total disaster

[diet otaku]

i came home from work today to find my degus and their cage locked in the bathroom - apparently in the course of a few hours they chewed massive holes in BOTH sides of the inner plastic base and one side of the outer plastic base. my roommate was kind enough to catch them for me, injuring himself in the process, and they managed to escape again before he was finally able to secure them. so i was running around town like a chicken with my head cut off trying to find a solution, ANY solution to this problem. i ended up at petsmart, spending $75 on a new $40 cage, all metal this time, a big bag of bedding, a silent spinner wheel (6 1/2" was the biggest they had and the only size that would fit in the cage i was getting) and a hutch for them to use as a nest/hide. i also found out, upon getting home, that i'll have to buy a new, smaller dust bath because the one i have won't fit through the cage door. *sigh*

and the degus have been acting absolutely PSYCHOTIC. it's amazing enough that they chewed through they cage, since they've mostly just nibbled the past couple weeks. roommate thinks something freaked them out because he doesn't know any other explanation why they would suddenly be so desperate to get out. and now that they're in their new cage, complete with chew sticks and alfalfa blocks and hay and food and water, they've been biting the bars for hours. and if i touch their nose (to discourage them from biting) they scratch at me! i started touching their nose (seriously, not hitting them, just touching it to their nose) with the sandpaper rolls, and they bite and scratch at the sandpaper rolls when i do. i also opened the cage door and blocked the opening with the dust bath, so they could at least get in for a bit, and frenzy tried to push past it to get out.

i feel like such a completely incompetent degu owner - i didn't bother to learn anything about them before i got them, i've done nothing but stress them out and give them inadequate supplies... everyone's talking about these massive cages they're building themselves, spending hundreds of dollars on supplies and giving them all this stuff with "plenty of room," and i just can't seem to keep up. i feel like i'm abusing my degus because i can only give them a 6 1/2" wheel instead of a 12" one. i feel like i'm somehow doing something horribly wrong because they seem so... afraid of me. it feels like instead of growing attached to me like they're supposed to be doing, they're just growing to hate and fear me more and more.

[diet otaku]

*sigh* how long does it take for degus to get bumblefoot? they've been huddled on the mesh floor of the top level all night. i don't know why they're not hiding in the hutch i gave them, i know they know it's there... wouldn't they prefer sleeping on comfortable bedding instead of wire mesh?

EDIT: they're moving between the levels more, but still chewing at the bars and scratching like mad. why do they want out so badly all of a sudden? is there anything i can do to make them happy? ;__;

[Hanlou]

How's things going?! Any better?

[diet otaku]

roommate says they aren't biting at the bars as much, but i've been at work all day so i'll have to observe them when i get home. i already plan on getting them a couple of smaller dustbath containers on my way home, along with some fresh dust. are there any other recommendations for calming down degus? they've just been terrified of me and my roommate lately, and i really want to reassure them in some way that i don't want to hurt them.

[ra]

Don't feel like a failure or bad Degu keeper. A lot of us are learning as we go. It is totally out of character for me to impulsively buy an animal but I did with my first Degu too. They are just so darned appealing.

As far as the biting the cage bars and chewing through the plastice. I doubt if they suddenly became desparate to get out. They may have just discovered how chewable the base really was! I swear that's what happened with Mocha. Inspite of all the chew toys, blocks, branches ets she still loves to chew on the plastic shelf levels (as well as the hair on her front feet!). Mine do seem to actually enjoy chewing on the cage bars.

I was making all kinds of progress until she gave birth. We are just beginning to get back to where we left off though she does seem more spastic and wary than before. ( My husband said sure the last time she got close to you look what happened to her! He thinks she may equate me with her unexpected somewhat traumatic birth experience.)

Believe me they are way better off with you than in the pet store where you bought them. I don't think you are stressing them out more that they were stressed and probably neglected there.

Try to take a deep breath and relax before you approach your Degus. Chances are they are picking up on your anxiety and in turn getting more frantic themselves. Take it one step at a time. Don't expect big changes in their attitude but do be consistent with the time you spend with them.

Hang in there it will improve.

[Hanlou]

I don't have - or know that much about yet - degu's, but, like 'ra' says, don't punish yourself. Just start again. With exceedingly jittery rats, I've sometimes just sat and talked to them using a low, calm voice without attempting to handle them for a bit. Then they get used to your presence / voice / smell without associating it with anything 'scary' (from their point of view) happening.

It worked well with Jemima - an unhandled and nervous / aggressive rat. She gradually got used to me and then came to the bars to see me... and eventually came and sat on my hand all by herself!

Anyway, I don't feel as if I'm the best person to offer advice, but I wish you well with everything anyway! Incidentally, Jemima & Rosie were bought in a hurry. I had the right accomodation and everything having had rats before - but I didn't even ask to handle them I was in such a 'rush' to get them. I guess a lot of people have done the same...

[diet otaku]

yeah, i was really priding myself on not buying a bunny because they're so adorable, but i just knew i couldn't provide the kind of environment they needed. my neighbors have 2 bunnies and they pretty much rule the entire living room. XD but when i saw that the degus were free with a $50 cage, i figured "why not? they're not high-maintenance like sugar gliders, and i can swing $50 for animals that don't need to roam around the entire living room." note to self: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS do your own research on something before buying it. ^_^;;;

it was also suggested to me that they may be chewing the bars/chewed the plastic as a way to get attention. whenever i heard them chewing plastic or bars, i would come watch them and sometimes try to distract them. so they probably associated that behavior with attention, and when my roommate ignored them and their chewing all day, they just... kept going. i will have to encourage him to give them a little attention during the day, even if it's just feeding them hay through the bars, without handling them.

[Willow]

Hey diet otaku
Like Ra and Hanlou say don't beat yourself up about it, we've all had our problems since getting the degus - thats why this forum is so great.
I got the cage free with my degus and in a matter of weeks they'd eaten their way out of it, they'd clearly done the deed in the middle of the night so when I came down in the morning they'd obviously been having a great time (one of my house plants has never been the same again). I had to brick up the gap and rush out and buy a new cage and we're on our second lot of shelves already.
Mine occasionally have bar attacks too, and I can't see why as nothing significant changes - I think they just like the chewing challenge. However if they're going a bit OTT on the bars I push some wooden clothes pegs ( the traditional dolly type are best) through that sit between the bars, they usually wind up demonlishing them instead.
Mine have never used any of the hutches I've ever given them and I've tried everything you can thing of, the wooden box and rolla nest got eaten, the cotton wool ignored, the logs get used as a look out point but nothing ever gets slept in - I guess some degus like to sleep in the open air.
The one thing I did find which made a huge difference was when I started letting them out every night. My cage sits in an underbed box so theres a big gap between the cage and the box sides, I let them out to play every night and its safe for them and you. Put some newpaper in the bottom for them to shred and off they go. Be warned they will eat anything - they were staying with someone while I was away and when he wasn't looking they sneaked round the back and chewed his wallpaper - oops.
Take it easy

[diet otaku]

the clothspins sound like a great idea!

mine have taken to sleeping in the chube and hiding in the timber box. whatever floats their boat, i say.

i used to have a massive, 3-foot by foot-and-a-half long cardboard box that i would let them run around in occasionally, but they pooped and peed in it so much it was a mess, and rumble had figured out how to escape, so i'm trying to get them acquainted with the hamster ball. rumble will roll around for a minute before he decides he wants out, but frenzy will hardly stay in it at all before he freaks out. and they haven't touched the silent spinner, that i've noticed. :/

[jaybudder]

but they pooped and peed in it so much it was a mess

just put down a layer of paper towel or newpaper... then when their done, throw it out... it'll make you box last much longer (you could even use and old rag if you perfer to reuse it.

i don't know why they're not hiding in the hutch i gave them

Where is their nest box located? bottom of the cage?... I know mine usually like to sleep on the highest point, a security/dominace thing... so I've been debating about putting their box in the top corner... maybe they'll use it more there

[jaybudder]

when he wasn't looking they sneaked round the back and chewed his wallpaper - oops.

I know what you mean about chewing through things... My class pets are rats (haven't sociallized the degus enought to want to bring them in, that and I don't want the students to traumatize them!!!), and the students would push their cages up against the wall and the edge of this bench.... needless to say both are completely chewed up... they'd tear papers off the bullitin board to use as bedding, there is a nice gash in the bench and even the edge of a plastic mouse cage was chewed up... the best part was when students would leave their papers on top of the cage (there was a spot to sit and work on the bench next to the cage) only to return to find them chewed to shreds.

[diet otaku]

the box is on the bottom level... they tend to hide in there when they're eating now, and they have a chube on the top level that they'll hide and sometimes sleep in. i also put down little plastic mats on the mesh, so most of the time they just sleep on the top level on the mat. they still won't voluntarily hop into my hands or anything, but are more curious, and will crawl all the way out on to my hand to reach a treat. how long does it take before they get attached enough to you that they'll interact with you without being bribed?

[northernstar40]

well well well. What little critters thay are. I found that they love a diaper wipe container to use. I put it on the top floor (thats where they seem to like most) cut a hole in the side and in they go with a nice hard bottom. no sleeping on the cage. Oh and do they ever have fun chewing on the plastic. But the container was free. Just recycled it after diaper wipes were gone. and when the next wipes are gone I'll have a replacement home for the Dugu's . After the pups were born I used card board and lined the floor added bedding and blocked the downstairs off. I found the bedding was not a good ideal on the second floor it was every where outside the cage. So I used wide tape and wrapped it all around the out side to layers high. at least for now untill the babies get bigger and move along on there own. Or untill I feel comfortable with them going up and down stairs. Im sure your dugus are happy you provided them with a much better home than the pet store. Just take it slow and they will come around.

Best of Luck!
Peg