300 gram Degu

[creggle]

Hi, I was wondering if 300g is fat for a Degu? Blinder is big and powerful and most of his size is either hard and solid or soft and fluffy. He is a really big fella, but not fat. From what I've read 170-300g is common range for a Degu but I wanted some more expert advice.

He does love his Scottish oats though!

[teemu]

It does vary between degus, apparently there's quite a bit of variance in their size depending on what part of the world they are in. 300 grams is not unheard of, certainly. My degus have been considerably lighter, and Pulla's the largest at 250grams, but he is, from my understanding, on the smaller side of degus anyway. It's likely not an issue, but keep an eye on his weight, and if it keeps climbing higher, then it's likely a good idea to try and cut back a bit.

It should be noted, though, that oats are not a very healthy treat for a degu, so it's best to give them in moderation and only sometimes. Degus have evolved to survive on a very sparse, fiber-rich, dry diet, so their system can't handle a lot of carbohydrates. It's fine to give them oats sometimes, as a special treat, but it should preferrably not be a regular everday thing. I give my degus oats very rarely.

[creggle]

Oct 20, 2021 18:40:14 GMT teemu said:

It does vary between degus, apparently there's quite a bit of variance in their size depending on what part of the world they are in. 300 grams is not unheard of, certainly. My degus have been considerably lighter, and Pulla's the largest at 250grams, but he is, from my understanding, on the smaller side of degus anyway. It's likely not an issue, but keep an eye on his weight, and if it keeps climbing higher, then it's likely a good idea to try and cut back a bit.

It should be noted, though, that oats are not a very healthy treat for a degu, so it's best to give them in moderation and only sometimes. Degus have evolved to survive on a very sparse, fiber-rich, dry diet, so their system can't handle a lot of carbohydrates. It's fine to give them oats sometimes, as a special treat, but it should preferrably not be a regular everday thing. I give my degus oats very rarely.

Thanks for the reply, sounds like my Blinder is a unit!

I don't give him many oats overall but he is getting a lot of treats recently. Can you recommend a specific super treat? Something Degu tend to love and can eat a lot of? He eats a lot of proper food, but always has room for some treats.

[teemu]

Let's see. Seeds of various types tend to be a treat that degus like, but those can't be given freely either (although seeds can be generally given more than oats). Degus are kind of tricky pets in that they just aren't made for an abundance of treats, and their system will easily start suffering due to it. Dried forage, like safe leaves etc tend to be pretty safe to give to degus more regularly, and they usually like them a lot.

I've generally tried to train my degus to consider treats a special occasion thing, especially since they will get really annoyed if you start limiting what they consider rightfully theirs. It would be lovely to give them all the tasty things they ever want, but when it comes to degus, their system really does end up paying a heavy price for it, in the long run...

[winic1]

My degus were all up around 300 grams, some a bit heavier, some a little lighter, probably ranged from 280-325g. So, unless he looks like a giant pompom with feet and tail, he's probably fine.

[deguconvert]

My degus, both male and female were all right around or over 300 gm.

[savvy]

Dixie was 315gm, Sphene is over 300gm, the others are about 270ish. Sphene looks a little overweight, but Dixie was just a big degu.

[bouncy]

Until I went away (and seeds were more rationed), I had four of my six over 300g, with Sneaky approaching 330g!