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Post by terramet on Jul 12, 2017 22:38:47 GMT
Hi everyone, I recently got 3 Degu brothers, Hatsu, Umbra, and Mento, around 6 weeks ago. I am a little worried about Hatsu (the dominant one in the pack) who has taken to attacking (?) the bars of the cage in what I assume is an attempt to get out. Now this wouldn't worry me if it was only occasional but he is doing this almost every 10 minutes. Here he is doing it. From my general searches on this I found that it is usually a number of reasons: - Boredom - However I believe I have plenty of stuff so that he shouldn't be bored. He certainly has a lot more stuff than at the place I get them from (they were there for about 6 months after being born). He doesn't seem to be a big fan of the wheel but there's plenty of stuff to gnaw on and there's even a couple puzzles for treats in there too
- Cage is too small - Now as you can probably see in the video the cage is by no means small and it is at least 3 times the size, if not more, than the cage they were in for the 6 months after birth.
- Wanting time outside the cage - Now I haven't had them out too much because my room is by no means Degu proof right now, however I do occasionally let each out on their own (I can't watch all 3 at once) for a good while however as soon as I put Hatsu back in he goes right back to attacking the cage
- Attention - He attacks the bars even when I am sat on the floor right in front of him talking to him, and if I put my finger in he will scratch at it and nibble slightly then wander off to another part of the cage and start all over again
Can anyone help with what could be wrong? Or what I should do if he does this? |
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Post by savvy on Jul 12, 2017 22:50:19 GMT
Welcome to the forum.
I'm sorry to hear about the problems you're experiencing.
I have two degus who live separately at the moment because I'm still in the introduction stage with his neighbour (and hopefully) soon to be cage mate and I've witnessed the same behaviour in him. I think there may be another couple of reasons to consider here;
1. He miss-timing the bars as the ones in his previous cage where tighter or had a square layout, or
2. He's trying to dominance fight you on the outside, warning you off his territory. Degus are excellent kick boxers and this kind of slapping motion goes on when they are competing to be top degu.
Being as you haven't had them that long he will still be getting used to everything and it will take time for trust to be established between the degus and you.
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Post by terramet on Jul 12, 2017 23:01:36 GMT
Thanks for the quick reply, I will try and see how he is in another month or two. Hopefully he stops eventually, it makes me feel as though I am doing things wrong when I see him doing it so its a little disheartening
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Post by savvy on Jul 12, 2017 23:08:48 GMT
I felt the same when Bumblebee was doing it, but degus are loveable little weirdos with some very strange behaviours.
I found that distracting him with hay or forage helped establish trust and gave him something else to chew on.
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Post by terramet on Jul 12, 2017 23:12:43 GMT
What kind of forage did you offer them? That is something I have yet to give them as I am struggling to know what to get
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Post by lenithemonster on Jul 12, 2017 23:17:43 GMT
Hiii and welcome!!! I think your cage is too small for three degus, but I don't think thats the nibbling problem. My own degus do this too.. without reason, they have so much stuff there and we change that often so they shouldn't be bored, but they do that anyway. I'd say it's just degu mind and they just want to sharpen their teeth on something. Also if you want some tip on how to let them out in your room. This is my style   Just think about your room. Where you can separate certain area. We do that with random boxes. Of course they sometimes jump over, but this is excellent way how to make them have fun and you don't really have to keep an eye on them. My two girls (Wanda and Wilburka) have been in this separate part of the room for two hours today and they had really super fun. By the way, they are sleeping like babies now. haha. Just try that sometimes  |
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Post by savvy on Jul 12, 2017 23:26:40 GMT
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Post by lenithemonster on Jul 12, 2017 23:36:07 GMT
I use hay from the garden. Like village garden I mean (something far away from car fumes). My degus love it and they always find some treats in it. Also the hay smells like cows and they don't mind, so I guess terramet can use it too! BTW: Yes my family own cows |
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Post by savvy on Jul 12, 2017 23:40:40 GMT
In the uk you have to wash it first - too much pollution from too many cars here, but I grow weeds especially for my boys raid my neighbours apple tree for wood and leaves and they'll be blackberry and raspberry leaves in autumn.
Amazing what you can forage for forage, lol!
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Post by lenithemonster on Jul 12, 2017 23:51:55 GMT
In the uk you have to wash it first - too much pollution from too many cars here, but I grow weeds especially for my boys raid my neighbours apple tree for wood and leaves and they'll be blackberry and raspberry leaves in autumn. Amazing what you can forage for forage, lol! Haha, I live in semi big city actually (Hradec Kralove, 100 thousand people). And there is now way how to get polution free stuff in nature. But i have hay, apple branches and also fresh dill from my grandmother who lives in the village far from polution. I'm happy cause my degus... once they got hay from store they werent happy. They didnt want to eat it and they frowned at it (and im not exaggerating). I also tried to stuff it in their mouth and they were like are you kidding me put that horrible stuff away haha. |
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Post by terramet on Jul 12, 2017 23:56:19 GMT
They always have Timothy hay, and plenty of it. Looking at the CARA for the cage size my cage comes out at between 18000 - 20000.
Initially I intended on only getting two Degus however someone had decided to get one of the original four brothers in order to introduce him to another Degu as a cage mate so I could not just leave one on its own
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Post by savvy on Jul 13, 2017 0:00:43 GMT
They always have Timothy hay, and plenty of it. Looking at the CARA for the cage size my cage comes out at between 18000 - 20000. Initially I intended on only getting two Degus however someone had decided to get one of the original four brothers in order to introduce him to another Degu as a cage mate so I could not just leave one on its own So glad to hear that you took all three. Degus really don't do well on their own. |
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Post by bouncy on Jul 13, 2017 9:37:26 GMT
Hi, I have a few pennies to add. - Welcome and congratulations on joining the wonderful, crazy, unpredictable, scary, freaky, and downright weird world of degus!
- Your goos are in a new home/environment, so their behaviour will never be the same as it will be in a few weeks whilst they find their figurative feet.
- The bar thing isn't necessarily bad, particularly the arms reaching through the bars. Spidey occasionally reaches through like that because he wants something, and all of my youngsters start attacking when they know it's time to come out.
- If you wanted to expand your CARA, consider adding a couple of extra part or whole levels. Easily done by cutting board etc to the right size, and fixing a nut and bolt through the bars with two large penny washers as pegs for the shelf to sit on!
- I'm lucky that my kitchen is both goo proof, and large enough for both of my groups, so I just open the door (Spidey sprints down the minute he hears me touching the catch) and out they come. They go in, then I close the door and let the second group out. Many people on here make play pens with hardboard and hinges, so it folds flat to go under/behind the sofa. Just make sure the sides are tall enough (80cm upwards) to prevent escapees. You can then sit on the floor in there with them and they can interact with you!
- Find yourself a vet who will see goos and actually knows about them. They are harder to find than you think, and are classified as exotics. You haven't said where you are, but there's a good list of recommendations in the health section. You may never need them, but..................
Take your time getting to know them - They are incredibly intelligent, research already demonstrating them second only to apes and birds. They'll surprise you, make you laugh, cry (watch the teeth!), and melt your heart! P.s. There's a lot of outdated information on the Internet! |
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Post by misscatafer on Jul 13, 2017 9:59:14 GMT
This cage looks like the Blenheim little friends cage...if it is then it is too small for three degus unfortunately. I had this cage for my two at first, thinking 'wow it is massive!' but the trouble is it has no full levels and they don't have enough length to be able to properly run around.
Shortly after having them Hermione took to displaying exactly the same behaviour obsessively. I hung large wooden parrot toys and other items in front of the bars to try to reduce the behaviour, but it still continued. Although a lot of people reassured me it was quite normal, I wasn't convinced, and so doubled my cage size by buying a second Blenheim cage and bolting them together. All of the behaviour stopped and Hermione returned to doing other things in the cage other than chewing bars and trying desperately to escape. It was an eye opener for me too seeing them whizzing around the cage, they need so much space!
Obviously now they still ping the bars occasionally whilst exploring and checking territory, all degus do. But the important thing for me is that it is no longer obsessive like it was, she was literally bar chewing for around 80% of the day, which is not normal.
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Post by terramet on Jul 13, 2017 17:37:18 GMT
Thanks for all the help. Unfortunately I don't have the space for a bigger cage unless it was a custom cage build specifically to fit where the current cage is. There's about another foot and a half worth of space around the current cage. I would love to do this for them but I am not the best at DIY.
For now I am going to degu proof my room so that I can let them out of the cage without worrying. I have one problem in that the floor in the room is carpet and I would need to put something down to stop urine etc. from soaking into the carpet. I was wondering if you guys have any suggestions on what I should use that would be degu friendly
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Post by bouncy on Jul 13, 2017 17:40:48 GMT
A plastic sheet (heavy duty decorating one) should be OK. If you want something a bit more durable, think pvc table cloth! Fabric Land in the UK sells it by the metre.
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 13, 2017 19:38:12 GMT
Large sheets of cardboard might work as a temporary measure for the floor. You can also make a playpen from large sheets of mdf or similar wood sheet, you can join them with hinges, or holes at top and mid-height connected with heavy rope, or make straps to connect them with self adhesive velcro.
The great thing about making your own degu cage is that the degus aren't that fussy about how perfect your DIY skills are and the exact look of the finished article, it's not as difficult to make a good cage as you might think, and it's ideal for the making the most of limited space. Take a look around the housing section and we will gladly offer more help and ideas if you are interested.
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Post by bouncy on Jul 13, 2017 20:03:26 GMT
Think outside the box a bit with diy. How about starting with a frame that's a metal shelving unit, then fixing panels of ply or hardboard to the outside (give dimensions and the diy store will usually cut it for you), or even mesh. You then only need a flat frame to put doors on the front! Cut a corner out of the mdf shelf that sit in the frame for access, and your goos have a home! You can get away with 90 x 50, but no shorter on length  |
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Post by misscatafer on Jul 13, 2017 21:10:59 GMT
In the meantime while you are figuring out a custom build you should be able to add another level to that cage using shelving from Wickes, it is cheap and can easily be attached using screws and washers. I would highly recommend some chains of wooden blocks (parrot toys from the range) hung in front of the bars too. It won't solve the lack of space, but may distract them from feeling cramped and offer some stimulation. Are you aware as well with that cage it has a plastic bottom which they can chew their way out of? Just make sure the plastic is unreachable, I use tiles on one side and the other side we cut the grill out, put it inside the plastic bottom and then covered that with plywood. I have a playpen made out of mdf for our girls and it is fantastic. I rotate between a fleece blanket and an old duvet to protect our floor, they do chew and pee on them but I have wooden floor so don't have to worry too much. I can imagine for carpet thick cardboard would work, or maybe some of those plastic desk protectors, maybe ikea have some which would be suitable? Don't worry, I think a lot of us here have started out with unsuitable cages. This forum will be invaluable to you in helping you learn and be able to provide the best you can for your new additions |
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