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Post by sparks on Aug 28, 2012 10:28:16 GMT
Hi all, I got two degus yesterday (assured same sex but failed to tell me if they're male or female). I apologise in advance if these questions sound stupid!.. but I really want to make sure i'm looking after them properly. Firstly I didn't get a dust bath, I plan on getting one this week but wondered what's the longest they should be without one? Also, is the bath left in the cage at all times? Secondly should their food and hay be changed daily if they have not eaten it all? and lastly how often should you clean them out? I was told at the shop they only need cleaning once a week but i'm dubious about this as they seem to be little poo factories! Thanks for reading, and sorry again for asking what are probably common sense questions
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Post by sparks on Aug 28, 2012 10:31:59 GMT
Sorry, just thought of another one..... the cage i've got has a pull out solid metal drawer at the bottom. There is mesh beneath this. I was wondering if it would be ok to leave them in the cage for a little while with just the mesh while they're cage is being cleaned? or could this cause bumblefoot?
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Post by xhannahx on Aug 28, 2012 11:40:39 GMT
Heya, firstly if you wanted to know what sex they are both males and females have a pointy tip near their bum, males have a gap the size of the tip of your finger between bum and tip, females dont really have much of a gap at all. Being without the dust bath for a few days will be ok but they should have one every day/every 2 days and dont leave it in the cage-i play with the goos daily and the bath is part of their room time i just keep it in the corner, or you could put it in the cage for 20ish mins. I normally give the goos how much food they eat (obv it takes a while to guage it) but if they have left over food by cleaning time ill change it, and cleaning out once a week is generally good-depending on the size of the cage-decent size should be ok weekly, and the goos should be fine on wire while you cleaning out and congrats on the new additions. xxxx
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Post by ntg on Aug 28, 2012 15:23:13 GMT
10g of main feed/degu is the general guideline (same as one 25ml shotglass).
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 28, 2012 16:45:51 GMT
There are differing opinions on what kind of method to use when feeding goos. I think it can depend on the characters of the degus you have, do they eat continuously, or only when they are hungry? Ours are good self-regulators, so I fill their dishes only when they are empty and leave the food available at all times. Others, whose degus are picky and will not eat well, tend to put the food in for a short period of time and then remove it afterward, until the next feeding time . . . usually morning and evening. Hay should be available at all times. Cleaning depends on the substrate you use, whether or not it covers most of your exposed surfaces, and the size of your cage. The poos do not smell, but the urine does, so anywhere that urine will sit and dry is where odors will begin to collect and build. In our homemade cage, most of our surfaces are surrounded by a 10 cm edge of kiln dried pine, which helps to contain the substrate we use, which in turn absorbs the urine and controls the build up of odor. The larger the number of degus in the cage, the more quickly the odors will build as well. With this in mind, your need to clean will depend upon all of these factors, but in general, cleaning tends to be just once a week. As for determining gender, as by xhannahx, both male and female degus have a urethral cone, which strongly resembles a penis. But the difference between male and female is determined by the distance between the urethral cone and the anus. Males have the distance of a finger tip, whilst females have very little discernable distance. Congratulations on your new little loves, Sparks! Welcome to the forum, it is is lovely to meet you, and we are all very glad to have you join our friendly community!! Questions are gladly answered, and encouraged, so don't be shy. I hope you will enjoy your time here.
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Post by sparks on Aug 29, 2012 19:46:19 GMT
Thanks for your replies, payday tomorrow so will be getting a dustbath.
Thanks for your tips on sexing them too...think I've got two little girls but they havn't stayed still enough for me to be sure!
I tried them on dandilion and oats yesterday and they loved them...so much so they'll happily stand on my hand whilst being fed already!
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Post by Lrak on Aug 30, 2012 6:49:45 GMT
If they are anything like mine they will be jumping out the door before you have the chance to get the dust bath in
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Post by moletteuk on Aug 30, 2012 14:58:47 GMT
Just going back to the original questions... You can leave the dustbath in if you want and sift the poo out as needed, ours love to bury stuff in there, so we let them have it all the time. I was thinking lately about offering them another clean bathing only bath now and then, but I haven't done this yet. See how you get on with feeding, I'd say clear out old food and hay a couple of times a week. Ours are really fussy about clean hay, they eat more if I top it up regularly through the day and if I clear out leftovers quite often (couple of times a week), they also like to have their own food bowl each and own hay bowl. If you feed hay in places they like to hang out it encourages them to eat plenty of hay too. Cleanout timing is more about your preference than anything else, it's the wee that smells, the poos look a bit messy but are completley odourless and dry out so aren't really harbouring much bacteria. If they wee in certain areas you can spot clean those more often and reduce the amount of full cleanouts quite a lot, it's even easier if you can persuade them to wee in or on a container or saucer, but good luck with that! ;-) Sounds like taming is going well already Just fire away with any questions
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Post by stargirlj on Sept 2, 2012 23:35:10 GMT
On the weeing on stuff note, I have found that mine love kitchen roll. I put it in there desired pee spot to start and they use it, very handy as absorbent and easy to change. Once they always peed on the paper is when I then moved the tissue to where I wanted them to pee in a handy trainer sort of way. They now have toilets at the front f the cage and in front of their wheel as these are the easiest place to clean. I put it in front of wheel because the run around and spray poo otherwise, I have found.
Have fun with the Degu c
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2012 14:40:25 GMT
I'm just chipping in to thank everyone who has answered since I have had the same questions. So thanks
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