Is this food Ok? - Paw Talk

petluvr01 · #1 10-22-2007, 05:15 PM

I went to a small petstore near me and found that they had the Sunseed food for Chinchillas. Since I can't find and Degu or Guinea Pig food without sugar, I was wondering if it would be ok just to give them this. Also, what else would I be able to give them in addition to their normal food?

leplake · #2 10-22-2007, 07:57 PM

Check the label, if it contains molasses or dried beet pulp, then no, it's not ok.... you can however order the degu formula online. Degu Products - PetFoodDirect this is just one place. You may try other pet stores. Sometimes in my area the guinea pig food with and without molasses changes stores. Just keep looking!

MañasMom · #3 10-22-2007, 10:47 PM

I Googled that food, since I don't really know anything about it.

The only Sun Seed Chinchilla food I found is called "Sunscription Vita Chinchilla Formula". Is that the food you found in the pet store near you?

That food does not sound like a good food for Degus, based on the listed ingredients:

Quote:


	It is specially formulated with bananas, raisins and hulled oats. Ingredients include: Forage products, Plant protein products, Grain products, Roughage products, Processed grain by-products, dehydrated bananas, Raisins, Hulled oats, Processed dried milk by-products, Cane molasses, Dextrose, Yeast culture, Calcium phosphate, Calcium carbonate, Vegetable oil, salt, and many essential vitamins and minerals. 24 oz. resealable airtight canister guarantees freshness.

All the fruits would be bad for your Degus, as they contain too much sugar. And all the grains may end up being too much carbohydrates for them.

With Degus, you have to be very careful to avoid fruits, and carbs, because they cannot digest and metabolize the sugars. They can easily develop diabetes, and that's something that there just isn't a treatment for yet in such small little guys.

As for other yummies besides their pellets, you can give Goos a variety of fresh vegetables. (Or you can dry the vegetables.) I give green beans, peas, fancy lettuces like romaine or red leaf, dandelion greens, occasional sweet potato or carrot.

Extra special treats are like in shell peanuts or sunflower seeds. But those should be given very rarely, as they are a bit more naughty than the veggies. I give a peanut after cage cleaning for a reward.

Hope this helps!!

Amethystbelle · #4 10-23-2007, 05:43 AM

I don't recommend the sunseed chinchilla food for degus at all, i won't even feed it my chinnies. It contains a lot of sugar (mollasses, dried fruits etc...) and is packed out with grains which in turn are again a form of sugar so its a definate no no.

Other things you can give besides the staple diet are fresh or dried veggies. Dried leaves and flowers, herbs, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, raisins (only as a treat and no more then once a month max for nuts and raisins) mine also get a small piece of shredded wheat once a week too

mulder · #5 10-23-2007, 07:22 AM

i find it curious that sunseed chin is bad, but sunseed degu is good food? i suppose it's just manufacturer's choice on ingredients. meh. my advice is watch for anything corn or molasses in the ingredients

Amethystbelle · #6 10-23-2007, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mulder


	i find it curious that sunseed chin is bad, but sunseed degu is good food? i suppose it's just manufacturer's choice on ingredients. meh. my advice is watch for anything corn or molasses in the ingredients

Sunseed chinchilla food is ok as a treat for chinchillas as they can handle small amounts of sugar compared to degus. Its just something that i wouldn't feed all the time as its not a balanced enough diet for chinchillas as its a mix and chins pick through what they like (i.e all the fruit) and leave the bits that are actually good for them i.e the pellets

So don't get a balanced diet and thats when health problems can occur just the same as if you feed a degu the wrong kind of diet

petluvr01 · #7 10-23-2007, 03:57 PM

I don't know. I looked on the ingredients and I didn't find any molasses of any sort. The only sugar thing I found in it was raisins, which could be easily taken out. I will see if I can call the store and have them give me a list of ingredients, I think that will be helpful. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it was a really small bag, like 2 pounds, and it was $10.00, which I think is kinda expensive, but that is compared to the hamster food that I always buy!

petluvr01 · #8 10-23-2007, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethystbelle


	I don't recommend the sunseed chinchilla food for degus at all, i won't even feed it my chinnies. It contains a lot of sugar (mollasses, dried fruits etc...) and is packed out with grains which in turn are again a form of sugar so its a definate no no. Other things you can give besides the staple diet are fresh or dried veggies. Dried leaves and flowers, herbs, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, raisins (only as a treat and no more then once a month max for nuts and raisins) mine also get a small piece of shredded wheat once a week too

I was wondering, how would I do the pumpkin seeds? Halloween is coming, so I will have a lot of seeds that I save. But do I just dry them on a paper towel or do I have to bake them? Thanks

leplake · #9 10-23-2007, 04:09 PM

If you really cannot find a descent food at a pet store I'd advise you order something online (Like the Sunscription Degu formula, which is good for them) and feed them timothy hay and veggies, and fresh grass until the food arrives. (Timothy hay should always be available anyways.) I looked around and petfooddirect.com has the cheapest shipping. (And I think right now if you order they tack on a 5% off coupon)

Amethystbelle · #10 10-23-2007, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petluvr01


	I don't know. I looked on the ingredients and I didn't find any molasses of any sort. The only sugar thing I found in it was raisins, which could be easily taken out. I will see if I can call the store and have them give me a list of ingredients, I think that will be helpful. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it was a really small bag, like 2 pounds, and it was $10.00, which I think is kinda expensive, but that is compared to the hamster food that I always buy!

As far as i'm aware all sunseed chinchilla foods contain fruits such as banana, papaya and raisins which aren't good for degus as they are all sugary and in my experience you would be there forever picking the bad bits out

I agree with Leplake look online and if you see something thats suitable ask your local petstore to see if they will order you some in

Quote:

Originally Posted by petluvr01


	I was wondering, how would I do the pumpkin seeds? Halloween is coming, so I will have a lot of seeds that I save. But do I just dry them on a paper towel or do I have to bake them? Thanks

I cheat, i buy mine

I'm not 100% sure but i would assume you do something like that as the ones you buy are raw. I'm off to look into it further now

leplake · #11 10-24-2007, 10:09 AM

My mom used to bake the pumpkin seeds for a few minutes. Baking them will dry them out.

petluvr01 · #12 10-26-2007, 10:05 AM

What about sunflower seeds? Can I just buy them in the store,or would they have too much salt on them? can they have greens from outside like dandelions and stuff like that? I will save the pumpkin seeds for them, but how much is okay to give them? A couple every day, or is that too much. Thanks

Amethystbelle · #13 10-26-2007, 10:53 AM

Natural Sunflower seeds are ok as a treat but no more then one once a week as they are fattening for degus. I buy mine from the petstrore usually have them in the bird section. Greens are good for degus mine all get fresh and dried dandelions and a little grass doesn't hurt occasionally too infact as a treat i give mine a grass box so they can graze like they would in the wild (i use a stainless steal bowl add some compost and i either buy some turf or sow some seeds and once it has grown i give it to them). I also collect strawberry, nettle, hawthorne and raspberry leaves which i dry out for them and they all go mad for them

My garden in my degus larder

leplake · #14 10-26-2007, 11:07 AM

Alot of seeds and things are too high in fat to be fed often. Especially sun flower seeds and peanuts. They should be fed as an occasional treat instead as part of their regular meal. Degus should eat mainly molasses free guinea pig pellets, chin pellets or deug pellets (or a mix) and Timothy Hay. They do need fresh food to though. I give mine a bit of fresh grass every once in a while, and I've heard they can eat dandelions (I haven't tried those yet, dandelion season passed before I got my goos) But if you take ANY thing from your yard you need to be sure there have been no pesticides, or ant poison, or animal feces or urine in that area. You can give them fresh veggies from the store too, like lettuces, kale, green beans, just about anything green you can find.. Goos also need yellow veggies like carrot or sweet potato. (Mine love sweet potato, but you have to make sure you peel it first)English Degu-Site - Information about Degus
This is a descent page with foods... I hope I've helped

petluvr01 · #15 11-01-2007, 10:40 AM

Thanks. I am hoping to find some food that I don't have to buy over the internet. It is sooo expensive. To get a 2 pund bag of food, it costs about $5, then with shipping it costs about $14. Plus, I don't think that 2 punds is going to last very long with 2 goos.

About how much do you feed them? I don't want to feed them to much, or to less. Also, do your goos get into their ffod dish? I know my hamster does, I was just wondering what size food dishes to buy. gotta go, bells gonna ring!