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Post by lisylou on Sept 3, 2010 9:15:57 GMT
Hi everyone!
My name is Lisa and I live in Swansea, south wales.
We have recently purchased two baby degus and trying our very best to make our little fellows happy!
I have a million questions, but think I had better try and put the questions in the right sections, rather than one really long message!
We have been told our degus are male, and so called them Woody and Dash (Disney characters!, my children and 5 and 7).
One thing I have already learnt about my little men is that they are soooo messy! lol! They are gorgeous and I want to make sure we look after them as best as we can!
Well, it is nice to meet everyone and I am gonna go and post a million things now! Hope this is ok?
Lisa
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Post by smux on Sept 3, 2010 9:35:27 GMT
They can be extremely messy, but a few people here put netting on the outside of the lower part of the cage (where most of their mess gets out of the cage) to stop that from being a problem. Downside to this is that they're also legendary gnawers and may decimate the netting and whatever you use to hold it in place :-)
Feel free to ask all the questions you want, I'll answer as many as I can and so will other people...we'd rather you post 1m questions rather than post a few and not know the answers to the rest, it'll improve the lives of your two degus if you know all you need and more :-P
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Post by lisylou on Sept 3, 2010 9:40:16 GMT
Thanks so much for the reply, I think you may be sorry you told me to post as much as I want! lol! I just want to make sure I can look after them as best I can!
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Post by Kins on Sept 3, 2010 12:24:25 GMT
Welcome to the wonderful world of degus! They certainly seem to have stolen your heart, as they did mine when I got my first 2 a few months ago! Have they started throwing poos at you yet?! Mine seem to have got it down to a fine art, they wait until I have just swept up their mess before they launch several poos out of their cages at lightening speed . I'm sure they think it is hilarious, the little devils ! One of mine, Jim, also seems to shout at me when I'm putting his food in his bowl, as if to say 'feed me NOW human slave'! Which of course I graciously do. They have me wrapped around their cute little paws!
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 3, 2010 14:59:44 GMT
Welcome to the forum! It is lovely to meet you and have you become a part of this little degu family. Lots information and help can be obtained here. It's a good place to be!
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Post by slaine on Sept 3, 2010 15:06:14 GMT
welcome to the forum i love how when they get their bath and sand goes every where then i love having kids to sweep the mess up
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Post by Kins on Sept 3, 2010 15:09:00 GMT
I like...it cheap labour. I've tried to get our dog to sweep up but he just can't get the hang of it .
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Post by Owned by Degus on Sept 5, 2010 19:28:12 GMT
Hi there, I live in cardiff so good to see a fellow Welshie on the forum. I am a newbie too, we got our 3 males middle of August and I love them to bits but they did take some getting used too. I am more relaxed now but initially did wonder what I had done as they seemed so high maintenance. We have got used to each other now and I really enjoy having them around. They are very messy however and I have had to go and buy a dust buster just to be able to do a quick clean morning and night. I did lessen the mess by making a cage tidy out of lining paper, sat the cage on top of a long strip and folded it up and around 3 sides and stuck the paper corners together with sellotape, its very basic but helps and the boys are not interested in eating it. A couple of times a week they have the run of the conservatory much to the annoyance of my dog ! but I have just realised 1 of the 3 is a little more nervous than his brothers and actually prefers to be in the cage, the other 2 have similar personalities and are so funny when playing in the conservatory. I have found this site very helpful, there are so many degu owners on here willing to help with all sorts of queries. The biggest tip I can give you as a new owner is constantly talk to them, I know this works as its what I do and they definately know my voice now and come when called but they are a little more wary around the rest of the family who don't talk to them as much. Have fun with them
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Post by lisylou on Sept 5, 2010 20:56:20 GMT
Hi Sue,
Thanks for the tips! We let ours run around a small room but they were really nervous, so I think we will keep them in their exercise balls which they literally dive in as soon as we open the cage! lol! Just until they are more confident of us and their surroundings.
Great to 'meet' a fellow welshie!
Lisa
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Post by Owned by Degus on Sept 7, 2010 19:55:08 GMT
HI again, where did you get the runaround balls from, I had not thought of them for a daily run, it would be too much like hard work to get the room ready and degu proof every day, the balls would be a solution. sue
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Post by smux on Sept 7, 2010 20:12:19 GMT
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Post by lisylou on Sept 7, 2010 21:22:21 GMT
Sorry I didn't reply! I haven't had time to spit the last couple of days!
Yeah, we got ours from pets at home and got the largest they had, so they had plenty of space.
It isn't really our plan to only use those for exercise, we are in the process of getting a degu proof area for them, but whilst we are training them to get used to being handled we wanted to make sure they had some exercise and they are really keen to get in them every day.
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Post by Jaiye on Sept 10, 2010 13:02:20 GMT
Have they started throwing poos at you yet?! I thought that was just Thai playing silly buggers XP She launches them from the top shelf using her tail as a bat! Its so funny to watch isnt it??? Crazy little goos......
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Post by Kins on Sept 10, 2010 13:16:01 GMT
Hehe. It seems to be a fairly common theme amongst goo owners, maybe that behaviour has some strange meaning in the degu world...
We end up with poos all over the house from our lot. It's just lovely when people come over and you have to apologise for the poos on the floor or super quickly have to sweep them up.
They even manage to throw them halfway across the sitting room, it's actually quite impressive!
I certainly wouldn't be without them though that's for sure. Although I think we might be modifying the existing cage (and building another one in the same way) so it has perspex doors as opposed to mesh ones to prevent them from being able to fling poos, we shall see...
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Post by Jaiye on Sept 10, 2010 18:49:43 GMT
Double checked, dunno why I thought I saw something else o.o Think i was remembering reading another thread on here XP
perspex sounds like a good plan!
Mine aren't flinging them too far yet, so all good =) Landing on the plastic sheet surrounding the cage =D
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