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Post by lizziexo on Oct 8, 2012 7:49:40 GMT
Hello Everyone!
I'm very sorry if this is a repost or anything, but I'm having a little trouble trying to work out what treats I should be buying. I currently have just the 1 Degu (He was alone at a petshop after being attacked by the other Degu's he was with, bald patches and holes in his ears!) and am planning on getting him used to me and my partner and then beginning the process of getting a friend for him (I hate him being alone).
But I want to find safe and tasty treats for him, but there are so many options and information I've become a little lost. He doesn't have much intrest in the few sweets he has right now (a little carrot, some degu friendly yoghurt drops) and is ALL about the hay and degu nuggets.
Obviously I'm starting getting him hand trained, so need delicious options for him, that wont do any damage (he's getting treats a lot trying to get him used to 'the hand!') and differing information is making my head spin!
Are there any solid degu corner stones I should be purchasing - to kick off my collection for him?
Thank you!!
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Post by Lrak on Oct 8, 2012 7:59:19 GMT
Welcome to the site  My girls love sunflower seeds as a treat and they worked really well for training to the hand. Mine dont like the yoghurt drops at all no matter how much i try  and they are only just starting to like fresh carrot and stuff, but they love dried carrot. My girls also love millit seeds so i buy the sprays of millit and pull of the little seed clusters (little balls of seed) If you look through the food section on here, you will be able to see some of the treats that others use and there is a lot of stuff you can use. The main things you need to be mindfull of are sugers and anything with to much fat (nuts can be given as a treat but not too many, i normally give mine a peanut once a week or so just as a little treat for them.) Hope that helps and i'm sure others will give you alot of great ideas |
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Post by ntg on Oct 8, 2012 8:01:40 GMT
Well I'm scratching my head here about the yoghurt drops because I didn't think they were okay, I'll leave that to the mods/someone in the know to say.
Mine go crazy for dandelion, wheat/rice puffs, willow stocks and sunflower seeds. The sunflower seeds shouldn't be fed in large quantities but we get them in their shells so they'll last longer.
Is the carrot you've been giving them fresh or dried? I just know some degus prefer it dried and can be quite fussy little dears.
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Post by Lrak on Oct 8, 2012 8:07:07 GMT
If its the same yoghurt drops i have then they look ok on the ingredients, mine just really dont like them ;D but then they dont taste that nice anyways  |
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Post by ntg on Oct 8, 2012 8:40:14 GMT
Yeah, if it's anything like the ones you give to hamsters, they nasty!
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Post by lizziexo on Oct 8, 2012 9:01:43 GMT
We bought one batch of drops and then checked the ingredients at home and saw it had sugars in it - promptly thrown in the bin! Went back for more and found 'degu safe' drops, with no added sugars this time. We are sure to double and triple checks all sweets from now on for their degu safe info! |
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Post by lizziexo on Oct 8, 2012 9:04:49 GMT
Welcome to the site My girls love sunflower seeds as a treat and they worked really well for training to the hand..... Thank you for the info! I saw one persons forum with a LOT of different tasty treats - and the sheer amount of choice was a bit daunting! Makes it easier to start with a few different things and go from there, see what he likes/doesn't like Will definetly look up good places to buy everything you've suggested, thank you!! |
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Post by Lrak on Oct 8, 2012 9:13:58 GMT
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Post by lizziexo on Oct 8, 2012 9:36:14 GMT
Well I'm scratching my head here about the yoghurt drops because I didn't think they were okay, I'll leave that to the mods/someone in the know to say. Mine go crazy for dandelion, wheat/rice puffs, willow stocks and sunflower seeds. The sunflower seeds shouldn't be fed in large quantities but we get them in their shells so they'll last longer. Is the carrot you've been giving them fresh or dried? I just know some degus prefer it dried and can be quite fussy little dears. Like I say down below, they were degu specific drops So they should be fine, he just doesn't want them! And thank you for the list, I will get on sourcing them all ASAP! and how does one dry a carrot? (that may be a silly question, sorry!) |
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Post by Lrak on Oct 8, 2012 9:44:33 GMT
No such thing as a silly question I dried mine when we had a bit of sun ;D all i did was slice it thin then stick it on some paper in the window for a few days, or you can put it in the oven on a low heat andthat should work fine. |
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 8, 2012 12:51:25 GMT
Popular treats are any of the grains or oil seeds in these charts: deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=food&action=display&thread=15602 If you can get a few different things, then you won't have such a problem with overfeeding any particular seed. If you try a few veg, you might find some of those are well liked enough to use for treats or training, and flowers can be quite popular. You can dry out veg in an airing cupboard or in a low oven, just slice them up thinly. Here's a list of good, healthy food supplements you can buy: deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=food&action=display&thread=15657I don't think there is much need for things like yoghurt treats, they seem a bit like 'junk food' to me, nearly all degus go wild for oil seeds like sunflower, safflower, hemp and milk thistle, so I stick with those for really treaty treats |
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Post by jenowuk on Oct 8, 2012 17:15:24 GMT
Mine adore dried dandelion leaves, millet seed and the occasional nut. They also like the occasional porridge oat. Good luck:-)
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Post by stargirlj on Oct 8, 2012 20:27:27 GMT
If its the same yoghurt drops i have then they look ok on the ingredients, mine just really dont like them ;D but then they dont taste that nice anyways Have you been eating degu treats? Lol Hi! My boys love oats, the sort of oats that you make porridge with. They are relatively healthy and last for ages due to the size of bags they come in. Lol |
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Post by ntg on Oct 8, 2012 20:34:22 GMT
Lrak will try anything his animals enjoy lol!
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Post by Lrak on Oct 9, 2012 10:03:39 GMT
Do on to others as you would do onto yourself ;D Plus i wanted to see why the girls didnt like them ;D I really dont blame them I dont even bother with them now, they are just sat at the back of the cubard |
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and they are only just starting to like fresh carrot and stuff, but they love dried carrot. 
