Out of cage Time

[spottydegu]

Hi, It's been ages since I came on here but I'm hoping I start coming on more again!

We've lived in a brand new house for a bit over a year now which is great however it makes letting the degus out of the cage very hard. Our old house was rented (and was massive!) So the degus had a large room to themselves. The house was old and needed doing up so it wasn't too much of an issue if the degus damaged the room slightly. Now they're in my bedroom with lot's of furniture. They love chewing it all and are very hard to get back into the cage. I really want to be able to give them lots of time out of the cage again but am not sure how I should do it without them causing major damsge. My current casualties include my bedside table, skirting boards and a box or 2 that have all been chewed. Any advice?

[misscatafer]

You need to build a play pen to contain them so that they and your furniture are safe during time out. Play time can be a very stressful time as they will chew absolutely everything they come into contact with and they will constantly try to escape or reach the out of bound areas!

A cheap solution is to buy this : 10 A1 sheets of Black Correx plastic sheet fluted display board www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016DY1MD0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_H9VCBbDG0HGN8 it will cost around £30. Connect all Of the pieces together with black strong gorilla masking tape, and you are good to go! Just make sure you position it on a flat, stable surface (so for example not half on or off a rug etc).
I have been using this pen for a year with no issues, had one escape and that was when I put it on top of a scrumpled up duvet cover so it wasn't flat. What we did as well was once all connected, we created a fold in each sheet of A1 by bending it slightly so when it stands up it is more of an octogonal shape. this shape means it is much more sturdy and gives the whole structure of it strength.



Regarding getting them in and out of the cage, you can train them to come into a tub or a tube for transporting back and forth. Just put some treats in a deep tupperware container when you want them to come back. This is much more effective once they are in a contained space such a playpen. Mine are so used to the tub now that I literally just say 'home time!' and hold the tub out to the floor and they all come running to it. They will also sit in it and wait for me to pick it up if they have had enough before me.

[Christine]

Our degus have the free run of my son's bedroom for playtime. We have sacrificed the skirting boards and door frames to degu love! We let them out early evening for 1-1 1/2 hours and then fill the food bowls. They also get a small treat such as a crock or dried dandilions. Over time they have learnt that they get something and they come when we fill the food bowls. When we got our 2 new ones recently if they did not come we managed to pick them up in a tube and put them in. They are quick learners!

[deguconvert]

They are indeed! And master manipulators as well! LOL!