What do you feed your degus? I can’t find any good foods that don’t lack one thing or another..Also, what do you use for treats when you are teaching them stuff? (sorry you’re pretty much the only degu blog I can find so uh that’s why I asked)

sillydegu:

Hi! I feed my degus a mix of nuggets, seeds, driedand fresh plants/veg. I live in the UK and use the degu nuggets sold by Pets atHome,these make up about half of their regular food. In the wild seeds make up up to60% of their diet so the other half of their regular food is a mix of seeds,flaked oats and dried plants. Degutopia has a good overview with a bit moreinformation than I have here.

I feed my degus twice a day, once in the cage whereall of their food is spread out so they have to forage for it and once whenthey’re out for their run where I hand feed them the nuggets and then spreadout the seeds in the cage afterwards. I use the hand feeding as a chance tohandle them, to reinforce a positive connection with me and also to train them.

I also give them each a pea flake andcorn flake (not to be confused with the breakfast cereal!). The pea flakes come in handy ifI need to check an injury or something as the flakes are quite big and thedegus need to use both paws to eat it so it helps to keep them still.

I also give my degus fresh herbs and vegetablesseveral times a week. Some vegetables should be fed less regularly due to theirhigher sugar content and the degus’ predisposition to diabetes.

Other treats I use include puffed rice which can befed regularly and can be found in health food shops or the free from section inthe supermarket, it’s sold as a cereal, just make sure you get the plain one. Ican only speak for the UK, I don’t know how common it is in other countries.Occasional treats (1-2 a few times a week) include pumpkin seeds and sunflowerseeds. Rare treats (once a month) include nuts, I usually give my degus a hazelnut. If you give them the nut still in the shell it provides them with achallenge to get in to it (especially with nuts which roll away easily) and itwears down their teeth. They also get occasional dried rosehips which are highin vitamin C but should only be fed at most one a week.

If I want to give the degus something new I willgoogle for ‘degu safe [insert food]’ (this is literally half my search history)and I will cross-reference three different sources to make sure that it’sdefinitely safe. This may be overkill but I’d always rather be safe than sorry.Even though some lists of degu safe foods include fruits I would personallynever feed my degus any fruit because of the sugar content.

Degus should also have constant access to hay, thiswill help to wear down their teeth and provide fibre. Lack of hay can lead to overgrown teeth, diarrhoea and digestion problems. Given the wording of your question I’m sureyou know this but there may be people who are thinking about getting degus whomight use this answer as a guide so I want to cover everything.

There are people who feed their degus a diet of wholeplants and seeds as this is closer to what degus would eat in the wild,I don’t find it very practical but it may be something you want to look in to, 

Please don’t apologise, I love getting questions!(Although it is a shame that I’m the only degu blog) Please feel free to get intouch if you have any more questions or if you want to let me know what yourdegus make of their new treats.

I’ve probably given you more information than youwere after here but once I start talking about degus I find it difficult tostop.

Fair comment, this post is from a while ago and I should have added more information/corrections before reblogging it. These days I feed my degus science selective degu nuggets.

What do you feed your degus? I can’t find any good foods that don’t lack one thing or another..Also, what do you use for treats when you are teaching them stuff? (sorry you’re pretty much the only degu blog I can find so uh that’s why I asked)

sillydegu:

Hi! I feed my degus a mix of nuggets, seeds, driedand fresh plants/veg. I live in the UK and use the degu nuggets sold by Pets atHome,these make up about half of their regular food. In the wild seeds make up up to60% of their diet so the other half of their regular food is a mix of seeds,flaked oats and dried plants. Degutopia has a good overview with a bit moreinformation than I have here.

I feed my degus twice a day, once in the cage whereall of their food is spread out so they have to forage for it and once whenthey’re out for their run where I hand feed them the nuggets and then spreadout the seeds in the cage afterwards. I use the hand feeding as a chance tohandle them, to reinforce a positive connection with me and also to train them.

I also give them each a pea flake andcorn flake (not to be confused with the breakfast cereal!). The pea flakes come in handy ifI need to check an injury or something as the flakes are quite big and thedegus need to use both paws to eat it so it helps to keep them still.

I also give my degus fresh herbs and vegetablesseveral times a week. Some vegetables should be fed less regularly due to theirhigher sugar content and the degus’ predisposition to diabetes.

Other treats I use include puffed rice which can befed regularly and can be found in health food shops or the free from section inthe supermarket, it’s sold as a cereal, just make sure you get the plain one. Ican only speak for the UK, I don’t know how common it is in other countries.Occasional treats (1-2 a few times a week) include pumpkin seeds and sunflowerseeds. Rare treats (once a month) include nuts, I usually give my degus a hazelnut. If you give them the nut still in the shell it provides them with achallenge to get in to it (especially with nuts which roll away easily) and itwears down their teeth. They also get occasional dried rosehips which are highin vitamin C but should only be fed at most one a week.

If I want to give the degus something new I willgoogle for ‘degu safe [insert food]’ (this is literally half my search history)and I will cross-reference three different sources to make sure that it’sdefinitely safe. This may be overkill but I’d always rather be safe than sorry.Even though some lists of degu safe foods include fruits I would personallynever feed my degus any fruit because of the sugar content.

Degus should also have constant access to hay, thiswill help to wear down their teeth and provide fibre. Lack of hay can lead to overgrown teeth, diarrhoea and digestion problems. Given the wording of your question I’m sureyou know this but there may be people who are thinking about getting degus whomight use this answer as a guide so I want to cover everything.

There are people who feed their degus a diet of wholeplants and seeds as this is closer to what degus would eat in the wild,I don’t find it very practical but it may be something you want to look in to, 

Please don’t apologise, I love getting questions!(Although it is a shame that I’m the only degu blog) Please feel free to get intouch if you have any more questions or if you want to let me know what yourdegus make of their new treats.

I’ve probably given you more information than youwere after here but once I start talking about degus I find it difficult tostop.

Sign the Petition

rams-rodent-world:

claricespieces:

Julianna from Strong Brew Hamstery made a petition against the super inhumane cages that Petsmart has started selling.

Please, please, me and Clover urge you to sign this and share it with as many people as you can. If not for me, or any other hamsters, sign it for Clarice, who never had to spend a day of her life in any cage like this due to the awesome online pet community’s advice given to me. Many people don’t have the luxury of knowing where to find good pet care and turn to places like Petsmart for information. Let’s raise the bar.

How anyone in their right mind would buy these things thinking they are fine for a hamster is beyond me. Please sign!

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