Stashes

[joannetunbridge]

Hi everyone, i need some advice. 1 have 2 boys, 1 7mths and 1 4mths. I have a 5 level cage for them, aspen shavings in the very bottom and grass mats on the different levels. The older boy, when I interact with him, I give him treats, but he doesn't always eat them, he will run down and 'stash' them then come back up for more. He has clumped together a lot of the shavings and has got it stuffed with food! I read that they can get upset if you remove their hoards but I'm not sure what to do, I have to clean their cage. A lot of the pieces I give them is tiny so I can't remove them, clean then put them back. Lol
Any hello would be greatly appreciated.

[savvy]

Welcome to the forum.

What you are seeing is perfectly normal. Even if there is plenty of food available, degus will bury tasty morsels for later.

I would suggest scooping some of the mount out, together with the substrate, and putting it back when you clean if you are concerned, but removing them shouldn't cause too many problems. Most degus lose some of their stash to other degus so they are used to it being nicked.

As they get older and they realise that food is plentiful they may reduce the amount they store, but not stop completely. At the moment, they are still very young.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask, degus are a steep learning curve and we have a wealth of experienced members ready to advise. We were all new to degus once so we do understand how confusing these little guys can be.

[bouncy]

Oh, you have a hoarder!

Whilst most of my seven will immediately scoff whatever they're given, but two will take and hide things for later. Unless it's the corner that's primarily used as a loo, I would just clean around it. After all, grumpy goos have the greatest grouchiness!

[joannetunbridge]

Thank you so much!
The older one is a hoarder, the younger is the pickiest but always eats what he takes.