Main Feed
I have found that there are two ways to feed your degus. Store bought mixes and making your own from scratch. What you choose to do is really up to you, but I have provided some information on both options which you can look through by clicking on the buttons down below.
What does a degu eat?
A degus diet should primary be greens and hay. They need a lot of roughage to keep their stomachs healthy, otherwise they will most likely get diarrhea.
In nature they don't always have the opportunity to eat the "perfect" combination and therefor their diet may change a lot depending on the season. They do forage, but obviously they can't forage fresh herbs, flowers and so on like we do. In nature, degus don't have much choice but to eat food high in fibre such as grass. Since fibre has a very low digestibility, degus have evolved to compensate by increasing the volume of their alimentary canal, giving the food more time to be digested.
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They will chose items low in fibre and high nitrogen and moisture in the diet, and prefer young leaves and avoid woodier shrubs.
Degus are Herbivore meaning they eat mainly plants or parts of plants (Folivore, Granivore, Lignivore) but have also proven to be Coprophage (eating the dung from other animals). In the wild, a degus diet is roughly: 45% Grass 15% Herbs 10% Seeds 20% Roots, Leaves, Flowers etc. 8% Vegetables and such 2% Tree bark |
In captivity they have the possibility to be served a more nutritious and fitted diet. I have found that a rough guide to a pet degus diet would be:
45% Greens 25% Hay 15% Seeds 8% Vegetables 7% Treats I would like to add there there is still little information about the subject, and therefor this section might change as new and more accurate information might come to light. More information about specific nutrition need (vitamins etc...) will be added shortly. |