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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2012 13:22:07 GMT
Yeah, my four don't eat much. They eat a little bit then know that I will get worried that they aren't eating enough so I give them treats. I think they are starting to like me a little better. They have gone back to freezing when I walk past but if I offer food they usually get curious but have stopped eating it. Once they freeze it always takes them a while to y'know unfreeze. Bless them. I really do hope that they will love me soon I'm getting impatient cause I think they're adorable, especially little Leroy
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Post by moletteuk on Sept 30, 2012 15:20:03 GMT
I change the water every day. I just leave the sand bath in, but if you don't want to do that I would try and give it them for a while every day because most really like it. I just fish out the poo and food and other stuff and give it them back. Food regime depends on what type of food it is. Nuggets you can top up because it's all the same, I'd say chuck leftovers out once or twice a week. If you are feeding a mix you need to encourage them to eat all of the mix and not just their favourite bits. You might need to experiment to find a method that works for you and them, try and find a level where they eat most of it in a day. Try not to go mad with the sunflower seeds, you don't want to create a rod for your own back and have them refuse to eat anything but sunflower seeds. Try and get a variety of treats and preferably some healthy treats like herb mixes and flowers so you can encourage them to interact with you without 'spoiling their tea'
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2012 16:04:18 GMT
Thanks I think I've overdone the sunflower seeds oops. They don't really have much of an interest in them today. Maybe tomorrow they will. I;m using nuggets and I have a floral feast feeding mix that I mix with their bedding and hay. They usually pick the flowers from the floral feast and leave the leaves which I don't particularly mind about since they are only really snacks like the hay. I also have another herb mix that I use as a treat, they like them but not as much as they liked the sunflower seeds. I've managed to let one eat while I stroke him now yay! I think I have really nice degus because if I've managed to acheive this in two days, imagine how friendly they will be in a month.
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 30, 2012 22:18:05 GMT
Sounds like you are getting on well! And it sounds like the boys are beginning to be more settled, which is good. So happy for you!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2012 5:22:35 GMT
Yeah the boys are definitely more settled. This morning as they were sleeping on top of the nesting box (the won't go in it and I have no idea why!) one let me stroke him through the bars and they don't freeze at all when I walk past. They still freeze when I come through the door cause they don't know who it is but it's progress.
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 1, 2012 9:49:16 GMT
It's perfectly normal for them to view items in the cage completely differently to you, they often choose to nest on top of a nest box, or use a water bottle as a handy perch, or pull all the hay out of the hay rack then eat the hay off the floor and then sleep in the hay rack etc etc ;D BTW leaves and hay aren't really just snacks, they are a crucial part of the diet, partly because it's what their digestive systems are designed to eat and partly because they absolutely need fibrous things to chew to wear down their molar teeth.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2012 18:59:47 GMT
Oh right, didn't know about the hay thing. I thought the nuggets I'm buying were the more crucial part of the diet. Thanks for telling me that though - I noticed they were eating a lot of it!
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Post by Lrak on Oct 2, 2012 10:29:21 GMT
Yea mine eat tons of the stuff
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2012 16:23:39 GMT
Had another little breakthrough today! They are perfectly comfortable with me putting my hands in the cage now, treats or no treats. They only really come up to me if they smell food. I've been using oats instead of sunflower seeds as they are getting a bit chubby and I don't want to make them ill. They like oats just as much as sunny seeds. Also gave them a little celery and they wolfed it down. One thing I've noticed is that they aren't eating as much but drinking way more. Should I be worried or is changing in diets normal? Marley has become very possesive lately. I was hand feeding them their degu nuggets (as they haven't been eating as much) and whenever someone other than marley moved into get food, he squeaked like when you squeeze a teddy. That kind of noise. Is there anyway I could train him out of it as it stops the others getting food. Thanks
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Post by stargirlj on Oct 2, 2012 20:48:06 GMT
Have you tried having a couple of food bowls rather then just the one. When my boys lived together I had 2 have 2 treat bowls as they would get really passive over the one. They never did it with normal food but they had 2 of those as well. One on each main leva so they were always near food. I had to do the same wi water bottles as they would fight over whose turn it was. I just wondered if this was something you could possibly try and see if it works?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2012 6:08:19 GMT
I deliberately have 2 food bowls, 2 water bottles and a water dish but thanks for the suggestion
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Post by stargirlj on Oct 3, 2012 6:19:07 GMT
Lol ah right. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, I guess he just is showing he's boss and everyone else can wait to eat after him lol.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2012 6:21:40 GMT
I hope he is. But I don't want it to get to far. :/
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Post by Lrak on Oct 3, 2012 10:55:01 GMT
My girls started doing this, so i started putting little piles of food about in there, on the shelfs and in tunnels and such. They seam to have stopped this now, i put it down to the fact that they know there is plenty of food to go around.
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 3, 2012 12:09:56 GMT
It's totally normal for degus who are the best of friends to fight over food, it's not just about greed/hunger for the best food, it's about dominance and heirarchy. You might even need a food bowl for each degu at some point. Treats rack up the pressure even higher, it's quite hard to distribute treats fairly while trying to do training and taming at the same time. You might need to experiment and see what works best for you. If you just put one hand in with something loose like oats, you will soon find that you have a 4 way WW3 on your hands - not to mention wee where they have tried to jump and wee up the back of each other for dominance lol! For doing training and taming, you might benefit from a second person to occupy two, while you work with the other two.
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