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?:gab:
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!
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.
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
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
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
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 :lol:
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)
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
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 :lol:
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
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!
I personally free feed their pellets right now. No one seems to be getting over weight or anything. But of course my females are pregnant and eating more and my male is still young. I think with an older goo I might watch their food a little closer. I've heard that about a table spoon of food per goo is close to the right amount give or take a little. If you put in one amount and they eat the whole thing, give them a little more next time, If they don't finish what's in their bowl give a little less. Every goo is different. I think I've seen you post that you've checked stores like PetSmart and other big chains. Have you looked for other privately owned stores, often these carry different brands of foods. They are also usually very willing to order a special brand for you.
I also just give free access to all the pellets they can eat all day, everyday. So far, no weight problems.
I have a problem with Imana rummaging through her pellets, and dumping a lot of them out, so that makes it hard to feed her a measured amount. LOL
Not too long ago, I bought a new kind of bowl. It's a Lixit brand bowl, that hangs on the side of the cage. I changed because we also had a problem with urinating and defecating in the food bowl. Having this dish that hangs has solved that problem completely.
I think Imana likes it too, because I put a little perch next to the dish. I don't know, it seems more natural because she has to climb up, and balance on her perch to eat.
So my guess is that I can get a smaller one, but I might go with the bigger ones b/c they only cost like a dollar more. I have went to a small feed store close to me and asked if they had any food suitable for them, they said they didn't, but they would check w/ their suppliers and see and if not they would see if they could find it somewhere and special order it for me. So I'll have to wait and see.
I am also going to go to a small pet store right down the road from the feed store soon, so I'll see if they have any. I know they have tons of Chinchilla stuff and bird stuff, so I think that'll be my jackpot. I'm crossing my Fingers!!!
That sounds like you are on the right track. My advice is check all the lables yourself. Many store workers take short cuts and don't really know what they are talking about and you may end up with something you cant use. Are you asking people about food suitable for degus? if so, alot of people have no clue what they need and may tell you no just because of that... so make sure they know that a simple guinea pig food with no molasses or dried beet pulp is what you need. keep looking, I know you'll find SOME thing!
The people at the feed shop are really nice. I explained to them that Degus can't have any type of sugar whatsoever. I told them that the best thing is specialy formulated degu food, but it is alright to give them eithe Guinea Pig or Chinchilla food. They were really considerate and understanding. The only thing they asked was what brand of foods, and I wasn't sure right off the bat. BUt they said they would get ahold of me if they find anything
I also free feed my degus, they have access to food 24/7 although i only top the bowls up when needed to encourage them to eat everything so they get a balanced diet. I haven't had an overweight degu yet
I have stainless steal bowls that attach to the side of the cage think they are called coop bowls. I use these as degus are prone to moving food bowls around and throwing them about so with the coop bowls its a little difficult for them to do that. I use two different size bowls, each cage has a large coop bowl and then a smaller one per extra degu in different areas of the cage. So with my foursome i have a large bowl and 3 smaller ones.
It sounds like you are on the right track with the food but i agree double check anything they try to sell you as it always pays off to do so as sometimes shop workers will try and sell you anything
At one of my grocery stores, I found Western Family Supreme Guinea Pig Feed which is only $3 for a 4 lb bag. There is no molasses, beet pulp or other such undesirables. I was surprised to find the food that I need at the grocery store. No pet stores around here carry guinea pig feed without molasses. So, you might want to check your grocery store...
Thanks. I didn't even think to check there! I know when I do find some I am going to buy a large quanity of it, just in case they decide not to stock it anymore!!
I've never heard of that brand, I'm currently feeding Vitacraft sunseed degu formula. As long as it's made up of mostly timothy hay, and includes no dried cane molasses, dried beet pulp, or any kind of fruit it should be fine. Of course timothy hay should be available all the time...
Whatever you do i would stop feeding the Prestige food as its bad for degus in the long term I was given a bag by my local petstore last year to try and when i got it home i read the ingredients and its full of things such as raisins, banana chips etc... that are bad for degus as they are too sweet. It was also bulked out with locust beans which again aren't all that good for degus
I haven't heard about that brand either. I will know to keep a look out and if I see it not to buy it. The brand I am tring to find is that Oxbow food that was on another post. If I have to I can get it on the internet, but I would prefere not to pay the $15 shipping for one five pound bag of food.
Can anyone give me a clear list of good brands to check for. A couple local petstores told me that if I know the names, they can see if they can special order it for me. Thanks a bunch!!
The only degu formula I have tried is the Sunscription Vita degu formula. That is what mine are on now. I'd give you a few names of GP foods that are goo suitable, but I can't because now everything in my area has molasses, and I can't remember what I was feeding when I found it.
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