Paradise in a Critter Nation

[Kins]

Jul 23, 2012 4:23:28 GMT winic1 said:

It started a couple weeks after, I think it has mostly calmed down because as soon as the scuffles sound like they're going to get serious I tell them "Guys! Cut it out!" and they stop and look at me like, "Oh no, is she going to get the water bottle out again?"

No flies on your gang !

Cage is FAN-TAB-U-LOUS! Who knew a metal wire cage could look so natural! Excellent work. Love the log staircase!

[bijett]

It looks so good that I wouldn't mind living in there!

[deguconvert]

Love that they have learned what you mean when you tell them to cut it out! The same thing happened with our boys during puberty, and I am convinced it was part of what helped them to stay together. They learned that I was TOP GOO and what I said was what they needed to do. So glad you have achieved TOP GOOHOOD!

[winic1]

Wow! I have achieved GooHood! I'm so proud! (heeheehee)

[deguconvert]

Me too! It is something I've actually tried to describe here on the forum before, but . . . well . . . it isn't easy to do. LOL! Especially since I have now got a cage full of females that don't recognise or attribute that position to me. The two older boys still do . . . but not their newest cage mate, Aslan. He views all humans as terrifying and runs as far as he can in the opposite direction.

[pixierodentrescue]

Wow this cage is super amazing! Will be stealing some of your ideas to make our goo cage a little more disabled goo friendly now too!

[billyalex]

This is actually the most amazing cage I have seen! Its amazing and so much effort has gone into it! Well done and thank you so much for the step by step details on how to create it! I might try making some of those stairs myself. The only worry I have is your wheel and I cant see anyone else has commented on it but it appears to be a metal mesh wheel? These are really bad for Degus... Our boys lost their tails in one of these be fore we rescued them when they were with their previous owner. :-(

[moletteuk]

We try to be stricter on making people aware the wheels with metal rungs are very dangerous, but you are right, the mesh ones aren't great either, but in many places nothing else is available, so it's difficult, maybe it would be possible to cover the inner circle with the moving parts with a piece of wood?

[xxxshadsxxx]

OMG that is such an awesome cage set up! wish i had access to big bits of wood and electric saw and drill, would be so awesome to make stuff like that for our boys. don't usually like the metal cage set ups that much, but all the wood and coco mat etc makes it look really natural and rustic despite the metal walls.

Looks so good, your goos must love it!

[Patrick]

After seeing this I will definitely be adding a lot if things to my goos cage. Thank you so much for the coconut hull matt idea. We have a bad pre stain problem on two shelves and I think that will solve it. Makes sense since my degus name is Coconut. Once again thanks for all the ideas.

[jamiee]

Love the cage! It's huge with so much space for your degus. I like the plant pots, and I'll probably be giving them a go in my degus' cage.

[cheekyfilly]

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331585954208?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Just found 4m rolls of coconut matting on Ebay for £16.99 + £2.99 postage if this helps anyone?

[cookiemeister]

Wow, this is epic!! Nice job! You have some very spoilt goobies there then again, aren't they all? Will be borrowing a couple of ideas for when I extend my babies' cage, will be a 4x4 setup, similar size to yours, so I'll have plenty of space to make it as good as I can

Again, great job, I love it!! This should totally be a sticky thread for inspiration

[moletteuk]

We streamlined the cage stickies, this thread is listed under the 'Improving your Metal Cage' sticky, for future reference

[wizzard843]

How is this working? Can we get an update on it; as I am currently looking at getting this exact cage for my goo. Also how often do you have to swap the coconut matting out?

[winic1]

It is working great. The original shelves and structuring is still in place, and intact. More chunks of bark as shelves, tunnels, ramps, have been added.

We gave up on the cocomat, it lasted a good long time, then suddenly they decided it was for ripping up and stuffing into huts. But, before that, we would only take it out when it was getting badly soiled, and as long as it was still mostly intact, I'd rinse it through with the hose then hang it up to dry in the sun, then put it back. Cocomat works great on wire shelves, just an fyi, as the pee runs through and the mat dries quickly, so it covers the shelves but doesn't get festering with urine (until they realize they can rip it up).

Now we use aspen wood chips on all levels. A light layer on half shelves, a deeper layer on the full ones as they have the higher sides to hold it in. We've also found that a very light, scattered layer (not solid, just a sprinkling) of this stuff seems to help "grab" pee and keep the cage and aspen chips cleaner: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BUFSX7G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My current three boys have taken to shoving all the hay and chips they can manage, all around the huts in the two low-level spaces. They have turned them into giant hay-huts accessed by tunnels. Since they do not seem to be peeing in there, and not hardly any poos, we have left them this way for months now. I am constantly asking my husband if he forgot to give the goos their hay, as the bowl is always empty, but no, as soon as they get a refill (every day), they run it up to their hay mounds. It's funny. I'll try to put up a new picture shortly.

[deguconvert]

I can so imagine it!!!

[winic1]

Here's an update on the state of the cage:
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/21070/current-cage?page=1&scrollTo=150558