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Post by hazel on Nov 8, 2021 21:58:49 GMT
i had to go away for a week and left my brother with the degus. it seems he mistook the treats for the normal degu feed. will they be ok?
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Post by teemu on Nov 8, 2021 22:02:26 GMT
What kind of treats did they get? A week is not a very long time, so unless they've been eating pure sugar or something really, really unsuitable, I doubt there will be lasting damage to them from just that. It's probably a good idea to keep them off the treats for a bit, but I would assume that no lasting damage has been done yet in this timespan.
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Post by bouncy on Nov 8, 2021 23:02:14 GMT
Don't panic, Hazel. What's key is that they're still alive and running around! Unless they have a genetic diabetic tendancy, I can't imagine any lasting damage. You may find they've put a bit of weight on, though
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Post by deguconvert on Nov 9, 2021 6:34:43 GMT
Depending on how spoiled they are feeling . . . they may refuse regular food for a few days.
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disaster!
Nov 9, 2021 10:49:56 GMT
via mobile
Post by savvy on Nov 9, 2021 10:49:56 GMT
You may also find they've hidden some of the treats in various places in the cage.
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Post by moletteuk on Nov 9, 2021 13:45:03 GMT
Considering what you have told us about your brother, I would really like to strongly suggest you that he is not a suitable guardian for them when you go away for a week. To be honest, I would say that even a majority of well meaning adults would find it difficult to provide good holiday care for degus.
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Post by hazel on Nov 9, 2021 18:05:12 GMT
I would really like to strongly suggest you that he is not a suitable guardian for them sigh, i know. i had noone else to ask.
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Post by hazel on Nov 9, 2021 18:05:53 GMT
You may also find they've hidden some of the treats in various places in the cage. i've cleaned it all out since.
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Post by hazel on Nov 9, 2021 18:07:40 GMT
What kind of treats did they get? i'm not sure which brand but they're like biccies but for degus, so no sugar or whey or anything catastrophic like that
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Post by teemu on Nov 10, 2021 14:57:52 GMT
Yeah, it's not optimal obviously, but something like that is likely just fine in the long run. They'll be very annoyed now that you'll restrict their free treats again, but a week of indulgence on something relatively benign like that won't come back to haunt anyone Definitely label their foods the next time you have to go anywhere, though, if they have to be looked after by someone who doesn't know or care too much. Put a big post-it note with "THIS IS THEIR FOOD, ONLY GIVE THIS (AND HAY AND WATER) TO THEM" or somesuch on their feed.
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Post by savvy on Nov 10, 2021 15:08:13 GMT
If you have to leave them in the care of someone else again, it may be an idea to put their food into appropriate servings before you go away. You can easily put each meal into small individual tubs and label each one with the day/date etc. That way all the degu sitter has to do is empty each one into the cage at the required time.
To make it more interesting for the degus, each feed could be put into a small cardboard box, or paper bag so they have to work to get at their dinner.
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