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Post by diet otaku on Jun 16, 2005 3:43:59 GMT
once i had to get a new non-plastic cage for the degus, i went ahead and started putting their food in a glass bowl i had lying around. only problem is, rumble will bite the side of the bowl and turn it in place, as if he is trying to move it and can't. sometimes he succeeds in tipping it and spilling all the food out. >.< i don't know if putting a rock in it will keep him from spilling the food because it seems degus actually enjoy picking up rocks and dragging them around - i already played a bit with putting several alfalfa blocks in. rumble would grab them one by one and bury them, i would dig them up and put them back in the bowl, etc. plus i'm concerned that if the food sits too near the top they'll just kick it out.
should i just not worry about the pellets scattered all over? i mean, if they're hungry, will they just dig around and find pellets or are they only going to look in the bowl? also, how exactly does that toilet paper tube trick work? do i put pellets in and stuff the ends or some other kind of treat? what's the best material to stuff the ends with to keep them sufficiently occupied but not frustrated? they would probably appreciate a new toy about now, frenzy is absolutely demolishing the chube...
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Post by Aimeelou on Jun 16, 2005 12:59:52 GMT
Dont worry about them throwing food everywhere, mine do it somtimes, just for me to go over to them and tell them off!
They will bury must of their food. If you give them a treat, and their not hungry, they will bury it. Mine try and bury food in the sand bath somtimes!! Even if their bowl is empty, the chances are they will have their own "stash" of food hidden away.
I somtimes get a toilet roll and fill with a few nuts and sunflower seeds, and stuff the ends with toilet paper. They enjoy the treats and love the extra beddng they have, somtimes arguing over the paper rather than the treats!
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Post by diet otaku on Jun 16, 2005 16:37:48 GMT
i read somewhere that degus love peanuts in the shell (unsalted of course)... but peanuts are too fatty to be a good treat, right? where's a good place to get a variety of nuts and unsalted sunflower seeds?
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Post by worthym on Jun 16, 2005 19:23:35 GMT
Best place to get your treats for the degus is at your local "health food" shop. The kinda place that sells dried fruit, nuts, spices etc. You can usually buy unsalted nuts there.
Personally, I would think that peanuts would be fine as a treat, especially if they are "exercising" in order to be able to get the treat.
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Post by Sunshinemeg on Jun 20, 2005 20:23:21 GMT
As an added trick with the toilet roll, start by threading it onto a long piece of twisted toilet paper, stuff one end with more paper, then add some treats and stuff the other end. you should have a toilet roll on a piece of toilet paper, so now attach it somewhere in the cage. They now have to get it free by breaking the twisted toilet paper (twisted so it doesnt break too easy) and then remove the rest of the "bedding" before they can get at the food! It keeps them busy for ages!
Regarding food bowls, i opted for a standard food bowl as sold in all pet stores, you know the ones, varying sizes with rabbit, cat, dog, printed on the side. ceramic. I have the one that says dog! just dont let them see that!(well do you know if a degu can read?) its too big to move, holds plenty of food and everyone can sit in it to eat!
SUNSHINEMEG ;D
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Post by diet otaku on Jun 20, 2005 20:57:06 GMT
oddly enough, the other half of the pot i got as a dust bowl is making a great food bowl. the dust bowl part is just round and deep, and then the top part has a frilled edge. i guess the frilled edge makes it too difficult for them to chew on.
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Post by Aimeelou on Jul 4, 2005 15:02:53 GMT
i read somewhere that degus love peanuts in the shell (unsalted of course)... but peanuts are too fatty to be a good treat, right? where's a good place to get a variety of nuts and unsalted sunflower seeds? I give mine bird nuts, so they are not salted, and bird sunflower seeds, both from my local pet shop. Aimee |
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Post by Sunshinemeg on Jul 5, 2005 11:30:44 GMT
I give mine bird nuts, so they are not salted, and bird sunflower seeds, both from my local pet shop. Aimee I heard that sunflower seeds werent good for degus. I give one peanut each every other day, since its a treat that doesnt have sugar, although the problem with them being fatty I wasnt aware of, so it will have to be no more than that as a treat I think. Meg ;D |
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Post by diet otaku on Jul 5, 2005 12:28:28 GMT
well the good news is that peanuts only have natural fats, unlike processed foods, but it's still probably a good idea to keep that to a minimum.  |
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Post by Aimeelou on Jul 10, 2005 14:12:34 GMT
I thought sunflowers seeds was the best low fat treat? I didnt think they contained sugar either?
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Post by diet otaku on Jul 10, 2005 16:35:09 GMT
i've been giving them pumpkin seeds rather than sunflower seeds. i got some of that "healthy toppings" stuff, and it's a mixture of pumpkin seeds and almond slices. those are the treats they get for sitting on my shoulder, or being good when i let them loose in the bathroom. they get a raw peanut in the shell once a week as a reward for putting up with me cleaning out their cage (they seem to get really stressed out by it). so they can work out that stress by demolishing the shell. the best part is they'll continue to chew the shell after they've eaten the nut, so they get lots of raw fiber.
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Post by worthym on Jul 10, 2005 16:43:57 GMT
Sunflowers seeds are a fattening treat - which is why they are just that - a treat  Sunflower seeds, whilst fattening, are a good source of protein, also include calcium, potassium and iron, and so can be very beneficial in some ways, just obviously don't feed them too often. Pumpkin seeds seem to be cited as an alternative - but from what I can gather, they are also high in fat too - although I don't know about any benefits  Anyway - my poor degus don't get much look in on the sunflower seeds - the gerbils have them away first!!  |
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