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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 20:53:35 GMT
The little cracks are what terracotta is like.
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Post by savvy on Feb 28, 2017 21:13:30 GMT
Its just where the clay has shrunk during firing that's all. Terracotta is always 'rough thrown' as in it doesn't matter if the pot isn't smooth.
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Post by degulover21 on Feb 28, 2017 22:26:26 GMT
Yeah as I said, terracotta is widely used for degus. The frost proof part just means it's been in the kiln longer or something. ok thank you just want to be safe and sure
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 22:29:06 GMT
No problem!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2017 18:53:59 GMT
Is this okay before I give it to everyone except for Kev? Just wanted to double check in case anyone has experienced problems x
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Post by titchycatnipsandwich on Mar 15, 2017 18:56:41 GMT
I've given mine that stuff in pods (from PaH,they come as a pod with fluff and seeds inside). Never had problems with it, although if they fluff it too much they might sneeze a bit.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2017 20:44:38 GMT
It's SO SOFT I LOVE IT
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 16, 2017 3:42:38 GMT
That looks super intriguing! Cool stuff!!
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 16, 2017 11:19:47 GMT
Should be fine as long as you don't see them eating it. They should be fine nibbling the odd little bit, but larger amounts would still worry me.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 21:48:31 GMT
Look at the face of pure comfort..
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Post by randomname on Mar 16, 2017 22:16:21 GMT
All my critters love kapock. I use the pods too @tcns. I was worried about the degus eating the seeds but they didn't, & none of the gerbils/hamsters/rats/degus have eaten the bedding. From what I remember, it's non fibrous, it doesn't split into strands so it is fairly safe to eat. Think it shrinks down like candy floss when wet, so would be easy to pass if they did have a nibble. It's not very absorbent from what I remember. Love the photo Em, looks so soft & snuggly all cuddled up like that. Got that look on his face like when you turn the pillow over & it's all cool & squishy & you make that mmmmmggghhhhhhrrrhhhhhh noise as you're snuggling down!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 22:20:13 GMT
Ah glad to know it's safe!
Yeah Poppy is a major fan. Everyone else is not too sure? It's so blooming soft I want a bed made from it please 🙈
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Post by winic1 on Mar 16, 2017 23:23:30 GMT
they do use it for pillows and sleeping bags, as it's very warm when fluffed up. My dog tested allergic to it when we first got him and were trying to figure out his skin problems. Luckily, all we have are cheap imitation pillows and stuff.
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 17, 2017 14:20:40 GMT
looks very comfy
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2017 15:39:12 GMT
Sorry to jump on this thread, can I ask why we don't really use fleece? My friends rattie cage that I did out with all fleece looked amazing. I was just thinking although it wouldn't last long, I could bat it off and whack it in the washing machine, and fleece blankets are only £2. I could cover it with the tissue paper bedding too to distract from chewing it. Kev is still on a towel and cardboard.
The hemp just gets destroyed within minutes and they've ruined it so much so I need to buy more but I don't have the money.
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Post by moletteuk on Apr 10, 2017 16:36:31 GMT
We don't recommend it because if they eat it, it will get impacted in their guts and kill them as it won't biodegrade in the gut at all. Also, all fabrics have a small amount of risk of them getting caught in strands or strings of thread. The other thing is that degus can pay zero attention to something for many months and then starting eating or chewing something with no warning, so even if it looks like they aren't interested in chewing something, they could start out of the blue.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2017 18:14:48 GMT
Okay. Thank you for the informative answer x
Kind of worried about the hammocks and stuff now too? 🤔
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Post by moletteuk on Apr 10, 2017 19:30:55 GMT
It is tricky when they seem to really enjoy fabrics. I don't think we have ever had a problem with degus eating fabrics and getting impacted, but personally I still think there is a risk. I ended up taking all fabrics away from my goos because I couldn't keep up with the cost and repairs because they got so bad at chewing them, and also becuase my girls do tend to swallow bits of things they eat. We have had at least two or three accidents reported where degus have got trapped by fabric and died or been seriously injured. It wasn't very long ago that Smithomatic came on and told us about the accident his goo had and ended up with a leg being amputated. I think this risk is mostly from hammocks where they can get caught up and literally hang with the thread stuck round a leg or similar. You could argue the risk of this is less if you use synthetic fabrics like fleece because they don't pull into strings the way that cotton towelling does. It's all a judgement call.
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Bedding
Apr 10, 2017 21:35:25 GMT
via mobile
Post by misscatafer on Apr 10, 2017 21:35:25 GMT
We have been using the coco mat flooring and it seems to have good durability. They do tear it up, only when we have to block them off in the top area of the cage to clean and put forage in etc, but it holds up OK. We tried the hemp flooring at first but it just got destroyed really quickly and didn't hold smells very well. We have also tried that soft bedding from nature's first.... But they ate it straight away so we binned it. They literally treated it like we had just put fresh hay down, was very surprised!
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Post by randomname on Apr 10, 2017 21:56:57 GMT
I got ride of all the fabrics & plastics from all my cages after BB died. I think it was around the same time as smithomatic posted that horrible scary post. I don't really know what happened to BB, but his fleecy bed was all chewed up. Maybe it caused it, maybe it didn't, but I don't want to take any risks. I only use wood & straw/hay for bedding now. The chins would love a hammock again, but it's not worth the worry for me. I use a wooden bridge with a flax mat on top as a compromise. The main pro AND con with fleece as a substrate is that it doesn't stay wet, the urine soaks straight through. It's good because the fleece dries pretty quickly, but it's bad because you'd need something underneath to protect the cage floor. Makes it pretty pointless in my view. I had thought about using it for the guinea pigs as they're not chewers but I'd have to wash it every day - would rather use hemp/wood shavings/whatever & change it every few days. I'm a big fan of natural as possible cage set ups, think they're safer & look great. They only exception I'd make is if I had hairless critters, they need the extra softness & warmth of fabrics.
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