pellets and hay

[jessiebelle]

Ok, a few questions from someone who is new to degus and getting my first pair tomorrow!

First question, they are currently on P@H pellets, but I am going to try and change this to science selective since this is the easiest for me to get hold of (the pet shop around the corner sells it!) Is science selective a good pellet mix? My rabbits are on the rabbit version and they love it and do really well on it.

Second question, how many pellets should degus have a day?

Third question, what sort of hay is best for degus? I get Ings hay for my rabbits from www.hayforpets.co.uk for my rabbits, which is described on the website as hay from 'traditionally managed water meadows have no chemical fertilizer or sprays applied. They gain their fertility from regular deposits of silt when the meadows flood and subsequently this organically grown hay has an amazing variety of flowers and grasses and has the authentic smell of natural and sweet new hay'
Will this be ok to feed to goos too?

Thank you for all your help

[malteser60]

Hi jessiebelle,

So, starting with the hay, meadow hay is good for degus, they really like it. So is timothy hay as well. And if the hay has no chemicals or fertilizers put on it then it's a brilliant bonus. So much so I'm going to look into the website you posted. Just got a rabbit so going to need lots more hay.

The science selective degu feed is more of a biscuit than pellets. I feed my degus this in the evening and they really like it. It is recommended to give approximately 10 - 15g of feed per degu per day. Unlike rabbits, however, you can fill up their food bowl and they won't overeat, well not on the pellets that is. Oats, however, are another story!

However one bit of advice with degus, it is highly reccomended to vary their diet and give them dried plant and herb mixes, along with seeds, etc (all in proportion). We have couple threads specifically for this discussion that are well worth reading up about:

deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=food&action=display&thread=8933
deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=food&action=display&thread=8775

I know with rabbits (been reading up like mad about them this weekend as we only got our rabbit, a rescue, last saturday) you feed them pellets and lots and lots of hay and grass, with dried plants added like dandelion, and not too overfeed them cause they have delicate digestive system. With degus they thrive best on a huge variety of plants, hay, grass, seeds, herbs, and veg. And it is brilliant seeing them tucking into daiseys, rose petals, sunflowers, etc. It really helps their temperment (i.e. they become even more content if its possible), fur, skin, etc. The one important thing is obviously no sugar, or anything remotely sugary. So no fruit, any feed with molasses, etc.

Oh, and finally, degus also go mad over tree bark!

[jessiebelle]

Oh, thank you so much for all that info! I was really worried about overfeeding them since it is such a problem with my two rabbits (they constantly act like they're starved) and was actually a bit worried when there was food left in the bowls. I just discovered this morning they are like biscuits, the SS food is huge! Went down very well though, they were picking it out of the p@h food...

I will try and get a bit more variety into their food then, thank you for the links! I've already discovered they love oats and will do pretty much anything for them, so will be good for training.

I highly recommend hay for pets, I've been getting the 10kg bag for my rabbits since february and they love it, it lasts about a month with my two hay monsters. The goos love it too so I'm happy