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Post by annross on Oct 28, 2014 19:54:28 GMT
Hi, I have had my Degus for a couple of years. They started indoors but while they had a big cage they never seemed 'happy'. They were not handled much before I got them and don't really like it. They will come for food and sit on my hand. At the beginning of this year I bought them a big run and hutch and put them outside, they seem as happy as larry. However now the colder weather is here I have made them another outdoor but undercover cage. They have a big running area and a new hutch up off the ground. I wonder if I need to provide heat? I am not sure how? I have a hanging heat lamp but it would need to be outside their hutch. I have obtained a couple of stone water bottles and thought I might try, after covering them and watching the temp, to rotate them into their sleeping quarters. They seem perfectly happy out. I give them plenty to chew on ( I live in the country) and intend to put a good lot of straw out for them as bedding. I know this is not everyone's idea for keeping Degus but if they were distressed I would change how I kept them. Just looking for heating ideas really. Thanks.
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Post by ilikedegus on Oct 28, 2014 22:04:27 GMT
You can get cages for heat lamps, check out reptile supply places. Also we have one of these www.petnap.co.uk/acatalog/Flexiguard-Petnap-Pet-heat-Pad-2.html#SID=1I really think they won't be happy or healthy outside in the winter. They can keep warm in their nest but won't be happy to run around. Our goos have access to the outside - we have a "goo-port" to an outdoor cage complex; but they don't go out when it's cold. |
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Post by annross on Oct 28, 2014 23:22:13 GMT
I checked out the heat pads and they look good but the delivery to North Scotland is almost as dear as the item........ Will see if I an find anything similar locally. I will be keeping a close eye on them regarding being outside, at the moment I have had no problems and they are out a lot unless it is very wet. I will see if I can get another cage where I can have a heat lamp or heater installed. Otherwise I will bring them in, however it will be into a much smaller cage and I know they won't like that! Thanks for the heat pad info.
Ann
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Post by saddlers on Oct 29, 2014 16:36:44 GMT
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Post by annross on Oct 29, 2014 17:41:36 GMT
Hi, thank you for that link. My boys will be in a covered enclosure with 2 hutches and still plenty running space. I appreciate it is not the way for everyone, but they will have heating of some sort either by way of heat lamp or pad (if I can find a company that realises north Scotland is not an island!!!) The heat pads look perfect. I will try to post some pics once they are properly ensconced!
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Post by ilikedegus on Oct 29, 2014 18:07:28 GMT
Our house can be cold.
Before we got the chew-proof heatpad, we had a reptile heating mat (very thin) taped on to a flat baking sheet!
It would have been fine had my other half covered the cable with the steel shower hose I bought for it...it was fine for a few months, until Manny "did his thing" to the cable.
Do have a good look around reptile supply shops (online I'd guess) and try eBay for secondhand bits.
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 29, 2014 20:05:50 GMT
I agree they are likely to want to come in at some point, especially as you are in N Scotland, I think the damp air combined with the cold isn't a good combination, so just keep an eye out for signs  Ilikedegus really knows what she is talking about on this topic with her experience of indoor and outdoor and with her setup allowing the degus a choice. I think there are quite a few options for heating, microwave snugglesafes really hold heat for a long time, you can also get plug in heat mats, as ilikedegus mentions. We used to have an Aga when I was growing up, so I sometimes would leave a stone hot water bottle in its oven all day and then use it to heat my bed at night, if you fill them with sand they have so much mass they really hold the heat quite a long time (obviously you would need to provide a substantial cover to avoid burns). The thing with all these options is that they don't really heat the space, only the immediate vicinity, so most of the area remains cold and the degus go from very warm to very cold in a few short steps. |
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Post by ilikedegus on Oct 29, 2014 21:24:05 GMT
Molette's kind of right, but our boys have a choice - at night anytime, and now most of the time, they sleep in the house. (We are about as far South from you in the UK as you can get,not quite). deguworld.proboards.com/post/118714/threadWe tolerate the messy set-up, no-one can see it - plus, we're a bit NUTS ;-). Can you let them come in through a window? 2 years ago we actually took a small pane of glass out, now there's a panel that sits in a different open window. |
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Post by annross on Oct 30, 2014 22:26:17 GMT
Unfortunately I cannot let them in as they are not right next to house. I will probably set up the heat lamp for during the day. To be honest these guys must be really hardy as they are out a lot and moving about (I can see them from my window). Once they are in the new enclosure they will be under cover totally. And they have weathered some pretty awful storms! I am moving them as it is getting damper where they are and with the longer nights I can provide them with both heat and light. I have stone bottles for them and looked at the snuggle safe but I don't think it would last. They chewed through 3 layers of fleece covering the stone bottles! I will keep an eye out for heat pads that are chew proof but think in the mean time the heat lamp will be the way forward with the stone bottles at night.
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Post by annross on Oct 30, 2014 22:30:55 GMT
I ought to say that I was bringing them in for a while to the porch but they were so unhappy as the hutch was not too big, compared to all the running space outside. To be honest they hardly did anything but sit and look bored and the only time I could get them both into their travel box was when I wanted to move them back out.; they would go in like a shot. But trying to get them in to take them inside was a nightmare!! |
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 31, 2014 16:07:01 GMT
Could you do anything to make the indoor space better? Could you add their outdoor hutch to the cage? Or stack a second unit on top of what they have??
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Post by annross on Nov 1, 2014 16:54:54 GMT
The boys have been moved to their new home and seem really happy! Not Sure iif I can post a pic or video on here? I can get into this cage so much easier to interact with them. I have a big mesh cage so I may put that inside and bring them in during the night if the weather gets really cold. But if I install the heat lamp I may not need to. They are away from the damp ground now ( the other run was on slabs and obviously wet a lot of the time) and can get up on top of their hutch as well as other run 'furniture'. Given them a big box with paper and some treats scattered inside to keep them amused for a wee while. Will rig up a hammock for them in a day or so. So long as they look happy I will carry on as I am and take it day to day.
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Post by deguconvert on Nov 1, 2014 20:06:46 GMT
Pictures and video can definitely be posted here. How? Well . . . LOL . . . you need someone more tech savy then me for that. I would really love to see pictures or video though!
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Post by moletteuk on Nov 1, 2014 20:22:18 GMT
Pics and videos need to be posted to hosting site like photobucket or FlickR and then you post the img tags here. Instructions are in photo area of forum but it works the standard way as for any forum if that helps.
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