PLEASE HELP~~diet issues!! URGENT!

[jessxx]

[glow=purple,2,300]plEASse hELp diET issUEs[/glow]
heyy i have had my twins for a month now and the people at a pet stor said that g.pig food is fine for them. This food mix contains a fair ammount of peanuts... I have been taking out the peanuts for most of the time now but i was just wondering about a few things.

[glow=red,2,300]a)[/glow] what are the things that the degu food must contain?
[glow=blue,2,300]b)[/glow] how often should i feed them this mix?
[glow=yellow,2,300]c)[/glow] how ofter for peanuts?
[glow=orange,2,300]d)[/glow] what is the extra suplement i need to put in the water?
[glow=green,2,300]e)[/glow] any other things degus must have for a healthy diet?

Sorry to ask so many questions but you know, its better safe than sorry! I dont want to be mistreating them or anything at all!

thank you so much... please reply asap as i need to know!

[khay]

I wouldn't be feeding the Gpig mix........Take out everything that is fatty/has sugar in it, but it would be best to switch to a mollasses-free guinea pig pellet and constant timothy hay as their main diet.

You can give sugar free veggies/other sugar free treats such as shredded wheat (My boys go CRAZY over that....Squeak like mad....Have to be careful to keep my hands out of the way of their chomping teeth )

[diet otaku]

guinea pig pellets are a good base mix, as they usually have vitamin C supplements which degus need. what you want to look for is a brand that is just pellets, and does not contain any molasses. small world makes excellent molasses-free guinea pig pellets that are sold at some walmart stores... their rabbit pellets (which are at most walmarts) are suitable if your stores don't stock the guinea pig pellets.

peanuts should not be very often at all... mine haven't had one in months. i usually only reserve them for a treat if they've had a particularly stressful day, like when i moved them to my new apartment.

you don't necessarily need to put a supplement in the water, just make sure they get some extra vitamin C. you can buy vitamin crunch treats at some pet stores, which degus just LOVE.

[Sunshinemeg]

A good treat is cheap bran flakes. Check the packet for the sugar content, and get the bog standard ones, as they will usually have no sugar in them at all. My boys get these as a regular treat, just one each every few days. They adore them, and the ones I get have no sugar, and so are not bad for them.

[Sunshinemeg]

Ah, forgot to add, if you DO put a vitamin suppliement in the water, you will need to change the water daily. This daily change isnt so vital with plain water.

An alternative to putting a vitamin suppliment in water is to put a vitamin block in the cage, as they will enjoy gnawing on this, an aid to keeping their teeth tidy.

[jessxx]

thank you SO SO MUCH!! this is a great help! LOL but... one last question;
When i feed my girls they seem to eat everything in one go and just eat until the food bowl is empty... how much should i put in there a day??

;Djessxx

[Sunshinemeg]

I have three bowls in the cage, and fill them up once a week. They devour all their favourite stuff right off, and hide lots too, The bowls are very large, one is a cat size terracotta one, the other are rat size, so there is plenty of food there.

any degus go for the best stuff in the food, so I would be reluctant to continually top it up, as thats what they will just eat.

fill up the bowls when they are totally empty, consider using larger bowls, and check to see if they are storing food anywhere else before filling the bowls.

[diet otaku]

degus will often eat some of the food, and then bury the rest around the cage. they're hoarders. i usually let their food bowl sit empty for a day or two, because i know in the meantime they're digging up all the food they hid earlier.

[ra]

I make certain my Degu Girls have Timothy/orchard grass hay free-choice (on hand at all times). They get about 2TBSP of Brisky Degu Pellets each daily. Every couple of days I feed them a big handful of dandelion greens.
I also give them each morning and night a guinea pig chew biscuit (small) that is fortified with vitamin C.

[deguqueen]

Everyone basically said it all.
But I'll just go over a list of what mine get that work with them.