Seed, forage, hay, nuggets and veggies. How much of each?

[harrythedegu]

Hello all! 
I am looking into good foods that are perfectly degu friendly! I've got a rough idea of what forage to buy but have a few questions about some other things!
 
If you were to put their 'food groups' in a percentage, how much should they have of hay, forage, nuggets, veggies and seeds? Am i right in thinking their diet should be 80% forage/hay?

What kind of seeds can degu's eat and how much would you give them?

What veggies do you give your degu's and how often? (i know most are a once/twice a week thing and some once a month)

Can degu's have herbs such as Basil and Parsley? (and does it make a difference if its dried or fresh?)

What foods are good when training to be tame? (I read rolled porridge oats  and sunflower seeds can be used but in small quantity as they are quite fatty?)

Last question! What can you give a degu to increase their vitamin d or other vitamins? Or will a good diet cover all those grounds?

Not sure if there's anything i've missed, just want to make sure I do it all right! Sorry for all the questions!

Thank you

[moletteuk]

There isn't a one size fits all answer to diet, so we try to present the information and reasoning and you then have to figure out for yourself what is going to work for you and your degus.

Start with our feeding guide deguworld.proboards.com/thread/16425/degu-feeding-guide

And then work your way through the links to specific diet topics in there. You should find answers to most of your questions in the diet sticky threads.

Pellets are a personal choice but I would recommend you stick with some, until you become more familiar with feeding forage and all it entails going 100% natural. Choose the pellets with the best ingredients that he will eat. Are you in GB? Science Selective plus a grain free pellet is a good starting place.

Forage and hay should be in a variety and should be fed unlimited. Hand picked and fresh are worth considering in the growing months. Bought dried is fine and you should look for whole or large pieces, so not crushed like cooking herbs. Look for all types of forage such as various grasses and hays, kitchen herbs and safe garden plants, hedgerow and meadow plants, flowers, tree leaves etc. (Kitchen herbs, dandelion, plantains(ribwort & greater) and alfalfa are particularly good for calcium content)

Veggies are not necessary if you are feeding plenty of forage. Dried veg can be fed in small amounts as treats. You may find the odd fresh veg that is liked. Most veg are high in phosphorus and low in calcium. You need to be keeping in mind the relative contents of calcium and phosphorus of everything you feed. Our nutrition charts will help deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15602/vegetable-seed-nut-nutrition-charts

See the charts just mentioned about seeds. It's useful to feed a high calcium oil seed mix. Something like half a teaspoon a day is OK. You can buy ready mixes from Ratrations or Hansemanns or make your own.

Vitamin D is only available through sunlight or artificially added to pellets or in a supplement. Since glass filters out virtually all UV light required for making vit D, we need to make sure they get enough in their pellet, or add a UV light, or supplement artificially with drops. You have to decide this for yourself. You should bear in mind that the more forage and seeds they eat, which is good for general and digestive health, the less pellets they will eat so the less vitamin d they are getting through the pellet, so you always need to think about vitamin d when they start eating fewer pellets or if you hit dental issues.

[deguconvert]

Ditto on Moletteuk's comments and directions.