----- Original Message -----
From: Crystal Cavies <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, May 28, 2001 11:47 PM
Subject: Re: More degu questions
> Hi Emily
>
> Yes their is a lot of conflicting advice, I have been
> wondering if what someone told me was true, and that
> was to write to the Embasy of Chile and ask them,
> according to .
They would be highly amused. Degus are enemy number one in Chile. They are
by far the most numerous rodent pest and do untold damage to crops.
You would be better consulting the people who have studied degus closely in
labs. Because of their propensity for developing diabetes, lots of research
has been done on their carbohydrate tolerance. There must be loads of
scientific literature around on this subject, though admitedly it will not
be exactly bedtime reading. To be honest, I don't think it matters too much
as long as you are careful with the carbohydrates. I have experimented with
all pellets and found that my degus preferred Hagen guinea pig pellets, so
now just feed them these along with hay, alfalfa and a few leafy vegetables.
My degus will be 6 years old in July and seem to be thriving on this diet.
I think that guinea pig pellets have a bit more in the way of carbos than
chin pellets. But on the plus side, they also contain lots of vitamin C as
this is essential for guinea pigs and is also quite important for degus.
Cheers
Sue
