|
|
Post by fred on Jul 26, 2011 11:22:11 GMT
I thought I should give a brief account how dramatically the diet of my two girls has changed over the past month. Maybe there is something interesting in it for some of you. They now refuse to eat any P@H nuggets. From XtraVital Degu they reject about 50% and from Gerty Guinea Pig a whopping 70%. Their food bowl contains a mix of all the bits they reject and they haven't touched it at all for a full two weeks!! They get those bits from XtraVital Degu and Gerty Guinea Pig which they still like as treats, at two to three grams per head per day. That's all the hard feed they eat. Once I'm through with the current bags I'll make up my own mix. In parallel, the amount of fresh greens has increased to an estimated 30% of their daily intake. They absolutely love flowers. At the moment, on the average day, they get five large dandelion flowers or about 30 daisies. I have put up two clips of them munching away: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqWqQyLPtj8; www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOzfAvWOM1M. The flowers are on top on their staple greens (basil, parsley, thyme, water cress, dandelion leaves). I use the potted herbs from ASDA and they get through a pot in two to three days. They also love fresh leaves on twigs or small branches (so far I have tried apple, birch, cherry and plum). Two or three hours after I have put them into the cage it looks as if a swarm of locusts had visited. They don't like veggies though and so far I only got them moderately interested in broccoli. They never get anything which has increased sugar content. I hadn't planned to change their diet this way but I am very happy how it developed. Contrary to what is said on some sites, degus can have a lot of fresh greens. However, as always when giving something new to degus, one should start with small amounts and increase them slowly. |
|
|
|
Post by malteser60 on Jul 26, 2011 12:30:08 GMT
This is really interesting to know Fred as mine are going that way as well.
So far they have xtravital degu food - 1 shot glass in the morning for both of them. In the evening I give them each a square of science selective, they love it so I'm not going to give them too much otherwise they habituate to it and I like that they are eating something that is meant to be balanced. Then I also include dandelion roots (dried), leaves and flowers, a mixture of either meadow or mountain flowers, dried parsley (I've just planted a whole bunch of herbs so when they're ready to cut I'll feed them that), twigs (apple, birch and something else, can't remember), alfalfa cube every so often, millet every-so-often, frozen or fresh peas, brocolli, and that's pretty much it for now.
If I find fresh flowers they also go crazy over them, especially rose petals, although those are hard to come by that are ok to eat. I have a rose bush in the front garden but it's a busy road.
Their treats are normally a piece of dried pasta, maltese water crackers (hard and have nothing added), and oats of course. Other than that they don't get any sugary treats, mainly as one of my degus is diabetic.
|
|
|
|
Post by malteser60 on Jul 26, 2011 12:34:20 GMT
Also meant to say that if I feed them more xtravital they will selectively eat. So far they will also eat the nuggety bits if I leave it in there long enough, I've seen them do it. Plus I monitor their weight regularly so I'll know if they aren't eating enough.
Also where are you getting your fresh flowers and twigs/branches from?
|
|
|
|
Post by fred on Jul 26, 2011 12:49:05 GMT
Nice to two know my girls are in good company  I forgot to say they also get dried flowers and herbs. We are working our way through the various Woodlands products. Incidentally it was when they had the dandelion feast that they really got into the dandelion flowers, and from there into fresh greens in general (it may of course have been coincidence). Their favourite snack are dried spaghetti which I find ideal for training. I also weigh them weekly and the growth curve has been very steady through the changes in their diet. I mainly collect the flowers along the Water of Leith were I am sure they are clean (no human or doggy interference). But I have also started to grow all kinds of stuff now. |
|
|
|
Post by malteser60 on Jul 26, 2011 13:27:17 GMT
Ah, water of leith, I do miss it there!
I really need to go investigate the countryside around here. The biggest problem I have where I live (midlands) is that it's almost all farming, so either hedgrows, and potential of peripheral wildflowers being sprayed with stuff. I think I should start growing stuff in my garden. You can buy wildflower mix so I'm sure I can find some that have a mix of what the degus can eat.
Mine always seemed to like flowers, however it's only flowers that they like fresh. Everything else has to be dried.
I do like the way our girls diet is going as for me it feels like it's more natural to the degus, they get a good range of food, and they love it when it comes to feeding time. After all their digestive tract is adapted for this sort of food ;D
|
|
|
|
Post by grumpy89 on Jul 26, 2011 21:42:53 GMT
can they have any type of flowers? or just certain types??
Mine have XtraVital - and they do eat most of it sometimes.... but would like to get them eating more greens and veg. At one time they went mad for herbs but went off them when we moved house 4 weeks ago - will try them again when they are more settled!
Somebody mentioned peas - do you give them frozen? thought that might be quite nice when the weather gets warmer.
|
|
|
|
Post by fred on Jul 26, 2011 22:32:10 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by malteser60 on Jul 27, 2011 11:45:29 GMT
Frozen peas in summer are great for keeping the degus cool. Just make sure you wash/wipe down the outside so that their little paws and tongues don't get freezer burn or stuck onto the pea!
|
|
|
|
Post by nuttz on Jul 27, 2011 11:55:31 GMT
just tried the peas.............wow, they all love them!
what a great treat, thanks x
|
|
|
|
Post by grumpy89 on Jul 28, 2011 15:24:38 GMT
Put some frozen peas in just now - they dont know what to do with them! They keep going up to them and sniffing and licking them! Just watching them secretly to see if one takes the plunge and has a munch!
10 minutes later - totally ignored them!! haha! never mind, will try something else over the weekend!
|
|
|
|
Post by Maravilla on Aug 18, 2011 12:01:20 GMT
can they have any type of flowers? or just certain types?? Well, not all flowers are healthy for our smalls animals, some can even be poisonous. And it is very important to change nutrition slowly to avoid intestinal problems like diarrhoea. I just can name you the flowers my animals get as a regular food, not knowing if you will find them in your country as well. Due to possible translation problems I also provide the latin names to avoid any misunderstanding. rose (rosa) red clover (trifolium pratense), white clover (trifolium repens) -> here be careful and only give small amounts marigold (calendula off.) hibiscus cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) brown knapwee (Centaurea jacea) camomile (Matricaria chamomilla) yarrow (Achillea millefolium) daisies (Bellis perennis) dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) marguerite (Leucanthemum vulgare) This is just a short list of flowers you can give your degus as a normal diet or a treat. Feel free to ask if you have doubts about any plants (trees, herbs, flowers) suitable for degus. My degus only know such kind of diet and they are healthy and alive. |
|
|
|
Post by fred on Aug 18, 2011 12:32:30 GMT
Thanks Maravilla, it is always so much better to hear from people's experiences rather than only see lists of suitable and poisonous plants.
DC: what about copying Maravilla's post into a new “safe plants” thread to which people can add their experiences?
I would like to add a few herbs over which my two go crazy and eat them in large amounts
basil
coriander
parsley
thyme
As Maravilla already said, all new plants / diet need to be introduced slowly!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Maravilla on Aug 18, 2011 15:32:13 GMT
Anyone interested in more plants suitable as degu dinner? These are only the plants I have experiences with; but there are much more I still didn't try out. Leavesapple tree pear tree peach tree cherry tree blackberry raspberry strawberry blueberry hazelnut common/ European hornbeam [Carpinus betulus] tilia -> you can offer leaves as well as what is called flowers birch [genus Betula] willow [salix] gingko [Ginkgo biloba] Herbs -> always be careful and don't give too much as all these herbs have medical impacts due to the content of essential oils, you can offer them fresh or dried lemon balm [Melissa officinalis] peppermint [Mentha piperita] camomile [Matricaria chamomilla] dill [Anethum graveolens] sage [Salvia officinalis] purple coneflower [Echinacea purpurea] chervil [Anthriscus] Weedsdandelion (Taraxacum officinale) -> you can give the whole plant, also the roots which are here titbits buckhorn [Plantago lanceolata] plantain [Plantago major] goutweed/ ground elder [Aegopodium podagraria] shepherd's purse [Capsella bursa-pastoris] St John's wort [Hypericum perforatum] Canada goldenrod [Solidago canadensis] How this might look like? Flowers and herbs  Weeds and leaves  |
|
|
|
Post by fred on Aug 18, 2011 15:53:04 GMT
I have got a few questions here.
- What is your opinion of the amount of leaves from stone fruit trees that one can feed? I have seen some sites which recommend only small amounts (not to speak of Degutopia which finds them toxic). I have fed a lot of cherry leaves and believe that it's OK.
- We are not sure what to make of the different willow species. At the moment we are cautious and recommend only weeping willow. Do you know of experiences with white willow?
- I have often seen that some herbs are recommended only in small amounts because of the potential medical impact, but so far I haven't really seen this backed up. I can only tell from my own experience, and they really eat a lot, but I wouldn't recommend if it might be unsafe.
|
|
|
|
Post by Maravilla on Aug 18, 2011 18:35:29 GMT
Hello fred, I think the discussion about feeding or not leaves and branches from stone fruit trees is universal. There is always the same argument, that these contain critical amounts of cyanogenic glycosides. I fed my degus a higher amount of fresh leaves last summer and dried the rest for winter time. I don't see any problem by feeding them these leaves, especially not when they are provided together with a variety of other leaves so degus can chose what to eat. So far, I only tried weeping willow and Salix matsudana. My degus enjoyed chewing the branches but did not like the leaves very much. Concerning your question about white willow, I have to look for further information as well. My degus get a variety of about 10-15 different plants per feeding, so they can select what they want to eat. When you provide this amount of plants, you automatically only give small amounts of everything. The only herb I really give in higher amounts, and fresh, is basil and they would kill for it ;D  . |
|
.