rose hips?

[diet otaku]

i had to buy some more pumpkin seeds for the degus (ants got into the other bag) so while i was there i saw a bag of healthy toppings rose hips. i checked the ingredients and it's like 35% fiber, 4% protein and 3% fat, and it says "high in vitamin C." so i went ahead and got them... it would seem like they'd be a good treat for degus because they're hard and crunchy, and so high in fiber and vitamin C. but before i make it a regular habit to give them the rose hips, i want to make sure i'm not missing something, like they're also sugary like fruit or something. does anyone know how healthy rose hips are for degus?

[diet otaku]

well, it was hard finding info, but it seems rose hips are actually a favorite treat of degus. one site was a merchant, and while this merchant said rose hips are ideal for degus, it also recommended apple slices, fruit-flavored treats, etc. :/ but i found another site which said this:
"Favorite treats dried rose hips (Nypon), dried rose blooms or petals.(My Degus loves this!) Degus also like to chew on Birch tree branches (björk) and fresh grass or hay and treats of carrots to help its teeth."
so i'm going to trust that this person knows degus pretty well, and keep giving rumble and frenzy the rose hips. they do seem to like them!

[Hanlou]

Hello!!

This is interesting - I've found a website called Galens Garden that sells herb and natural products - and I've wondered about whether they're ok or not for degus..... sounds as if they are then, so that's good.

[xdegudivax]

Rose hips?..I"ve never heard of the stuff..I wonder if they sell them around me.

[diet otaku]

if your pet stores sell healthy toppings products, they should carry the rose hips. i got mine at petco.

rose hips are what's left of a rose when the petals are removed, so while they're probably not as wholesome as hay, they're almost certainly healthier than nuts. so the almond slices will definitely become a less frequent treat in lieu of the rose hips.

[xdegudivax]

Hmm..I'll have to check next time I go then..Or..I'll check animal kingdom..

[ra]

Rose hips are the seed pods for rose bushes. I can't seem to interest my Degus in them. Tanzania will chew on them a while and spread seeds around the cage but most of the time, the rose hips are thrown away when I clean their cage. I wish they would eat them - they are a great source of vitamin C as well as fiber.

[xdegudivax]

I wonder if mine would be interested in them..I will have to buy them tomorrow when I go..if I see them..

[smlmamlgirl]

Aaaaah rose hips. Well, in case you haven't guessed by my abreviated name, I am Small Mammal Girl, and my work in the past has involved naturopath (not formal) healing of small mammals through diet and natural medical remedy. As a GENERAL rule small vegetarian mammals share food commonalities. (ie: they all need leafy greens, they all need low-no sugar) Bunnies, guniea pigs, hamsters, gerbilsand degus all thrive on rose hips and rose petals. And they have the fabulous illusion of tasting sweet even though they aren't because of the perfume. (you should try them in your salad- they're great) Rose petals were actually used with cream and cinnamon as a kind of pudding in the days of Chaucer- it was great (I got the recipe) but not sweet.

Here in Victoria, Canada we have rose bushes everywhere- huge blooms the size of plates. So many people have parted with their drooping blooms for my degus and bunnies!!! And they're healthy too, as an anti-oxidant and as a supplement of vitamine C. Yay for rose petals. They're what my guys jump for first when I put in the dish full of greens (and pinks ).

[diet otaku]

LOL, well getting my hands on the actual petals might be difficult, but they do seem to have fun with the rose hips... they've been taking them and burying them, and i hear them dig them up later and crunch away on them. ^_^

[xdegudivax]

Hmm..Maybe I'll just buy roses then...The animal kingdom by me didn't have any rose hips...

[smlmamlgirl]

You can also buy rose hips in health food stores.......and in a way that's better because you know they're pesticide free. The rose petals that I use for my guys are out of private gardens when roses are in season, so I know no one grew them with psycho rose steroids or insecticides.

I love health food stores. The stuff you can get in bulk, cheap for your degus is GRRRRRRRREAT! (my Tony the Tiger impression) Juniper berries are good. The very occasional peice of raw (bark?) carob is good.....its not the chocolate substitue grade its.......barkish. In the pet stores here in Canada there's a small box of REALLY healthy chin treats called Vitakraft- the degus love them. They contain rose hips, carob, potats, cornmeal, mountain ash berries and alfalfa. (so avoid the potatos and cornmeal) and the analysis reads: crude protein: 5.4% crude fat: 2.3% fiber: 17.3% moisture: 11.9%. Perfect! I can get them at Petcetera, you too if you have them where you are.

[xdegudivax]

I just saw exactly that..on petco.com!!..It was this chinchilla treat mix...I think...

[shigatsu]

We got the dried rose hip healthy topping treats for our guys a long time ago (haha, well, not that long, but when we only had them for about a few weeks or a month or so (they are about 7-8 monthes old now). They liked them when they were younger, but as time passed by they stopped taking them from me altogether. If I do give them any, and the very odd time they may take one, I just find it at the end of the week buried under their bedding as we clean the cage(s).

[themoosevodka]

awh, this is why i love this site, i was trying so hard to figure out a treat to give moose and now i know i can go buy rose hips, thanks guys!!!!

[diet otaku]

rose hips do make a good healthy treat, but my degus go NUTS over these vitamin crunchers i buy at petco... i get the guinea pig variety for the extra vitamin C, but it's like catnip! as soon as they hear the bag open they get so excited and climb over each other trying to get to the bag, try to steal treats from each other, etc. so i STRONGLY recommend those!