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Post by Annie95 on Oct 12, 2018 2:11:08 GMT
I,m in Grove City. Shes currently got free access to hay, pellets with poppy, fennel, and celery seed mixed in. I'm supplementing that with some fresh spinach daily.
I'm trying to build my own 8ft wide, 4ft tall, 3ft deep cage, but have it basically split in half one for boys, one for girls. I was going to make a 4ft wide storage area in the center. Using the remaining 2ft on each side for their dig box area. I was then going to build full levels every foot,(total of 2 full levels) and partial shelves between those, starting 6in from the bottom if the cage in the dig box area so they can get out. (Total of 4 partials)
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 12, 2018 13:50:48 GMT
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Post by moletteuk on Oct 12, 2018 15:36:18 GMT
Self build could be a great way for you to get a good amount of space for everyone, if you can make it fast enough. Is the storage one or two feet high? If it is one foot high, then I think the floor area for each half is 3 lots of 4x3' and 1 lot of 2x3' (digging area) which is (48x36)= 1728sqinch x 3 = 5,184 + (24x36 = 864) = 6000 sq inches. That is enough for 6 degus in each side. Since you have a lot of room to play with, I would suggest that you make the cage less deep because they get difficult to clean higher up beyond a couple of foot deep, and they get a bit dark at the back. I'm also going to suggest the levels will need to be a little deeper than 12" because you need a wheel that is at least 12" plus a gap at the top and bottom and the thickness of the shelf, and again, the closer together the shelves are, the darker it is at the back. You could shuffle things around so a couple are deeper and a couple a bit closer together. Did you find some of our cage building links? deguworld.proboards.com/thread/18718/guides-diy-cage
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Post by Annie95 on Oct 13, 2018 16:44:51 GMT
The storage would be 1ft tall. I will hopefully be able to get the plans together today. Unfortunately I'm limited with my height because my ceiling slopes inward in their room If I cant get the cage together I do have several large glass aquariums I can use for temporary to separate them though I know it's not ideal by any means.
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Post by bouncy on Oct 18, 2018 0:06:30 GMT
Don't forget, you can step or slope the top of the cage to fit your ceiling - I've seen a few self builds like that on the Internet!
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Post by Annie95 on Oct 19, 2018 17:21:39 GMT
Hmm I guess I didnt think of that. I suppose that could be done. Itd take a bit more planning but yeah. I may do that!
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Post by Annie95 on Oct 19, 2018 20:23:32 GMT
Update: We have 4 pied and one solid colored. Working on pics! But they're so squirmy !
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 19, 2018 20:35:29 GMT
Will be looking forward to the pics when you can. Degus are VERY squirmy, especially pups! LOL!
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Post by Annie95 on Oct 20, 2018 15:44:35 GMT
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Post by deguconvert on Oct 20, 2018 19:47:40 GMT
WOW! You got some excellent quality photos there! Your pups are lovely, and they look nice and healthy.
Have you got them in the upper portion of an Aventura or an Explorer/Critter Nation type cage? (Pardon me for being foggy of memory today . . . I've had a very long and rather sleepless week, worrying about my son who was away on a tall ship with his school classmates.) Do you have plans (again pardon my poor memory) for making or getting a large cage to accommodate them, or are you finding homes for the pups once they are 7 weeks of age?
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Post by bouncy on Oct 20, 2018 19:49:52 GMT
OMG!!!!! I have a couple of pups at the moment, so I'm prepared, but WOW! These little pups are seriously cute!!! The little one in the last photo is obviously already aware of the camera and is making sure it looks good - makes their body look even tinier, or the head bigger!
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Post by bouncy on Oct 20, 2018 19:50:53 GMT
WOW! You got some excellent quality photos there! Your pups are lovely, and they look nice and healthy. Have you got them in the upper portion of an Aventura or an Explorer/Critter Nation type cage? (Pardon me for being foggy of memory today . . . I've had a very long and rather sleepless week, worrying about my son who was away on a tall ship with his school classmates.) Do you have plans (again pardon my poor memory) for making or getting a large cage to accommodate them, or are you finding homes for the pups once they are 7 weeks of age? I think, from memory, it's a single storey Critter Nation?
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Post by Annie95 on Oct 21, 2018 14:57:49 GMT
Yes this is a single story unfortunately. I'm looking for a better housing solution at the moment, hopefully going to build my own. But if I can't get that accomplished for the short term I do have a 55 gallon aquarium I can separate them in.
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Post by goolover on Oct 21, 2018 17:56:06 GMT
More baby goo's, my heart is melting 😍
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Post by winic1 on Oct 21, 2018 18:42:09 GMT
Oh, I wish I was closer to you, I'd take some of them off your hands, but alas, I am east of New York City....
Have you checked how many boys and girls you have yet?
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Post by Annie95 on Oct 22, 2018 14:36:01 GMT
I haven't yet. They're still so squirmy lol its hard to hold onto them long enough to check! I'm gonna attempt that tonight. Luckily they all look different enough that once I check I should be fine when it comes time to separate though I'll definitely take another look. I really dont wanna screw that up.
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Post by winic1 on Oct 22, 2018 14:51:54 GMT
Could you get them, one at a time, in a glass or clear plastic jar, and look from underneath? You can cover the opening with your hand, or even put the lid on (be careful of tails!) since it would just be for no more than one minute, they won't run out of air in only a minute. Keep the jar sideways so they're standing on the clear, smooth side glass, often the bottom of a jar has ridges or wrinkles or curves and messes up your view.
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Post by goolover on Oct 22, 2018 19:04:05 GMT
I would do them now as they will become more squirmy the older they get.
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Post by Annie95 on Oct 23, 2018 0:37:26 GMT
So.. I also noticed mom and dad will sit there and kind of nibble me now. Is that normal? Like if I go to pet them or give them scratches they'll hold my finger and very gently nibble.
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Post by ntg on Oct 23, 2018 0:41:52 GMT
Yep! It me they're beginning to trust you and bond with you. The nibbling is how they groom You can try stroking them down their side in return but be prepared to get a totally disgusted look and some leaning as far away from said finger as possible without having to move Cute pics too!
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