Fighting/Growth

[jackstu88]

Hello

So I should be able to join the cages together by the end of March / beginning of April when I move into my new home

Few questions:

1. How many holes were drilled?
2. Where were the bolts purchased and what size are they?

Thanks in advance!

[misscatafer]

Hello! We have 3 bolts through the top and 3 down each side, they are size M6 and are from screwfix. We detached ours last night to fit more shelves in... It was a hell of a job but worth it

[zenaida]

Jackstu88, you should check out masscatafer's modifications. I think she called it the perspetx project. She did some awesome stuff with the shelves. Might give you a few more ideas. I'm a bit envious to tell you the truth!

[jackstu88]

Hello,

Thanks for all your help, folks

I've got the 2nd cage in a box ready to go when I move house, excited to get the cages combined!

Will keep you updated on the progress and shout if I need any assistance closer to the time, if that's ok!

[misscatafer]

Aw thanks Zenaida! I am really pleased with my cage now, we decided to just heavily modify the existing cage instead of building a new one from scratch in the end.

Let us know of you need any more help with the cage, really looking forward to seeing it!

[jackstu88]

Hello folks!

It's taken some time but now that we're back from Florida and moved house, I'm happy to show you the photo of the cage combined
Used bolts as per the advice, 6 in total to bold the cage together, wooden floor bottom used with it cut to size.

At the moment it seems to be good with the shelfs provided with the cage and there is now plentiful room for them!  They seem to be biting the cage a bit, not sure if this is territorial or them just adjusting to having so much more space.

Now it's to try and find some more things to put in to keep them entertained... any ideas on where's best to purchase tunnelling?

I'm going to get a dig-pit made as well, i hear it's best to use soil mixed with the sand used for baths?  Is this correct?

Thanks for the advice on this thread to help me create a suitable cage for Max and Finn

[misscatafer]

Yay!! It looks fantastic, well done regarding cage biting, all degus will nibble the bars occasionally to 'check the territory'. The time to be worried is if it is obsessive and they are doing it continuously for hours at a time and not showing any interest in anything else in the cage. When they do this it is a sign of boredom, depression and frustration.
You can get free tubes from carpet shops, or upcycle cardboard packaging, I have some brilliant ones which we made from the packaging which our metal runners came in from screwfix.
Its great you have replaced the bottom shelving for wood. Over time you will find the plastic shelving will get chewed to bits. Due to me splitting the cage for two sets, I eventually had to cover all the plastic with glass surface protectors, then replace them all for wooden shelving for safety reasons. But you will know yourself when it is time to do this.
It really is a fantastic cage isn't it, so versatile, you can change the layout in so many ways and add so much on. I would be comfortable housing a max of 6 degus in mine if they all had access to the entire space. Enjoy!

Added: also, about the dig pit. In the early days I made mine a lovely dig pit out of a large plastic storage tub filled with Coco soil. They barely used it and it became an absolute nightmare to clean all the poops out. In my opinion, they would much prefer a huge stack of hay to mess around in. I used to make them a 'fort' of willow sticks which was then filled to the brim with hay, they adored it! They slept in there, hid their treasures, made tunnels and foraged - I personally think something like that would be more appreciated by them.

[moletteuk]

Looks great

Carpet tube is the best for tunnels. You may find some nice accessories in garden departments, hanging baskets, terracotta things like a strawberry pot etc. I don't think anybody has really found a satisfactory digging material, I ended up with straw, hay and bedding mixed together. You need to be careful with anything that can absorb water, like soil, as it can go mouldy.

[jackstu88]

Hello folks,

Having an issue with Max’s fur on his head.
From Finn over grooming, Max has huge bald patches on his head to the point where there is just a small strip of full fur.
When we took him to the vet they said not to worry because it didn’t look infected. Fair enough the skin doesn’t look red or anything but it’s just such a shame because he was the cutest before this happened. He is still very healthy otherwise and doesn’t seem affected by it. I was just wondering if there’s any way to stop finn nibbling at him and for the fur to grow back? It’s been like this for a good while now and have tried certain methods with no such luck

[bouncy]

The only thing I can think of is that he's either overgrooming him because he's bored, or because he's insecure about something.

[moletteuk]

It's nearly always a psychological issue that is difficult to get to the bottom of. Think about any changes since the behaviour began or worsened.