Fairly new to degus

[chenzo]

I have had my two male degus (Jose & Cuervo) for about 4 months now and have so far managed to get them fairly tame. They respond to my voice when its time to come out and play and are now easy to get back into their cage. I have trained them to come to me when i ring a bell by ringing it before i give them treats and refill their hay, this has worked brilliantly and they got the hang of it within a couple of months and will normally come back to me so i can pick them up and put them back into their cage (Cuervo sometimes like to give me the run around for 5 or 10 minutes still). Along with training them to get back into their cage , i have also been trying to toilet train them but have not had much luck at all. I have had hamsters for about the last 18 years now and have successfully trained most of them to only go to toilet in one part of their cages and have done this by collecting up all their little poops + pee soaked saw dust and moving them to the area/cage level i wish for them to use as a toilet. This means i can clean out their toilet areas every day within a few seconds and also helps manage smells. It never took more then 2 months for any of my hamsters to get the hang of it, but the degus are still just pooping and peeing all over the place after 4 months. So my question is, is it possible to toilet train degus or should i give up trying? also i am in the process of building them a 6' x 4'6" 5 tier cage that stands at 6'4" high that will eventually be added on to the side of their current cage and wanted to build them a little gym section into the cage thats kinda like the old rope climbing frames that you see in some parks and have a load of natural hemp rope in my shed and wanted to know if any of you know if its is safe to put into my degus cage

[deguconvert]

It goes very contrary to their nature and genetic makeup. Their urine glows in ultraviolet light, and degus are able to see ultraviolet light, so they use their urine trails as pathways and probably as signals that this is a safe place to cross. They also identify their community members through the odor of their urine and feces. These odors contain all kinds of messages in them, such as who is dominant, and who is place where in their heirarchy, who is male and female, who is ill . . . and so on. Because these are all very important cues for them, it is really essential that they practice wide spread urination and defecation for their own safety and well being. This is one thing that has not changed with any that have been brought into captivity. To try and train an animal against their inherant nature is extremely difficult and will cause them (and their trainer) a great deal of frustration.
A comparison that comes to mind . . . it is the nature of racoons to wash their food before eating it. To try and train a degu to pee and poop in only one area, would be like trying to train a racoon not to wash his food. It wouldn't make any sense to them at all. Like, drinking water upside down would make no sense to us. LOL!

[chenzo]

thanks for the fast replies , i have stopped trying to toilet train them now and wish i had found this site 4 months ago lol. the pet shop i got them from told me that they could be toilet trained, but they also supplied me with a 100% mesh cage and dried fruit treats to feed them when they sold me them so i guessing they didnt really know much about what they were selling. Also i am going to buy some sisal rope for the gym as i really dont want to take any chances with my little guys health. I am really enjoying looking after my degus and am very glad that i have found a site full of good owners to help me learn how to care for them properly.

[sazjc123]

my girl and her babies like to use their sand bath after they have bathed as thweir toilet. They still have the odd wee and poo round the cage but most of it goes into the bowl :-)
worth a try??