No offence meant to anyone who made the food lists, I'm just wondering if even all those "acceptable" foods have to be fed so sparingly because they are still somewhat dangerous, why bother feeding them at all? I would rather be safe and just avoid them altogether. _________________ I have 2 kids, 2 cats, 2 mice, 1 dog, 1 crested gecko, and 1 sweet little degu Oh yeah don't forget my treefrog tank and my fish tank.
The foods on the safe food list are all degu safe and can be fed as you would be with any animal The only exception is some of the degu foods that are on the market as they are packed out with seeds so are ok as a treat once or twice a week _________________
Okay, I still have more questions and concerns, I hope I'm not sounding argumentative, I just don't want to hurt my little girl (still needs a name).
I've quoted some stuff I have questions about.
quote: "With any vegetable give in moderation especially any of the greens as they can cause bloat."
question: The bloat thing scares me, that makes me think that avoiding veggies altogether would be a lot safer. What is the suggested serving size?
quote: "These (fruit) should be given no more than once a month and only a small piece at a time."
question: If it can only be fed once a month its obviously bad for them so why bother?
quote: "Nuts & Seeds – Degu’s go mad for nuts and seeds and are greedy for them. Both of these should only be ever fed in small amounts and they both have high fat
contents and if fed frequently can cause liver damage over time. Also large quantities of nuts can have a toxic effect of degu’s so always feed in
small amounts. The rule of thumb is choose one of the below and give one per degu per week."
question: Same thing as with the fruit, these sound very dangerous to feed, why risk it?
Sorry again if this sounds rude or anything, its not meant to be. _________________ I have 2 kids, 2 cats, 2 mice, 1 dog, 1 crested gecko, and 1 sweet little degu Oh yeah don't forget my treefrog tank and my fish tank.
No worries ask as many questions as you want At the end of the day its upto you what you feed your degu, veggies won't hurt at all but if you want to leave fruit and/or nuts out then its entirely upto you All warnings are there to try and stop people over feeding their goo's on junk as some people will see something for example such as a raisin on the list and will think ooohhh they can have raisins and will feed one or two every day so i decided when i set this site up to warn people if they over feed problems can and do occur. I'd rather people ask questions such as you have
Regarding fresh veggies. Bloat is only caused by green veggies such as cabbage, lettuce and peas if fed in large amounts. As a rule of thumb i always feed small finger nail sized pieces. In 11 years of keeping degus i've never had a case or know of anyone who has from feeding green veggies but the warning is there to try and prevent people from over feeding. A small piece of greens won't hurt once a week its just if you feed it in large quantities every day when problems would occur. If your worried don't feed greens, not all degus like greens anyway and there are lots of other veggies you can choose from that don't cause bloat. Or you could dry your veggies out in the oven. Degus go mad for these (most prefer it to fresh) as dried greens don't have quite the same potency as fresh and are less likely to cause bloating
Regarding your question on fruit. Research has show that degus can actually handle very small amounts of sugar and it doesn't harm them as in small quantities their bodies can process the sugar and easily break it down so a raisin once every couple of weeks or even a small piece of apple won't hurt in the long run. Its if you feed it every day when problems can occur. I give my degus a raisin or apple maybe once a month if that and in 11 years i haven't had a diabetic degu or any degus with health problems (aside from ones who have come in as rescues). Feeding fruit isn't really a risk not if its done frugally but at the end of the day its entirely upto you, it doesn't hurt them if you don't feed it or you do, it just makes a nice treat occasionally
The same goes for nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds on a whole aren't all that bad for degus as they do get some good nutrients from them the problem is just like sweets and chocolate are tasty to us but sadly no good the same goes for degus and nuts and seeds, they are fattening. Sunflower seeds and Pumpkin seeds are less so then nuts and as a treat once a week they don't hurt, nuts are ok once a month Its just if they have them every day as they are fattening and allowing a degu to become over weight doesn't do it any good as it can cause liver problems. Giving the nut in the shell is fantastic for wearing your degus teeth down too
If you have more questions don't hesitate to ask as thats we are here for _________________
Okay, is there anything that would be safe to feed once every day as treat while I am trying to get her used to me? Would a rice cereal puff or a cheerio be okay? _________________ I have 2 kids, 2 cats, 2 mice, 1 dog, 1 crested gecko, and 1 sweet little degu Oh yeah don't forget my treefrog tank and my fish tank.
I use puffed wheats (100% grain) and i cut them up into 3 pieces so they go further, it gives them a taster so they come back for more I also occasionally use shredded wheat again it breaks into small pieces so you can give them a little and they come back for more, usually half a mini shredded wheat is ok every other day or so _________________
great, thanks _________________ I have 2 kids, 2 cats, 2 mice, 1 dog, 1 crested gecko, and 1 sweet little degu Oh yeah don't forget my treefrog tank and my fish tank.
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Oh yeah don't forget my treefrog tank and my fish tank.
