So Sad - Just lost one of my girls

[carissa]

ra said:

Then wire your cage to the new one and have a wonderful condo for your girls.

Can you explain this line? It sounds interesting, but I'm not sure I get it.

Thanks

[diet otaku]

yeah, my cage also has a metal base, but i would not classify it as a "chinchilla cage" so this one may have a different construction inside. there's really not a lot of "jumping" room in mine, i had to attach various ledges, ropes and things to give them lots of places to climb and sit. your current cage is probably a wee bit small for 3 degus. 2 might be okay, but 3 are going to need more space so there are places they can get away from each other. just like an apartment with people!

what ra is suggesting with the condo is removing one of the sides on each cage, and wiring them together, either side-by-side or one on top of the other, so you have a massive degu mansion. it would be the best use of the extra cage, once your degus have been integrated. most cages are easy to disassemble and reassemble simply by plying apart the wires that clamp each side together.

[ra]

Yes, I had first planned on removing one of the sides of each cage then hooking them together but after reading Degus like to climb and like to be up high where they can overlook their domain I sat one cage on top of the other. I cut a section out of the center of the top of the bottom cage. Then sat the second chinchilla cage on top (without the base of course). I did have to carefully file the ends of the bars where I had cut out the opening - the wire cutters left the ends very sharp. I bought extra shelves ( two spare because they sure do like to knaw on the plastic shelves) etc for them to sit on. Darned it is hard to envision I'm sure so I will take pictures of the cage in sections tomorrow as I dismantle the condo for cleaning. Then I'll take a picture for you once it's back together. I kept meaning to do this for the board anyway but just never seem to remember to get the camera etc.

I will confess I don't let my girls out for a run daily because I worry I might lose one and then they'd end up a snack for my Yorkshire Terriers. When the weather is nice, I take them outside in a playpen I modified. That's why I went out of the way to build a spacious cage. They have lots of climbing space. I have a couple of cardboard boxes as houses on different levels. Counting the floor of the cage, the Degu Girls have 6 levels of shelves, a large Wodent Wheel, various boxes and tubes to run and hide in, two food dishes, a hanging fabric tube like sling thing they can sit on or hide in (so far I haven't seen anyone in the sling). I grow fresh wheat grass in the winter for them. I leave a large chinchilla dust bath house in the cage for them at all times. They do come out and crawl onto my shoulder for treats.

This post is probably more fitting for the cage forum but the Degus living conditions have a marked effect on their lives so it is also a mental health issue!

nat - quite frankly your post is not appropriate for this particular thread.

[carissa]

Considering that my current setup is 22" (long) x 29" (high) x 12" (deep) (55.88 x 73.66 x 30.48 cm)

And on this picture (tinyurl.com/9tcf2) you can see that I have two degus in there ... would it really be that cramped to have 3 in there?

[ra]

Carissa - your current setup would probably suffice for three Degus - especially if you have them out to play frequently. I posted detailed pictures of my Degu Condo on the "Cages and Accesories" Forum thread entitled "Building a Degu Condo pics".

[carissa]

Since this next post doesn't seem to belong in any of the other forums, I thought I'd reuse my own thread again.

I've offered to the sellers that I could take both of the degus, but not the full cage setup. She said she would consider it and get back to my on Sunday with her answer.

So, if I end up getting these two girls (I think they're only around 6 months each, and Nerys is probably 1.5 - 2 years old) how do I go about safely introducing them? I must admit, when I introduced Idril to Nerys I sorta just dropped Idril in with her and watched to see how they got along. And everything seemed to go along okay... now I know in hindsight that probably wasn't the safest way to introduce them though, so I want to make sure I do this correctly.

I can close off the tank and the cage part by lifting the ramp up and tying it shut with twist ties. This would effectively give me two compartments.

So I'm open for it ... how do I introduce two new girls to my current older one? (For that matter what is the life-span of a degu in captivity?)

[carissa]

Well the two new girls are coming home tomorrow night (Jan 2) @ 17:30 PST. Wish me luck.

[diet otaku]

you'll want to keep them close but separate - using the 2 compartments in your cage would be fine. this way the degus can see, hear and smell each other, but won't be able to fight. then gradually introduce them together... if they start grooming each other, that's a good sign that you can probably just drop the newbies into the cage and be done.

[carissa]

Wowzers ... so I get the two new ones home. Do a quick degu gender check. The parts look different. ... Then I go into the part where I'm keeping Nerys separate and do a check on her parts. And guess what boys and girls, I think I have a boy instead of girl. The "bits" are far apart... so I'm thinking male, right?

Of the two down below one of each...

Hrm, yes well this is interesting. I might need that second cage after all.

[Sunshinemeg]

Check on the main webstie under the question and answer section, there is a picture there and advice on sexing degus.

good luck

[diet otaku]

if you have good enough eyes, you should be able to see the second hole between the urethra and the anus on girls. if not, then yes, a female's urethra will be closer to the anus than a male's.

[carissa]

Should I have the female and males separated?

[diet otaku]

unless you want degu babies, yes, absolutely.

[carissa]

Ok, well I did the introductions tonight and everyone seems to be getting along. Nerys (m - and my first degu) and Cuddles (m) seem to be doing the usual male thing and determining who's alpha goo. Only boxing matches and the usual sounds accompanying this. Tweety (f) seems to be getting along with both Nerys & Cuddles with no problems.

Put a sand bath in the tank in a cleaned out large pickle jar. Only the two new ones seem interested in it all. Nerys, nor Idril (my previous degu) had any interest in the sand bath. So I'm now new to sand baths. Should I keep it in there everyday, every other day, once a week, once a month???

Also, is there any way that I can keep them all together and not have to separate them without puppies in the future? Is it possible to get males neutered? Is there a big risk of fatality considering they're such small animals? If I had to separate them, wouldn't Tweety get alone and depressed without her friends? Also the previous owner didn't even know that they were a male/female pair. They're about 6 months old, is there a chance that Tweety could be pregnant?

Nerys seems to be claiming Tweety for himself. I saw him grooming her from the wheel. Cuddles was on the other side of the tank eating some timothy hay.

[diet otaku]

i keep my sand bath in the cage at all times, and clean it out like i would do kitty litter once every week or so. male degus can be neutered, but it is a delicate procedure because of the risk involved with anesthetizing small animals. and there is a chance tweety could be pregnant already... but a degu's gestation period is 90 days, so you should know soon enough if she is or not.