Feeding Degus

[GoosofCamelot]

Okay, so I'm hopefully getting 2-3 degus soon, and I'm just posting different threads on here for info and to make sure I'm doing the right things. 
I would feed them a Degu or Chinchilla pellet.
How often do I feed them daily? Once or twice?
How much do I feed them daily?
What sized bowl? 
Is this OK? www.petsathome.com/shop/polka-dot-cat-bowl-by-mason-cash-29387
I was going to get a small bowl that are for hamsters but when I saw it in real life it was far too small.
All advice and info much apprieciated! 
Thanks

[sona]

deguworld.proboards.com/thread/16425/degu-feeding-guide#

www.degutopia.co.uk/degudiet.htm

If you follow these two links you'll get a good overview of feeding as well as a suggestion with regards quantities.

Mine eat P@H pellets plus their dried dandelions and other dried leaf matter from there, such as Plaintain, blackberry leaves etc.

I also give mine a mineral stone to try and up their calcium, though they don't touch it much.

Your food bowl looks good. Anything that they're not likely to chew through is always good. If you have two or more degus then you may want two or more bowls to save arguments.

Hope the links help and if you have any questions then just holler as I know it's a lot to take in at once.

[moletteuk]

You can feed degus a good quality commercial food, which you must supplement with hay and other plant material, herb mixes, hedgerow weeds etc. Treats or a proportion of the main diet can be seeds, treats can also be nuts and veg.

Bowl size does not matter, but you need a bowl each or scatter feed, once or twice a day is fine.

Some of the degutopia diet information is rather out of date, in particular their recommendation of Gerty Guinea, please don't feed this as there is far too little calcium in it. Versele-Laga Degu Crispy food is a decent grainless food with good calcium and phosphorus values that seems to come out on top from the detailed comparison info we have looked it in compiling a new commercial food chart that is coming to the forum soon.

[GoosofCamelot]

Thankyou both

What amount of feed would you feed for (one) each degu?

[GoosofCamelot]

Ah, just read it. Says 10g Per adult degu. So when they're grown into adults and I had 3 degus, could I give them 30g in one bowl? Or 15g in two bowls.
Does that sound OK?

But when I get them from Pets at home and a start feeding them a degu feed, do I do this gradually and give them smaller amounts?

[ntg]

It's sometimes easier to have a bowl each, my lot are grouchy around food! I have the little ceramic hamster ones and they're big enough for their hard feed. Any herbs/foliage I give them then gets scattered round the cage for them to forage for.

[ntg]

Also, depending where you are from, there are a lot of degus needing homes in the adoption section, as well as a lot that can be found in local rescues. It's an idea anyway!

[GoosofCamelot]

Thankyou ntg Do you give them a certain amount each in the hamsters bowls, or just fill it up?

I'm from Cornwall, was thinking of getting mine from Pets at Home, is that a bad idea?

[ntg]

I started off with 10g per bowl/degu, but that's been cut down now as they get a lot of natural nutrition instead!

And it's entirely your choice, I mentioned it because I know a rescue in Essex had a large amount come in, and the RSPCA in chesterfield also have a large number right now, but Cornwall isn't very close to either! I just like to mention it as another option as I'm a sucker for rescues.

[bijett]

I started mine on degu pellets but after reading around on what else was available, I quickly ditched the pellets. Then I switched to xtra vital but now I feed them a mix of dried stuff and stuff from the garden like dandelion and herbs and jr farm stuff with the occasional nut as a treat.