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Post by heather on Sept 17, 2010 16:03:22 GMT
I have been reading all your wonderful information for days now. I got my daughter two female degus for her birthday. We have only had them since Monday and they came in a smallish fish tank. Inspired by this board, we will be building them a cage! I would like to know if anyone has suggestions on where to buy things (such as an all metal wheel) in the US. They have a mesh one now, and one of the degus likes to hog it  |
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Post by heather on Sept 17, 2010 19:35:57 GMT
Here is a picture of the girls. One of them is fat and lazy and the other does nothing but run in the wheel. They seem to like having their picture taken though!   |
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Post by slaine on Sept 18, 2010 13:09:02 GMT
Hi heather welcome to the forum and 2 cute looking degus  |
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Post by emz on Sept 18, 2010 15:25:02 GMT
Just as a note whatever wheel you do decide to buy please get a bigger one. That one is too small - it should be around 12" diameter ideally or you can get a flying saucer. A small wheel like that is bad for their back.
You can buy these wooden wonderland wheels, which I have heard are quite popular by people here who use them. I have a metal wheel but it's from John Hopewell and these days he is usually out of stock and I do not think he shipped out of the UK.
The wooden ones supposedly do not get chewed too often either because they'd prefer to run in it so you don't need to worry about it being broken too quickly.
Also welcome to the forum, and cute girls! Make sure you sex them yourself as sexing them people get confused with as both genders have a "sticky out bit" the urethral cone. Girls have small/no gap and boys have a gap.
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Post by heather on Sept 18, 2010 18:42:19 GMT
Thanks! I can tell it is too small by the way she runs on it. This is just the stuff I got with her. I'm happy to hear about the wooden wheel! I may even get two. Nibbles hogs the wheel. She even pushed the other one out with her little hands a few times!
We're starting on a cage tonight. Wood and most likely mesh doors and top. I did sex them both, and there is practically no gap on either. I do worry the one may be pregnant though. They were kept all together and they separated out two females for me. She is the one that does nothing all day. She is fatter than the other and has built a nest in the dust bath.
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 18, 2010 19:32:58 GMT
Hello, and welcome to the forum!! It is lovely to meet you! Your little goo girls are adorable. Two wheels is always a benefit when the wheel is such a popular item . . . even if one of them just prefers to sleep on it. LOL!
What size or dimentions are you planning to make your wooden cage? Have you been reading though the different threads in the Cages and Accessories Board, where other members have made their cages and posted about them? Lots of great ideas in there. If the fatter female you have does turn out to be pregnant, you would be thankful to have a largish cage for any that you decide to keep, or at least for the duration of their growing. If I may make a suggestion, it is always better to err on the side of larger when it comes to degus. (Within your budget, of course)
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Post by heather on Sept 18, 2010 20:13:24 GMT
Our plan is a cage that is 4ftx4ft and 2ft deep. I have been browsing this site and others for ideas all week now.
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 18, 2010 20:14:35 GMT
That sounds excellent!! They will love it!
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Post by heather on Sept 18, 2010 20:22:08 GMT
Thanks! I have so many ideas for inside the cage, but I really want to get them out of that tiny tanks as soon as possible. I figure I can always mess around with the inside later.
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 18, 2010 20:25:25 GMT
That's true! It can make such a difference in how they behave. They really do love to have the extra space to spread out and run in. They will be thrilled, and you will have a lot of fun watching them enjoy the space too. Have you drawn any pictures/maps of your ideas? It can be helpful.
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Post by heather on Sept 18, 2010 20:30:13 GMT
Yes! I have a drawing of the box shape, where to put the mesh, how I want the doors, where some of the ledges will go, etc.
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 18, 2010 20:45:07 GMT
Great! I did several drawings before I felt that I was satisfied with the result. Then I promptly lost them, due to the kids and animals playing on the couch where I had done my work, and had to redo the whole thing over again!! However it was a good exercise as I realized some mistakes from my first effort. LOL!
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