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Post by jinty50 on Jul 21, 2015 18:56:02 GMT
Well we went to visit the breeder and fell in love with his colony of degus. All were very friendly so we decided to take 3 boys which we will collect this Saturday. Names are picked by the kids, Bob, Stuart and Kevin, lol. The cage came, an Aventura, which I built in about half a hour and after a fortune spent on toys, food, bedding and other paraphernalia, we set up the cage ready. Problem is, hubby works from home and is trawling pet shops in his spare time buying MORE stuff. How do I halt this enthusiasm??? Wouldn't care but this was my daughter's idea (she is 27) and she hasn't spent a penny yet lol. :-)
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Post by Maravilla on Jul 22, 2015 6:00:18 GMT
Hey, this a strange help question . Far more important than quantity is quality. Shops (both online and normal ones) sell a huge amount of stuff that is not suitable for degus or could even harm them. The most important things are: a water bowl or bottle, a running wheel which is big enough (at least 30 cm diameter), some hiding places (which could be tubes or houses with at least 2 entrances) and a sand bath. Lots of the things sold are made of plastic or coloured stuff or ... Absolutely not necessary. Besides, the cage should not be too full but leave free running areas. If your husband has too much money and/or is too enthusiastic right now, it would be better to save some money for further cage modifications which could be necessary or the vet bills which tend to be very high. Also good food, means not the sold stuff at pet shops with lots of cereals and coloured pieces, is really expensive in your country. Would be worth to spend some time and money in this area. Good naturals toys can sometimes be found outside: a bigger stone, a branch of a suitable tree.
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 22, 2015 10:24:46 GMT
If you have all the basics it's best to stop and wait until you get them, they probably won't be exactly how you expect and all degus are different anyway. Tell him to step away from the shopping sites and get reading the forum!!
I agree with Maravilla, most degus aren't that interested in toys, but they will appreciate a well equipped cage with a couple of large, solid wheels, well placed hiding places, natural logs and branches, a food bowl for each degu, places for hay and forage. If the cage looks a bit bare at first, throw in some cardboard boxes, most degus are like cats and toddlers - can't resist a cardboard box. Also make sure you have a carpet or poster tube for moving degus, they are very difficult to pick up but easy to get in and out of a tube. For 3 degus, it's a priority to get the Aventura half shelves extended into full shelves.
Food can take a little time and effort to figure out, it's important to feed plenty of forage, so you need to work out if you want to collect your own or get some mail order or you might find smaller bags in regular pet shops.
Have you sorted out an experienced vet?
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Post by Maravilla on Jul 22, 2015 10:45:25 GMT
Also make sure you have a carpet or poster tube for moving degus, they are very difficult to pick up but easy to get in and out of a tube. This makes me think of another important item: a transport box, big enough for 2-3 degus and not made of plastic as those can be chewed through easily. How old are the wee ones when you get them? Ask the person (breeder is not a suitable name) to show you that all of them are of the same sex (and make sure YOU know the differences between male and female). This is really vital as a small error can cause huge problems. And don't believe that only because he calls himself "breeder" he's really an expert. Moletteuk mentioned food bowls, I left them out as I don't consider them really necessary. You will see if it works with your group or not. As the Aventura cage is quite open you may find it useful to put some protection to avoid all the bedding, hay, droppings etc. flying around. As you can see, there are some points where money would be a good investment.
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Post by jinty50 on Jul 22, 2015 11:08:30 GMT
Thanks for the advice. I will heed it and lock hubby in a dark room for a while until we get them settled to stop him spending. (Only joking!). I think we have all the key elements as per advice on here, and I take the point they may well ignore everything he has bought.... lesson for him to learn. Also, I will ensure it does not ALL go in at once to ensure they have plenty of room and keep some back for boredom options later. I don't want to overwhelm the little things. Funny thing is, before we actually went to see them, he was really reluctant about getting them. Now he is like an expectant father, off to buy every gizmo for his new babies, lol. I should have known... he was like that when we had our kids, but that was a long time ago now so had forgotten how he was. Btw, he is very safety conscious, so isn't buying anything that would hurt them or cause them harm... he is not totally daft, lol.
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Post by deguconvert on Jul 28, 2015 19:23:10 GMT
I love how excited he is!! LOL!! That is so cool! Can't wait to hear how things progress when the boys come home.
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Post by bouncy on Aug 6, 2015 17:54:25 GMT
Love the names!
The thing with toys is, they'll get chewed and destroyed. If he does build up a stash, at least you'll have something waiting in the wings!
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