Can degus eat rose hips?

Better not: degus shouldn’t eat rose hips. The TVT, STS and Zürcher Tierschutz rule out fruit, and only PDSA lists rose hips, for once or twice a week. Rose hips are the fruit of the rose. Germany’s Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare (TVT) says degus should not be given fruit at all, the Swiss animal welfare society (STS) says fruit should not be fed, and the Zurich animal welfare society (Zürcher Tierschutz) lists fruit among foods degus should never have. None of these three mentions rose hips specifically. In the text of its degu page, though, PDSA itself advises avoiding sugary foods such as fruit (apart from an occasional bit of apple), and the RSPCA says many fruits can be high in sugar, so we err on the side of caution.

Good to know: PDSA lists dried rose petals for once or twice a week too – and they aren’t fruit.