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Post by degusamurai on Mar 1, 2016 7:03:43 GMT
Hello DeguWorld!
I am a would-be Degu owner from Japan.
I went to a pet store looking for rats, but it was an exotic pet store and the guy just put a degu on my hand, ...
So in 72h I bought a Kindle book, and researched a lot about Degu vs Rats and in spite of the longer commitment, I really think I'll go for the degus.
I had 2 guinea pigs as a kid. So I remember the basics of cage maintenance
ETA to get my monsters is end of March.
I have so many questions to prepare their perfect home. I am really happy to have found this active forum to help on my quest.
See you in Beginner's section after I finish reading the basics.
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Post by bouncy on Mar 1, 2016 8:45:40 GMT
Welcome! Having had rats as well, you're making a great choice! How many are you thinking of keeping? Please ask away - there is no such thing as a silly question where degus are concerned  |
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Post by degusamurai on Mar 1, 2016 8:59:55 GMT
Hello Bouncy,
I plan on having a pair.
I can't believe the shop staff told me taking 1 was fine :/
But that's why I research!
Looking at cages now. I am thinking getting a medium one for the babies, and repurpose an old furniture as they need more space.
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Post by savvy on Mar 1, 2016 10:17:29 GMT
Welcome to the forum.
That's what makes this forum so good, when I adopted my guys, I was told a small cage would be fine, it wasn't. Reasearch is always the answer, I never rely on just what the pet shop tells me.
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 1, 2016 15:12:33 GMT
Welcome to the forum, Degusamurai! Degu husbandry has changed a fair bit over the last few years, and many books and information sites are behind. Here deguworld.proboards.com/thread/19754/beginners-guide-degu-keeping is a brief overview, but there is much more to read and learn. If you look in our cage board, you will find a sticky for our cage size recommendations. In nutrition you will find several stickies for food and treat recommendations. In the fighting and introductions board, you will find stickies on guides if your degus are fighting. |
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 1, 2016 16:05:34 GMT
Welcome You are really doing the right things researching in advance, especially if degus aren't that common where you live, it's not always straightforward to source everything you need. |
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Post by Bexi87 on Mar 1, 2016 17:33:14 GMT
Welcome to the forum |
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Post by yasmin on Mar 2, 2016 1:52:13 GMT
Welcome to the forum degusamurai  (Seven of my degus were named after seven virtues of Bushido) |
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Post by degusamurai on Mar 3, 2016 3:28:38 GMT
Wow! that's a lot of responses! thank you all!
I read that Degus info is quite recent so I bought latest e-book over most complete (2014's Degus as Pets by Susan Moore).
I am still getting conflicted opinions on cage shape (long vs high). Even the "Show Us Your Cage" thread gives shows different setups (but the thread is old, and I only went through the first few pages).
Also, I was wondering how high can degus jump? I put some kind of foldable pen area around the cage, how high should it be? (assuming solid boards they can't climb)
For the names, I was thinking going for greek gods or Pokemons
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Post by Karma on Mar 3, 2016 4:17:15 GMT
My guys cleared their 30" playpen after a few months .... Not sure if they jumped and clung to the bars of their to get over or just jumped over as I never caught them .... I would do a 36" and be careful or anything near it .... Mine will launch off items and clear a good couple of feet horizontal so watch it if you place any houses or other items in the play area that they may climb on to. They are smart ...... Very very VERY smart ..... They put border collies and dolphins to shame in the mischief department. But they are the best pets ever and I will never ever be degu less ever in my life |
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 3, 2016 17:34:01 GMT
Degu cages should definitely be long as degus are mainly ground dwellers, the height is more for our convenience so you can stack layers so the cage doesn't take up so much room. It's best to work backwards through the show us your cage thread or maybe work forwards through the last ten pages or so. Our cage guidelines are laid out here deguworld.proboards.com/thread/9396/forums-cage-size-recommendationsJumping ability varies a lot with the barrier height needed to keep them in ranging from around 50cm to 100cm |
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Post by skardsen on Mar 3, 2016 22:46:44 GMT
Welcome to the forum. That's what makes this forum so good, when I adopted my guys, I was told a small cage would be fine, it wasn't. Reasearch is always the answer, I never rely on just what the pet shop tells me. Always make sure to check the sources you're researching though. I did plenty of research before getting mine and ended up with a pair of degus and a lot of out of date info. So now, even though I made all the effort to be informed, I'm now finding myself having to learn a lot about their care on the fly. To be fair, all the out of date information I had was from Degutopia, as I only discovered this forum after getting them. |
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Post by degusamurai on Mar 5, 2016 12:15:01 GMT
Hello
Again thank you for the great answers. I found a shop near my home that sells hay and even specialized degu food. So it's very convenient.
the one last thing to do now is make the habitat. I have some vacation days coming up so I should get it done with your help!
I'll start a thread in cages forums for that.
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