Safe Tree (woods, bark etc) List

[moletteuk]

Yes.

[savvy]

Is wicker safe?   My botany isn't what it should be.  I've come across various bridges etc saying that they are made from wicker.  Isn't wicker wood basically willow wood and it's been lost in translation?

Can't see it covered anywhere in this thread.

[moletteuk]

Yes, it should normally be willow, so should be safe.

[nika]

Hiya,

Are the flowers and leaves from crabapple fine? Fresh wood, not dried?

And cherries, your list includes Prunus (all species of cherry), just to be absolutely sure, does this include cherry blossom (it is a prunus variety). Does this include fresh twigs, the leaves and the flowers? I’m worried about the potential of there being sugars in the flowers.

I do a lot of foraging, and I see dried dandelions in their bought food and treats - I know it’s not a tree, but fresh dandelions. Are they fine? Which parts? Flower, stem, roots, leaves and the ‘fluff’?

Thank you so much, finding comprehensive information on degus seems to be a bit difficult, the books I’ve read are fairly vague and most of the internet just repeats itself. When I saw this forum I was a bit excited, lots of youse seem very serious about degus, which means all the best information!

[deguconvert]

In short . . . YES!! All of the above that you ask about are safe. The only concern is that you ensure that the trees you forage from have not been sprayed with insecticides or fertilizers. Leaves, twigs, flowers, and branches will ALL be gleefully received and enjoyed. Just . . . start slowly with them, because as with any new food, their bodies need to have some time to grow the appropriate gut bacteria so as to digest it well and without complications like diarrhea. If there is dust or dirt, a light brushing or gentle washing is all that is needed. If there is any sign of fungus or moss, that will take more cleaning, and if the wood is spongy, you should just give it a pass.

[nika]

Oh that’s good thank you! I forage far from roads in the brush and woods, so well away from car exhaust, farmers fields or parks - so those areas won’t be sprayed either. I’ve had this tree identifying book for ages, and now I’m taking a crash course on identifying trees so that I can’t provide the degus with a huge variety. It’ll get me out of the house as well, with autism, anxiety, EDS and ME that’ll be a good thing lol. Keeping my animals and children well and happy is what keeps me going

[deguconvert]

You are not alone with the mental and physical struggles. We have many here with similar, or even some of the same, challenges that you are daily facing. You are welcome to share as you feel confident or comfortable. Moletteuk is our foraging and nutrition specialist, and she is also taking classes in identifying plant species. She may be a great help to you.

[moletteuk]

My degus used to specifically get cherry twigs including blossom in the spring and enjoyed it and were fine, the quantity of nectar is pretty small in the grand scheme of things. You will find that degus love chewing fresh branches, sticks & twigs and all the more so if they are fresh and have bark, leaves and flowers on.

If you can get out foraging you have a great advantage for keeping your degus happy and healthy. Just remember start slow, be careful with your identification, offer things in small amounts and gradually at first and try everything fresh and dried, they often prefer things dried. Degus will often reject things or be cautious at first so it's worth trying things again at a later date.


We have a safe plants thread here deguworld.proboards.com/thread/8772/safe-plants-herbs-leaves-consumption?page=1
and I started a plant foraging thread about the easiest things to collect here deguworld.proboards.com/thread/17333/wild-plant

[nika]

Thank you so much.

And yes, absolutely on the identifying - it’s why I’ve asked about grapevine in another thread because I want them to have a big twisty climbing branch, but my tree identifying skills are still in their infancy stage, and I don’t want to get it wrong. Right now I can only safely identify the obvious ones. I do forage a bit for my family, but again, only the safest things like wild garlic that abundant right now, hedgehog mushrooms, brambles, broom, dandelion (pickled dandelions heads!) etc. I would love to find courses near me because I’m generally happiest alone with my dog out foraging. At first I was a bit gutted at the degus sugar free diet, but now looking at it another way, it’ll encourage me to broaden my foraging skills. It’s just not something you want to make a mistake doing lol

[moletteuk]

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed foraging for the degus and how it got me started learning botany. Have you tried the garlic mustard that is out right now (Alliaria petiolata)?, it's easy to spot and good in salads and degu safe. What do you do with the broom? I did a course through the adult education programme by local council, but I'm up and running learning with a botany group now. You might find things going on with your local wildlfe trust or biodiversity/ recording centre or natural history society.

[nika]

Broom is really only useful for making a salad look fancy. It’s flower is edible

[deguconvert]

PICKLED DANDELION HEADS??? Do tell!

[degumummy137]

Is oak definitely safe? I’ve read elsewhere that the levels of tannin can be concerning, and that it’s considered a carcinogen for humans and some animals. We’re soon moving to a house with an oak tree in the garden, so it’d be a shame to not utilise the free branches, but it would be a frequent use situation, so I don’t want to risk long-term health problems.

[moletteuk]

Oak is safe but it's probably not that simple. I tend to think of it like many of the natural plants they eat, many of which can be problematic if they eat too much of any one thing. So, it is safe, but probably not advisable to only offer oak, offer other tree species when you can. The good thing about tannins is that they come with a flavour, so the degus should be aware of their presence and may know when they have had enough, although there are no guarantees for this.

[degumummy137]

Dec 3, 2019 19:41:54 GMT moletteuk said:

Oak is safe but it's probably not that simple. I tend to think of it like many of the natural plants they eat, many of which can be problematic if they eat too much of any one thing. So, it is safe, but probably not advisable to only offer oak, offer other tree species when you can. The good thing about tannins is that they come with a flavour, so the degus should be aware of their presence and may know when they have had enough, although there are no guarantees for this.

Well, I’d like them to have constant access to thick branches to climb and chew, which they don’t atm. I’d like them to have a more natural living environment. Right now they get maybe monthly apple branches from my parents’ place, and we buy nibble sticks (hazel, birch and apple) and they have constant access to a variety of dried leaves and flowers. How often would you say it would be safe to have oak branches in the cage and low long for? Once they’ve stripped off the bark would they be safe to leave in to continue climbing on, or not?

[moletteuk]

There is no science and very little anecdotal evidence specific to degus about oak to allow me to give specific answers. I've done a bit more digging for you though and my poison plant book says that the tannins are most concentrated in the young leaves and acorns. It does mentioned that it can be lethal to some animals. Degupedia is a bit weird on the topic:

google translation of this page www.degupedia.de/wiki/index.php/Stieleiche

"Suitability as food
Oak is controversial in small mammals as food. Many pet owners regard the high tannin content as problematic. However, there are studies on some rodents that examined the tolerability of tannins and suggest that many rodents tolerate tannins better than expected. Tannins inhibit digestion and thus act as an anti-nutrient on the carcass. They are formed in many plants, especially in trees as mites. More recently there have been increasing numbers of pet owners who have had positive experiences with feeding acorns and a comparison with older literature also shows that the oak used to be used for animal feeding.Jamón Ibérico de Bellota ).

Fitness for degus
Leaves and branches of the oak are very controversial as Degufutter. On the one hand there is more and more evidence that the tannins of the oak, which are present in particular in the bark, prevent cataracts, otherwise applies in German-speaking countries, the oak as too rich in tannins for degus and is not fed here. So there is no experience of compatibility with the degu.

The situation is different in the English-speaking part of the world. Here there are always reports that oak and leaves were fed and had not harmed the degus. These are, however, only individual observations. The oak is therefore certainly not a plant that should be fed by beginners in the Deguhaltung, as a beginner might notice too late, that the oak was still incompatible for his animals. Thus, the feeding of the oak in all its parts except the fruits of the experienced Deguhaltern reserved. The fruits themselves should not serve better than degas feed, as they are too energy-rich and therefore do not meet the requirement of a barren diet of a degus."

This doesn't make that much sense to me since we think we know that the tannins are strongest in the acorns.

I found a reference on the german degu forum mentioning oak as a treatment for constipation, so I would assume that it can cause loose stools in a healthy degu, so that would be something to look out for.

I did offer my degus a fresh oak branch with leaves on and they went mad for it for a few minutes and then never ate the leaves again on that branch or any other occasion.

I would have few reservations about offering the wood with the bark removed because they don't usually swallow when they chew solid wood. I think it needs to be up to you to try branches with bark on, see how they react and judge what seems safe.

[degumummy137]

Opinions on bamboo? I can see it’s on the safe list, but is it just safe as in not strongly toxic, or does it actually have nutritional qualities for them? I’ve never used bamboo at all but after tackling the jungle out front we’ve realised that part of the mess is a bamboo plant, and we don’t know whether to keep or get rid!

[deguconvert]

I am not really sure . . . but I think it is safe. However it is my recollection that it isn't a big favorite with degus. You could pinch a couple of leaves off and see what they think. If they like it, wait a couple of days and then offer a small amount again and see how they react a second time. You want to go slowly, because you want to know if it will be causing any gut issues.

[degumummy137]

Yes, I’ve learnt my lesson already with that 😂 I won’t be putting any in the baby cage, I know that much!

I’ll give the adults a try with a little bit and let you know.

[moletteuk]

bamboo is safe.