Cosy Cube Shelf

[moletteuk]

I thought I'd share my cosy cube shelf evolution with you guys!

My degus used to sleep in all different places, very rarely in any box I made for them, quite often they would sleep in the back corner of shelf two with a nest built right up to the roof, or originally they would sleep in a tunnel hammock, but they outgrew that, they quite enjoyed the hanging basket hammock for a while until....

I added in a little shelf with limited headroom and inspired by Fuzzymum I made a fleecy cube with an open front for them, which we called the 'cosy cube' - always said with a stupid voice in an overly cutesy way ;D














This is already at least mark 2 of the cosy cube because this is the triple fabric layer version, my girls love to nibble while they are half asleep.

So, I cleared it out a couple of weeks ago and this is what remained:





All things considered it lasted pretty well, I got a few months out of it! Anyway, since my girls moved immediately in to the cosy cube and have slept there ever since, they obviously really like its location and situation, so I thought I would just get rid of the fabric part since it is completely stuffed with paper and card anyway, and make it permanent out of wood.








The extra wood on the back just protects the back of the cage where they were starting to nibble.

Here's the proof they still love it:





So, anyway, what I'm saying is, try offering your goos a protected place with low headroom to sleep The cosy cube shelf is about 11cm below the shelf above, I think it's that and the front panel that hides them that they love.

[ntg]

Lol bless their little goo faces! I may have to try it in the new cage (when it gets built)

[jenowuk]

It looks great!

[yasmin]

They certainly do love it – such cuties. Makes me want to cuddle up right next to them.

[Lrak]

Thats great and the goos love it aswell mine just destroy everything i make for them ;D Indy has taken it on to herself to show me the faults in everything ;D

[dusty]

I might try something like this. I always worry our girls have nowhere suitable to sleep. They won't use the nest box and only spend short times in the hammock. They just tend to huddle together in the middle of the floor

[animalmadchloe]

Mine don't use their next box either it's huge so we bought a smaller wooden house ;think it s for a hamster) and all 4 goos pile in the tiny box to sleep so cute there is usually a face or bum or foot hanging out the doors and windows

[moletteuk]

My goos still love their cosy cube shelf and always sleep in it, I still call it that even though the fleece cube is long gone lol. I'm still convinced it's the low headroom that makes them feel safe and makes it easy for them to keep it warm with their body heat.

I didn't realise how popular it would be so I didn't consider being able to fit in the heatpad and last year my goos started chewing the fleece cover on their heatpad, so I had to make a cover for it out of a metal sweet tin lid and it never looked so comfy after that.

Anyway I thought it was time to make the heatpad compatible with the cosy cube shelf, our house gets pretty cold at night in winter, so I've mounted a little shelf underneath the main shelf to house the heatpad, it just slides in and out.  The metal strip visible is a piece of angle that just covers access to the pad so they can't chew it. 







It takes a little while for the heat to get through the wood shelf but it does make the heat last longer, so I'm fairly happy with it. I'm not sure the goos have twigged about the heat yet and worked out what is going on, and I miss seeing them leap on the pad and lay down their heads on it blissfully, but the slow steady heat is probably better for them.


BTW for people with the pets@home nest box, you could try lying it on its side, so it's lower, and see if they like it better.


edit...we drilled holes in the underneath of the cosy cube shelf above where they heatpad sits, there are lots of wide holes but they stop short of the top surface of the shelf so that there isn't so much wood for the heat to get through - the the degus have no idea it isn't solid any more and easily chewable.

 

[Kins]

Looks fab. I don't remember seeing this thread originally. I've enjoyed reading it

[moletteuk]

Glad you like it Have you tried anything similar, Kins, or noticed a preference for low nests?

Night before last I stayed up later than usual after I put the heatpad in and got to see them do the 'laying head down blissfully' expression, so they have definitely sussed it out now

[Kins]

My boys seem to like a fully enclosed box with a small 'door' hole cut out. Sometimes they add a window or a second side door, depends how they are feeling. Dave also likes the 'wood cabin' effect on the outside, which he creates by stripping of the outer layer of cardboard leaving the corrugated internal layer, very style conscious.

It cracks me up when I clean them out, their bed boxes are always so tightly packed with tissue and bits of finacard I often wonder how there is space for the goos themselves