Ideas of what to feed to maximise weight gain

[squeaksqueak]

I have two four year old Degus who up until this year have been happy and healthy. But over the last four months "Toast" has had repeated mouth infections that have been difficult to clear up.

The vets given him the all clear now and he's eating normally again, but nearly four months of not being able to eat properly have left him severely underweight. He's still active and bright, but he's almost skeletal and missing patches of hair.

Is there anything thing extra I can add to his diet or a different food I could be using to speed up his weight gain. I hate seeing him like this.

Currently I'm feeding both my degus pets at home nuggets with hay, and then occasional fresh veg treats.

[deguconvert]

OK . . . I'm going to make some suggestions based on a few charts that one of our moderators has been putting together.

Walnuts have safe amount of protein, higher fat and carb, but for nuts lower sugar content, and they have a lower phospherous than other nuts. Give these finely chopped, and no more than a tsp per day each, until you see they've gained enough weight to bring them up to say 225 grams. After that, I would suggest that you lessen it considerably.

Porridge oats . . . these are carbs that will help your degus to put on some weight, low fat, and sugars. Give them between 1-2 tablesp-oons each per day. Also throw in whole barley and buckwheat to round it out. No limitations on these grains.

Sesame seeds, celery seeds, and fennel seeds . . . all of these have excellent amounts of calcium, lower phospherous . . . I suspect that with compromised eating ability, their balances may be out of whack, and so to have some calcium rich foods will be important for their teeth, bones, and whatever else uses it in their wee bodies.
Flax seed doesn't have the same ratios as the above, but it will be a good source of nutrition for your boys. No limitations on these seeds.

For veg, beet greens, dandelion flower, leaves, stems, and roots, green beans, parsley, cilantro, basil, dill, and oregano are all excellent greens for them as well. Start slowly with these if they don't eat much in the way of greens/veg. If they haven't had much, they can become very loose in their stools which it not healthy for them. But if you take it slowly, their bodies will adjust and they will be able to eat more and more as you go.

Hay of course! Free access.

Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, these are still treats for them, so give sparingly.

[moletteuk]

Here's the link to the charts in case you would like a look deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=food&action=display&thread=15602

Deguconvert has summarised it very well for you, grains & seeds are great for putting weight on & look for high calcium foods. He would probably also benefit from veg and greenery/ forage to get some fibre and vitamins and minerals into him. Veg are usually preferred dried out. You can buy herb mixes which would also be great for him.