
Value for money How much was it to make and/or maintain? Was it worth it?
Range of users Relative proportion of the animals using the method (scale 1-
10). A single animal in a group would score 1; if most were
using the technique it would score 6-7; if all species listed use
the enrichment, it would score 10.
Contributors Names of the people and their section that provided the

20. The Future of Invertebrate
Enrichment…….
Apart from the benefits it can provide to the species themselves, the
provision of enrichment within invertebrate collections can also
serve further purposes for the institution too
 Get schools involved! – enrichment workshops
 Get visitors excited about bugs! – educate on adaptations, their
ingenious methods for survival
 Visitor competitions – veg growing/sunflower growing and use
them in exhibits afterward
 Naturalistic displays allow for education in geographical regions
– how do they use their habitat?
 Encourage more students to choose invertebrates for research

21. Thanks and References
To all whose talked at the REEC conference:
 David Shepardson – Oregon Zoo
 Val Hare – San Diego Zoo/SHAPE
 Karen Worley – San Diego Zoo/SHAPE
 Graham Law – Glasgow University
 Doug Richardson – RZSS Highland Wildlife Park
 The Edinburgh Zoo Enrichment Committee
 Matt O’Leary – ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
 Hannah Buchanan-Smith – Stirling University
 Prof. Rob J Young – Salford University
 Holly Farmer – Paignton Zoo
 Julian Chapman – Twycross Zoo
Robert J Young 2006
Environmental Enrichment for Captive Animals
Hosey, Melfi, Pankhurst 2009
Zoo Animals. Behaviour, Management and Welfare
www.zooplants.net
www.enrichment.org