Supplementing?

[dyzired]

Have any of you ever used the supplements that are on the market for small animals?
How do you feel about using them for degus?

My boss got some small animal samples in and she'd like me to try them out on my degus. The thing is though, there is cane mollasses in it. Im wondering though if it's something I can give as a "treat" and not every day like it says to do.

Let me know what you think...
It's oxbow natural science for immune support.
Product facts per 1 hay tab..
Active ingredients
Fenugreek seed-45mg, chicory root(source of inulin)-40mg, olive leaf-27 mg, astragalus root-18mg, goldenseal-9mg

Inactive ingredients
Timothy grass, barley flour, oat groat flour, cane mollasses, flax seed meal, yeast culture (dehydrated), L-ascorbyl-2-mono phosphate, algae(fat product), mixed tocopherols, and rosemary extract

And it says goldenseal promotes overall immune system health, while olive leaf and astragalus root support the treatment of infections.

And it says for rabbits guinea pigs and chinchillas use 1/2 tab for ones between 0-1 lbs. and for rats of all weights use 1/4 tab per day. And I guess you can go to the site to view other species feeding recommendations.

The site is
Oxbowanimalhealth.com

Let me know how you guys feel about it.

[moletteuk]

I think it's similar to humans and it's better to get vitamins and minerals etc through a varied diet rather than from supplements. Most supplements aren't going to do any harm, but in this case with it having molasses in I wouldn't feed it to degus.

I guess you could offer them a small piece just to find out if they like it or not so you have somthing to tell your boss, if you felt obliged.

[dusty]

I am assuming you work in a pet store?
I think I would explain to the boss that as it contains molasses it's not suitable for degus. I would also be slightly worried about the yeast although I'm not sure whether that is actually safe for them or not.
The trouble with supplements, is you need to use them daily for a certain length of time to see any results and unless your degus are permanently suffering from coughs n colds etc you would have no way of knowing how it affected their immune system anyway. So, as an experiment with their health I would definately say no - I would rather lose my job than my pets.
I suppose as Moletteuk says you could try a very small piece to see if they like it but, on the other hand if it's not really suitable for them why would it matter, you wouldn't be recommending it to other degu owners and would not be able to use it reguarly enough to see if their health improves.
Sorry, does that sound like a rather harsh rant? I take it I'm not a fan of supplements.

[Karma]

Those supplements are made for use of animals that need them - immune support is mostly geared towards bunnies will constant colds and runny noses.

Molasses = no no for degus. The yeast is perfectly fine a lot of pellet food contents it.

[moletteuk]

You guys are right, it's not suitable for degus due to the molasses so it's irrelevant whether they like it or not, and it's actually a bit worrying if your boss doesn't understand this.

[dyzired]

Just to clear up any confusion lol yes i work at a pet store... My boss is very knowledgable about dogs and cats and is a new owner of a pet store for dog and cat supplies only. She bought this place just a couple of months ago and I've been working by her side bringing inventory in. I've convinced her to bring in bird supplies which she has. And I've been trying to get her to bring in small animal supplies but she hasn't wanted to. If any of you worked for a pet store before, you know that companies loooooove to give out samples to urge the stores to carry them. Well, one of our suppliers brought in some small animal samples... Which included those 5 oxbow supplements.. A bag of oxbow rabbit food and a bag of guinea pig food. I also work at a boarding facility which is connected to the pet store so two of my coworkers took home the food
For their rabbits and guinea pig. And she thought I'd try out the supplements for my degus. She's not experienced at all with small animals but that's why I'm there for her. I had already explained to her that molasses is a no go for degus due to the high sugar content and I explained the diabetes and all that and so now she knows. But I told her I'd look into it and if it didn't work out I'd let someone else I knew try it out on a different animal that it's suitable for if they wanted it.

My boss doesn't know a thing about degus because they're not popular here at all. I've met one other person that has owned them ever. She would not even carry exotic animal supplies as its a very small supply store.

I won't try the supplements on my goos.. Even if I were to give them a small piece once a month, I wouldn't see any improvement with it that spread out any way so it's pointless. Anybody know how guinea pigs handle sugar? My coworker who has a guinea pig may try it out if I give it to him but I don't want to give it to him if it's bad.

Sorry this is all over the place. Just wanted to try and clear any confusion about this... My boss isn't an idiot at all, just has more experience with certain animals over others.

Also If any of you know about these oxbow products on whether they are good or not, let me know! I'd love to give her feedback on people that actually use it. It seemed like a great product other than the molasses which was also in the pelleted food. Other than that it seemed quite the premium food.

Anyways.. Thanks!!

[Karma]

Which oxbox food did you bring in? The regular ones in red bags or the natural science ones (blue and red bag depending on the species).

At the pet store I work at all our rabbits and guinea pigs are on it from the time they come into the store. For the guinea pigs compared to the basic pellets we were using on them before - BIG difference in overall coat quality and health. The rabbits comparing to the martin little friends brand - no difference because they are both high quality brands.

The supplements are new for our store and we haven't had anyone give us feedback yet. One of our managers tried the immune support but her rabbit wouldn't eat it.

The natural selection version of their food is basically a higher palatability version of their normal food but most animals don't have that much of an issue eating the regular. Hope that helps

Molasses isn't an issue for any other non-south american animals. It is in 95% of the small animal to make it taste good for the animals.

[dyzired]

It was the natural science kind. For both the rabbit and the guinea pig food. Seemed like a good food. And it smelled really good too hhaa

[moletteuk]

I think it's pretty cool that you work for an independant pet store with a good boss who listens to you

Oxbow make Critical Care that I'm always mentioning, but I don't know if its available in the US.

[dyzired]

Thanks.. Yeah, it's nice to have a boss who I feel is more of a coworker/partner than a boss. I wouldn't want to get on her bad side, but overall it's great working for her.

And no I don't think ive ever seen critical care around here. I know I saw those oxbow supplements at a petsmart recently.. So I'll have to have a look and see if
I see it, but I really dont think it's sold here.

[Karma]

Critical care is only available to vets - pet stores aren't allow to sell it unforunately.

[dyzired]

The man that used to own the pet store I work at is a vet so he used to be able to carry all that kind of stuff... I found it online.. It may be sold here.. But like you said.. You need to be a vet

[winic1]

Just my two cents--we have our guinea pigs on oxbow food, the regular kind, and they are doing great. We also prefer to use the oxbow timothy hay for degus and the guinea pigs. They seem to like it better, and we have had MAJOR problems with the Kaytee hays being more dust and bits than useable hay. Have had a couple of bags of their Hay Plus Marigolds/Carrots that seemed to be filled with just floor sweepings. Not buying THAT anymore.

[dyzired]

Thanks for your feedback!! ))