A few days without hard feed

[littlesqueek]

I'm a terrible mum!

I completely ran out of my Degu's usual hard feed on Wednesday. So last night (Thursday) I gave them extra hay. Went out tonight (had to wait till my other half got back from work so he could drive me) to get some more hard feed, Pets at home had completely run out of their usual feed and so had the other pet shop in town and by that point it was too late to try the local garden centres, I even tried the local super market.

Going to go out tomorrow to the Garden centres in search of their regular feed. (I'm reluctant to simply pick up another brand and say "that will do" because I don't want to upset their digestive system.)

They have access to plenty of hey (it's timothy hey with dandelion and Marigold) but will a few nights without hard feed be detrimental to their health/ digestive system?

[deguconvert]

Well, what else have you got in house? Do you have some dry pasta? Porridge oats (not instant)? What vegg have you got? Sunflower seeds, peanuts, other nuts? Access to natural greens from outside . . . grasses, leaves from apple, birch, weeping willow, mountain ash, raspberry/blackberry, rose petals?

[moletteuk]

It's not ideal, they will lose weight quite fast.
Have a look through these food charts to see if you have anything on there you can offer them deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=food&action=display&thread=15602

[littlesqueek]

Thank you for your replies.

I went to the Garden Center earlier today and they had my Degu's usual feed in stock.

Last night I gave them an apple twig with leaves on it, Black current leaves and a mixture of my 19 degu approved treats.

Won't let this happen again. I should have been more responsible and got some more feed before I completly ran out. Hopefully no long term damage was done.

[moletteuk]

I'm sure there won't have been any long term harm

[stargirlj]

Hey,
Just wondering if it's ok as my Degu had a treat stick last week and since then they haven't touched their dry food. Finally just this minute I finally saw Monty eating some food. Will this have harmed them at all? Not eating their dry food for a week? They have still been eating hay and their mineral block and drinking water. Just wondered if this is common or are my Degu just being picky?? Thanks

[deguconvert]

I suspect there is some pickiness happening there. LOL! Almost a hunger strike . . . if we can't have that treat stick everyday, we won't eat!! Like a child holding it's breath to get it's own way. I suggest that next time you want to treat them, you either break that stick into much smaller pieces, or offer some of the other treats listed in the links to interesting foods at the top of this board.