Looking for a new degu cage...

[nochan]

Hello
Im looking for a new cage for my degu, i only have one degu atm but im hoping to find one more soon.. The cage i have now is 66x45x80cm, is that too small? Anyway i want a new one with bigger doors, any suggestions?

And do you have any ideas for what could be fun to put in the cage? He seems to be bored and chews on the door to get out if he is not eating or alreday out..

Sorry for my bad english, i dont write it much

[deguconvert]

I think your english is fine! SO MUCH better than my Norwegian! (I don't know any ) Look to this site for a cage calculator. www.octodons.ch/rechner/?l=66&b=45&h=80&lang=en It indicates that your current cage is too small to keep a degu in. That could be part of why he is chewing the bars. Now . . . some degus will just chew the bars anyway, simply because they would rather be OUT of the cage ALL the time. LOL! I have one such degu, and our cage is large enough to keep 7-10 degus, and we have only 3. He just wants out to run about all the time. Have you had a look through any of the threads where people have posted pictures of their cages?? Those will give you an idea of what you could look for.

[nochan]

Thanks
I have been looking at the pictures, thats why i figured mine maybe was too small.. It was the biggest cage i could find in the petstore(i looked 5 places) He was living with 5 girls when i got him so i had to find a new cage fast so i wouldnt end up with 50 degus I didnt plan to get any of them, but it was 0°C where i found them in a small hamster cage and the owner said i could take them, so i did..

Do you know where i can buy a big chew-proof cage that is not too expensive?

[deguconvert]

OY! I have no idea where you would find something like that in Norway. Can you order over from Britain, or is the postal cost prohibitive? What about maybe making a new cage?

[nochan]

I dont think i would be able to make a cage, but i can order from other places than Norway, there is nothing here anyway

[deguconvert]

deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Cage&action=display&thread=7916 This cage is a great one . . . but I don't know any of the particulars about it . . . sorry. Hopefully there are some that will be able to post a link for it and help us both out.

[nochan]

He dont like to be on any of the floors in his cage, so i think he would like a really tall cage better He likes to climb, but he is so fast he is on the top of the cage in 1sec. ;D

[harpic01]

Hello
try www.zooplus.co.uk - they state the largest european distrubutor and we use them for all our needs - we get their wooden wheels i think they are in Germany - very good and very reasonable price wise

[nochan]

Thanks I found this one, do you think it will be OK for a degu or two?: www.exoticnutrition.com/4lesmancana.html
I would of course put something on the wire so it wont hurt his feet. And looots of ropes, tubes, hammocks and stuff. ;D

[deguconvert]

Well . . . I think that the wider version of that is a much better choice. You would be able to insert more hortizontal surfaces in the wider one (34 X 23 X 62), and plenty of horizontal space is crucial for the health and contentedness of degus. What I mean by that is that you can make additional tiers/shelving using kiln dried pine wood boards. You don't have to stick to the three that they supply with the cage itself. If you can afford the difference in price, and really like that style of cage, I would encourage you to get the larger tower.

One thing that stands out to me is the position and size of the doors on these cages. We used to have wire cages that had only two doors, positioned much the same as these cages, and they truly made me frustrated. There was a lot of difficulty to place items within the cage, or to remove them for cleaning, re-filling, or whatever was needed. I was constantly pushing my arm to the limits of it's length to acheive what I wanted inside the cage. As soon as I had an option for change, I changed to a cage setup that provided a fully opening side. Then then allowed me to open the cage wide and have full access to everything inside. Now, this may not be a difficulty for you, and if that is the case, I think you will really like the way these cages function. If you think it could be trouble for you though, I encourage you to look at the critternation cages. They have great access to things inside, are easy to clean and setup, and have excellent spacing for the degus to live in. You would want to get the double, not the single, if you can afford it.

[nochan]

Hmm.. Its really hard to find a cage. The one i have now i paid 1000kroner/185dollar for, so i dont have too much money to spend on a new one..
Also im moving out in not too long, renting prices are SO high now so it will probably be in a tiny space. But i will try my best to find a cage that my degu can be happy in He is sleeping in my bed right now, so cute! ;D

[moletteuk]

Have you thought about building a cage yourself, or converting a cabinet, or looking on ebay or in local newspapers for something second hand? I don't know what pets are popular in Norway, but you might find a suitable parrot cage or ferret, or rat, or chinchilla cage, or two smaller cages you could join together.

[nochan]

Im really not good at making things, i dont know anyone who is either Cages are really expensive here, even used. So im trying to find one on ebay, but there are sooo many and i only need one..

I put a new rope in his cage, and after that he havent chewd on the wire at all! He even tried too sleep on the rope, but fell down

[Cherpi]

Seriously, just get a cabinet, add some shelves and some mesh parts for air flow and add doors or sliding doors, so easy! I'm thinking of doing it

[deguconvert]

Have you had a look through this particular thread? deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Cage&action=display&thread=6918&page=1

Some of the cages featured in here are the shells of old cabinets, or wardrobes, or even in some other cases which I couldn't track down - display cabinets for china, or old bureau drawers with all the drawers removed. The point being that the shell of the wooden cage is provided by the outer structure of the furniture, the shelves etc are added in simply by screwing in through the outside of the container and into the wood used for shelves. It is best if the screws are put through on two sides of the wooden (kiln dried PINE) shelving . . . along the "L" shaped edge that contacts the inner walls of the chosen piece of furniture. I hope that gives you enough of a visual to understand what I mean. You can use recycled wire from your current cage to fashion some doors, or you can use glass to make sliding glass doors to cover the front and prevent escape. IF you do this, you need to use a "W channel" or two "U" channels. These will hold the glass doors and allow you to slide them open and shut. You will also need to cut vents into the side of the outer shell, covering them with wire mesh, so that there is an exchange for fresh air. This should be somewhere on the sides that will be enough out of reach so that your degus cannot reach it and chew the wood. You need to fashion a place to hang your water bottles, but if you use screws with the "eye" on the end, you can place four in a rough square shape on the inner wall and then using metal wire attach your bottle by tying into (or hooking if you choose) the eyes. You need to give them lots of shelves with ropes and ladders for climbing up and down between levels. I would recommend that you make the depth of your shelves at least half the inner depth of the cabinet. If you can find a used cabinet for sale that is about the same dimensions as that larger cage . . . 34 X 23 X 62 . . . you'll have it made! Then I would put in at least three levels above the floor level. Also . . . if you can make sure that your base level (floor) has a lip in the front so that there is at least a 6 - 8 inch deep base, that will give plenty of depth for a great substrate base, and will also make it much tidier as the degus will not be kicking their bedding out quite so easily! If this is confusing, first, study the pictures in the link I put in, and then ASK lots of questions. We are very happy to help!! If this still seems rather formidable . . . don't worry. We won't judge you either. Buy the cage you want and we will be happy with you!

[harpic01]

Hi hows it going - i had a small brain wave (rare - we just bought a new cage off bay - Pets @ Homes in England have just brought this out and its £250.00 ouch - i have just got the same cage for £108.00 on bay ! its worth looking at - ok you will have cost of postage but its much cheaper and if you are not a good make your own cage and get stressed like i do - lucky my partner is a carpenter and electrician then looking on these sites might help ;D

[nochan]

Hi again, and sorry for replying so late.. Its been really busy here! Do you have a picture of the cage?