Food
Do
- Provide hay at all times. - Make sure they have access to clean water. - Offer them fresh vegetables, herbs or plants a few time a week. - Give them twigs and branches to chew on. |
Do Not
- Feed them a lot of sugar. - Feed them a lot of starch. - Feed them too much alfalfa. - Give them food with added molasses. - Give them food with dried fruit |
No Sugar
This is the golden rule for feeding degus. If fed sugars they can easily become diabetic and develop tooth problems along other uncomfortable diseases. They can have a piece of fruit now and then, but fruit also contains a kind of sugar, so keep it at a minimum for their diet.
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The same goes with dried fruits of course. They can have a piece of cracker, but be aware of the sugar content - fibre crackers are better, and they should still not be fed too often.
Always as a treat only. |
Water
Your degus should always have fresh water available. Using a water bottle is the most used way of providing water, and will keep it clean and uncontaminated as opposed to water bowed where they might throw bedding, food or droppings in. The water should be changed at least every other day in a water bottle and every day in a bowel. If you choose to use a plastic water bottle, make sure to place it on the outside of the cage to prevent them from chewing on it.
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If you wish to keep a close eye on your degus healt, you can measure the ammount of water the drink. A couple of degus should drink about 1 litre (1000 ml) a month. If they drink significantly more it might be a sign of diabetis or too much protein in their diet. If they drink less it might be a sign of constipation. The amount of water intake also depend of the temperature in the room and how much exercise they get.
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Serving the food
Degus are most active in the morning and in the evening. You can split their hard feed and give them half in the morning and half in the evening. You can use this to your advantage and train them with this schedule. They should always have access to hay thou.
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Even thou degus are very social animals and almost literally can't live without each other, they can become very aggressive when it comes to food. It is a good idea (and may be necessary) to have a bowl for each degu to prevent serious fighting.
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