Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
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Post by Hanlou on Jun 9, 2005 7:35:09 GMT
Helloo! I would like to have degus in the future - it's not possible / practical right now, but eventually I would definitely like some. I'm just 'reading up' at the moment and doing lots of research. At present I have 10 rats, and I've had Mongolian Gerbils and also Shaw's Jirds in the past. I keep my rats in a Ferplast Brio Medium and also a Tall Speedy Chinchilla cage. I've had to split them into 2 groups as there were problems when I introduced Mocha - my neutered boy. I'm hoping in the future to get a Ferplast Duetto so they can be in one 'cage' but still seperate. What I would then do is save one of the other cages for degus. Sooo... are aviaries good for degus? I would think so as they give loads of space and have loads of potential for putting things in. Shelf-wise I'm not sure what would be ok though. I realise that the plastic Ferplast corner shelves I use for the rats will be pretty much useless!! Although I can get some very thick wooden corner shelves which might be ok? Opinions welcome!! If so, which kind of cage would be best for degus do you think? Size-wise, the Brio is 64.5cm W, 54.5cm D, 137c H (internal measurements) and the Tall Chin is 100cmW, 55cmD, 100cmH (internal measurements again). Thanks in advance...
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Post by Sunshinemeg on Jun 9, 2005 8:37:48 GMT
Would degu's be ok in an aviary-type cage? I know that it's a way off, but I've been wondering... knowing their chewing abilities I wondered what you could use for shelves as the Ferplast plastic corner shelves I use for my rats would almost certainly be useless! I think that kind of cage would be fine, as long as they have a solid surface then can sit on to be off the wire base, as degus can suffer from a condition known as Bumble Foot. very painful and can result in the need to amputate the foot in severe cases. I use perches called "leap n ledge" check them out on Ebay, always available. They attach wherever you want them to in the cage so you can construct all sorts with them. I have then forming a stairs to one level, and a long shelf high up that they can all sit on. Other wooden attachable shelves are fine, and a good source for all these is Ebay. Any cage you use needs to provide your degus with plenty of space. they are very active animals and enjoy being able to climb high up, but they are known to fall, so dont have a long drop without adding something of a soft landing, someone on this forum, Im afraid I forget who as it was quite a while ago had the superb idea of a hammock style arrangement to catch any clumsy degus!
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Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
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Post by Hanlou on Jun 9, 2005 8:55:22 GMT
Hi again. Yes - I have hammocks (home-made - much cheaper!! ) for my rats as well. The hammock acts as a great cushion for when / if they do fall. I've never used mesh floors. Although it's thought in the 'rat world' that bumblefoot is hereditary/genetic and not caused by mesh I've never liked mesh floors. Even though I had a floor in a Terenziani cage covered with lino, one of my rats (long time ago) still managed to get his foot stuck in the mesh. Fortunately, I was there and so was able to free him with no damage done, but I dread to think what would have happened if I hadn't been there. Which type of cage, of the two of them, do you think would be better? This is the Tall Speedy cage: (mine was cheaper tho!) [a href="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46307&item=4385600426&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW "]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46307&item=4385600426&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW[/a] PS: I have lots of leap and ledges for my ratties. You can get sleep and ledges too now - bit wider. PPS: What cages does everyone else have? Thanks.
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Post by diet otaku on Jun 9, 2005 12:19:35 GMT
my degu cage has plastic ramps and ledges because that's what it came with, but oddly enough they don't really chew those, only the plastic edge of the base. they chewed the edge of one ledge a little, but i think they gave up when they realized it wouldn't provide them a way out of the cage. XD
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Post by Aimeelou on Jun 9, 2005 12:24:20 GMT
I would recomend an all metal cage, like a chinchilla cage, anything else and they will try to chew there way out! I have just upgraded my cage to a 5ft monster cage to house my new brood and they love all the space and new toys i can get in now!
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Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
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Post by Hanlou on Jun 9, 2005 12:30:30 GMT
Cage-buying and upgrading is bit addictive, isn't it?! The Tall Chinchilla cage is all metal. The Brio has a plastic base *but* my rats escaped by gnawing the corner so the plastic bit's now underneath the metal bit (it has a metal base as well - designed originally to be under the plastic one!) , which works fine as it means they can't get to the plastic. Only wish I'd done that to start with...... Your cage sounds great, Aimee!!
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Post by ra on Jun 9, 2005 15:49:32 GMT
I looked at bird cages when I was searching for the perfect cage. The only thing you have to be careful of is the spacing of the bars. Anything larger than 3/4" the Degus can escape. As we know with babies it's a whole nother game.
My Degu Condo consists of two Chinchilla cages (the My First Home brand) stacked vertically. We took one of the top cage doors off and cut an opening the same size in the bottom cages roof. Installed the door there but always leave it open anyway. We had to wrap the cages in hardware cloth (a heaving metal screen) when the babies were born. I've left the cages wrapped - keeps the bedding etc in the cage. I bought a ceramic toilet bowel brush holder (!) to use as a Degu bath. It's on the bottom floor along with a cardboard box for resting and a couple of limestone rocks to chew. The second level shelf has the water bottle. Used to put food in the built in cup but Mocha and Tanzania keep standing on the box and pushing the cups up out spilling the food everywhere! The cage has three plastic shelves with built in cup holders. They knock the cups out of the two lower levels but leave the food and cup alone on the top level! So the top level is where their food is. The running wheel is on the third level.
The shelves and ramps are plastic and they are chewed to bits! I found an online source and will order replacements. I would like to make metal shelves eventually - we'll see. In the meanwhile they sure do love chewing the plastic.
I cut and dried a number of apple tree branches. I currently have one running through the center of the cage to the top. They love to chew on that too.
I found one rat cage that was all metal after buying and constructing the "Condo". It was not as large as my homebuilt so all in all I'm happy with what we have fashioned.
Oh an most importantly I had a local glass shop cut me pieces of 1/4" plate glass to make a Degu proof base! Put the glass together like and aquarium with non-toxic silicone. I didn't want to use an aquarium base too deep - fashioned this one with 5" sides.
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Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
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Post by Hanlou on Jun 9, 2005 16:08:57 GMT
Thinking about it- I guess my 'title' was a bit misleading - one of the cages' is a chinchilla cage, not an aviary! That set-up sounds great, ra. I'd thought a Terenziani Moore might be a good alternative as well - all metal again but it has mesh levels. The Tall Speedy Chinchilla is a good deal bigger than that though. Neither cage has a particularly deep base though- the glass tank bottom sounds great. Mind you - I am fairly used to picking up / sweeping up cage litter!! The ecopetbed doesn't scatter quite as much as other litters I've had, mind. Anyways, it's all a long way off so I can mentally debate these things and have a good look around. Any more ideas/opinions would be very welcome.
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Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
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Post by Hanlou on Jun 13, 2005 16:19:48 GMT
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Post by Aimeelou on Jun 14, 2005 8:29:27 GMT
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Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
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Post by Hanlou on Jun 14, 2005 20:37:07 GMT
;D Lol Aimee!! Well, I know - I thought it was a bit strange size-wise. I mean, I have 10 rats and use a rat 'cage calculator' to make sure the cages I have are adequate. Rats are a bit bigger than degu's, I'd say. Anyhoo, the Tall Speedy cage I have houses according to the cage calc 9 rats. BUT according to the degu cage calc on the German forum, it would only hold 2-3 degus! Thought it was just me.... That's the cage I've been thinking about that (for degus) you have Aimee. I have the size down from that one (Terenziani Michelangelo) as a 'spare' cage for my rats. They used to live in it, but, well, I got more rats and they outgrew it! I like them - they're all metal and everything and access is great with loads of potential for stuff. Mind you, I'll probably be getting a new cage for my rats again as soon as I can afford it, so I'll probably save the Tall Speedy for degu's. Thanks for replying.
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Post by Aimeelou on Jun 15, 2005 9:35:11 GMT
I know what you mean, when i had my rats, my cage was a little smaller, god knows what that the stupid german stupid stupid caculator would of said! aimee
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Anna
Foraging Degu
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Posts: 113
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Post by Anna on Jun 15, 2005 23:18:41 GMT
I sometimes worry about Bumble Foot because my cage has a metal bottom but theres places they can go to get off of the wire. I donno how good those special places are at preventing Bumble Foot but I haven't seen any change in their feet. Do any of you have a picture of Bumble Foot or know what it looks like? I'd just like to know what to look out for.
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Post by Aimeelou on Jun 16, 2005 12:46:14 GMT
Ive never seen any pictures of bumble foot, but ive only been told that if its bad, they may have to amputate the limb
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Anna
Foraging Degu
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Posts: 113
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Post by Anna on Jun 17, 2005 2:31:13 GMT
Well, I sometimes worry about that with my degus. I let them out of their cage to run around atleast twice a day. They also have places they can get off the wire in my cage. I was just wondering what it looks like. I like to try my hardest to keep my pets healthy and happy. I also like knowing what to look out for. I wonder if I could call my local vet and maybe they could give me a discription of what it looks like or something.
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Post by diet otaku on Jun 17, 2005 4:07:38 GMT
i just sort of trust that if there's places they can get off the wire, they'll sort of work it out naturally so they don't get bumblefoot, you know? though i did find these neat little interlocking mats at petsmart, they fit together like puzzle pieces so you can arrange them however you need to to cover mesh floors. i use one on the upper level because they'll sit there for hours, the middle level i don't worry about because it has a chin-chiller and the dustbowl covering most of the floor, and the bottom is solid metal covered in bedding. EDIT: found a pic of bumblefoot, in guinea pigs at least. it probably looks similar in degus, being an infection and all. (from guinealynx.info/feet.html )
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Hanlou
Burrowing Degu
Basil
Posts: 284
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Post by Hanlou on Jun 17, 2005 20:17:19 GMT
Regarding wire floors - you could also buy lino tiles to stick on. (though they'd most likely get eaten... : Fortunately my Tall Speedy cage has a removable mesh floor - so my ratties aren't on wire. I've used the lino tiles in the past though.
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Post by diet otaku on Jun 17, 2005 22:41:04 GMT
that's true, the mats at petsmart are also plastic, so they've gotten chewed a little.
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Post by Aimeelou on Jun 23, 2005 14:30:29 GMT
This is a picture of my cage, which the "calculater" says is to small for degus. I cant aford to by them mansion, so this will have to do!! also, the wire floor has been sorted out i took this picture weeks ago.
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Post by diet otaku on Jun 23, 2005 14:52:26 GMT
that's even bigger than my cage! what do they want you to do, buy a separate house for them?
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