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Post by heathersue on Nov 6, 2018 19:44:46 GMT
Hi Everyone, My name is Heather and I recently adopted a two year old degu named Carlos (I call him Carl). I did quite a bit of research before hand but wanted a bit of advice if possible.
When I adopted Carl, I was told by the staff of pets at home, that he was considered hostile towards other degus. He was originally adopted with his two brothers, however after two years his previous owner returned his two brothers to pets at home, saying that they were being attacked by Carl. Two weeks later his previous owner then returns Carl to pets at home as he decided he didnt want to have him on his own and would rather have none (a staff member told me this).
The staff member also told me that when Carl was brought in, they did try several times to introduce the brothers again, and this usually ended in blood shed. They made the decision to permanently separate them and that's when I met Carl.
My question is, do you think he is actually hostile towards all degus, or just his two brothers? Everything I've read about degus (on this forum and elsewhere) says that they need companionship? I worry he will get lonely.
Any advice would be very much appreciated!
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Post by savvy on Nov 6, 2018 20:01:30 GMT
Hello and welcome to the forum. I very much doubt that pets at home followed any recognised introduction process and probably just put him in with others which would most definitely result in fighting. Introductions can take many weeks, sometimes months, but yes, Carl does need a friend. I would also suspect that Carl's previous owner had him and his brothers in too small a cage which again, would result in fighting. Please have a read through our beginners section deguworld.proboards.com/thread/19754/beginners-guide-degu-keeping and also our introductions section deguworld.proboards.com/thread/17619/deguconverts-detailed-introductions-fighting-guide deguworld.proboards.com/thread/17618/introductions-fighting-quick-guide which will tell you how intros should be done. Pets at home have probably given you loads of incorrect information as they are not great when it comes to degus and have recently stopped selling them because of their lack of knowledge. Degus are really weird but wonderful little guys and they are a steep learning curve, but well worth it. If you have any questions please ask and we'll answer them as best we can. There really are no stupid questions when it comes to degus.
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Post by heathersue on Nov 6, 2018 20:36:21 GMT
Hi, thank you for your reply!
To be honest, my partner and I didn't have a lot of confidence in what they were saying. In fact two staff member told us different things, including ages of the brothers.
Reading through other posts, would you recommend introducing Carl to a pup or a similar aged goo?
Overall, Carl seems to have settled in quite happily, hes eating and drinking, and has become comfortable with me (more quickly than expected). However I'm trying to ensure he is 100% happy, spending as much time with him as I can, he is letting me pet him now also! I have only been able to hold him once so far, pets at home also told me that one of the times they let someone hold him, he was dropped from quite a height!😡 So we are taking it slow and steady with him, and it seems to be going okay.
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Post by bouncy on Nov 6, 2018 23:03:54 GMT
Welcome! As already said, P@H are clueless.
I would have a good read of all the sticky threads in each section - there's so much to these little guys.
I, too, took on a P@H trio that had been returned. One of the main factors for the fighting is that they sell the Thickets cage with them, which they say is suitable for up to four. In reality, this cage doesn't meet the minimum requirements for even one. Before you try any introduction, look into appropriate housing. Degus are not only extremely territorial, they themselves cover a very vast territory 1-2m2 in the wild. They've also been known to mix groups without going through proper introductions.
Look forward to hearing about Carl's progress!
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Post by heathersue on Nov 7, 2018 13:12:28 GMT
Hi Bouncy,
That's the exact cage we currently have for Carl, I didn't think it was suitable. Too much faith in pets at home and not enough research on my part apologies.
Ive been looking into types of bird cages (mainly taller rather than wider) that might be good for him, giving him more height to climb. Is there any in particular you might suggest?
Thank you again for all your help
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Post by ntg on Nov 7, 2018 13:43:45 GMT
Hi Heather and welcome to the world of degus!
We actually recommend that longer is better than taller with degus since they're a type of ground squirrel. So base size we tend to recommend a minimum of 90x60cm (better if it's 100x50cm) as it gives them the space they need to reach full speed. There's only really a handful of cages that fit this description so generally we recommend a liberta explorer, aventura, pet planets rat and ferret cage, or cozypets rc03 rodent cage... Or if you fancy even bigger and don't mind modding it a bit then a savic royal suite xl. Personally I like the cages with double opening doors rather than the single opening.
The bonus is, if you get him some friends then those cages will be big enough for 2-3 degus, although I'd be tempted to change one of the half levels to a full level if three were going in.
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Post by heathersue on Nov 7, 2018 13:57:32 GMT
Hi ntg and thank you haha!
I was actually just looking at an aventura cage, it was linked in the cages thread, and it looks perfect for Carl, I'm going to measure everything up tonight and hopefully we'll have a new cage all set up for Carl this weekend!
Thank you!
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Post by bouncy on Nov 7, 2018 15:27:28 GMT
Yep - Aventura or Liberta Explorer are both good cages. The Liberta has a front where both doors open fully for easy access. You may even want to build one yourself!
Don't feel bad about the Thickets - a LOT of people start off with one, then end up on here. We've had success before with getting a full refund against the cage before, and they've still been able to keep the cage afterwards for travel. Drop me a PM if you'd like me to take you through it.
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Post by savvy on Nov 7, 2018 15:51:24 GMT
The adventura is a good cage, I have 2. They can be difficult to build from the instructions but if you watch the video (there's one on little cage warehouse, and YouTube I think) it makes better sense.
It is only once it's built that you realise the size, but there's so much you can do with them, extra levels etc. Carl will love it!
I too started off with the awful thickets cage when I got my original pair from p@h so we've all been there.
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Post by bouncy on Nov 7, 2018 17:12:54 GMT
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Post by heathersue on Nov 10, 2018 12:57:41 GMT
Hi All,
Thank you for your suggestions and apologies for the delay, Carl's new cage arrived yesterday, my partner and I spent the evening putting it together (what a faff) and Carl seems to be enjoying his new home! It's a lot more room for him so he's a bit nervous but is having a wander around at the moment. Hopefully I'll be able to give you a better update in the week 😊
We did have to modify the cage slightly, when I ordered the cage the description was with a metal tray, but it's arrived with a plastic tray and then a metal wired tray to go above it (typically in rat cages?). We will be getting a complete metal tray to replace this soon, in the meantime we have covered the metal wire with cardboard, saving Carl's little feet, and then shavings over the cardboard. However, last night was quite loud, as Carl is trying to tear the cardboard apart. Is there possibly another way I can do this in the meantime until we can get the metal tray?
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Post by bouncy on Nov 10, 2018 18:34:14 GMT
He's obviously enjoying his new cage and exercising his mouth!!
Congrats on the new cage - he's going to be running around marking his territory like mad, and you're right to say he'll go through a plastic tray! A solid way is to use ceramic tiles - the cheapest you can find in a DIY store.
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Post by deguconvert on Nov 10, 2018 23:32:58 GMT
Or you can build a wooden tray to size and put that in. Kiln dried softwoods are totally safe for the sides of the tray, and you can use melamine covered wood for the base which will make cleaning up a lot easier, since the pee won't sink into it. Come to think of it . . . if you have the tools you need, you can cut the melamine to size to use for tray sides as well if you want. BUT Carl will really love the opportunity to chew the kiln dried softwood, and it will do him good!
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