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Post by pollux on Jul 6, 2020 14:23:12 GMT
Hi, degu owners of the world! I am located in Edmonton, Alberta, and I have been feeding my six degus forage from Nature's Degu Pantry for the past year. However, with Nature's Degu Pantry closed down, I'm now down to my last half bag of forage and at a bit of a loss what to do. I've looked at all the stores that sell forage, but it appears that they don't ship to Canada. I know I can go and collect forage myself, but I have zero faith in my ability to tell an apple leaf from, say, poison ivy, and I don't want to accidentally poison my degus by feeding them something they definitely shouldn't have eaten.
Canadian degu owners, where do you get your forage? Anybody have a secret forage hook-up that they can pass along to me? (I say with extreme hope...)
The forage (or lack thereof) has become more critical as of late since Ajax, one of my male degus, recently broke two of his molars. Yup, you read that right. My vet, who has experience with degus, said that she has never seen anything like it before. His incisors were absolutely fine, and her theory is that he stuck something in his mouth and then chomped down--breaking his two front molars. I noticed about a week and a half ago when he was eating significantly slower than his brothers, and then he stopped eating hard food entirely a few days later. I made an emergency appointment with the vet and it took a full week and two total visits before she was able to determine what happen. She filed down the broken molars 4mm to get them even and he's on antibiotics and metacam for the next week and two weeks respectively.
Anyway, long story longer, he's on the mend and is eating hard food again (thank the stars), but he's still kind of avoiding hay. He, however, is quite happy to chow down on forage so I'm apprehensive that I'll run out before he's fully better and back to eating a full diet.
Thanks in advance!
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Post by bouncy on Jul 6, 2020 23:41:14 GMT
Welcome!
Hmmmmmm. I looked up some suitable foods for a new member in Canada sometime in the last couple of months. Let me see if I can find the information in the morning. Was Nature's Degu Pantry the Canadian distributor for Hansemanns?
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Post by deguconvert on Jul 7, 2020 0:37:57 GMT
Do you have a yard . . . or have friends or family with yards . . . that would be willing to let you forage there? Do any of them have roses, or raspberries, or apple/crabapple trees? There are many more plants that are useful. My thought was, if you have people that will let you . . . maybe you could take photos of the trees and shrubs etc that are in their yards and we could tell you what is safe to use? Good close (single leaf to a several leaves) and distant (full plant if possible) shots will help. You will need to use a third party hosting site in order to post on here though.
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Post by yasmin on Jul 7, 2020 2:17:23 GMT
I bought my forage from Nature's Degu Pantry too and am in the same situation. I have been looking online for a suitable alternative - on Etsy I have found some forage mixes for guinea pigs and rabbits, but am not sure if the mixes are appropriate. I will probably try to contact Hansseman in Germany directly. That said, My husband bought me a "London Sunshine" food dehydrator. Guess I could start to collect dandelions and clover etc. from my property and start with that?
Will post any progress I make on finding a new source.
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wanda
Newborn Degu
Posts: 17 
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Post by wanda on Jul 7, 2020 6:20:32 GMT
Hi All....I am so sorry for the closing of Natures Degu Pantry and the challenges presented with everything. I suggest emailing Hansmanns directly to request forage....and soon. I believe they will supply but it could take awhile.... I suggest also a 7 kg order for the most economical shipping.... give it a try..... www.hansemanns-team.de/Also, Pollux, email me if you wish.... All the best to all.... |
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Post by pollux on Jul 7, 2020 14:11:35 GMT
Hi, Wanda! No need to apologize! I only wish that Canada had the same options for degu supplies as our friends in Europe, but it's not your fault that Nature's Degu Pantry had to close down! It only means that you provided Canadian degu owners with a much-needed service for a long time, and now we need to find alternate means. I will contact Hansemann right away and ask for a 7 kg order as you suggested! Thanks for the help.
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Post by bouncy on Jul 7, 2020 22:16:36 GMT
Phew! The food I'd found for another member was pellets, rather than forage.
Hansemanns are very easy to deal with. Because you're not within Germany or Austria, you won't be able to order directly from their website. Instead, make a careful note of what you want to order, then email them with your shipping details. They will get back to you with a complete price within a day or two.
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Post by yasmin on Jul 8, 2020 1:54:57 GMT
Thanks Wanda and Bouncy. Will email them tomorrow.  |
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wanda
Newborn Degu
Posts: 17
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Post by wanda on Jul 8, 2020 5:35:33 GMT
Please let me know how the Hansmann orders go....yes, they have been very communicative with me....Good Luck!
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Post by pollux on Jul 20, 2020 22:22:49 GMT
Hi! In case anyone was interested, I thought I'd provide an update on ordering from Hansmanns.
It went so well! Kerstin warned that it might take a very long time since the package was being shipped via DHL sea freight to Canada (due to COVID, sea freight is the only shipping option available), but I literally got it in 11 days. The price was very reasonable and I now have forage for my degus! YAY! I'm so relieved. I've been entirely out for about a week now, and my degus kept creeping to the forage bowl, putting their paws on the end, and staring up at me forlornly. Cheeky buggers.
Thanks, everyone (and especially Wanda!)!
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Post by deguconvert on Jul 20, 2020 23:01:27 GMT
This is EXCELLENT!! Thank you for letting us know how it went, Pollux! I'm absolutely thrilled with your report! I bet your degus are thoroughly enjoying the forage as well!
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Post by yasmin on Jul 21, 2020 2:37:45 GMT
Wow - awesome! Haven't gotten around to emailing them yet - am having trouble figuring out how to communicate with them in both English and German. What did you write to them pollux ? |
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 21, 2020 10:19:55 GMT
I'm pleased it went smoothly You can just email them in English, Yasmin. |
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Post by pollux on Jul 21, 2020 17:03:01 GMT
Yasmin, I submitted an inquiry through the "contact us" form on the website and asked for 7 kgs of the SAB Degu Plant Mix to Canada. I then paid via paypal and was sent a tracking number when the package went out. If it helps, postage for 7 kgs to Canada cost 52.20 euro.
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wanda
Newborn Degu
Posts: 17
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Post by wanda on Jul 25, 2020 4:28:53 GMT
Oh My! I am so happy to hear these positive results of SAB food delivery from Hansmann's! This is great news! All degus enjoy!
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Post by yasmin on Jul 27, 2020 2:11:37 GMT
Yes, thanks everyone. I have placed my order. So relieved that they deliver to Canada. Ordered 7 kg - not sure where we will put it all but that should last a while.
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