what veg to start them off with ??

[madhoose]

Hi, I've been reading through all the lists of veg, herbs, nuts & seeds they can have .. mine were only ever fed degu pellets when i got them, i have tried to introduce small portions of veg fresh & dried with no success.. so far all i have managed to get them to take are oats the occasional dried carrot leaf & very occasional pumpkin seed.. anything else i have offered like fresh or dried herbs have been ignored.. i would love for them to have a wee bit of fresh veg, so i suppose I'm just looking for ideas on what other peoples goo's find a big hit... i hate just putting in pellets & hay for them when there is so much more they could have if they would only try it...

[nuttz]

mine are also fussy little mites... they dont even like oats lol
the only veg they will eat in a tiny bit of broccoli, frozen peas they love (make sure if you are offering these that you run them under a tap first so that they dont get the ice stuck to their tongues...) ;D hmmm, they kinda like cornflakes but they only get these occasionally.. monkey nuts are their favs but these can only be given maybe once or twice a month, although i give willow more due to her needing extra fat etc.. they love pumpkin seeds so this time of year is ideal to get as many in a possible, dry them out in the oven and they last ages as a treat! oh, they do like a stick of dried spaghetti otherwise i guess they are pretty happy chomping at their mix and hay

[fred]

I can't really give advice what veg maybe best to start them off with as my girls seem rather unusual in their love for any fresh green matter. I am wondering though whether it helps if you offer them something that is more 'interesting' than small square bits, for example thin slices of cherry tomatoes or long strips of peppers. Also large leaves may be better than small pieces.

[moletteuk]

Have you tried drying your own herbs or dandelions? Mine won't eat anything fresh, but love most things dried.

[fuzzymum1]

Mine all love kale - a biggish bag of sliced kale in tesco is 99p - I feed some fresh and dry the rest in the oven on a low heat. That way it doesn't go off before they can eat it. All 6 of my older ones love it and the babies are starting to try fresh food too now.

[coronasol]

I'm going to try some veg on my two this weekend - my Mum is a vegetarian and I'm making a vegetable bake for her so I figured I would see if any of the veg appeals to Corona or Sol - they love the dried herb/flower mixes I've tried them with so fresh veg is the next adventure!

I hope you find some more variety soon for yours, I'm sure their tastes will change too so what they may not seem to like one day, they'll like on another.

[madhoose]

@ moletteuk.. Hi, like yours mine won't take anything fresh at all including leafs and herbs so i have to dry it all off on radiator... !! I would just love to find something fresh they would eat in the hope that that would help them realize that fresh is super yum yum..

@ fuzzymum.. i haven't tried kale yet but i'll pick it up tomorrow. So keep your fingers crossed... If i can't tempt them i might have a chance with the pups in turn that might encourage them..

@ coronasol.. that's the way i keep thinking & hoping that if i offer it enough they might decide to give it a wee nibble instead of just a wee lick.....

[fred]

Is there any dried veg they like particularly? You could try to give this just 90% dried, and if that works 80% and so on. For example, if you dry carrot slices on the radiator, you can offer them at different times during the drying process and see whether they get interested at some point.

[coronasol]

Nov 4, 2011 13:42:22 GMT madhoose said:

@ coronasol.. that's the way i keep thinking & hoping that if i offer it enough they might decide to give it a wee nibble instead of just a wee lick.....

Well, mine weren't so sure on the fresh veg at the weekend, but I bought a bag of dried carrot, potato and something else (can't remember) and they love it! So dried is definitely a hit, need to work a little on the fresh stuff!!

[Ady]

Do u mean sweet potato? The regular potato is no good for them.

madhoose - if u haven't tried it yet I would go for fresh basil (with stalk) and fresh dandelion leaves. Also u can try to put it in their regular food bowl, so they know it's meant to be eaten.

[coronasol]

Nov 8, 2011 12:13:58 GMT Ady said:

Do u mean sweet potato? The regular potato is no good for them

I think it's just regular dried potato, I'll check when I get home, it's from this mix which is advertised by www.chinchillas2shop.co.uk/treats.htm as Degu Safe:



CRUNCHY TUBERS
Tubers are a mix of Jerusalem artichokes, potatoes and carrot simply dried (not cooked)
100% natural ingredients

[fred]

The Crunchy Tubers will be safe for degus, but I would normally consider them treats, not as veg used in larger amounts as a major ingredient of a natural diet. Jerusalem artichoke is fine. Carrots have a higher sugar content and should be given sparingly. I know from deguforum.de that potatoes are OK but I am not clear whether this applies to all forms of preparation; I also don't know how degus metabolise the starch and what effect this has on the amount they can be given.

[coronasol]

Thanks Fred - I have been giving them as treats, I break up a piece of carrot and a piece of artichoke or potato and feed the small pieces to them, and have done so just once a week.

[harpic01]

Mine love fresh herbs - chives and basil and broccilli, dandalions fresh or dried, pumpkin seeds they love and pumpkin - albeit by mistake a bit on the floor but that was woofed down.
Cauliflower is looked with suspicion but makes a good football !
Summer is easy - dandalions daisies clover flowers and long grass mine go nuts for long grass oh and dried apple leaves.

[nicola27]

Hmm what do mine like.. carrot, peppers, tomato (Daisy more than Cleo).. Daisy likes her veg and eats it straight away, whereas Cleo seems to eat it only because Daisy is eating!! Mine defo love pumpkin seeds I give them 1 in the morning and maybe a couple during the day if they're home.

Cleo and Daisy are currently sat in the sun snuggling. They seem to like sitting in the sun; maybe they like the warmth?!