mandy
Newborn Degu
Posts: 3
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Post by mandy on Mar 4, 2013 22:08:06 GMT
Hi everyone, I am Mandy.I am new to this forum and having degus as pets is very new to me. I had two boys bought for me as a birthday present a few weeks ago, which i have named Sooty and Sweep, and they are about 12 weeks old now, and I am loving them already, I have had rats for a number of years and at present have 9 of them. My friend who bought me the degus were told by the pet shop that they a very similar to keeping rats, but as I have done a little research over the past few weeks, I have realised they are a lot different from rats, and I have a lot to learn about them, so any advice would be much appreciated, Thanks.
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redheaddegu
Burrowing Degu
red hair is a warning sign
Posts: 180
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Post by redheaddegu on Mar 4, 2013 22:27:35 GMT
Hello and welcome to the weird and wonderful world of degus! They are amazing little monsters, but quite different to rats. Very important difference is the need to remove sugar from their diet, as they can't handle it and long term it can make them sick. My main advice would be to browse the forum, most areas have important info in the first few threads of a zone. I knew nothing about degus when I started, learnt loads from just browsing this site.
Feel free to ask questions, everyone here is very friendly. And enjoy your boys
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Post by ntg on Mar 4, 2013 22:29:07 GMT
Hi Mandy, welcome to the forum and congrats on your new additions (I love the names)! You're certainly right about them being a lot different from rats, and first thing I'd suggest, because pet shops are not very good at this, is double checking their sexes! Here's the link to find out how deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13070/degusThe main thing to contend with with degus is their diet, they are strict herbivores who need a very low sugar diet or they may develop diabetes. A lot of sites recommend using oats or other cereals as a main treat but these are quite high in carbohydrates (and so sugar) so try out things like dried dandelion or rose petals and other plant matter as treats (small amounts of sunflower seeds won't go amiss either)! I'm just wondering if you've checked out cage recommendations for them yet, as you'll soon find that they need a lot more space than rats as they're a lot more active deguworld.proboards.com/thread/9396/forums-cage-size-recommendations we tend to suggest a cage of 100cmx50cmx100cm with three full levels for a pair (we understand if people have smaller cages here for whatever reason if it's smaller than that, mine is at the moment and we have 4, they'll hopefully have a mansion soon). We have loads of great advice threads stickied on the different boards for diet, boredom breakers, cage accessories etc but don't be afraid to ask questions, we all know how weird degus can be now! Finally, whereabouts are you from in the world as we find that the UK and the rest of Europe is a lot better for degu-friendly variety than the US/Canada, but we do have members who can point you towards good sites for all sorts of things!
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Post by saddlers on Mar 4, 2013 22:37:26 GMT
Welcome to the forum....get some pics up so we can see Sooty and Sweep!!
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mandy
Newborn Degu
Posts: 3
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Post by mandy on Mar 5, 2013 19:33:15 GMT
Thanks for the replies guys. I am taking in all the advice, glad to be told about the porridge oats has I have been using it as a treat but not every day, how offen would you recommend it as a treat. I have been using ryvita and Melba toast too. I live in the uk and I will try to put some pics on soon.
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Post by dyzired on Mar 5, 2013 22:38:36 GMT
Welcome to the world of degus! And I absolutely love their names! Too cute! I give my boys oats once a week but I'm not sure what the actual recommended amount is. But they're very good to use for training purposes! We would love to see some pics of your little boys and their cage though
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 6, 2013 16:56:55 GMT
Hello Mandy, and welcome to the forum!!
Just by reading through what you've already been told, I'd say you've been given excellent directions for reading up on important points. If you have questions about any of those things, or things that don't seem to be covered, or whatever, please do ask! It is a steep learning curve with degus, but they are well worth the effort!
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mandy
Newborn Degu
Posts: 3
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Post by mandy on Mar 6, 2013 21:51:39 GMT
Thank you. It is nice to know that you are all there to give good advice if and when I need it.
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