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Post by deguconvert on May 17, 2019 14:22:16 GMT
I just edited my post above . . . there is a link I have included that will help to inform you in good detail about Vit D drops and where you can get them. I think. Pretty sure they are widely available for human babies, which are the ones we use.
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Post by degumummy137 on May 17, 2019 14:45:15 GMT
I just edited my post above . . . there is a link I have included that will help to inform you in good detail about Vit D drops and where you can get them. I think. Pretty sure they are widely available for human babies, which are the ones we use. Thanks; I’ve read it and I’ll look on my way home. Do you add them to water/food or administer manually like medicine? Since you’re being extremely helpful already, if you have a second could you look through the forage list I posted on the previous page and let me know if anything is unsuitable, or if I’ve missed anything important? With the variation of flowers in the blossom mix there should be about 22 types of plants/herbs/flowers not including hay and seeds, but I don’t know if the nutritional variation is correct or if I need more or less of anything in particular.
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Post by savvy on May 17, 2019 15:03:29 GMT
Swap the artichoke out for chopped dandelion as there won't be that much in the hay, and you should be fine.
I tend to mix it (minus the seeds which are kept separately) in a 33l storage box, give it a good mix by hand, and shake it up every few days. This keeps it fresh, keeps any moths or beetles out of it and means I don't have packets all over the place.
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Post by deguconvert on May 17, 2019 15:26:45 GMT
I think that is a pretty good list!! I personally would not feel the need to remove the Jerusalem artichoke as it is fine for them to eat, but definitely add the dandelion as Savvy recommends, and look to find dandelion root as well. Those are highly favored among many degus. While you can have them all mixed together perfectly well and safely, an alternative might be to divide your list into three and make up three different mixes, which you could then offer on alternate days to keep things varied and interesting to your degus. Not all degus care, LOL, and will just gladly eat what is given every day. While others are more finicky about how frequently they encounter certain food sources, and eat more enthusiastically and consistently when they have different things offered from day to day. We have members that keep different mixes for a daily rotation that works very well for their degus, and those that have one big tub of everything that is well received without complaint. You choose what will work with the spacial constraints. Your degus will catch on.
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Post by degumummy137 on May 17, 2019 17:17:54 GMT
Is vitamin D safe if it has olive oil added?
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Post by moletteuk on May 17, 2019 18:00:43 GMT
That list of forage looks OK for a starting point. You can get 'garden mix', dandelion, ribwort, and green oat forage from Zooplus which is fairly cost effective if you can reach the free postage limit, you can buy decent hay and dandelion roots from there too. You could add alfalfa in as a high calcium and decent energy provider, my lot liked the Oxbow stuff which you can get from Amazon for about £5 again if you reach the free postage. I wouldn't mix everything together yet because then you won't be able to tell what they like and what they don't like. Perhaps mix into 3 or 4 groups as a compromise with practicality at first. I'm going to give you the vitamin D figures so you can have a think about it yourself. I recorded all the supplementation rates for commercial foods and those given in scientific experiments and averaged it out as a dose per day of 12 IU (international units) per day. Degus International forum (who used to advise on 100% natural diets) recommend 25 IU/ day. You can buy liquid vitamin D from Holland & Barratt in the UK, the child's one works out at 113 IU/drop and the baby one is 67 IU/drop. If we say two drops per week per degu that is 134 IU/week, which is 19 IU/day. Or you could do one drop per week of the childs dose which is 113 IU/week which equals 16 IU/ day. I think either of those options is in the right ball park with the information we currently have available, but it has to be your decision. Yes, it is fine in olive oil, it always comes diluted in oil, you might need to play around to find the best way for them to take it, I would think on a treat is the best way. Link to baby vit D drops www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-baby-vitamin-d3-drops-60043707
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Post by moletteuk on May 17, 2019 18:13:16 GMT
Also, let me know if you are interested in expanding what you pick yourself for them to eat. Many hedgerow plants and tree leaves and grass are safe and good for them.
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Post by degumummy137 on May 17, 2019 18:32:34 GMT
Thanks for that! Are other, cheaper brands with the same ingredients fine, or is the Holland and Barrett one safer somehow? I will do - let’s see how they get on with this lot first! Thanks
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Post by moletteuk on May 17, 2019 18:37:08 GMT
Holland and Barratt just happens to be the one that was easily available that I enquired with what the dosage was per drop. You can use other brands, but you need to be sure it is the same dose per drop.
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