Going away for the weekend, what to do for degus

[tolisgoal]

I have 2 degus, that after a month I found out are male and female, so I made a new cage for the female one and now have them separated next to each other.

I will be going away tomorrow and so will my roomate, so there won't be anyone around the house till I return on monday morning.

I plan to add a big amount of their usual feed, and hide random treats and hay in cardboard/paper to put and hand around their cage, so they have something to do and also get their treats. Are there any others things I can do so they don't get bored to death in these 3 days?

I've never been away from them so far, so this is new to me.

Thank you for your help!

[deguconvert]

Hi Tolisgoal !

That is an excellent question! Adding extra food and hidden treats is awesome, and will serve them well. You also need to ensure that they will have enough water. Extra water bottles placed around the cage will be crucial. If you will be leaving tomorrow and returning on Monday, then there will be two full days, and two partial days that you will not be present? While it is not a full four days, you do need to plan for four full days of water consumption. How often do you refresh their water when you are home, and how much water do they consume each day? If you are filling one bottle for each degu per day, you will need at least three more days of the same amount of water for them. Which may mean that you need to get some more bottles . . . or find someone that can come in and refresh the bottles for you. You don't want them going dry while you are away. If you do get new bottles . . . you may want to hang them for a bit before you go to make sure they do not leak, or do not air lock so that no water will pass when the degus try to drink.

[tolisgoal]

Hi and thanks for your reply!
I have some pretty big bottles, I think they are ~500 mL, they can last 3+ days with one fill. I usually don't fill them to the top, since I don't want the degus drinking the same water for a week or waste bottled water when refilling, so I think I top the bottles up they should be more than fine for 3+ days.
I'll be leaving tomorrow morning so it is as you said 2 full and 2 half days. I give them around 25-30g of degu/chinchilla Versele laga complete pellets per day, so I'll probably just be filling their bowls, which should be around x4 the normal amount. I've noticed that they don't really overfeed, and they just keep their food till they are hungry, so I am kinda relaxed on that end, thought since i will be giving them hidden treats and such I do worry that they'll probably eat all their treats in 1 day.

Currently I've made some hanging cardboard tubes filled with hay, sunflower seeds and some coconut shell (different fill in each tube), so they can also lay around with the tubes since I've noticed they enjoy stuff that's hanging. I also added some cardboard for chewing, since even though they usually don't chew cardboard, they are gonna be pretty bored and I think they'll appreciate it. I also added some willow sticks I bought a while ago.

I'm feeling pretty ok with what I've done so far, I think. Any other ideas/things I missed are welcome.

[teemu]

If you have other hanging toys, or things like binder clips or karabiners (basically, any big metal clip that they can't undo), clipping those onto the cage bars tends to be a good way to make degus waste a lot of time just fiddling with them.

How are their cages located? It would be good to have them near each other so that they can be comforted by knowing that there is a familiar degu close by (but not so close that they can touch, that can cause all sorts of accidents in many ways)

500ml should last for that amount of time for one degu (each) without real trouble. I recommend checking to make sure that they don't leak (from the nozzle, I mean, the position of the bottle can sometimes make them drip water) since that would reduce their water supply faster. Other than that, ample hay and pellets as you say are a must. As you say, degus normally don't overfeed, and a few days won't hurt much even if they did. Especially with the hay, be sure to leave them plenty more than normal.

One thing you might want to consider is light. Degus, like most animals, regulate their rhythm through light, so it would be good if they had either a window that can give the room light during the day so they won't have to be in dark/light for the whole duration of your trip.

[laiyah]

It depends on what you have at home really.

In my case :

I usually empty a house and put a ton of tissues in a hay rack. (they will be busy for at least a good dozen of minutes to move the tissue from the rack to the house. And sometimes they change their minds so it can be quite "busy".)

I add different wheels. (They have one wood, one plastic, one inclined and one metal. Alternating makes them 'discover' a new feel once in a while.) I usually add a long tube. My degus don't eat the hemp mat, but they do pick out the big chunk off it, so it serves as an "extra tissue" to fill the house.

If you have a cardbox laying around, you can alternate litter, tissue, brown paper, with a few treats and make a hole for them to explore there.

And, yeah. I usually stuff a ton of stuff in the cage when I go out, even if it's the exact same toy. I feel like they love the Chaos in the cage.

Oh, and I fill the sand bath A LOT. When you overfill the pellets, they will start hiding their food in the sand bath.

I also use those bird fruit metal thingy ? I use a drill to make holes on my wood stick to keep one of my degus busy. She hates it being where she likes to 'chew the metal bars', so she destroys the wood daily.

Not sure if it helps, but I figured it'd give you some things I do.

[tolisgoal]

I actually just realized I have no binder clips at all in the house, unlucky. The cages are located in the living room next to a window, next to each other with like 10-15cm distance between the 2 cages. They regularly talk to each other already so I think they are good on that end.
I'll be adding a lot of hay, I guess on the ground, since I usually add it in a carboard tube multiple times a day, which in this case won't be enough. Also will be adding extra random cardboard pieces and paper towels so they can chew on and mess around with. Glad the bottles are ok.
The blinds on the window will stay half open so there will be plenty of light.

Those are all great ideas, I don't have the time or the items to do most atm but will definitely try some once I return.

Thank you both for your help, good advice!

[winic1]

You need to have at least 2 water bottles PER CAGE, regardless of size. This way, if something goes wrong with one bottle--it all leaks out, or it airlocks and won't let them drink--there is a second bottle that should work as backup. Never leave a pet alone with only one water source. Always provide a back up.

[deguconvert]

I forgot that I was going to suggest that you put on some music while you are gone, so that it feels like there is someone home. If you have something that will go on and off on a timer, it helps to make it feel more ... normal.

[moletteuk]

It is not recommended to leave degus unattended for more than one night. In the UK it is even illegal to leave pets unattended for more than one night. I would strongly recommend you either make your trip shorter or find/pay someone to check in on them. I'm sorry to put this so bluntly but this isn't just a theoretical problem, we have had deaths on the forum in unattended degus.

[savvy]

I would never leave a pet for longer than a few hours without someone at least checking on them, and as moletteuk says, its against the law in the UK to leave a pet for more than 24hours, and even that, imo is pushing your luck.

I'd have a look around for a pet sitter who can call in at least once a day to see if everything is OK.

[tolisgoal]

I see. Since they are in the cages they live everyday, that are supposedly safe for them, what is the real danger in leaving them alone for more than 24 hours? Mentally im sure it must not be great but physically me sleeping for 8 hours then leaving in the morning for 8 more, already leaves infinite time for them to hurt themselves and get injured every single day. So is there really that big of a difference when you add a day or two?
I understand that something could happen to them at any time, but I don't think leaving for more than a day makes it any more likely or not to happen. After all they are animals in a cage, they have the instincts to not instantly kill themselves and the cages are made and customized to be safe for them.
Of course I would have also liked to have someone check in on them, sadly the only friend of my roomate who lives closeby will also be on my roommate's trip so I couldn't get it arranged. I'll have to put more thought before planning my next trip, for sure. But still I feel like it would be too stressful to constantly worry about the goos randomly hurting themselves out of nowhere. I have taken the steps I could think of to make sure they can't really hurt themselves in their cages, but beyond that I can't control if they happen to get hurt while I'm asleep or away.(Of course I don't mean being away on a trip for 3 days, that's a lot of time unattended and I should have found someone to check on them).
Thank you for the advice, hopefully I don't regret leaving them as I have now. I'll make sure to be more careful from now on.

[savvy]

The difference is that you are there each day, even if it only for a couple of hours, to make sure they have everything they need.

Your degus won't know where you've gone, or when you'll be back or even if you are coming back at all.

All they know if they are trapped in a cage with dwindling food and water supplies and no one in sight for, in their world, days, to help them. To their mind, and yes, degus are incredibly intelligent, they have been abandoned to their fate.

Degus can and do get depressed and when depressed they can and do self harm!

And of course this is aside from anything else that can happen such as accidents or illness.

That is the difference, and in the eyes of the law you have abandoned pets who are supposed to be in your care just so you can go off on a jolly.

I sincerely hope nothing happens while you are off enjoying yourself, and I wish this for your degus sake, not yours.

I know I'm being very blunt and I'm making no apologies for that, and if anyone has issues with what I've said, I'm quite happy to leave this forum on this point.

[bouncy]

Okay.

I understand the need to be away, and us degu owners are obviously in need of time away for outside interests! I spend perhaps 1/4 of the year away. I have, however, a mum and/trusted goositter who come in daily during this time, and who take the time to come in and play with them as well as feed and medicate. Although they have other goo company, we've spent a lot of time trying to interact with them and getting them to trust us, and they know we're the food source!

Mine have been left for 24hrs, but I've always felt guilty and, if I think I'll be a bit late getting back, I'll call someone to pop in.

From Savvy's perspective, I fully understand her concerns. She has had three degus become ill and die suddenly within hours of first symptoms in the space of about three weeks. Each case was unique (not contagious infection or same causes). Degus hide pain and illness incredibly well, so we often only have a short time to take action.

You need to take a step back and think of your options. Everything you say about leaving extra food, treats, etc is great. Ultimately, it's your decision, just consider all implications.

[tolisgoal]

Yep, I understand the strong feelings and opinions especially when concerning pets. People love their pets and it makes sense to get heated when u see someone doing stupid crap and putting them at risk. From what I've seen and read I'm not the first or last person to leave a pet home for 3 days, I've read similar posts on this forum and others as well.
Also even a careful and caring degu owner as you said can have accidents happen to their pets randomly even with careful supervision. That sounds very sad and traumatising but if it happens you really dont have much control over it. A neighboor coming to see them once a day and refill their food still leaves around 23 hours of them being on their own. Being informed of my pet being dead while away isnt much better than going home to see it dead. Its crap either way. "Pet sitters" are something I definitely cant afford or is really prevalent where I live. I should have been better organised and found someone else to check on them, though I still think it would never be enough or close to the safety of me being home all day with them. Ultimately, I'm doing my best to take care of them and I'm offering a good home for them, far better than they would have if they remained at someones garage their entire lives. I also hope for the degus sake they are ok, but I still think that someone checking on them once a day brings more comfort to the owner than anything else, like safety and health to the degus. I'm not gonna be stubborn and say I couldn't have done better but I have taken the things you all said into account and will find someone to check on them from now on. Even if just for the comfort of having them see someone everyday and not put them through mental hardship. Appreciate the comments, I may be looking at this wrong, I don't know. This is what I can think about this, in my current situation. I hope I'm not wrong, as I love both my degus and would love to have them for many more years to come. I came to the conclusion that it's ok to leave them alone for a couple of days from similar posts talking about this exact. I didn't just say "Lol who cares let's partyyy" and left them home. When I left I thought I was being responsible enough with them. It is a risk to have them unattended for sure but not a risk that would change by much with a 30 minute visit once a day. I understand your anger and bluntness on this, even if I don't fully agree. I hope it's not as bad as you say and they are fine. Thats all I guess idk what else to add. Thank you for your comments and advice. Will update you after I return home, so you don't stress over the goos more. I'll see if it's possible to replace a ticket and go home a day earlier? Not sure about this being possible though.

[bouncy]

No one is judging you, just do what you feel is best

Everyone's circumstances are different!

[moletteuk]

Thank you for giving this some thought, Tolisgoal, we always appreciate any forum member honestly engaging in conversation in these tricky matters. We recognise that just asking the question shows that you care. As a degu care forum we are obliged to promote best practice, but we do realise this isn't always achievable immediately or all of the time. Whatever you decide there wouldn't be any recriminations on the forum. I think Savvy is trying to get a very strongly held point of view across rather than meaning any anger.

If I can try to address a couple of your point, in my opinion the problem is that there are some random things that can go wrong for degus that would be fixable within say 12 -24 hrs that may have a much worse outcome after 3 days. For example any illness, getting caught up in fabric or bars or something random in the cage, fighting (not a problem in this case), something going wrong in the house like the heating jamming on (this actually happened to a forum member). As you say, the person checking on the degus does need to be knowledgeable enough to recognise and know what to do in some of these situations to be of use, although having any person come in and feed and change water is more likely to keep degus more relaxed in your absence and can at least ensure there is no problem with food and water. It's all about probabilities of something occurring in the space of 1 day vs 3 days, which I suppose is basically triple, and then the difference in probability of that thing being fixable, which can reduce more drastically for some things.

[deguconvert]

I confess, I did not think of all the things that can happen in the span of a few hours in a degus life. Nor was I aware of the law in the UK, but I do think it is a really good one. I have had dearly beloved pets pass away while I'm at home, and I've had them pass away while I was travelling and they were in the care of trusted and experienced family members and friends. I have cancelled plans because we did not have animal care.

I appreciate my fellow moderators and helpers pointing out the dangers. I appreciate the position you find yourself in while away, your honest and heartfelt reply, and the tangle of emotions you may be feeling. I sincerely apologize for not thinking of these things right away and giving you the advantage of a few days to potentially make changes.

[tolisgoal]

Thank you for your kind and understanding replies. The original goal of this post was of course to make sure that what I did was ok and good enough, so I didn't take any offense in what was said. If anything I just got worried about the goos and ended up stressing a bit so I will be returning tomorrow instead of monday (managed to swap dates on the ticket).

It's true there are things and issues that may pop up that are solvable if found(ex. Tangling) and as I said I've thought of a friend I can ask to check on them from now on when I leave. Honestly this trip had unlucky timing bcz my roomate and her friend/neighboor decided to leave as well, plus I made all the goo related preparations the day before.

Anyway, I appreciate all the comments and the help you've given me in this and other threads and I understand the strong feelings since I looked and probably was irresponsible. I learned new stuff and points of view I didn't think of in this thread and hopefully all is well with the goos.
I'll update again tomorrow after I return home.
Ty again for the help

[tolisgoal]

Returned home a few hours ago, both degus are fine. They were a bit weirded out at first and on edge, but they have now returned to their usual behaviour and got their playtime. I noticed that they've already eaten the full pellet amount I added, did they overeat? Should I adjust any portions tomorrow if they have?

Anyway, glad to be home, still enjoyed my holidays a lot and got great memories. Thank you all for your help and advice. Here are pics of the goos

[savvy]

I'm glad they're ok and you're back safely.

They may have hidden the pellets expecting the bowl to be refilled. They may be a little weird for a few days if you have to go out again as won't be sure of you're usual return.

Lots of degu attention and treats are in order I think.