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Post by shomoca on Feb 21, 2019 8:15:34 GMT
So maybe This link will work.. The height is 180cm. shelves are 30x90 (i looked today for diferent models), If you look carefully at the middle you see that this is made up of 2 parts with total of 5 shelves. I will put half of shelving unit next to the other and get 2 shelves of 60x90 + 1 shelf of 30x90 if that makes sense.. I will put it on paper and upload the plan later. I plan taking a day off tomorrow and start working. I will make sure there are no gaps between shelves. I plan to have a new cage build until end of next weekend. I am thinking now on how to create the doors for the new cage :-? maye using some wood framework, but I couldn't find wood that is safe, only beech, oak and conifer . I removed the wheel and put in the saucer. They started chewing everything and one even got away - there was a small gap where the small door is.. Not having the wheel makes them crazy. I am also a little bit concerned on how long will they learn to run on the saucer, if they will ever do so. I bought them in 05 Jan 2019 and guys from petshop said they are aprox 1.5 months old. I think they were telling the truth because now they are bigger. I weight them and now they both have 145g and 150g, aprox 20/30g more then when I 1st weight them on 24 Jan. I think they started puberty right about now, am I right ? Saltuari! I am from Brasov, you should also try and visit this place too. I can find enough food for them. Now they are eating Cunipic as peletes + hay + herbs/veggies dried and fresh. I also bought them VerseleLaga but they simply don't touch it. Maybe they like the other one to much . So I think I have a lot of options for food. Regarding a vet, I didn't think of one yet but you are probably right, they may not know what a degu even is. I don't know how many here have degus but you can find them in almost all big pet shops next to shopping malls. The way they are treated in petshops makes me mad. I want to make a complain to Animal Protection Services (if that sound right.. ) because petshops are only feeding them seeds - and not the good ones...
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Post by shomoca on Feb 21, 2019 15:51:17 GMT
So I put my ideas on paper.. well, first on paper then creating a 3D sketch. The cage will be 90(height) x 60(width) x 70cm . What do you guys think? It will be a gap between shelves that I need to figure out how to fix. Or maybe I can put the shelves in different heights. Like this. Also the margins of the shelves are to short so I need to make them at least 10cm.. I think this will take a lot more work that I thought..
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Post by moletteuk on Feb 21, 2019 16:52:14 GMT
I'm confused about the shelf size. Do you mean 70cm long (left to right) and 30cm deep (front to back) and depth is doubled for the two units? You need to be much closer to 100cm length, this is our minimum recommended length so that the degus can run properly. The deeper you make a cage the darker it is at the back and more awkward to clean, so 50cm front to back is about optimal, 60 cm is OK. Cages are also much easier to clean if you have full frontal doors so you aren't reaching round corners. bouncy how did you do the doors on your metal frame cage? I think they open upwards? I think with the two cages next to each other it will be awkward to clean, you could probably make it work, but it isn't what I would choose if I really didn't have to. I suppose you could put an extra piece of wood right across the two shelves and that could have some advantages. Most modular cages I have seen have sections stacked one on top of each other, or even side by side in the other direction. Maybe you need to find a wheel before you do the cage? These are the cake tins we use www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PME-Round-Shaped-Cake-Pan-Tin-Mould-Wedding-Baking-3-4-Deep-Many-Sizes/223017886681?epid=1933718993&hash=item33ece6e3d9:m:mvHHZHhfVZqYAe7O252zstA:rk:18:pf:0&var=521826196174#shpCntId You can usually find them cheaper than that but this listing posts to Europe.
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Post by shomoca on Feb 21, 2019 20:00:12 GMT
I'm confused about the shelf size. Do you mean 70cm long (left to right) and 30cm deep (front to back) and depth is doubled for the two units? You need to be much closer to 100cm length, this is our minimum recommended length so that the degus can run properly. The deeper you make a cage the darker it is at the back and more awkward to clean, so 50cm front to back is about optimal, 60 cm is OK. Cages are also much easier to clean if you have full frontal doors so you aren't reaching round corners. bouncy how did you do the doors on your metal frame cage? I think they open upwards? I think with the two cages next to each other it will be awkward to clean, you could probably make it work, but it isn't what I would choose if I really didn't have to. I suppose you could put an extra piece of wood right across the two shelves and that could have some advantages. Most modular cages I have seen have sections stacked one on top of each other, or even side by side in the other direction. Maybe you need to find a wheel before you do the cage? These are the cake tins we use www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PME-Round-Shaped-Cake-Pan-Tin-Mould-Wedding-Baking-3-4-Deep-Many-Sizes/223017886681?epid=1933718993&hash=item33ece6e3d9:m:mvHHZHhfVZqYAe7O252zstA:rk:18:pf:0&var=521826196174#shpCntId You can usually find them cheaper than that but this listing posts to Europe. Ohhh I'm sorry to get you confused. Length (left to right) is 90 cm for the shelves I have in mind. I will work more on my design, doing some more research. Thank you for the cake tin model!
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Post by bouncy on Feb 21, 2019 20:07:27 GMT
My doors were made as a frame. First of all, I made a pine frame to go around the outside of the open side, then put cross bars to correspond with the different levels. I then made a door frame for each opening in my frame, drilled an aluminium panel across the bottom of the door frame, then covered it with mesh. Each door is held in place with a piano hinge, and each opens downwards, giving full access to each level. Oh, I keep each door closed with a bolt at the top. The whole frame is then connected to the open side of cage by bolting the outer frame only to the shelving, using the existing holes in the shelving frame.
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Post by shomoca on Feb 22, 2019 8:27:57 GMT
Welcome looking forward to seeing your cage build, hope you are enjoying your new additions! Please can you post a photo of the plastic saucer when it arrives, as I have never seen one big enough for degus before, so am quite intrigued! We made our flying saucer out of a rotating cake display plate and wicker place mat, both from Ikea... Do you have Ikea in Romania? Hi, yes we do have Ikea here. The flying saucer is plastic 30cm diameter. So far they don't like it at all. Here is a photo
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Post by misscatafer on Feb 22, 2019 9:32:26 GMT
Ahh, yes it appears to be much too small for them unfortunately, making one would be a better option.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2019 10:54:41 GMT
Welcome looking forward to seeing your cage build, hope you are enjoying your new additions! Please can you post a photo of the plastic saucer when it arrives, as I have never seen one big enough for degus before, so am quite intrigued! We made our flying saucer out of a rotating cake display plate and wicker place mat, both from Ikea... Do you have Ikea in Romania? Hi, yes we do have Ikea here. The flying saucer is plastic 30cm diameter. So far they don't like it at all. Here is a photoI’ve had this. It’s far too small unfortunately as misscat has said. It’s also not very good and fairly awkward for them to use.
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Post by winic1 on Feb 22, 2019 12:12:41 GMT
I had one of those early on, as it was the only type we could get at the time. My guys did learn to use it, and they did use it until the saucer snapped off the base, since even the bearing/shaft was plastic. We were going to try to put a bigger top right on the saucer part, but then it broke and we never got to do it.
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Post by moletteuk on Feb 22, 2019 19:16:29 GMT
You should be able to find out if they are interested in a saucer, you can hold a treat just out of reach if they don't know what to make of it, they'll either get the hang of it...or not If they like it you can buy a 'snudda' lazy susan from Ikea and easily make a good flying saucer cheaply (make sure you choose a free running one).
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Post by shomoca on Feb 23, 2019 9:49:59 GMT
I've given a second thought about the cage. I found some shelves that are 100 x 50 so I think I will go with that option and not having 2 parts stick together, just one that is bigger. I think Ina is starting to learn to ride the saucer. I did what you said, having a treat in front of her while she was on it and started to run towards the treat. I think that learns some reflexes so it's good exercise. For now I will leave it in so they may learn. In there future I will build a new one when there will be more room in the cage. the one from IKEA seems very nice. Yesterday I made my first tic tac wheel. I build it using 2 bearing and half of plastic bucket. It is still to small - 25 cm - but now that I know what to do I can build a bigger one in no time. Here are some photos of my new build. They still don't know what it is and what it does, maybe I can do the saucer treat trick.. FrontSideI also found 2 websites from Ro that are selling cake tins that are 30cm x 10 cm - so I guess that one will just do. Not the cheapest one you can find but it is a little bit cheaper than the ones from Amazon.
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Post by randomname on Feb 23, 2019 13:35:24 GMT
Sounds like you're really doing your best by your furry friends I'm sure it'll all come together & they'll have a palace when you've finished. I'm glad to hear that you're speaking up against pet shops in Ro, they're the same the world over - they tell everyone degus are easy, are fine in small plastic cages, are ignorant of proper diet & they never warn about the difficulties that can come along with degus & their weirdness. It's so sad that so many degus get dumped (or worse) or put in rescue because people weren't expecting what they got. I know from my Romanian friends who are involved in dog & cat rescue that educating people about proper animal care in Ro can be super difficult & if they don't care about dogs & cats, they probably don't care about little guys like degus too. I hope people listen to you & spread the word about how amazing our furry friends are & how we are failing in our responsibilities to them after having bred them into existence. Thank you for putting in the effort for degus, they really are amazing little guys.
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Post by deguconvert on Feb 23, 2019 19:04:43 GMT
Sounds really good, Shomoca!! You've probably been scouring the internet to find the right size for your needs for hours. Well done!! You have certainly be busy, making wheels, researching shelves, and finding cake tin wheels as well!
I tried to look at your photos, but it is just the Facebook forum page that comes up, not your photos.
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Post by shomoca on Feb 24, 2019 11:29:37 GMT
Sounds really good, Shomoca!! You've probably been scouring the internet to find the right size for your needs for hours. Well done!! You have certainly be busy, making wheels, researching shelves, and finding cake tin wheels as well! I tried to look at your photos, but it is just the Facebook forum page that comes up, not your photos. I've modified picture links
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Post by moletteuk on Feb 24, 2019 13:53:53 GMT
Looks good, and it will be great when you can switch the bucket for the cake tin. Is that a really small bearing in the piece of wood? When you make the final version I would trim down the bolt on the wheel side so it doesn't stick out.
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Post by shomoca on Feb 24, 2019 14:31:20 GMT
There are 2 small bearings stuck in that wood. 1 is not enough. not for my setup.. the bolt will be replaced with one that's maybe 6 or 8 cm in length.
Next on my list is a cake tin and cage upgrade.
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Post by deguconvert on Feb 24, 2019 20:03:50 GMT
I LOVE the colour!! It looks great!
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