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Nutritional Similarities of Guinea Pigs & Degus

THE DEGU’S NATURAL DIET

In the wild the diet of degus is not that dissimilar to guinea pigs. They eat a selection of grasses, seeds, leaves, bulbs, tubers, bark and some fruits.

SPECIAL NEEDS OF DEGUS

The nutritional requirements of degus are not well documented, but from the literature they appear to be midway between the guinea pig and chinchilla. Degus are reported to thrive on a diet of 50:50 mixture of chinchilla pellets and guinea pig pellets, and some hay and vegetables. In nutritional terms this approximates to 17-18% protein, 3% fat and high levels of fibre (~20%).

FEEDING DEGUS

Supreme recommend feeding Gerty Guinea Pig to degus as opposed to Charlie Chinchilla. Gerty Guinea Pig better fulfils their needs.

NEED	DETAILS
Vitamin C	A requirement for Vitamin C is frequently mentioned in the literature. It would seem that degus, like guinea pigs, might be unable to produce their own or store it. Gerty Guinea Pig is already supplemented with Vitamin C.
Protein	The protein requirement is quite high, and fulfilling it is especially important if there are intentions to breed and rear young degus. Gerty Guinea Pig has a protein level of 17% compared to 14.5% in Charlie Chinchilla.
Sugar	In captivity diabetes in degus is fairly common, but this is thought to be due to inbreeding, rather than an inherent inability to handle sugars. Gerty Guinea Pig has a much lower sugar level (2.9%) than Charlie Chinchilla (7.9%).
Fibre	Although Charlie Chinchilla is slightly higher in fibre (16%), to achieve levels of 20% the degu’s diet would need to be supplemented with hay, and since Gerty Guinea Pig fulfils the other requirements it is the most appropriate to feed.

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Gery Guinea Pig

Features of Gerty Guinea Pig

Gerty Guinea Pig

The Importance of Vitamin C