Emma Jones
Unlike in nature, degus in human care repeatedly come into contact with substances that are unknown to them and the edibility of which they cannot assess. And so, unfortunately, poisoning occurs again and again.
Poisoning is usually the result of feeding poisonous plants or similar. For this reason, the best avoidance strategy for poisoning is not to feed any unknown substances. You should only put what you know to be harmless in the feeding bowl of your fosterlings.
Listing all toxic substances would certainly go beyond the scope since the list is almost endless. Poisoning from indoor plants often occurs, however, and the degus get to it in a variety of ways. Therefore, the following list contains some of the most important houseplants that are poisonous to degus.
Some poisonous houseplants: Macaw (Fatsia), tree friend (Philodendron), cup primrose (Primula obconica), Christ’s thorn (Euphorbia. milli), ivy (Hedera), ivy (Scindapsus), spatula (Spathiphyllum), many ferns, flamingo flower (Anthurium), Fuchsia, rubber tree (Ficus spec.), coral tree (Solanum capsicastrum), Madagascar palm (Pachypodium lamerei), oleander (Nerium), passionflower (Passiflora), knight’s star (Hippeastrum spec.), Schefflera, lantana (lantana), poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima, ), desert rose (Adenium obesum) (Ralf Sistermann)