*UPDATE* Enriching my Degus diet
Here you can find my original what I feed my degus with all the information about treats and fresh food.
I have recently moved to the UK and my degus will soon run out of their food which I cannot find here in the UK. So I have to find a suitable new food for them and I have decided to try them with Pets at Home Degu Nuggets. I have not yet given them the nuggets but I plan to slowly introduce it before their old food runs out.
Here is the nutritional information:
Total sugars - 4.2 %
Protein - 16%
Fat - 3%
Fibre - 16%
Ash - 6.5%
And it includes suitable levels of:
Vitamin A
Vitamin D3
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Copper
And the Calcium : Phosphorous, ratio is suitable as well
The Protein is slightly high but this is fine as this is not the only thing I am going to feed them.
The Degu Nuggets are great for picky eaters because there is only a single kind of pellet. However I feel like this will limit variety in my degus diet so I am planning on feeding them these pellets in the morning and a dried herb mix in the evening.
For the dried herb mix I will be using JR Farm Garden Herbs and JR Farm Milk Thistle
The JR Garden Herbs include:
Green Oats, Parsley, Green Wheat, Nettle, Balm, Dandelion, Peppermint, Hay, Alfafa, Chamomile
The Nutritional Information
Protein 16.9%
Fat 2.6%
Fibre 21.2%
Ash 10.9%
Moisture 10.9%
The JR Farm Milk Thistle is just pure Milk Thistle
The Nutritional Information
Protein 9.9%
Fat 2.3%
Fibre 21.4%
Ash 13.8%
Moisture 9.7%
I will be scatter feeding them a mix of these dried herbs in the evening when I let them out in their play pen as I believe this will allow them to mimic their natural foraging behaviours.
I will still be giving them fresh vegetables once or twice a week and I will feed these when they are in their play pen and if they don't manage to finish the vegetables I will move it into their cage along with them.
To enrich their diet further I am planning to purchase some small animal grass and put this in a pot in their play pen so they can have fresh grass when they are out and about.
I feel like this change in diet will improve their health due to the natural foraging behaviours that will be encouraged but also the Degu Nuggets in the morning to avoid selective eating.
