nika
Foraging Degu
Posts: 106
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Post by nika on Apr 27, 2019 16:27:21 GMT
Hiya - my name is Nika. A couple months ago my family lost the last of our beloved rats. One of my twins is a soft wee soul and got very broken up about it. I’ve decided to go with degus for several reasons, one of them being that they have a much longer lifespan. My girls are all 10 years old or older.
I live in the UK but I’m originally American ... kind of lol. I hope to learn a lot here, to be the best carer for our ‘herd’ of degus. I’ve ordered 5, all females (fingers crossed), one for each of my girls and myself. I know it’s a lot, but it’s the best way to prevent an argument and the degus will never lack from comfort or socialisation. Our degus should be joining us, from breeders sources by an independent small pet shop, within the next 3-7 days. It’s been a long wait, but I wanted to be sure that we got them from the right sort of place!
Anyways, off to some of the other topics... I have a few questions now and I’m sure I’ll come up with more later. Thank you!
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Post by misscatafer on Apr 27, 2019 16:57:36 GMT
Welcome Nika, nice to meet you! Degus are a lovely choice of pet for you and your girls, 5 will need a very large cage mind! What cage(s) have you gone for? We are happy to answer your questions, have you spent much time here going through the various beginner threads to make sure you are ready for their arrival?
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nika
Foraging Degu
Posts: 106
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Newb
Apr 27, 2019 17:19:35 GMT
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Post by nika on Apr 27, 2019 17:19:35 GMT
The cage is 170 cm long by 110 cm high, 65 cm depth. As time goes on I’m planning on building a third level from wire with climbing tubes up to it. The degus will be babies when I first get them, so should be fine in what I’ve got now while I source materials and design the addition. The levels are quite high, so I’ve utilised the height by using multilevel toys, climbing frames and various levels of ledges. I will be adding to it as time goes on. I have taken a glance through some of the threads and will be going through them thoroughly over the next few days before the degus come. I’ve asked questions that I need ASAP answers to, basically things that need to be bought or sourced now, before they come. Thank you!
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Newb
Apr 27, 2019 17:55:53 GMT
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Post by misscatafer on Apr 27, 2019 17:55:53 GMT
Wow, that length is incredible, it's a custom build then? The size of your cage is great, and the extra level will be much appreciated! When you say babies, how old will they be?
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Newb
Apr 27, 2019 18:05:40 GMT
Post by winic1 on Apr 27, 2019 18:05:40 GMT
Are they all coming from the same breeder?
Review the pictures here on how to sex your degus, and then carefully check each one yourself as you put them into your cage. If you have any doubts, separate those out until you get them confirmed, as even very young degus can get pregnant/impregnate, in some cases as early as 2 months (7-8 weeks) old.
If you're not sure that they all look exactly the same and are the same gender, you can post pictures here and get advice on who's who.
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nika
Foraging Degu
Posts: 106
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Post by nika on Apr 27, 2019 18:41:17 GMT
I’m sure the woman at the pet shop said 6 weeks old? Could’ve been 8 weeks though. They are coming from 2 different breeders, 5 different colours. The woman at the pet shop had to call them and confirm when the current litters would be ready and sort it so I’d have all 5 at the same time. She also said they would be introduced, and hat part shouldn’t be an issue at all because of their age. I do realise that there’s been some talk that maybe some of the colours may not be as healthy long term as the natural sand degus. I have a sand, sand piebald, a blue, a blue piebald and a white coming. I had to get different colours so there would be no issues with identifying Degu a from each other 🙄
The cage is huge - it’s kiln dried pine, a hutch - although I made sure to source one with a bottom obviously and roughly 1.5 cm gaps in the wire. I’d have to measure to be sure, I bought it ages ago, I’ve been setting up for this for a while. I did read on another thread that I should put Lino down on the bottom, so I think I’ll be doing that soon - I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. The dark/sleeping portion of the hutch has 3 inches of bedding for burrowing (I’m sure they’ll move it to their hearts contrnt) and 2 hammocks at different levels. The play area (full length of the hutch) has about an inch of bedding down.
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nika
Foraging Degu
Posts: 106
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Newb
Apr 27, 2019 18:42:08 GMT
via mobile
Post by nika on Apr 27, 2019 18:42:08 GMT
I have looked into how to sex them, the 2 parts are much closer on the males. I’ll be checking them before I bring them home, I certainly have no intention of babies lol
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nika
Foraging Degu
Posts: 106
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Post by nika on Apr 27, 2019 18:47:55 GMT
Oh, and he hutch is all flush on the inside - very few easy to access chew spaces. The dark area is separated by a partition (dried pine again) which I think is the only thing they will properly chew. But I have set them up with SO MANY things to chew on. I’ve been foraging branches as well, and have asked in the safe trees sub group that they are suitable. I’m trying to find a large climbing branch, so far alls I’ve seen the right size is grapevine, so I’ve asked about that as well. So much information lol! I want to be sure it’s done as well as I can, for the Regis well being obviously, but also for my youngest twin. She loved having the rats and misses them dearly, and still cries over their loss, we had 3, and they died one by one over 18 months. They were all coming up on 2.5 years old though I want her to have a pet that she can keep and love for a while. She’s the best of my children with animals, although all my children have been brought up to respect animals - I have an American Akita and 3 cats also.
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Newb
Apr 27, 2019 19:16:40 GMT
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Post by deguconvert on Apr 27, 2019 19:16:40 GMT
I have looked into how to sex them, the 2 parts are much closer on the males. I’ll be checking them before I bring them home, I certainly have no intention of babies lol Actually . . . the males have greater distance between the urethral cone and the anus. Here is a link for determining sex . . . deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13070/degus . The pictures are very helpful.
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nika
Foraging Degu
Posts: 106
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Newb
Apr 27, 2019 19:30:41 GMT
via mobile
Post by nika on Apr 27, 2019 19:30:41 GMT
Argh. Got it backwards. I have been taking in so much information that I’m not surprised. I’ll be sure to refresh my memory before picking them up. Thank you
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Post by deguconvert on Apr 27, 2019 19:50:51 GMT
The learning curve with degus is horribly steep, and you will feel pretty overwhelmed for the first while (read a few months), but you will get it. And you will love them! They are very full of character! However, be aware that they are not cuddle bugs like rats are. They are more . . . cat like in their preferences. So, while it may be a rather large adjustment to the difference in character from rats to degus, embrace them and you will love them. Some degu pups are naturally forward, but others are very shy, and the shy ones need particularly gentle (long time spans) persuasion for building trust. Some will LOVE to be with you, and others will not. Don't let yourselves feel rejected. It is their nature, not a judgment against you, that you are dealing with. You also need to learn how to hold them. Degus like to be invited to walk up on your hand under their own steam and timing. (Hand training it important and helpful, and finding the treat that each degu absolutely CANNOT resist is also a powerful tool. Look in this thread that contains many links to other threads. deguworld.proboards.com/thread/15795/links-interesting-food-threads One that says treats and other edibles will help you to begin to collect different things that you can try with your pups once they arrive. As you interact with them, offering treats to entice them to come to you, you will learn which ones they are particularly fond of. They, like us, don't all have the same preference for top treat. ) Also, to scoop them up from below is much less terrifying to them than to have a hand descending from above, so learn to do that, and only that if you have moments when you need to pick them up quickly, rather than waiting for them to come to your hand. Which will happen fairly often. To do this, have your palms facing up, spread your arms to the sides, lower to the surface on which the degu is standing, and slowly bring them together until they are under the degu you want, then cup your hands and lift slowly. Like you would if you were cupping water both hands to lift to your face. Pups may freeze, or they may jump out . . . so don't lift high. A drop is very dangerous. Something that works really well to get to know your degus, for most especially for them to get to know you, is to play on the floor with them in a safe place. That means no holes to get into, no furniture they can get under or into, no cracks behind anything that they can disappear into, and not electrical cords for them to chew . . . and they will chew them. Degus are escape artists, and they can jump really high, often higher than we have anticipated. (Let me put in here . . . IF you should choose your bathroom as a place in which to do this, make sure they cannot get under the door to the bathroom, and that there are NO cracks behind the toilet or tub, or the cabinets for the sink. If their head can get through, ALL of them is through, and then getting them back is nearly impossible. Secondly, degus do NOT swim . . . at all. They sink and drown. So make sure the toilet seat lid is always closed. They can and will jump high enough to check it out, because they are intensely curious, and then they will jump in to see what is at the bottom. I lost one of ours to drowning this way. It happens very easily.) Finding a place in our homes that is truly degus safe is hard, and sometimes it is just a whole lot easier to make a space by making a playpen. So, look in here . . . deguworld.proboards.com/thread/18716/accessories-make-buy . . . there are ideas and instructions for making playpens that are wonderful, tried, proven, and most helpfully, not too expensive. Those that use black coroplast are especially easy on the pocketbook. When you have a safe place . . . lay on the floor. Just that. Lay there, lay still, and the degus will begin to run over top of you. They will sniff, look, check you out, use you like a playground, and as they do so they will come to know you, your scent, and will increase in trust much more quickly then they will with other methods. If you can, build this in such a manner that all you have to do is open the cage doors and they can come out directly into the playpen. This way you can interact without any trouble of catching and carrying, which means no accidental drops, no escaping on the way, and you are allowing the trust bonds to develop without stresses. NEVER grab them by the tail . . . their tails are designed to deglove, which means the skin will split and then instantly peel off the tail. If the skin has slipped the tail, but the bone is still attached, that will either be removed by the degu itself, or one of it's cage mates, or you will have to see a vet to have it removed. This is a built in fail safe that allows them to escape predators that have grabbed their tail. OH MY!! I could go on and on. Best let you keep in with your reading and asking your questions as they occur. It is lovely to meet you and get to know you, Nika!!
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Newb
Apr 28, 2019 11:10:41 GMT
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Post by moletteuk on Apr 28, 2019 11:10:41 GMT
Welcome to the forum, Nika Well, I'm going to be honest and say you are approaching this in a different way than people usually do, so I'm interested to see how things go! Try not to have too many expectations and do let them guide you in how to proceed with taming and interaction and how they use their space etc, degus are really unique in their attitude. The floor area of your 'cage' gives 170x65= 11000 sqcm of CARA running space. You will need to more than double this to keep five degus happy (23000sqcm), but it sounds like you have plenty of height to fit in a full area level or the equivalent, and like you say, you have time to figure things out when you see how they like and use the space. Do you know how many litters your degus are coming from? I think you might need to be prepared for issues on this front. When they say they will all be introduced and fine together, I think they are potentially being very optimistic. This isn't to say that a group of 5 from the same litter would all get along fine, but with different litters and different colours you may run in to more trouble, so be prepared for that. Anyway, it's nice to meet you, I'm sorry for the loss of your rats, please feel free to ask any and all questions you may have, there are no silly questions when it comes to degus.
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nika
Foraging Degu
Posts: 106
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Post by nika on Apr 28, 2019 13:25:18 GMT
Oh, thank you for the advice!
I am aware that the degus aren’t cuddle bugs, and this too was another positive on the list. To be honest, our rats weren’t either. They far preferred exploring and then finding a cosy place on or near whoever was with them and going to sleep. They weren’t super keen to be held most of the time.
I’ve had each of my girls read a basic Degu manual and then answer simple questions - two of the things were about taming, not grabbing and letting them climb up on you and how to achieve that and omg the amount of times I’ve talked about their tails to the girls 🙈 they are thinking I’m obsessed with Degu tails lol. I’ve also made it very clear that when the degus come, they will be left to acclimate for a few days to get used to noises and smells of our house.
The cage is 2 levels of 65(w)x 170(l) x 110(h) ish, I’ve also made sure to increase the running space by adding ledges and levels. I will be designing a third level as I said made of mostly mesh. That level will be right in front of the window and should offer them some access to UVA and UVB. I’ve realised that I’ll have to get a UV lamp for them for over the dark months .... do they make UV lamps that are also heating lamps? I’ve been told that my house is warm enough but that degus do still like a source of heat if it’s available. I’ve reacquainted myself with sexing (because I got it backwards earlier) and I hope there won’t be an issue introducing - if I see ANY issues, the hutch will be easy to separate so they can get used to seeing and smelling each other.
And everyone is definitely right, it is a lot of information and a big learning curve, but I’ve got hyperfocus on my side lol, I’ll keep learning until here’s nothing left to learn lol. In the beginning I had looked at all the ‘main’ sites on the internet (degutopia for example 🤦🏻♀️) and read the books I could find. It’s only when I found this site while trying to find answers to more specific questions that I realised that I had missed a huge portion of information. So I’ve been cramming lol. Over my lifetime I’ve had many different pets - dogs, cats, a skunk (wasn’t my idea!), ferrets, guinea pigs, rats, sugar glider that I inherited from my grandmother when she passed and even a nile monitor that my ex wanted and then realised he was petrified of 🙄. I’ve got a fairly decent foundation I think. Right now we only have a american Akita (who loves all little animals and is far more gentle and calm than her breed is given credit for, the rats used to climb on her back and ride around on her lol. And cats - who obviously won’t be anywhere near the degus when they are out of their cage. We generally did run-free-time with the rats in my eldest daughters room with the door and window closed as hiding spots are scarce and it separates the cats.
I’ve written an essay already - I’ll keep looking over everything and if I have any questions I’ll absolutely ask. Thank you for the advice and support.
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nika
Foraging Degu
Posts: 106
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Post by nika on Apr 28, 2019 13:34:36 GMT
I was originally just going to assign a colour to a child, but after what you said deguconvert - I think I’ll approach it differently. Each of my children obviously have different personalities. I’ll match the Degu with the child’s personality. Like Piper, my youngest twin is quite timid and shy, but she’s definitely got the patience to spend plenty of time getting a shy degu to trust her. And for Tadhgan, my other twin. She’s the extrovert, so she’ll probably more suit an independent degu who thrives off numerous short encounters after the taming stage. And so on and so forth. I’ll watch the degus and get to know them myself for a bit before I tell my children which degu ‘belongs’ to them. I wouldn’t want a clash of personalities. I am very good with cats and animal body language to be honest, so hopefully that helps me out!
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Post by moletteuk on Apr 28, 2019 14:34:37 GMT
You are going to do great, you just need to be interested and open minded which you seem to be in abundance, so it's all good Sorry I misunderstood about the second level, I just thought I would lay out the sums for myself as much as anything with it being an unusual size. UV lights don't tend to give out much heat.
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