They don't like what's good for them!

[laurieb]

Since I have had my 3 degus, I have fed them an equal mix of guinea pig and chinchilla foods. No problems there.

The problem is when I decided to order Exotic Nutrition's Degu Complete, because of it being made especially for them and would probably have what they need. They won't eat it! Do I need to mix what I have been feeding them with the new food and gradually faze the old stuff out, or do they just refuse new brands of food?

What worries me is that I can't find guinea pig food that doesn't contain at least a little bit of molasses.

Any helpful hints?

[ra]

That's what I am currently feeding the girls. Yes, mix the current food with the new gradually increasing the new until that's all they are getting.

Hey, I don't really prefer what's good for me either - rather have nice sugary, chocolatey things pooh on those fruits and vegetables.......

[gooey]

i give my guys the degu food every day and then 2 or 3 times a week i give them the guinea pig food as a "treat". this way they know the good stuff must be eaten. i have found that doing this, they don't gobble up the "treat" food and then the good food gets eaten too.
funny story--my oldest daughter was over the other day and was feeding them treats from her hand--and then she says 'hey mom why don't you put the treats in a bowl, this way you could teach them to eat from the bowl'--and i'm almost howling with laughter--i point to their feeding dish and say 'i think they have that idea already'
mind you, this is my oldest child and she will be starting college in the fall ::)where did i go wrong?

[laurieb]

I can belive it! Do you have any boys? We have 2 and they amaze me more everyday! The 14 year old is a doozy!

[gooey]

ok, human children are girl 17, boy 16 and girl 13--truly there are days the degus are wa-a-a-a-y smarter---and they don't talk back, at least not in a language i can understand! but hey, love all my kids, both 2 and 4 legged varieties.