The Diet of a Duck-Billed Platypus

The duck-billed platypus, an animal that is native to Australia, has a slightly varied diet, and a creative way of protecting itself and searching for food. With the right diet, a platypus can live healthily for up to 12 years in the wild, according to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

  1. Finding Food

    • The platypus finds food by foraging underwater to search for an acceptable meal. The platypus does not swim very quickly, and uses its front legs to slowly propel itself in the water. Since the duck-billed platypus is a mammal, it can only stay completely underwater for about 90 seconds at a time. Since the animal cannot see very well, electric currents in the platypus's bill helps it to sense the electrical currents of its prey.

    Platypus Diet

    • The duck-billed platypus searches for foods like larvae of insects, as well as freshwater shrimp, worms, fish eggs and small frogs. Platypuses will also eat mollusks if they are available in the body of water the animal lives near.

    Storing Food

    • After finding food, the duck-billed platypus will store its food in its cheek pouches while underwater. Once the platypus swims to the top of the body of water, it will sort out the food to search for quality pieces before eating it. The animal stores fat in its tail as well, to use as an alternative source of physical nourishment when there is not an abundance of food available.

    Feeding Young Platypuses

    • Since the platypus is a mammal, baby animals are nursed by their mothers. However, the duck-billed platypus is one of the only mammals that lays eggs (the echidna is the other). Once the eggs have hatched, the platypus feeds its young by secreting milk through glands on the side of its body, since the animal does not have nipples.

    Weaning

    • Baby platypuses will eat nothing but their mother's milk for the first six weeks of life. By this time, the animals have grown fur, and may leave the nest for short periods of time to gather food and practice becoming independent. After five months, the young platypuses are completely weaned from milk, and start to adopt an adult diet.