Diet & Nutrition for Your Degu

If you put it in front of a Degu, he’ll eat it! This pet will eat anything, including sugar and toxic substances. They’re greedy eaters, so proper diet and nutrition is exceedingly important for the health of these pets.

Degus feed on grasses and browse the leaves of shrubs. Their feeding rate is controlled by the rate at which they can digest this relatively low quality food. Like rabbits, this pet will also chew on their own feces to extract more nutrition from what it’s eaten. This habit also helps to maintain a healthy stomach function when food is scarce.

Feeding your pet Degu isn’t like feeding other small pets like hamsters or gerbils. Degus get diabetes if fed fatty, starchy or sweet foods, so seeds and dried fruit aren’t a recommended part of their diet,

SUGAR WARNING:

Do not feed your pet Degu sugar - the importance of this cannot be stressed enough. Degus can’t break down sugar like most rodents and they will develop diabetes quickly – and that’s fatal. Fruit contains sugar, so keep that out of their diet except as noted more in the sections below.

BAD THINGS TO EAT:

-- Cheese: This product is high in fat, salt and protein that your pet Degu cannot digest properly.

-- Rat diet: A rat’s diet is high in protein which can’t be digested properly by a Degu. And this diet doesn’t contain vitamin C which is suggested for a Degu’s diet.

-- Yogurt drops: Often used as training aids, Yogurt drops contain sugar and should not be given to your pet on a regular basis.

-- Molasses: Another sugar based product that must be avoided. Molasses is often added to animal feeds, so check the feed contents of any products you buy.

-- Seeds and dried fruit: Since Degus should not be fed a diet containing fats, starches, or sweet foods, anything with seeds and dried fruit is out.

GOOD THINGS TO EAT:

-- Greens: A good diet for you pet can include lots of greens - lettuce, dandelion and endive. Degus seem to enjoy the bitter tasting leaves. Timothy hay is also good for these pets.

-- Oats: Try mixing small amounts of natural oats with their temporary diet. It’s are a good source of energy, but don’t overfeed your pet Degu on this unless you ready to give them plenty of exercise afterwards.

-- Vegetables: You’ll find that your pets probably aren’t great fans of fresh vegetables, but they will eat green beans, carrots, spring onions and small amounts of Savoy cabbage. Also try cauliflower, broccoli stems and some cubed sweet potato. All of these contain essential nutrients for your pet.

-- Rabbit or Guinea Pig pellets: Pellets are best, but if you do get your pet the mix you will have to remove any sweet corn, Locus beans, and any sunflower seeds. Also check the ingredients for any seeds and dried fruits that have to be extracted.

-- Chinchilla pellets: Same as the Rabbit and Guinea feed, use the pellets and not the mix. Chinchilla mixes normally contain dried fruits that have to be taken out.

-- Vitamin C: It’s suggested that vitamin C become a part of a Degu’s healthy diet.

SOME FAVOURITE TREATS:

-- Cereals: Crisped rice, puffed rice and bits of cornflakes all make good treats and training aids for your pet.

-- Crackers: Pieces of cracker or a crisp break can also be used, but check the labels for salt content. Go with the salt free brands.

-- Fruit: Occasionally - it is possible to feed your Degus the occasional bit of fruit even though it contains sugar. Research has shown that these pets can metabolise sugar to a certain extent. Again – sparingly is the key word.

-- Apple: Tiny bits of apple feed no more than once a week are okay, but the quantity has to be kept small. Degus seem to really like apples.

-- Sweet Potatoes: The skin is toxic to Degus, so they must be peeled. They do not have to be cooked. Use small cubes and feed them this treat only a couple times a week. Too many potatoes can create intestinal bloating if your pet is feed to many.

WATERING NEEDS:

You can use either tap water or bottled water for your pet Degu. The chlorine content in tap water does not seem to adversely affect them. Recommended vitamin C be added in soluble form to their water since this supplement is difficult to find in anything else.

WATER CONTAINER:

Any drink bottles that you use for your Degus will probably end up being chewed to bits by these frisky little pets. If you’re using a cage, mount your bottle from the outside so only the spouts sticks through.