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Post by maisymoo on Jan 31, 2012 18:51:33 GMT
Okay I have 2 boy goo's a year old and they live outside, they have a huge cage and live inside a brick work shed (like a small house) they have their cage covered by sheets and night and have lots of things to dig down into to keep warm. They were very happy with this. I recently got them a smaller cage to go in the house it is a glass tank with bedding and food and is in the end of the house so not too hot for them. The problem is they seem to try to get out, they spend most of the time scratching at the glass trying to get out! I don't know why, I thought this would make them happier??
Ps they don't live in the house permanently as we have a jack russell who doesn't like them! and please dont tell me that they cant live outside, because they can and have survived.
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Post by listracian on Jan 31, 2012 19:03:26 GMT
It could just be that they don't like being in something smaller? Do you let them out to run around and stuff? Also random note: this probably should have gone in the behaviour section on the forum  |
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Post by degualot on Jan 31, 2012 21:19:40 GMT
Hi,
Taking a Degu out of a larger cage and putting them into a smaller cage will always stress them out. They just don't like it. It's well documented that Degus change behaviour due to changes in cage sizes and don't react well to having space reduced when they are use to a larger enclosure. Another reason they are stressing out, is if you are constantly taking them out of their larger cage and putting them into the glass tank and then putting them back outside, this upsets them because they can't settle in properly because they are keep getting moved. This is different to play time, where you take them out of their cage and let them run around a Degu proof room.
You say you have a Jack Russell that doesn't like them, is there no way to keep them in a room, the dog can't get into, or is this not possible?
As for keeping them outside, your right they can survive outside, but this totally depends, where your from and what the climate is.
may I ask what kind of tank is it, Fish tank? and how big is it compared to the size of your other cage? measured if possible, LxWxH? just so I have an idea of the difference.I should also note that if it is a fish tank, these are not ideal for Degus. They offer no support for levels for them to run across other than ground level and they don't have great ventilation.
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Post by maisymoo on Feb 1, 2012 10:52:09 GMT
My jack russell was here before me or my degus an has had the run of the house so he is not allowed to be locked away, my other jack loves the goos.
The tank is considerably smaller, I didnt think they would mind as they were just sleeping but they really didn't, they only used it for one night.
they are currently in the big cage which is inside and the dog will not move from its side, he has been quite good with them so far I just dont want him to snap through the bars.
does anyone have a dog with goo's who could give me some advice?
Thank you for all your help, I think I'm going to use the tank as a dust bath for the goo's instead.
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Post by Kins on Feb 1, 2012 10:57:19 GMT
We had Bonz, our small lurcher, before the goos and he was OBSESSED with them when they first arrived. He would just sit and stare at them constantly. We got a plant spray bottle and just squirted him whenever he went over to the cage. It's not pleasant for them but it certainly doesn't hurt them at all. He soon learnt that if he left them alone he didn't get squirted. We got another bigger lurcher over a year ago and it was the same with him. After 2 weeks of squirting he learnt to leave them alone (and he's not the sharpest tool in the box  ) Now they hardly ever look at or even a acknowledge the goos. When we go out Quinn, big lurcher, is crated but Bonz has free run of the lounge, where the degus are, and even then there is no trouble. In fact if they do ever go near the goo cage Dave, my biggest goo, does his annoyed 'get away from my cage' noise and both dogs actually seem a little scared of him ;D ;D Hope that helps! |
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Post by maisymoo on Feb 1, 2012 11:23:56 GMT
Thank you that is very helpful. My goo's seem to be very curious of the dogs my girl Jack goes up to the cage and they kiss noses through the bars and they climb over her when they are out, jut the other boy Jack is a rat terrier and used to killing rats and so he gets confused as to why he isn't allowed to hurt the goo's who to a dog must look a lot like rats.
The only problem is the goo's are not scared of him so they come up to the bars when he is there and he tries to bite them through the bars, I am scared they could get nipped. I hope he will get better with them, i will try the water squirter.
I have never known a dog not to be scared of them before, my 2 dogs at home were both really scared when I had my pet rats.
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Post by winic1 on Feb 1, 2012 14:11:07 GMT
Water bottle worked wonders for Bo, after two weeks of trying to TEACH him not to bother the goos or the guineas, I pulled out the bottle, squirted him straight in the face, and he's ignored the goos right away, took a couple of tries with the guinea pigs. Until he got the message completely about the guinea pigs, we took some of those wire crate pieces (the stuff where you asssemble shelves/crates from squares with about a one inch mesh and plastic connectors) and used nylon pull-ties to make a cage guard put in front of the guinea pig cage so neither dog nor cats could get too close, spaced it out just a couple of inches. Worked so well, we have put this stuff up in front of the mess of computer wires, at the edge of the counter in the kitchen where the microwave sits and the kids always leave food, across the shoe rack....so maybe we look a little weird, but it works, we only adopted Bo last summer, so it makes life easier while we make sure he learns the rules of the house.
If you don't know what kind of stuff I mean, look up "making a c & c cage". C&C stands for " crate and coroplast", it's a very popular way of making better guinea pig home versus buying cages, which are all too small. Some people really make fantastic homes for their piggies.
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Post by maisymoo on Feb 1, 2012 16:00:18 GMT
Thank you I will look into getting some, my boyfriend gets that stuff free from work so it should be easy to get. At the moment the cage is on top of our girl dogs cage, as she goes in it at night to stop her having accidents, it seems high enough for him to only be able to bother them a little |
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