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Post by zo on May 14, 2021 16:43:48 GMT
Hi all I was just wondering if I’m feeding my degus the right things as when I look at all of them they seem on the small skinny side I would like to fatten them up a bit two of them are poorly so I know that’s why they are on the skinny side but the others don’t seem that much bigger this is what I feed them science selective nuggets two full bowls which they don’t eat much of any more they have burgess excel mixed in with Timothy hay and Ratrations seed mix
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Post by bouncy on May 14, 2021 17:42:27 GMT
Do your goos finish their bowls each time you fill them, or is there usually some left?
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Post by zo on May 14, 2021 18:16:36 GMT
Hi bouncy they used too but now there is always loads left
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Post by bouncy on May 14, 2021 18:26:50 GMT
Ok, so there's either something wrong with the food, or the goos!
Have you watched them eating recently? How does it look? Is it as before, or slow and awkward with bits dropping from their mouths?
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Post by zo on May 14, 2021 19:06:17 GMT
They just dig through there bowls throwing all of there nuggets out looking for other food in there like seeds or forage so I stated putting them separately and they just leave there nuggets not really bothering with them and now I’m noticing they are looking thinner than usual I go to give them then and they are not really interested run off and hide it
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Post by bouncy on May 14, 2021 19:30:45 GMT
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Post by moletteuk on May 15, 2021 10:35:16 GMT
They can get bored of nuggets and go off them, it's worth trying a couple of other brands when this happens, you might need to keep mixing or rotating brands to keep them interested.
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Post by bouncy on May 15, 2021 12:15:16 GMT
Alternatively, you could try moving to a forage diet!
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Post by zo on May 18, 2021 8:54:50 GMT
Maybe what would a forage diet be? hay and seeds and plants I bought some vitamin D drops the ones from Holland and Barrett do I just put one drop onto there food what they eat twice a week
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Post by moletteuk on May 18, 2021 9:41:28 GMT
This is the dosing I previously figured out for the vitamin d drops from Holland and Barratt, you should check the dose in the bottle is still the same. You need to check if you bought the baby drops or the child drops. The dose you give depends if you are going to try full natural feeding, you should give around 20IU per day if you are, or perhaps something like half that if you still feeding some nuggets. I would put the drop directly onto a treat so that you know each degu has eaten it.
"I'm going to give you the vitamin D figures so you can have a think about it yourself. I recorded all the supplementation rates for commercial foods and those given in scientific experiments and averaged it out as a dose per day of 12 IU (international units) per day. Degus International forum (who used to advise on 100% natural diets) recommend 25 IU/ day.
You can buy liquid vitamin D from Holland & Barratt in the UK, the child's one works out at 113 IU/drop and the baby one is 67 IU/drop. If we say two drops per week per degu that is 134 IU/week, which is 19 IU/day. Or you could do one drop per week of the childs dose which is 113 IU/week which equals 16 IU/ day. I think either of those options is in the right ball park with the information we currently have available, but it has to be your decision. Yes, it is fine in olive oil, it always comes diluted in oil, you might need to play around to find the best way for them to take it, I would think on a treat is the best way."
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