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Post by lolren on Jun 9, 2012 14:52:43 GMT
Hello  Recently I was given two degu's for my birthday and they are currently residing in my bedroom with me. I have two boys, I know this as they are quite rude at times...  One is named Diego and one is Chino.  Chino  Diego (He has what looks like a split in his ear, it is fully healed but is this from a previous fight or something more serious?) I've spent hours already reading through the posts on here and already learned so much, so thank you for that! The problem I am having however is after reading about cages etc I feel that my two boys cage is rather on the small side and I am unsure as to what to do. I was given the cage with them both inside so I had no say in the purchase of it and I feel that perhaps my mum was misinformed at the local pet store as she was told it would be big enough for two. It is a lazy bones two tier cage and was made of mesh. I have since removed the bottom mesh and placed a wooden plank on the second one for the time being until I can safely attach it to the cage and remove the mesh. Diego loves to come out his cage and crawl all over but more often than not will try escape off me, I think this is to do with him not having enough space in the cage and wanting to explore and that he is still unsure of me? Chino however is still very timid and I am working on him ( he crawled onto my hand just this morning) . I just want to improve their quality of life as even after a short period of time I just love them so much! Any info or tips etc will be appreciated. I have been letting them out for playtime in short bursts as they get very timid and easily scared when out of the cage. However I know that they are notorious escape artists and I am so worried about losing one under a bed or under a sofa  this is the cage,  It is connected by rods in the four corners, is there perhaps a way I could extend the cage? or would purchasing a run and letting them in it for around 3 hours a day be enough? Another question I have is about the sounds these little guys make. I have read about the cute little chirping they make and have been frequented to this pretty much all day. However the barking noise people have mentioned confuses me as I have not heard it yet or I don't think I have... Which is a good thing I guess! However earlier today they had a little squabble over the food dish and there was some kicking and slapping and they squealed rather loudly. Is this still play fighting? Thank you for reading my post Lauren x |
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Post by lolren on Jun 9, 2012 19:23:21 GMT
I have also acquired an old set of drawers that are well within the required space for degu's would it be possible to set this up as an enclosure for them? x
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 9, 2012 21:09:19 GMT
Hello Lolren, and welcome to the forum!! Congratulations on your birthday gift! You've already come across the learning curve for these little characters, and there will be more yet, but you are doing well! Well done!
I agree with you, your cage is too small, and either enlarging it or, re-purposing the chest of drawers is a direction you need to look into. Having a large run for them is also helpful, but that depends on what you have for space to accomodate such a thing, and what you would like to ultimately have (something you can fold and put away? A permenant structure that stays put? Full freedom in you room once you are confident of their recall?). May I ask of you some questions, then?
Have you read through the cages and housing section then, with the many stickies for CARA (cage size), cage building, safe woods, etc.? Do you see potential to use the chest of drawers as a cage? Can you post a couple of well lighted pictures of the chest for us, and we could advize you as to what you can do structurally etc.?
Degus have a large vocabulary, so the noises that they make are many. The barking sound is like a loud, sharp chirp, that often comes after a mating or a self-cleaning session. This chirp is frequent and will last 20 - 30 minutes on average. The dispute over the food bowl is normal testiness over who has right of first access, and what you saw was still within safe interactions between them. Nothing to be worried about. Degus that are swearing at each other can get very loud, lol, and it isn't unusual in my home that I can hear them clear across the house in a completely different room if there is a dispute going on.
Feel completely free to ask your questions Lauren, and don't be embarrassed by any of them. We've all been where you are, and we all know that degus do things we would never expect. Like, have you caught them eating their own poo yet, or even flinging it across the room? COMPLETELY normal for them, we even make jokes about degu olympics and degus having a poo flinging event. LOL!
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Post by lolren on Jun 9, 2012 22:28:17 GMT
Hello! thank you for the response!  this is the chest of drawers. I havent had a look at the CARA thing properly cause in all honesty it confuses me and as I havent built my cage yet I was unsure if I could calculate it all. I will obviously be taking out all the drawers and putting about 4 tiers in the structure with access to each via wooden ramps. I have read about what woods to use and which not to use and I am going to visit my local timber yard to see if they stock kiln dried pine(?) If I cant get hold of this will my local B&Q or Homebase stock it? Oh and I will also be replacing the back with one sheet as it is currently two rather flimsy boards with tape down the center lol... |
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 10, 2012 0:53:22 GMT
One way to learn what the potential CARA of your chest of drawers is, would be to measure your inner dimensions, front to back, and side to side, then you multiply the total from your front to back with the total from side to side. (eg. 30cm X 65 cm = 1950 sqaure cm) Then, if the tiers you intend will be full levels, not just ledges, we can also figure those in, and get your CARA from that. (eg. 3 levels at approximately 1950 = 5850 sq cm) If you want, just put your measurements on here, and we can help you figure out what it will add up to be. Now I have no idea what the measurements of the inside actually are, and hopefully they are more than what I have put in because the CARA I have guestimated is too small for two degus. You need to have about 12,000 sq cm for two degus to have the space they need. What are the dimensions of your mesh cage?
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Post by dusty on Jun 10, 2012 2:45:00 GMT
Hello Lolren, and welcome to the forum!! Congratulations on your birthday gift! You've already come across the learning curve for these little characters, and there will be more yet, but you are doing well! Well done! I agree with you, your cage is too small, and either enlarging it or, re-purposing the chest of drawers is a direction you need to look into. Having a large run for them is also helpful, but that depends on what you have for space to accomodate such a thing, and what you would like to ultimately have (something you can fold and put away? A permenant structure that stays put? Full freedom in you room once you are confident of their recall?). May I ask of you some questions, then? Have you read through the cages and housing section then, with the many stickies for CARA (cage size), cage building, safe woods, etc.? Do you see potential to use the chest of drawers as a cage? Can you post a couple of well lighted pictures of the chest for us, and we could advize you as to what you can do structurally etc.? Degus have a large vocabulary, so the noises that they make are many. The barking sound is like a loud, sharp chirp, that often comes after a mating or a self-cleaning session. This chirp is frequent and will last 20 - 30 minutes on average. The dispute over the food bowl is normal testiness over who has right of first access, and what you saw was still within safe interactions between them. Nothing to be worried about. Degus that are swearing at each other can get very loud, lol, and it isn't unusual in my home that I can hear them clear across the house in a completely different room if there is a dispute going on. Feel completely free to ask your questions Lauren, and don't be embarrassed by any of them. We've all been where you are, and we all know that degus do things we would never expect. Like, have you caught them eating their own poo yet, or even flinging it across the room? COMPLETELY normal for them, we even make jokes about degu olympics and degus having a poo flinging event. LOL! lol - I'm so glad someone mentioned eating poo - I was embarressed to ask , and yes poo flinging does seem to be a fun pass time |
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 10, 2012 3:10:09 GMT
LOL! Yes, they eat their own poo, but with perfectly healthy reasons. It helps to repopulate their gut with healthy bacteria, which they need. You will even see them being picky about which poo they will eat, as they are able to tell if one has a higher bacterial content than another may have.
Thankfully, and I'm sure you'll agree . . . we humans have other ways of repopulating our gut with healthy bacteria!!!
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 10, 2012 21:07:35 GMT
Welcome Lolren The tear in the ear is nothing to worry about, probably a little injury from when he was little. It sounds like you are doing well with taming, it's usual to find one a bit more adventurous than the other. They make a great range of noises, so again, don't worry if you do or don't hear any particular ones, I find they are mostly really fun and interesting to work out what they are trying to say If they argue over food it's probably not play fighting, but still nothing to worry about. It really helps to provide a bowl each for their main meal. The drawers look quite promising, and the cage looks like it wouldn't be too difficult to add onto, so i'm sure we can help you fix something good up |
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Post by lolren on Jun 11, 2012 11:52:57 GMT
Hey sorry for the late response! Thank you for all the info and the warm welcome Heres what they are currently in I tried as best I could with what I had so its not much but they dont seem to mind it just yet.  looking at the drawers I think they are too small now. Here are the measurements. Even if they would have more layers I think the depth is too small as it is smaller than the depth of what they are in now. I could be wrong!  I will be moving out of my mums house soon hopefully so I will be able to keep them in a much larger enclosure when the time comes. I was thinking if the drawers are too small would it be possible to buy a single cage and attach it to the top of this one? or perhaps the bottom |
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Post by lolren on Jun 11, 2012 13:27:23 GMT
Wasn't sure if I should post this here but I just had to tell someone!
I've just caught my boys snuggled into my t shirt that I left in the cage. both laying on their sides together! With Diego's foot in the air ha ha
I think I'm well and truly a degu keeper for life now :x
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 11, 2012 17:26:29 GMT
LOL! that sounds really cute  I agree the drawer unit doesn't really look deep enough. I'd say 45 cm is the minimun depth. It's good to have 100cm wide too, so they can stretch their legs in a run. I've seen much worse starter homes and it's perfectly possible to add to what you have to make it a good home. The CARA for what you currently have is approx 72x45cm x2 = 6480 sq cm. The minimum recommendation for two degus is 12000 sq cm, so you would be looking to provide another 5520 sqcm. As their current cage isn't as long as is preferable, it would be good if you could provide one nice long extra area for them, so I would suggest somethings like 100cm x 55cm or 120cm x 45cm would be good |
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 11, 2012 22:25:20 GMT
A wheel in there for them would be a great benefit to them as well.
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Post by lolren on Jun 12, 2012 11:48:30 GMT
I am currently looking for one that will be big enough for them and wont cost an arm and a leg and wont take up what is already limited space. I just keep stressing out so much over their cage that I think its making me ill. I just dont wanna be cruel and want them to have enough space I think I might ask my dad if he wouldnt mind building a cage with me for them. |
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 12, 2012 12:31:01 GMT
Please try not to stress to the point that you feel ill. You are doing an amazing job of getting your head around what your degus might need, especially as you had these little guys totally sprung on you as a gift. It's fine and really the right thing to take a little time to decide what will be the best longer term housing for you and them. You main options are buying another cage to add on (new or second hand), making an extension yourself either from wire, wood, or converting some furniture, making a complete new cage, or buying a complete cage (new or second hand). I would suggest that adding on a second hand extension would be a quick, cheap fix, you should be able to pick up a thickets cage for £25 or so, you could then think about making your own custom cage if you wanted to, but you have that whole list of options to think about. Here are some links for making a wheel deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Cage&action=display&thread=15486 There are also these wooden wheels you can buy www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/exercise_wheels/125485 but they usually quite quickly get chomped....but I was thinking you could buy some thin sheet aluminium on ebay to wrap around and protect the wood with. |
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 12, 2012 12:33:31 GMT
PS you might find playtime less stressful for you and them if you can barrier off any places you are worried about them getting to and also if you can rig up a ramp or tube into their cage, so they can run off to safety back in the cage if they want to. Also boxes and tubes on the floor will help them feel safe while they get used to being in a big space.
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Post by lolren on Jun 12, 2012 12:39:16 GMT
We just had playtime on my floor and diego of course was the first to come out but chino slowly did also. I blocked off everything with cardboard and made sure I kept an eye on them both. Diego just seems to want to run away all the time Chino however even let me get a belly tickle in today and ran up my arm to hide under my hair at the back of my neck lol :\ Then after about an hour Diego decided to bite me for no reason! I think I will buy another cage for now and attach it to the side so they have a long run. As for the wheel I'm going to give making one a go with my dad |
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Post by lolren on Jul 1, 2012 21:00:08 GMT
I've just purchased another cage to add on to the side of their current one and a smaller one to create a 'loft extension' so to speak. The question I have however is how on earth do I attach it to the current one, so that it is sturdy. Are brackets useful?
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Post by deguconvert on Jul 1, 2012 23:32:24 GMT
Are they all wire cages? Perhaps you can take photos of all the parts and post them here so that we can better suggest ideas?
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Post by scoobos on Jul 3, 2012 15:08:54 GMT
welcome,
The only thing I can add, is the mention of your goo biting you. If he bites, its likely to be a sign of affection / grooming - just whistle quite loud if he bites too hard and gently push him away around his back quarters (above his back legs).
He'll get the message and be a bit more careful next time, hopefully.
It took me ages to get any interaction from my fellas, but they all groom me now.
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 5, 2012 20:34:09 GMT
Unless there's a problem with the bottom cage not being strong or sturdy enough to take the weight of the upper cage, then you should be able to use garden wire to wire them together.
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One is named Diego and one is Chino. 
