Causes:Dietary Deficiency of Calcium- Carnivores
• Major problem – diets that contain predominantly skeletal muscle (all meat diet)
• Skeletal muscle is very low in calcium (0.02-0.03% dry matter) and the calcium-tophosphorus
ratios are greatly inverse (about 1:20)
• Skeletal muscle diets result in rickets and osteomalacia
• Decreased Ca++ and Vit D in the diet results in chronically stimulated parathyroid glands
and bone demineralization. This results in fibrous osteodystrophy and reduced bone
density and strength. This condition is called nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism
• Whole prey diets are essential
• Can occur in the wild – example: Alaskan red fox kits