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Post by meganw on Jul 30, 2013 18:45:45 GMT
Hello,
i am planning on getting (hopefully) 3 baby degu's in the near future, I'm trying to get everything prepared for them before their arrival. i have bought a cage and unfortunately I thought it had metal bases on it, but they are mesh, so I am tryi to find something to cover them in to make it safe, I was thinking thick laminate maybe with some padding underneath (easy to clean and keep hygienic?) i am also struggling to find a nesting box suitable for them -any ideas? aannndd..... We may have to collect them and travel with them (max 2hours), what would be suitable (and fairly cheap) to travel with them in?
I'm sure I will have loads more questions, I have only ever had hamsters and rabbits before when I was really young, so I have been doing my research, looking on here and degutopia and anywhere else I can find info on them! Saw them in pets at home and loved the way they interact with you and want to show off in their wheel for you. Very very very excited to get them!!
thanks!
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Post by ilikedegus on Jul 30, 2013 22:47:53 GMT
Hi Megan
Some cages in our vast degu palace (made of lots of joined cages) have mesh floors.
We cover them in plain brown cardboard box cardboard - like you can get from a supermarket or corner shop.
Keeps feet off the mesh, soaks up pee, OK if they like to nibble it, can then be recycled or composted when you clean out.
Free, too!
If you're really stuck for a nest box, a temporary one that again can be discarded when stinky is again a small cardboard box, with an entrance and exit hole cut into it. It amuses me to use the supermarket takeaway curry boxes sometimes, or a wine box - not sure that would be ideal if mine liked to eat the card, because of the ink.
My local Spar convenience store has all sizes of brown cardboard boxes outside on commercial bin day, I just ask and take what I need. (Probably Tesco etc have their own disposal system which makes their boxes less easy to get).
More free cardboard - find a small local carpet shop and get the tubes the carpet comes on, again plain brown card. Saw into manageable lengths and add to cage for a bit of hide 'n' seek. Mine have been chewing these for years and come to no harm.
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Post by ntg on Jul 30, 2013 22:56:30 GMT
Hi Megan, it's great that you're doing a load of reading before getting your goos! As far as nest boxes go, some people use wooden ones, others things like plant/strawberry pots stuffed with hay, fabric houses (a personal favourite of mine as you can make them at home), or even just cardboard boxes (they don't last too long but provide the degus with plenty of chewing fun). Have you considered the diet you are going to give them yet? And do you mind me asking what cage you have/the dimensions? As cage size plays a big role in having a happy group of degus! A big welcome to the forum and feel free to ask any questions you might have
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Post by yasmin on Jul 31, 2013 20:22:03 GMT
Welcome to the forum meganw. Investing in a carrying case/small cage for small pets would be worth it because they are likely to need vet visits at some point. I buy wooden houses from the pet store to use as nesting boxes for my goos but they don't use them as such. They sleep where ever and on top of each other in the cage, often making a nest from paper towels and hay. One word of advice – learn to tell what sex they are. From my experience, pet stores/animal shelters do not know how to sex these creatures properly and will often assume that all are females because the male genitalia in a degu is within it's body and therefore they aren't as easy to differentiate from the females like hamsters are. Please do this or you might end up like me – adopting what you were told are all females and ending up with 16 degas instead of just 4.
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Post by meganw on Sept 15, 2013 7:46:49 GMT
Hi again, Sorry I haven't been on this bit in a while, have been looking at all the other bits but forgot to check back in here! Since then, I have got my 3 little girls, who are now 10 weeks old. They are all girls (checked), called sky, star and Lilly. I love them to pieces! Measurements are 70 x 42 x 104. They have lots of wooden shelves to run on too. I bought a wooden nesting box for chinchillas and fill it with hay, they don't use it for sleeping but enjoy burying food and treats and finding them later in there. In their cage they have a running saucer, am looking at getting another but found it has to go on the bottom, otherwise it ends up down there anyway somehow! They have a tube hammock that they all sleep in, hanging coconut things, wooden hanging things, sisal carrots, loofa veg, 2blwls, plenty of hay. They seem very happy, I get them out at least twice a day if not more - I just can't resist, although sky is still very shy. I am starting to let them have supervised runs of some of the living room now. I bought a plastic travel box to bring them home in and they go in that on clean out day, although obviously they chew it, so thinking of getting a John Hopwell one. We are having a few fights between the girls but from what I can gather they are nothing too bad - sibling rivalry, no injuries from it, jus lots of squeaking and running around the cage, some boxing. Everyone that has met them (or even seen photos) has fallen in love with them! Thanks for your help! M x
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Post by moletteuk on Sept 16, 2013 15:46:42 GMT
Hi congratulations on getting your girls, glad you are having fun with them You will probably find you need a bigger cage at some point soon, we recommend quite a lot bigger anyway, and find it helps to prevent fighting and allows expression of more natural degu behaviour. You have lots of options for extending on home building to provide more space, just ask if you need help or ideas, or have a look in the cage sticky thread area.
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Post by meganw on Sept 20, 2013 13:52:53 GMT
Yes, I was looking at getting a bigger cage already, thinking about the liberta explorer, it comes with plastic shelves, but John Hopewell does metal replacements for them, so would get those. Would love to make one but were I live, we don't have space to do the actual making of it The girls are getting more confident by the day, know when feeding time is, and starting to know when they can push their luck!! Love them! M x
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Post by moletteuk on Sept 23, 2013 18:26:31 GMT
I think the Xtrail is very similar to the Explorer, but has metal shelves, but do check with the retailer to make sure. Glad you are having fun
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