Just got my first pair of degus

[savvy]

Hi,


I've just got (last week) my first pair of male degus.  They were adopted and I am their third owner.


They are three and a half years old and have been together all that time.  They seem to have settled in quite well and seem to recognise my voice when I talk to them (quite often) and have bought them loads of new toys, the cage came with a hay rack, hammock, food bowl, water bottle and a house which looked like an elephant had sat on it.  Now they have a new house, new tunnel, sand bath and a ladder.  Is there anything else I need to get them?  I've left the hammock and hay rack in as well as all the feeding stuff.  They did have a wheel but seem to prefer it on its back and full of hay!


Any advice would be welcome.  

[deguconvert]

Hello Savvycat, and welcome to the forum!! Congratulations on your new little furry loves. Do they come with names, or are you going to give them new ones?

Here is some reading for you.
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/19754/beginners-guide-degu-keeping
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13070/degus
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/9396/forums-cage-size-recommendations
deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15795/links-interesting-food-threads

There you go to start with! Happy reading!

[savvy]

Thank you Deguconvert. They did come with names which didn't really suit them, Rodney and Solitaire so I've changed them to Pixie and Dixie because they love to playfully squabble.

[moletteuk]

Welcome to the forum

The two main things to check out are that their cage is big enough - this will help them get along and allow them to have more natural degu behaviour. And secondly diet, choose a couple of brands of pellets carefully (if you want to use pellets) and make sure you feed lots of forage.

[yasmin]

Welcome to the forum savvycat, and a warm welcome to Pixie and Dixie as well.

Only thing I can add regarding advice is: find a good vet in your area who has experience with degus.

[savvy]

Thank you Jasmin,they are currently curled up together after wreaking havoc around their cage. The cage is the one they came with and has plenty of room for them, although I will be either getting a bigger one or adding a second tier to it as soon as I can.

There is a vet attached to the pet shop but I will check if they are experienced with degus.

I've been putting their food in various places around the cage so they can forage for it but they do have their own little secret stashes around their home too.