Food advice?

[wolfie1012]

So I feed my two Degus Sun Seed Vita Exotics Prima Degu Formula for pellets and for hay I give them Sun Seed Natural Sunsations Timothy Hay....I have a couple questions. 


At first, I was following the directions on the Vita Exotics Prima Degu bag, 5 tbs a day and then replaced the next day....But then I read on Degutopia that you shouldn't leave food in the cage 24/7 or they'll choose that over the hay...And that you should feed them at set times, like one 10g meal of hard feed a day or two 5g meals a day? Is this right or do I follow what the bag says??? I just don't want them to overeat and now I think I'm underfeeding them as they fight over the food (I am working on getting a second bowl)...I don't have a scale so I can't check their weight right now. 

Also is that brand of Degu food good? Does anyone have any other recommendations in Canada? They seem to like it so if it's okay I'll stick with it. I did see it on the feed list but I saw the processed carbs part and was unsure if that was really bad. 


For hay, I know it always has to be available, but I read no green hay...The hay I'm using now is green and the two degus seem to enjoy spreading it around their cage more than eating it. They eat it, but probably not as much as they should. I tried a hay feeder, they just kicked it out and used the hay in a nest lol. So any hay recommendations would be great too. 


I have tried to force myself to read all the beginners guides but my ADHD is awful and I can't focus on reading the large bits...I know that veggies should be given rarely as a treat...But what else can I feed them? Specific herbs would be great and how much...

I'm sorry this is super simple stuff I'm asking about and I should just go read the threads...I've only had Degus one other time when I was a kid and now that I'm older I really want to take care of these new ones properly. 

[misscatafer]

Degus should always have a supply of nuggets in the cage, they don't overeat so there is no danger in leaving a constant supply available and this will reduce fights and tension during meal times. I don't agree with the degutopia advice that if they have nuggets they won't eat hay... Mine have a constant supply of each and eat both freely. I would disregard anything you have read on there to be honest as it is really out of date.
Generally what I do is keep topping up the bowl as soon as the bottom is visible, which usually happens every 2-3 days. It is strongly advised to have a food bowl per degu as as you have already observed, they can argue over food and the alpha degu can also prevent the other degu from eating.
I'm unfamiliar with that food brand for degus but I'm sure other members can answer that for you about the nutritional value.
For hay, most of us use several different brands and give them different varieties each time to encourage eating. I switch between a nice big bag of Meadow hay and a bag of very green Timothy hay, I don't think there is anything wrong with green hay? They will play and nest in it which again is expected and normal, but they will also munch on it throughout the day and use it to 'brush their teeth' as such. If they aren't eating the hay, try buying a few more bags of different types and see which one they like, it comes down to trial and error!

[bouncy]

I agree.

Just keep the bowl topped up. Simple mentality - If they know they can just go to the bowl and find food, they will be much more relaxed. It will also minimise the need for taking their standard food and burying it to hide it from others. When that happens, it makes it very difficult to spot eating problems. As misscatafer says,they don't overeat, even on treats. They just walk away when sated.

In terms of food, have a look at our commercial food chart on this page, which will give you an idea of different foods available, as well as a good comparison. Regarding hay, they can be fussy little gits. You may have to go through a few before you find one they like, and there's no guarantee how long that will last. Believe it or not, mine went 18 months when they would only eat hay cookies! Feeding is a personal choice. Many only feed hay and pellets, some also add dried or fresh forage, others feed a 100% natural diet.

I occasionally give mine fresh herbs from the garden, such as oregano, parsley, bay, random dandelions....... Avoid any veggies related to onions (shallots, chives, spring onions, garlic, etc), or any with a naturally high sugar content like carrots ,sweetcorn ,and peas. My mum also gives me cuttings from her fruit trees and bamboo, which they love.

Be careful of information on websites. Degutopia, for example, hasn't been updated for a number of years. Whilst some information is still good, much of it reflects old practices, and not the new understanding of degus. They are relatively new as pets go, so we are learning and changing our approach constantly. Degus are also unprecedented. This means there's no such thing as a silly question!

[winic1]

I have used Degus Sun Seed Vita Exotics Prima Degu Formula for 9 years and two rounds of degus. It's a decent food, and there aren't as many choices here as there are in Europe. Give them as much as they want of the pellets, they don't overeat. Use two bowls, and put them in separate places, not side by side, so they can eat without worrying about the other one running over and stealing their food. Doesn't matter that they will eat from both bowls during the day, you just want to avoid them fighting over the food. We found that ours would eat about 1 medicine-cup scoop a day each, so that's what we give. This way they eat just about all of it each day, so we're adding fresh pellets daily (and adding extra if we notice the bowls are actually empty sooner), rather than piling it on and the stuff in the bottom of the bowl is very old. You'll be able to figure out how much your goos eat each day by increasing the amount until you are giving them a bit more than they finish each day.

If your degus are young, as they grow they will need more and more food, of course.

Timothy hay is good, no matter what the color (as long as it is a healthy dried hay color, avoid anything that looks really brown or black or moldy or dirty.) You just need to find the kind they like. My degus like the greener, grassier looking hay. When we had guinea pigs, they liked the hard, coarse stems. (Which worked out well when we'd buy the huge bags of hay, and just give each critter the part it liked.) There are other kinds of hay you can buy, some, like "botanical hay" may have other grasses or things like mint or marigolds mixed in, these are okay. The one with carrots should be sparingly given, since carrots contain too much sugar to be eaten regularly. Once I got "meadow hay" which claimed to be a variety of hay and grasses and other meadow plants, I found it had so much thistle in it I couldn't reach in and grab it for the pain from all the thorns. That was the one and only time I got meadow hay.

Then there's oat hay, and alfalfa hay, and orchard grass, which can be given in small amounts here and there, along with the regular timothy hay, for a little variety. you can give them some fresh grass (not too much), IF you have a place where you know it is clean--no dog pee, no lawn chemicals or bug sprays or lots of car exhaust, etc. My first two degus loved fresh grass, the next three wouldn't touch it. Dandelions--any and all parts. Mint. Other herbs as mentioned above.

There is so much feeding info, it is difficult for anyone to just read through it and get it all, all at once. Just keep going at it a little at a time. No need to change their diet completely in one shot, read a little, add something new, read a little more, find another thing you can do.....small changes are easier for them to adapt to than a radical change would be, anyway.

[wolfie1012]

Thank you all so much!! All this information really helps.