Healthy and natural treats for degus

[fred]

The 50% natural nutrition project has been a great success, seeing so many members including brand new degu owners getting involved I therefore think it would be good to complement it with a guide to healthy and natural treats.

We already have a treats threads but this was based on Degutopia. Diet and feeding advice from that site does not stand up to scrutiny and I would urge anyone who wants to do the best for their goos to completely ignore it!!

So we need to collect our own information and I would suggest that on this thread we:

1) Look for and discuss healthy and natural alternatives. For example, malteser yesterday mentioned dandelion roots as a treat over which her girls go bonkers, a sentiment with which my own girls would concur ;D Another very well received treat are flax/linseed pods:




2) Talk about what reasonable amounts are for treats that have a higher content of sugar, protein or fat (for example, how much of carrots or oats)

[coronasol]

Great idea Fred, and I think a thread like this in conjunction with the 50% natural nutrition project will be an excellent source for all Degu owners, both new and experienced

[mel]

Good idea and I love that picture of your little goo!

[aya0aya]

What do you think of cosmos seeds? My goos love them, not only the seeds, they eat the woody thing seeds are in too. I'm pretty sure it's healthy. Well usually goldfinch ate all of them, now they have to share

[malteser60]

That is a brilliant pic fred, and a very good thread to start. As fred has mentioned, most of what is termed a 'treat' is actually what they should be eating as part of their natural diet... whether it is a 50% or 100% natural diet. For me a treat is a piece of chocolate fudge cake not steamed veg, no matter how much I like veg! And I think it should be the same for the degus, albeit not as extreme as chocolate fudge cake!!

Just as a side note, dandelion roots are not technically 'treats' however my degus love them so much I am using them as treats as an everyday alternative to oats.

So, my contribution to degu treats... dried parsley bits go down well. Also P@H do those fish-shaped carrot biscuits that they love but should be a treat. (Not much carrot in them must admit). There is also bake-your-own treats with a wholewheat flour base with added dried herbs and a bit of honey... there's a recipe on the forum somewhere just got to find it...

[fred]

Nov 11, 2011 17:48:46 GMT aya0aya said:

What do you think of cosmos seeds? My goos love them, not only the seeds, they eat the woody thing seeds are in too. I'm pretty sure it's healthy.

I have tried to find any mention of a degu eating cosmos seeds but no success. And davx may be the only one ever having fed green parts of a Cosmos species. However, I can't see any reason why the seeds shouldn't make a good treat. If I find a reasonable source, I will try them myself.

[aya0aya]

You can come and pick them on my garden I owe you a whiskey anyways.
In m observation they can compare to oats, that much they like them. They are happy to do tricks if rewarded with that seeds.

[Deleted]

The favourite treats for my girls are dried carrot slices and peas that have been cooked
and crushed into flakes. I give these for treats because I'm unsure how much sugar there
is in them. I read somewhere that eating 1,5 kg carrots equals drinking a 0,5 l cola..?

Also, they love fresh basil and parsley. They are treats because I only have room for so many
plants in my windows, so they last longer as treats And they go crazy for millet seeds!

[malteser60]

Other treats are the "Herbal Mix" bags - so the Herbal Delight from P@H, and JR Farm does a similar herbal mix. You can pick out the bits and give them as treats. Or you can scatter them in the bedding for a fun foraging time.

Another treat my goos love is the fenugreek crunchies - can be bought from Hay Experts.