Sweet Potato/Yam?

[Aimeelou]

Hi peeps
Ive just started giving my Degus sweet potato after reading that other people give it to theirs.
Im just wondering though, the "sweet" bit bothers me a little, that does it contain any sugars?
And, that you shouldnt give your Degus potatoes either, as the starch and carbohydrates isnt good for them.
Im i reading to much into the name of it rather than what it is? Ive tryed it myself, (you know, like kids, trying it before you give it them to see if its ok!) and i found it quite sweet to taste.

Any thoughts?
Aimee

[northernstar40]

Hi Aimee, yep your correct in your thinking. If it is sweet to us it is sweet to them. I only give them sweet potato once a month maybe less. I also dehydrate it. It take away from the sweetness and starch. But also takes away some of the natural vitamins in it. but at least they are getting some. I found they love clovers from the pasture. I hope this is ok for them.

Peg

[Aimeelou]

Cheers!
Ill dry it out first in future!
Aimee

[ra]

northernstar40, as far as I have been able to find, clover is fine for Degus and mine love it!

I feed dried sweet potato and carrot bits to my girls. That is the only source of sugars my two get.

[diet otaku]

right now mine are only getting the dried carrot bits in their food, the occasional raisin that slips past my notice, and the pellets & hay (and alfalfa hay chew blocks). once in awhile i'll give them a pumpkin seed from my bag of healthy toppings (i'm skeptical of the almond bits). better safe than sorry, eh?

[Anna]

I never give mine anything sweet. I should try that. I've been thinking about trying the milk carton idea I heard about on the website.

[Aimeelou]

Ive read in in some articles that nothing that contains sugar is good for them, but i also read that natural products that contain natural sugars, is ok in small amounts.
Its hard to believe which is the truth, so surely avoiding sugar and things that contain sugar or natural sugars, is the best way?

[Anna]

Well, I've never given them anything with sugar. I'm thinking maybe like once a month or once every other month would be fine. I'm just kinda iffy on giving them any sugar. If they can't digest (my spelling sucks sorry) sugar then what happens to it? does it come out whole or make them strain more when their doing their business? humm...

[diet otaku]

my understanding is that degus are not naturally diabetic, but can BECOME diabetic when exposed to sugar in large amounts. so probably they have the capacity to break down small amounts of natural sugars, like they might find in the sort of foods they'd encounter in the wild, but feeding them raisins and cereal and fruit all the time would kick-start the diabetes and then they'd be unable to process any sugar.

[ra]

dietotaku said:

my understanding is that degus are not naturally diabetic, but can BECOME diabetic when exposed to sugar in large amounts. so probably they have the capacity to break down small amounts of natural sugars, like they might find in the sort of foods they'd encounter in the wild, but feeding them raisins and cereal and fruit all the time would kick-start the diabetes and then they'd be unable to process any sugar.

Good post. That's my understanding too.

[diet otaku]

i should also add that when an animal cannot process sugar, it doesn't "come out" like other undigestible foods (corn, etc), it simply stays in the blood. so, the more sugar a diabetic takes in without getting some insulin to break it down, the higher their blood sugar levels get, until eventually they slip into a diabetic coma and die.

[tigerlily]

Intention is not take all sugars away from diet. Intention is minimisize sugars amount.

*bad english*

-Tigerlily-

[Sunshinemeg]

It really breaks my heart on posts like this, as it makes me feel very guilty. My first degu, Gizmo was fed a daily slice of sweet potato as we were told that this was a great treat. He was dead just under a year later. Thats why the website and this forum was created so that all the available information could be gathered.

Gromit was bought to replace Gizmo, and he is now four years old. He eats dandilion leaves, occasional pieces of cheese, bran flakes and peanuts. He also runs to the side of the cage since it is in the corner of the dining room, and begs for peas when we have dinner! Im not sure how good cooked peas are for him, but he has about 8 if we offer them to him, and he loves them!
I am working on the principal that given his age now, the diet he has isnt too bad, and as diet otaku says, everything in moderation seems best.

There is one other piece of advice I can offer, make sure you as the owner knows if anyone else offers them treats, that way you are aware of just how much they are eating in total!

Meg ;D

[diet otaku]

yes, i have a limit on all the treats they get. they eat get one whole peanut as a treat when i clean out their cage once a week (and much to my relief, they'll continue chewing the shell even after they've eaten the nut, so they're getting lots of fiber). and i try to take them out once a day to get used to contact with me. if i can get them out and they behave sitting on my shoulder, i'll give them pumpkin seeds and almond slices, a maximum of 4 for each degu. other than that it's all hay and pellets.

[shigatsu]

I've read mixed things about sweet potato. One day I thought it wouldn't hurt to give them a piece to see if they like it (if they did, would be a RARE treat just in case all the bad stuff was right), but they wouldn't even take it! They smelt it and went "blech" and turned away (well, they didn't make that noise, but you know what I mean )

[kioshiandtomeo]

Hey,

I gave mine some earlier and they loved it! I read on another website, thou, that you can give it up to 3 times a week. I would go and do it that often though. maybe once a week or so, going by what the opinion is here.
I only gave each of the them a thumb nail round and the same thickness as the length to each of them. They also, of COURSE, go bananas over the timothy hay!

-Rachel & The Zoo.

[diet otaku]

sweet potato/yam is one of the WORST things to give a degu, and it's quite frustrating that the myth that it's acceptable continues to persist on other websites. degus will eat just about anything you give them, and (like most people) enjoy the sweet stuff the most. but they cannot process sugar, and sweet potato is LOADED with natural sugars that will quickly set a degu on the path to poor health. in fact, this website and forum was started because the founder's first degu was fed sweet potato regularly (as she was told it was okay), and less than a year later the poor guy died of diabetes complications.

the timothy hay, however, is a great staple of a degu's diet. i get a brand called sunthing special (i think?) because they own a spot of land that actually produces 2 crops of hay yearly, instead of the usual one, so the grass is softer and more fragrant. my guys devour it. ^__^

[kioshiandtomeo]

I'll have to keep my eye out for that. my brand is "Hartz: Nutrition". They inhaled it! a huge fistful, and it was gone in no less than 15 min!

I'll Only give them sweet potatoe one a month, and not a lot. just as a treat. It's so annoying how many sites can't give you the actual information! :@

-Rachel & The Zoo.