Cage help

[jenni]

I've been looking into degus recently and like to look at forums as a place to research. I would like to know if degus like height in thier cages or do they prefer more floor space?
thanks

[moletteuk]

It's great that you decided to do some research before getting degus, lots of people get tricked into buying an unsuitable cage by Pets@Home.

Basically it's all about surface area and running space, height is convenient for us rather than the degus. For three degus you need the equivalent of 3 shelves at 100cm x 50cm. See this thread for more information deguworld.proboards.com/thread/9396/forums-cage-size-recommendations

Also for ideas, see the 'show us your cage thread' in the cages sticky thread area.

[Maravilla]

Hi jenni
It is great you are looking for information before adopting some little furry balls.
To answer your question: a cage of 3m length is better than a cage with 3 levels à 1m. A high cage should always have some full levels to provide more running space, but it is better to have a greater lenghts if you can provide it. 1m lenght is the minimum a cage should have to avoid that the animal can only run a few little steps.

[ntg]

Hi Jenni, floor space is a lot more important to degus as they are ground dwelling mammals. For a pair of degus we recommend a cage size of at least 100x50x100cm (lxwxh) (a longer length would of course be better, but it can be difficult to find a cage or to find the space for it) with 3 full levels. There are a few cages available on the market that people like to use:
liberta explorer/xtrail/aventura/critter nation/savic royal suite - littlepetwarehouse does an all metal cage in this style so it requires the least number of modifications
then there are cages like the liberta tower, aviaries and parrot cages that require making and putting in full levels yourself

Another option is to convert a wardrobe or to completely make one yourself out of wood. Have a look at the show us your cages thread for some ideas
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/6918/show-cage

[jenni]

Wow the cages on show your set up is great. I do have a large cage but it has deep plastic base and levels so that's not good and I also have 2 critter 2 cages which are too small so it looks like a new cage is needed ( woohoo cage shopping). I have another question. A lot of the cages have wood, would this need treating in anyway as wouldn't it soak up pee and smell a lot?

[swiffermuis]

I have to add that it ofcourse depends on the amount of degus you're planning to build the cage for. I think 3 full shelves of 100x50 cm is indeed the ideal for 2/3 degus

[moletteuk]

You could show us or tell us the name of the cage you have, it might convert OK into a degu cage. Most commercial cages need modifying anyway.

Some people use bare wood and scrub it and change it when it smells, and/or have saucers/ tiles where the degus do most of the wee, so it's not too much of a problem. Others use melamine furniture board, or vinyl tiles or something else wipeable and then use chewable wood as an edging all round the shelves to prevent chewing of the wipeable (unsafe) surface. It depends on the habits of your degus and your preference.