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Post by feffie on Oct 11, 2015 19:25:29 GMT
Had 2 degus dumped on me from someone I vaguely know last night, from I can tell they are two boys. I've never had degus before so have been doing a lot of reading up on them, found all the care articles saying they shouldn't be fed hardly any fresh food and such and thought that it didn't sound right. Ended up stumbling across this forum and reading the diet section and now feel like I know much more than I did yesterday! Since I highly doubt these boys have ever seen a vegetable in their life, this morning I gave them a tiny bit of carrot, cucumber and lettuce, the carrot got devoured, the cucumber has had a slight nibble the the lettuce ignored.
I've ordered a bunch of dried things from online including done Degu specific mixtures, also bought a bag of bird seeds which they have had a small try of.
I'm aware from my research that they can't have too many fatty, oily foods and I'm being very cautious about introducing new things to them but so far all seems ok.
I'm a huge believer in feeding animals good that is as close to their natural diet as possible, my rabbits are mainly fed on food that I've foraged for them, I'm lucky that there is an area 5 minute walk from my house which has loads of dandelions, plantain, wild rose, mallow, various different grasses, St. John's wart (not sure if degus can eat this as rabbits can't) blackberry plants, nettles and various other items.
So to cut things off as I've been rambling, I'm a new Degu owner, interested in feeding natural food, and giving the best life possible to these little guys. They are wonderfully curious, Rush up to the front of their cage when I go near it, and will happily climb on my hands for a few seconds. They both have completely different personalities and are so fascinating to watch them interact with each other.
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Post by ilikedegus on Oct 11, 2015 19:54:06 GMT
Congratulations on your new degus (? well done for taking them on).
They are indeed fascinating, have very distinct personalities and you will probably really enjoy them.
I would think that the degus can be fed anything your rabbits can - I would avoid the St John's Wort, but the other plants on your list are FINE. Mine loved every part of the dandelion, root/leaf/flower.
Some degus prefer dried everything - I used to say that one of ours would look at fresh greens as if we were trying to poison him.
Timothy Hay is good, I used to buy "Readigrass" from the pet shop sometimes, which is some sort of green hay.
Easy on the carrot, it's relatively sugary for a vegetable. In tiny quantities only.
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Post by yasmin on Oct 12, 2015 0:36:04 GMT
Welcome to the forum
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 12, 2015 4:18:04 GMT
Hello, Feffie, and welcome to the forum!! You've been pushed into the deep end, haven't you? The learning curve with degus can be awfully steep, but it sounds like you are more than up for the challenge. Degus can be difficult to sex. . . so have a look at this . . . deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13070/degus that will help you. Cages appropriate for degus is another big issue, just like their nutrition which you are already tackling. So have a look at this . . .http://deguworld.proboards.com/thread/9396/forums-cage-size-recommendations . . . and this . . . well and there are others in the cages board that are very good as well. These will get you started and wet your whistle to look further.
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Post by uglibug on Oct 12, 2015 7:51:01 GMT
Welcome, and well done for taking them in. They are adorable little charaters and I'm sure they'll soon be doing weird and wonderful things to keep you amused.
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Post by ryanj on Oct 12, 2015 8:37:25 GMT
Welcome to the forum! :-)
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Post by feffie on Oct 12, 2015 9:54:33 GMT
Thank you all, I know that the cage I got with them is too small, however I'm hoping it will be ok for a few weeks until I can save up and get them something a lot better. They had me nearly in tears from laughter this morning when I gave them their food, they had their normal Degu nuggets from science selective which they aren't fussed about at all (can't say I blame them they seem rather boring) also gave them a very small teaspoon of seeds, a little bit of millet, mallow flower and some oats. There must have been something that Nero really liked as Dante came to have some and he started squeaking at him, every time he came near he did it again, it was so funny you could almost tell what he was saying. He then started to do it to me when I took some of the food out and put it in another bowl for his brother, the little tyke! The one with the little white stripe is Nero and the one without who was trying to eat the camera is Dante.
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 12, 2015 9:55:16 GMT
Welcome A good natural degu diet is very similar to that for a rabbit, the most important thing is the forage, so you can feed them all the same plants. Oil seeds and a few nuts are better for them than cereal grains, and are a great way for them to get required fatty acids and minerals. Vegetables are more of a treat than a neccesity if they are getting good forage. Give some thought as to whether you want to feed some pellets or perhaps supplement vit D as this is the only thing they can't get from a varied forage diet plus seeds.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 12, 2015 14:45:53 GMT
They must be settling in very well! That is wonderful. Sounds like they are loving the oats, which MANY degus do. So glad they have already introduced you to their full blown characters.
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Post by ilikedegus on Oct 12, 2015 16:07:50 GMT
Hey feffie it was so funny you could almost tell what he was saying. I bet you're surprised they even know such rude words?! That's a Pets@Home "Thicket's" brand cage I think? Depending on your DIY skills, tools, and where you live / willingness to travel for second-hand cages...this is what we have done to join and extend some of these. Find more of them on eBay, Gumtree, Pre-Loved etc. There is also a Chinchilla cage by the same brand which is a different shape but the same front-to-back depth so will join OK. You can join them side-by-side buy cutting holes and wiring, clipping or bolting them together. Or stack them, and make an external "staircase" up one side and cutting door-holes to the staircase. Just a thought for you. Many prettier options on the Cage Building threads.
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Post by feffie on Oct 12, 2015 16:39:43 GMT
I think it's a thickets cage yes, I'm thinking of getting another cage the same width and such and doing some DIY to extend it but it probably won't be until near the end of the year unfortunately unless I can pick one up cheap somewhere.
I've just put their first dust bath in, I've never known an animal to seem to enjoy something so much!
They also had their first little taste of dandelion and grass which went down very very well!
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Post by Astra88 on Oct 14, 2015 4:30:32 GMT
They sound like their absolutely loving their new home...your doing a great job
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h3li3
Warbling Degu
Posts: 40
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Post by h3li3 on Oct 22, 2015 10:45:39 GMT
I wasn't any good with DIY. So if you struggle/don't have time, I got the huge aventura cage and it's great! (£149 though) it's all good quality metal and big doors so much better access than the thickets for cleaning etc. And it's just huge.... Also has wheels so you can move them around easily.
I'd recommend getting one asap. My two females I rescued came in a thickets and they ended up having an extremely bad fight/being separated within a few months. (They were around 1 year old so puberty etc.. didn't help). Space/not having duplicates of everything was definitely a major factor though.
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Post by caylaleigh on Oct 24, 2015 15:13:19 GMT
I got my degus in September first ones iv had so I was in the same boat as you. I still worry about the little things with them like I don't have a very big flat and it's not really safe for them to run free so there always in there exercise balls each play pen I buy they manage to escape from so now I'm forever on Google looking for something to keep them safe. Well done for taking them in that's so nice of you. ? I'm sure there going to be very happy as are you when you get your special bond with them.
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 24, 2015 19:48:10 GMT
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Post by animalmadchloe on Nov 18, 2015 19:41:11 GMT
Sorry it's late hello and welcome to the forum x
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