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Post by mrsmoo on Mar 3, 2018 10:42:50 GMT
Hi there,
I'm brand new to the forum and was wondering if anyone could recommend a cage that has separate floors that I can lock off. I have two male degus, bought as brothers but they're clearly not and have fought almost from day 1. I can't get them to reunite in any way, I've tried and they end up fighting (rolling ball of death) within half an hour. So I have a cage currently which is separated horizontally with a trap door between the floors that I keep padlocked shut and covered with a sheet of cardboard. They tear the cardboard to shreds all the time but at least can't get to each other, other than talking through the bars. My problem is the cage is old now and rusting and I can't seem to find the same one online without paying £300 (which I can't afford). Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Thank you!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2018 12:31:45 GMT
Hi there, I'm brand new to the forum and was wondering if anyone could recommend a cage that has separate floors that I can lock off. I have two male degus, bought as brothers but they're clearly not and have fought almost from day 1. I can't get them to reunite in any way, I've tried and they end up fighting (rolling ball of death) within half an hour. So I have a cage currently which is separated horizontally with a trap door between the floors that I keep padlocked shut and covered with a sheet of cardboard. They tear the cardboard to shreds all the time but at least can't get to each other, other than talking through the bars. My problem is the cage is old now and rusting and I can't seem to find the same one online without paying £300 (which I can't afford). Does anyone have any other suggestions? Thank you! Hiya and welcome!! I’d personally recommend an aventura or Liberta explorer. I’ll send you two links. www.littlepetwarehouse.co.uk/products/metal-aventura-huge-metal-rat-ferret-chinchilla-cage.html?utm_medium=googleshopping&utm_source=bc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuZjdz5LQ2QIVshbTCh3oNAm-EAQYASABEgKzIPD_BwEwww.worldstores.co.uk/p/Liberta_2nd_Edition_Explorer_Rat,_Ferret_and_Chinchilla_Cage.htm?product_id=546848&utm_source=pla&affiliate=WS-google-shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Jba25LQ2QIVzp3tCh1REgwWEAQYASABEgKm7_D_BwE We recommend these cages because the total CARA of the cage is good for two degus. However, I’d maybe consider rehoming one of them? Degus don’t do well alone long term. They live in colonies in the wild and in captivity they need to be in at least pairs really. I’ve had great success with neutering my males to pair with my females that I just couldn’t pair up with other females. Neutering isn’t to be taken lightly though. There’s many discussions on it here and examples of people’s experiences if you do a quick search. I had four of those cages I’ve linked to you, I’m now moving all of my degus into Vivariums! 48x24x24 Inch Vivarium Flatpacked In Walnut, 4ft Viv By Repti-life www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017NX96SS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ZsPMAbZHF5PEXThat’s the type I bought. That’s the smallest you could go dimension wise but you need to make some modifications to it to make more floorspace. I’m adding another full level in mine, then having two full vivs with the extra full levels in per pair of degus. You could stack them or run them long. I’m running them long. So they’ll have 2.4m of undisturbed running space. But you could do 1 viv with a full level in per degu, I think that would be okay. You’d need to add more vents etc but again you need to decide what you’d prefer! You could put the two vivs side by side and cut a hole so they can see each other through the walls, but cover it with two layers of mesh. The reason you might be having no success at the moment is because you’ve got them with one above the other, doing this creates more aggression issues because the one higher up is seen as the dominant one, due to the height. When doing introductions they really need to be side by side and able to see each other. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2018 14:07:06 GMT
I also have 3 aventuras for sale.
They’re in pretty good condition all less than 8 months old.
Let me know if you’re interested! I can get them posted by courier.
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Post by mrsmoo on Mar 3, 2018 15:58:59 GMT
Thank you for this...but don't the aventuras have a hole that can't be blocked easily? My degus can get through anything. That said how much would you want for the cages? Or is there a cage out there that allows for side by side living until they can be reunited?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2018 21:37:39 GMT
Thank you for this...but don't the aventuras have a hole that can't be blocked easily? My degus can get through anything. That said how much would you want for the cages? Or is there a cage out there that allows for side by side living until they can be reunited? I can’t think of one no... You could modify the aventura and make a mesh cage around the little half level to allow one to come down into the others area and meet face to face. The holes aren’t hard to block, I’ve had to do it several times during introductions. Put a big flat heavy stone over and then something over that, like a heavier rock. Or you could drill a square of Perspex over it. |
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 3, 2018 21:39:53 GMT
Ceramic or stone floor tiles also work very well to block an entrance or hole. Just make sure they are weighted well enough and laying flat to prevent movement.
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Post by moletteuk on Mar 4, 2018 13:07:17 GMT
Do you have any thoughts about long term arrangements? Whether you would like to get more degus to try to find different partners for your degus? Sometimes it's possible that a rescue may be able to help you with finding the right degu matches and do swaps if pairs don't work out, or neutering and adding girls could be an option. If you don't feel up for that or you think there may be hope for getting them back together, then I think a side by side meeting place is important, but it is likely to involve some DIY modification. You can make a sturdy divider for most spaces by making a frame from pieces of wooden batten and then stapling wire mesh on both sides of the frame so you have a double layer with a gap in between. You could also blank off most of the divider so there is only a tiny space they can see each other or not at all. The standard degu cage is the Aventura style, but to make it suitable you would need to make the half levels into full levels, and then actually create a third level which you then divide. Sort of like this but the extra level would be at the top of the bottom half: deguworld.proboards.com/search/results?captcha_id=captcha_search&who_at_least_one=4631&what_at_least_one=cage&where_thread_title=show+us+your+cage&display_as=0&search=SearchIf you want to really secure off the two halves of an Aventura then attach a piece of metal plate with some small nuts and bolts, you would need a drill to drill holes. Alternatively, if you have plenty of space in your room, you could try putting two vivarium style cages next to each other and create mesh cut outs in the ends so that they can see each other that way. This type of viv: deguworld.proboards.com/thread/22030/help-cage-adapting-vivs?page=4Or just put two mesh cages side by side, something like these www.littlepetwarehouse.co.uk/products/hamberley-single-metal-large-cage.html They don't really provide enough length, but they would be great joined together if you got the boys paired up again. |
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Post by bouncy on Mar 4, 2018 14:00:30 GMT
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Post by misscatafer on Mar 4, 2018 15:29:41 GMT
I think having two separate cages then joining them together is a viable option. Here is my completed cage (two Blenheim extra large rat cages). Mine is heavily modified with new shelving etc, but these two cages give an absolutely fantastic living space for them:  I have two groups in here too who live above & below each other. |
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