Degu owner for the near future

[stephsie82]

Hi.
I'm planning on getting degu's in the near future. Right now I'm collecting more information and trying to figure out what cage to get. Unfortunatly I'm not able to build one myself since I don't have the room to do that, I live in a appartment. That may be something for later in the future when we got a house and are setled in it.
I used to have guinea pigs, some years ago. But now I wanted a more active pet and after some research I learned bout degu and loved it right away

[mhb]

Hello and welcome!
As someone fairly new to the forum I would say that the people here are amazingly friendly and helpful.
My partner discovered Degu a little over two years ago and being a dedicated animal lover she did a fair amount of research fro conventional avenues about them - or so we thought at the time!
I have to say that nothing really prepared us for our three girls and we have probably made a fair few mistakes along the way (as have most people) so congratulations on finding some of the best resource on the web before getting the Degus!

I would have to say that if I had my time again (and when we have our next lot, which will hopefully be a while as our girls are just a year old) I would follow the advice on here as I stumbled on this site in a time of crisis (for us) which turned out to just Degus being Degus...

In particular how to bond with your Degus when they first arrive to get them used to your smell, handling etc: there is an excellent video I wish we had seen before bringing them home.
Also as you have already hinted at the cage sizes etc are vital, especially if you do not have the time to dedicate hours to getting yours out of the cage.
Having been renovating my house for nearly a year we have not been able to Degu proof a room and let them out for extended periods which in the early days took it's toll as they were clearly not happy in a small cage and it wasn't until I got another thicketts cage that they calmed down.
Perhaps if you look in the cage building section about joining a couple together this could be a solution until you get a house?
There is a gold mine of advice and helpful tips and everyone will be more than happy to share.

And lastly good luck!
Predictability is not something that you can ever accuse Degus of and having ever heard about them 2 years ago I wouldn't be without ours despite all the constant challenges they give you - as a pet with dedication and effort (and more than a little patience!) they are loving and very rewarding.

[deguconvert]

Welcome to the forum, Stephsie82! I is wonderful to meet you, and we look forward to getting to know you, and helping you to be prepared for your degus when they come. Do you already have something that you plan to use, or are you planning to buy a cage? Have you done any research on the internet for cages? Degus require a fair amount of space due to their high levels of activity and one of our best resources for knowing what they need is a cage calculator formulated and put together by one of our members by the name of Fred. Here is a link . . . deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Cage&action=display&thread=9396 Have a look through, bookmark even, so that as you are looking at cages you can easily compare the dimensions. One thing to keep in mind as you are looking at cages is the capacity they have to be improved upon. How easy will it be to add in large shelving, or complete new levels? Does it have plastic trays, which the degus will chew? Are the floor and other resting surfaces made of mesh, which will require re-surfacing/covering so the degus feet are protected? Ease of cleaning?

I fully expect that you will have more questions as you read through the forum threads and then again once your new furry loves have come home. Please ask any and all questions that come to mind. Nothing is stupid or too strange when it comes to degus . . . they are wonderful yet strange little animals. LOL!

[stephsie82]

mhb: Thanks for the warm welcome. I all ready infected my boyfriend with the interest in degu's At first he was not so enthousiastic about getting rodents as pet, but after sharing some information with him, videos and pictures, he has fallen for them as well. The more I read about degu's the more anxcious I get for having my own.

deguconvert: Done a lot of research all ready on cages. I may have found one ( www.parrotshopnederland.nl/montana-cages-degu-palace-montana-knaagdierkooi-p-1956.html ), this is a dutch site, not far from my home. It's a parrotcage, modified for rodents, the openings are 15 mm not as wide as other parrot cages. And I'm sure I can make several levels in it, so it offers enough space for a few degu's . But I'm gonna look a bit further into it, want to make sure I have a good cage from the start.

[deguconvert]

It's a massive cage! If you can load it up with one of two shelves that occupy most of complete level, you will have excellent surface area for them to utilize for running and living space.

[stephsie82]

I found a bit smaller one also from montana and adjusted for rodents 114cm x 76 cm, height 171 cm. I'm going for this on, my boyfriend would like this better since it's a smaller lol. And it still offers enough space for a few degus, I'll definitly will make 2 complete levels to add.
We are planning to start with 2 degu's Gosh, I'm so looking forward to have some in our appartement. And the first step of finding a cage has finally ended. Up to the next step, what things and materials go in the cage? Information I'm sure to find here.

[butters]

Hello stephsie82,
Welkom on this degoe forum

[moletteuk]

Welcome Stephsie

I love it when people come here before they get their degus, it makes it much easier, and its fun to share in your excitement

That cage looks really amazing, and the slightly smaller one should still be amazing. If you would like to post a link to the exact one in the cage area of the forum, people will be happy to offer you their thoughts on it and ideas of how you could set it up.

You might also like to give some thought to a playpen or degu proofing a room, so that they can come out to play, and you can interact with them better.

Have you thought about where you will get your degus from - rescue, private advert, shop?

[deguconvert]

The smaller cage is still great proportions. To see it would be helpful for making any suggestions. As for regular items, some obvious ones are water bottles (glass is prefered as they will chew through the plastic ones), food dishes, a deep sided bowl for their sand bathing (chinchilla sand is a great product for bathing), and a large wheel at least 30 cm diameter. Other items that make the cage interesting and excellent for degus are large branches from trees such as Birch, Apple, Hawthorne, Weeping Willow, Hazelnut, Plum, and Pear. Large rocks, carefully arranged to ensure that they will not move and accidentally crush a degu, are also excellent. They provide textural appeal, resting places, and are extremely helpful in keeping sharp little toe nails shorter and less sharp. Tissue paper is much loved by degus as a bedding/nest building component, as are the cardboard rolls they are wrapped around. Carpet tubes cut into lengths suitable to the cage are also much enjoyed, as much for the fun of ripping them apart layer by layer, as for the joy of running through them.

Well, there ya go, a few ideas to start you off with!!

[stephsie82]

moletteuk: I'll make a post with a pic of the cage later today. Probably would be good for others to see another cage that can be used and of course to get suggestions on what to do with it.

deguconvert: I hadn't come across using rocks in cage yet. Nice idea I will keep in mind