Newbie Owner

[claire]

Hello i apologise for making yet another thread, but i have a tonne of questions!

I am planning on buying 4 degus and want to get everything i need set up before buying them, i have read degutopia i think ive read every single page by now lol, plus other forums and have picked up a fair bit of info about degus, id much prefere to know about the animal im buying before i get it home.

i have a cage big enough and suitable enough for up to 5 degus according to degutopia, i wouldnt put more than 4 in anyway, its actually 2 chin cages we are going to adapt as one big cage.

i am going to put tiles on the bottom to cover the wire and for ease of cleaning, also when its hot they can lay on the tiles to cool off, i know degus are natural burrowers so do they prefere to sleep on the floor of the cage or up on the hammocks i will be putting nearer the top, also the same with food, do they prefere it low or high or does it really not matter?

planning on a big house thing on the floor and a nest box higher up, will i need 2 nest boxes for 4? or one big one?

Ive read about separate feed bowl for each degu, would 2 big bowls be ok for 4 degus, 2 per each bowl? or is that something ill figure out as i go?

i want to get splash guards for the new shelves ill put in, can you use perspex attached to the outside of the cage? i dont want them to be able to chew it eat the plastic. or i am thinking of using ply wood? 

Feeding seems to be very confusing for everyone, i have a plan... 10g of hard feed a day per degu is what i have read, so was going to split their hard feed into 2 so both me and my partner can feed them so they get used to both of us. Adlib hay and water they can eat as much as they want 24/7. few times a week fresh herbs and veg, ill go off the degutopia list for what to feed how often

My local pet store is pets at home, i am presuming all the stuff marked for degus is safe for degus to eat, use for bedding, hay, toys, chew treats ect??

i know so many question and i am sorry but i want to get everything right for them before they get home, this group seems very knowledgeable and friendly:)

[saddlers]

Welcome to the forum!!

4 Degus will require quite a lot of space and there is varying information on the internet, some of which is quite dated. The cage size recommendations for this forum can be found here - deguworld.proboards.com/thread/9396/forums-cage-size-recommendations

Degus do tend to sleep as a single group in a nest, but each group can vary some will split off on their own, and as for nest location, preferably somewhere a bit guarded so they have a hiding place where they can be secure. At floor level is not a bad starting place...believe me you will soon know if they want the nest elsewhere because they will just start to build their own mound. They do frequently nap on the edge of shelves and in hammocks etc so a few options to chill are also worthwhile. They are not as good at climbing as they think so cage width is more important than height, although a high cage does allow you to introduce more levels, but introduce fall breaks because they will miss now and then and falls from height can do some damage.

Degus can be very protective of their food and have a natural hierarchy in their structure, so there will normally be a dominant degu and someone at the bottom of the pile. Having separate food bowls does help you to avoid aggression at food times and allows each degu to get at the food supply. You can also spread the bowls out throughout the cage to further avoid conflict.

Degus are fantastic biters, and will try and chew anything they can get at. Perspex guards may be suitable but you will need them on the outside and even then you can guarantee the available edges will get chewed. We have some guidance on cage building and materials here - deguworld.proboards.com/thread/18718/guides-diy-cage also worth looking at other peoples cages for ideas - deguworld.proboards.com/thread/6918/show-cage I would start at the end and work backwards

Degu nutrition is an area that has recently changed in terms of what we know and understand with previous dietary advice causing potential dental issues. Guidance on commercially available food can be found here - deguworld.proboards.com/thread/17365/commercial-food-chart

One of our Mods also put together this very comprehensive guide - deguworld.proboards.com/thread/16425/degu-feeding-guide

We do hear of frequent problems with Pets at Home and them making mistakes with sexing of degus, which does lead to many newbies ending up in quite a dilemma. There are also a lot of degus looking for homes through our adoption board and at various rescue centres and the RSPCA, they may also be an option for you - deguworld.proboards.com/board/31/adoption-zone

Degus will not really over eat, they tend to eat and then start burying food, so you will soon know whether you are overfeeding them. Hay should be available at all times, and I also keep the dustbath in at all times and only top it up, and sift out the debris (poops and food buried in there). This helps them retain their scents and limits the risk of aggression.

There is plenty to go at but feel free to ask any questions

[claire]

Sorry ive added a picture i should say that that cage is not complete it will be filled with shelves ropes ladder toys hammocks, list is endless lol.
Aslo they will be let out to run free in a degu proof area for a few hrs every day

unfortunately i cannot find any degus to adopt in cornwall, its all up country

Thanx for the links ill have a read:) good to know my first thoughts and ideas are along the right lines

[claire]

ok so after doing some calculations with shelving lvls I can fit 4 in here just, after seeing the home made cages my partner will definatly be making something bigger this will have to do until we move next year as its the biggest we can fit in, ill let them out as much as possible.

partner doesn't know it but im going to challenge him to making a spiral staircase.

the cages are awesome you guys have made and have given me inspiration for splash guards and what to put in my cage, really opened my eyes as to what my degus will like:)

I now know just how I want my cage, one thing ive not found yet is how to keep them warm enough in winter, my home can get pretty cold and im sure somewhere I heard about heat mats??

[jamiee]

Heat mats can help for cold or ill degus. However, another solution is to just provide then with a sturdy nest box, and lots of bedding for them to make a nest. I have given mine a large fleece hammock, with lots of hay on top, and the have made a sort of burrow, which they then lined with bedding materials.

[uglibug]

You can use heat pads but they are normally just used for single goos. With a group of four it would probably be just as good to provide them with plenty of things to do to keep them moving about, a low roofed nest box and a large ammount of nesting material.

We discovered that, in our old flat (very cold, we had to walk around in sweaters), in winter our goos would grow a nice think coat, be more active and when they weren't running around they would 'fluff up' to keep themselves warm. A low roofed nest box means they can pack it well with nesting materials so allowing for better sharing of body heat and warmer goos when they sleep.

[moletteuk]

Hi, welcome

Is your cage made of two stacked together? If so, is it possible to stack them the other way on or even just one of them positioned horizontally, so the cage has a longer length? It's important to try to get the length at 100cm so they can get up some speed and stretch their legs. If you show us a bigger pic of the cage we will be able to make more suggestions to make the most of it. (Host pics on Photobucket or similar and then post the IMG tag link for best pic results).

Definitely 4 food bowls, but you can use anything glass or ceramic, discarded supermarket creme brulee bowls are great. At least two wheels for 4 degus if at all possible, you can consider home made to get good sized durable wheels (see accessory link page).

Definitely a couple of possible nest locations, several hidey places, good perches etc, watch how the degus use the space and let them guide you. Lots of wood, branches, twigs etc. Cardboard boxes etc.

I would recommend planed softwood for edging. It comes in various sizes, something like 100mm by 25mm would be suitable for keeping mess in and safe if they chew it.

They do enjoy warmth, so you can start with nest sites that are easy for them to insulate, low wooden boxes are good. Heatpads like Snugglesafe are good, electric heatmats, or cage heaters or heatlamps are all possible if you protect the electric supply parts well.

Food is a bit more involved than Degutopia suggests. See Food Guide, as Saddlers linked, basically they need lots of forage, some high calcium oil seeds, well chosen combination of pellets.

[claire]

Awesome advise thankyou, as for the heating ill see how they get on as a group if i see them being cold ill get a heat mat

2 wheels right got it, ill add a flying saucer into the mix somewhere

we have been plotting on the cage but unfortunatly this is the only way that the cage is going to fit and be practical, it not going to be forever as when we move i plan on either building our own cage or putting another 2 next to this one, the cage is 174 cm high 84 cm long and 47 cm deep, ive planned the shelving so that they will get the required floor space they need.

going to build a digging pit in the bottom and a spiral staircase for a long run, plus angled shelves at the top which make them longer aswell as being let out in my long hall way for 2 or 3 hrs a day.

Obviously going to fill it with toys and more huts than i planned as the show us your cage section has educated me alot in what they would like:)

Thinking about it now i may even buy an additional cage before we move and attach it to the bottom one giving them some length along the bottom, id have to see what will fit, i will think some more on some sort of extension, even if its just a small run extension.

I have looked around Cornwall and also phoned my local RSPCA center but no degus to be found so im going to get them from P@H and prey they have sexed them right. Unless anyone on here knows of any breeders in Cornwall? i have looked on the rehoming section of this forum but nothing in Cornwall

Had a quick read on the feeding section just trying to decide which 3 pellets, P@H do their own and the selective one so that is readily available to me, any suggestions on the third one?
when you say mix it up do you literally mean put all three types in one container and shake it up? then feed from that container, or feed a different type each day?

this forum is so helpful guys thankyou so much!

[moletteuk]

See how you get on with the cage, you might develop strong preferences once you get the degus which will influence how you want to house them long term. With it being so tall, you will need big shelves at regular intervals to make it safe, try to keep any drops less than 50cm because they can sometimes be a bit clumsy and fall. Adding on a wider extension is quite a good idea and I don't want to discourage you from making improvements, but I don't think there is any harm in waiting a couple of weeks.

We've had people from Cornwall previously saying degus are hard to find, must be frustrating. Did you explore some of the options in this thread? deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15497/small-animal-rescue-centres-mainly I would recommend contacting the facebook group at the end or some of the online rehoming sites.

For the food, I would suggest trying the JR Farm Grainless guinea and maybe a bag of the Versele Laga Degu Crispy, but only get one bag of the VL as they might not like it much. I would pick the Science Selective over the PAH and probably wouldn't feed both as they both contain grains. I keep pellets separate and just feed a little of each every day. If you do a Zooplus order, you might as well try some of the forage mixes and maybe the dandelion roots for treats. Or you can buy forage and cobs like Pre Alpin from Hansemanns in Germany deguworld.proboards.com/thread/19090/hansemanns-german-food-shop

[claire]

omg had a look at the zooplus and ratration website last night, my bank card promptly went into hiding lol, I like the idea of feeding more natural stuff but I think if I start off with hard feed and hay and a few dried mix flower stuff from P@H I know they are getting everything they will need then I can see what fresh stuff they prefere and cut back on hard feed, I get the feeling this is a never ending debate regarding feed lol

Think im going to go for the grainless guinea, small bag to start of the crisp and the science selective, see if they like that if not swap around a bit, thanx that was hard work figuring that all out lol

figured the cage to have 3 lvls in each ill have to figure out the drops once I measure up better ive not added the digging pit as area and it totals to 19838, which just over the minimum by the time I have added in all the lvls, I will look at ways of extending soon

Do you guys do loans cos id like to get going on all this right now!!! lol like a kid a xmas and ive not even got them yet.

Think I have lots to work on for now, thankyou for your help

forgot to add ill feed 2-3 g of ratration degu seed mix aswell as the hard feed and a little dried flower mix, which im probably going to get off zooplus as it seems cheaper and better quality

[saddlers]

Our lot have always really liked the JR farm field herb from zooplus as a top up on their food

[claire]

gyazo.com/c4a612c0ebc9feb2df96b7f406b9f5a6

bear with me im rubbish at computers lol, if that links works, excuse my bf trying to hide but we have decided that making a stand and putting the two cages next to eachother would give them more length and 3 levels.

I should point out that storage heater is never ever used and will be covered by some sort of table that ill put the cages on

I do have the other tray for the other cage for easy cleaning

Do you guys think this is a better way for the cages to be? should give them 12cm long 86cm high 47cm wide.

[uglibug]

Your cage looks very similar to our girls "degu towers" cage. We have a 3 tier and 2 tier rat cages side by side and a single story added to the top of the 2 tier one to give them 6 full levels. We used toilet pipe to join all the cages together and the girls pile substrate at the end of each tube to create a run through. It took us a while but we finally have a space they are happy with: we concluded they are happy by the fact that they no longer scramble at the door every time it is opened, in fact they have become quite independant little mares, they only come to us now for food. :-(

[moletteuk]

That looks better I think you meant 120cm long? Will you be able to put in good sized connection openings, so they get the benefit of the 120cm, or even take most of the 'wall' out? I agree adding in 2 full levels (plus base) should work, with one having a bit less headroom than the others, but this will need more openings between the cages, but should give you about 16,000 sqcm of running space.

[deguconvert]

Claireh, so good to meet you and welcome to the forum! WOW!! You are really getting prepared for degus and have dived right in! I do hope you can find some soon. Have fun kitting out your cage, it sounds like you have a LOT of great ideas!

[claire]

umm yes I did mean 120 cm lol, planning on having one full lvl open so they can run, sorry if I sound over enthusiastic im just a bit excited lol, I find Degus entertaining and fascinating, eventually want everything to be as natural for them as I can

been looking in my local shops and found some premium black sunflower seeds, presuming these are safe to feed, just as training aids while they get used us ect. not everyday food.

doing cage building over the next few days:)

[saddlers]

It is unusual to see someone getting so prepared....good on you!!

[claire]

im stuck again sorry, ordering up the feed tomorrow, I wanted to use the ratrations seed mix with the three above mentioned feeds, do I need the seed mix aswell really or does the three feeds cover what they need, just because I only really want the seed mix but the shipping is £10, seems a bit silly, or is there any alternatives I can get from zoolus as I think that's where im getting most of the feed. I did read somewhere to feed 3g of seeds per degu a day aswell as pellets?

the rest I have planned its just the feed lol then ill leave you alone.. promise lol

[saggy]

Hiya, I don't know why it would have been £10? I just placed an order and bought the two different types of seeds, some dried vegetable flakes and a couple of hanging baskets and the shipping was only £3.90 so may an error there I'm no expert yet but the great guys on here advised me on 2g of seed along with about 5g of hard feed

[saggy]

If it helps, they go mad for the seeds lol x