Safe Tree (woods, bark etc) List

[degumummy137]

Jun 19, 2020 20:22:51 GMT deguconvert said:

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.

I put a small sprig in the cage for the trio to share and it was quite popular!

[pbbdegu]

Is yucca fine?

[moletteuk]

Yucca is in the 'problematic' group on degupedia, so it's safe in small amounts with careful observation. I think the wood may be less problematic than leaves.

[lindie]

I have a few questions.

My first question is about if it is okay to give them fresh undried twigs.
We have apple, pear, cherry and plum trees in our garden (We don't use pesticides or anything else on our trees). I always give my guinea pigs fresh twigs with the leaves still on (I don't clean these twigs). Can I gave the same to the degus?

Because at the moment I am giving them twigs I have and dried for over a year. These twigs don't have any leaves and are completely clean. If fresh twigs are safe, how often can I give them fresh twigs with leaves?



The other question I have is if I need to dry bigger branches? At the moment I have some beech branches (some I even cleaned the bark of it) do I need to let it dry a few months before I can give it to them? Or is it already safe to give? And is this the same for all the safe woods?



My last question is if teak wood is safe to give? I really love these teak wooden ledges: dierencompleet.nl/product/teakhouten-plateau-recht/

[moletteuk]

Fresh, undried twigs with leaves are fine in the species you mentioned. It's best to give a variety of species so they don't get too much of anything that can be slightly problematic like cherry or birch. Lots of things can be slightly problematic if they eat lots and lots of it, so don't be too concerned about that, just always provide a mix of different things. As with any fresh food that you suddenly introduce, especially if they aren't used to fresh plants at all yet, introduce things in small amounts and slowly at first to give their guts time to adapt.

You don't need to dry out larger branches, just clean off any bird poo and I always used to remove lichen and wash off algae if there are substantial amounts.

I'll let you know if I find an answer on teak.

[laiyah]

Small question since my in-laws have a lavender tree in their gardens (there for Xmas), can degu have lavender branches ?

[moletteuk]

Do you mean a lavender as in the scented herb, in the form of a small tree? If so, yes, that is safe, but I would only offer in small quantities because it's so pungent. If it has been recently bought, I would not offer it as it is likely to be doused in pesticides.

[laiyah]

Yes, a tree that is in the garden of their newly bought house (right around COVID).

It's been over two years of non pesticide so it sounds good to me.

I'm just wondering what quantity is considered 'not too much' ? It's the middle of winter right now so it won't have much lavender on it.

[bouncy]

Start off with small bits, as with any new foods. You may even find they won't touch it for a couple of days!

As with anything, a balanced diet

[laiyah]

Hi everyone,
So, things happened and one of my degu was very intent on eating my small palm tree when I was watering other plants so, I kinda took it away as fast as I could (once I realized she did plan to eat more than the testing chew).

I recall reading on facebook someone saying she has a Chamaedorea Elegan in her degu enclosure as it's not toxic and her degu enjoys "keeping it to their levels." So I was wondering if it could be eventually be a degu friendly plant they could eat as it is really low maintenance. (Considering I failed my alfafa and my degu herbs really won't grow... and all of my flowers died in the heatstroke).

It's a dypsis if I can trust the plant pot and so far, I've only found it non-toxic to cat and dogs, and to not let the animal eat ALL the leaves to avoid stomach blockage.

If anyone has a better easy plant for my home for my degus, I'm a taker...

[teemu]

That is an interesting question, laiyah. From all I can discover, dypsis palm isn't toxic to any animals that usually come up in these conversations (the dogs and the cats you mentioned, and grazers like horses etc). Some post also seems to suggest that rats ate all the palm trees in someone's garden (including dypsis palms), so it looks very likely that it is not toxic. On a quick search, there are also claims that it is not toxic for household pets like rabbits if they gnaw on it.

So the information points towards it being safe, but it's hard to get a definitive answer, and it's hard to say whether it would have some adverse effect if consumed systematically (due to some chemicals or substances in it that are not toxic in small doses but can cause health issues when accumulated in the body, for example). But at least it looks very likely that if your degus do manage to gnaw on it a bit, it won't be dangerous to them.

[Numa]

Do anyone know if this is safe for Degu?
www.aquadeco.com/en/terrarien/h-032-weinstocke-xl/

It's called ''Winewood'' but i can't find any info on it. It's used for aquariums and terrariums, and i've seen some stores keep it in their degu cages so that they can climb and chew on it. I bought one so that my degu can have some fun climbing, but i haven't put it in the cage yet.
Have any of you heard about winewood before? Is it safe?

[moletteuk]

It seems to also be called Padauk, and I can't say that it is safe, it looks to have a few ways it may be an irritant, I don't think I would use it:
www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/

[teemu]

Yes, checking some other sources as well, padauk wood seems to be an irritant in all forms, in basically all possible ways of exposure (to skin, lungs, eyes, stomach etc). And this is to humans, so a small animal like a degu would likely have much worse reaction. Definitely not one to test.

[laiyah]

Just to double check, last year, I bought a dwarf apple tree for fun, thinking if it died, my degus would have a blast.

This year, my apple tree is very intent on giving apples and had like... Fourty flowers on 1 m of wood without extra branches.

My boyfriend pruned some of the flowers and I gave them to my degus, assuming it's ok since they can eat the wood and leaves.

So, I wanted to check with you guys if there was a limit in how much they can have and when/how do you guys dry the leaves, flowers, wood for your pet safely for the tree and deliciously for the degus?

[moletteuk]

They can have unlimited apple wood, leaves & flowers.
It depends what space you have available, but we have a big shed so I would just lay leaves and branches out on a sheet of cardboard to dry, you can also hang them for larger items like branches, anywhere dry is fine.

[laiyah]

Is there a particular time ? I mean, like, is dead leaves working or is it better to pluck them fresh in spring ?

[moletteuk]

Leaves need to be green, they won't eat brown autumn leaves. Young leaves of any plant contain more sugars and fewer minerals, so degus prefer those although more mature leaves are better for them because they have more fibre and nutrition. It depends how fussy your degus are - the best plants are the ones they will eat!