laiyah
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 181
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Post by laiyah on Feb 25, 2023 20:19:04 GMT
Yes, I meant limescale when I said "plaque". Pardon my french. I figured extra glass water bottles was good, it's just that it has a plastic/aluminium ball thingy. I will try to rub some vinegar and maybe rebleach it, before rincing it throughfully. Also, small question. How often you clean the water bottles and the bowls ? I try to change the water every day for the degus, but the water bowl always has some sand or food residue. I always put a water bottle and a water bowl to make sure they have water accessible since the last time. But I read somewhere that I should be cleaning every day. I rince it every day and dump it in a water-bleach mixture every few weeks to be sure nothing bad stays there... But I'm not sure I do it right.
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Post by savvy on Feb 25, 2023 21:21:51 GMT
If you're rinsing it every day, the water bowl should be fine. I tend to give the water bottles a clean out with a bottle brush when the need it, which is about once a month.
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Post by bouncy on Feb 25, 2023 23:46:53 GMT
Mine get through a bottle in three days and, because I add oil-based vitamin D drops, I wash with a bottle brush each time. If it's just before bed, or I've got to rush out, I'll quickly refill half a bottle and clean it when it empties again.
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laiyah
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 181
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Post by laiyah on Feb 25, 2023 23:53:11 GMT
So... That doesn't really have to do with the water bottle but... I give my degus once in a while a bit of meadow loops. Basically, it's the emergency treat when a degoo is lost or just to motivate them to destroy cardboard. I open a box, shove as many of it as my jam jar can fit and keep the rest in it's plastic bag until I finish it. Basically, my cleaning maid passed by and when she cleaned, I think she made the bag drop INSIDE the cage. I found the plastic package inside the cage, ripped open by degu teeth (I mean, no trace, but until further notice, considering it's degu food and empty in a degu cage, hidden in the degu hang spot...). I am pretty sure there was a good eight, maybe a dozen of them because I am so spare with them... I'm wondering how worried I should be ? shop.firstvet.com/uk/product/meadow-loops-godisThe product in question
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Post by bouncy on Feb 26, 2023 0:02:18 GMT
I think my initial concern is how much of the actual bag you found. If you found most of it, whether large or small pieces, you should be ok. Degus tend not to overeat, so you'll probably find they've buried them around the place!
If you think they've eaten a lot of the plastic (check their nest too), then definitely keep an eye on them for the next week. If they start to appear unwell or have unusual poo, get them straight to the vet. The week is to allow the bag to pass through their systems, and any subsequent poo eating:)
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Post by savvy on Feb 26, 2023 0:02:37 GMT
First of all don't panic. They won't have eaten them all, but will have hidden them in various places around the cage; substrate, beds and bedding, hay, sand bath etc. Have a good look and see how many you can find, and remove them.
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Post by bouncy on Feb 26, 2023 0:05:07 GMT
Good point about retrieving the treats! Most of the time, they can't even remember what they've buried or where, so you'd probably end up binning them when you clean their cage out!
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laiyah
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 181
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Post by laiyah on Feb 26, 2023 0:21:25 GMT
As it is the middle of the night, I took out the 'obvious' hiding spots of the cage. I did find two halves of meadow loops and took them out. (I feel like that's the second degu move. Chomp a few bites and hide the rest.)
For the plastic, I'm really not overly worried because they have very carefully chewed open the closed side. (I guess since I had folded it, they thought the other side was too smooth.)
They really chewed it along the closed line and I found a lot of plastic bits around. If they did ingest some, I think it's minimal.
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Post by savvy on Feb 26, 2023 0:26:25 GMT
They're probably sleeping on a whole pile of them, that's the third degu move, if you can't move the degu, you can't steal the treats.
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laiyah
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 181
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Post by laiyah on Feb 26, 2023 0:28:51 GMT
I feel so bad, but I actually did check. I bought that specific wooden house that could fit the snugglesafe. So I opened the house and sorta chased them out. The drug bust was a dud. (Ok, maybe I shouldn't qualify Meadow Loops as drugs.)
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Post by savvy on Feb 26, 2023 0:31:34 GMT
Even if they have eaten a lot of them, as a one off, it shouldn't do much harm.
Check in the morning and do a proper 'drug' raid.
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laiyah
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 181
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Post by laiyah on Feb 26, 2023 0:43:50 GMT
I'll be honest. I checked all the litter concentrated spot, the hay bowl, the two stuffed house, the terrarium (that one was hard) and the bathing sand.
Tomorrow, I'll put the degus in the bird cage and do a full cage checkup. If nothing turns up, I guess I'll just... Stop giving them treats for a month. And maybe skip a monthly nut.
M did gain a bit of weight contrary to her sister, so I was a bit worried... (They usually have a 10 g difference. Now it's 20g.)
I guess I'll tell you guys tomorrow. Hopefully, it's not too bad. I mean, I know a major part of the loops are in a jar, so maybe they had 10 g of meadow loops. 15 ?
At least, that's not a crock. (I just realize last time I took one was last spring so they may have expired. SMH)
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Post by savvy on Feb 26, 2023 1:06:43 GMT
They do last a long time so I wouldn't worry too much about the date, unless its a couple of years passed their best before date, as long as they've keep kept dry and as air tight as possible.
The weight difference could just be down to the time of year, degus, like most animals, do store a little extra fat in the winter. As long as there isn't a dramatic change 10g is fine. We usually say that 5g is a good wee or poo, lol.
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laiyah
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 181
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Post by laiyah on Feb 26, 2023 22:08:25 GMT
In the end, I have recouped about three meadows loops. (One whole, the rest in pieces) one part being literally pried out of M's little paws when she was eating with her face all crunched in pure Bliss. (Half expecting her to get PTSD from the retrieval)
I don't think I'll find any more. I guess three out of eight or a dozen is already not bad.
Also, small question, I am going to my parents in a few days to keep my mom company during her medical exams. My degus will stay home and my bf will be taking care of them. Since I'll be gone, their exploration time will be cut short as my boyfriend doesn't work at home. They usually get a good four hours of free exploration between the enclosure, the bird cage and the terrarium. (It's an estimation.)
I was wondering if there was any good ways to make it less brutal ?
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Post by moletteuk on Feb 27, 2023 11:31:12 GMT
I think the meadow loop situation is fine, there's just a bit of locust bean in them, it shouldn't be a problem as a one off unless they are sensitive. The grudge from prying one out of M's hand might be another matter lol!!
My only suggestion of what to do to mitigate the lack of exploration time is to throw in some new branches or cardboard boxes or whatever they like to destroy, it shouldn't be a problem, well, I guess your bf can report how much they objected!
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laiyah
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 181
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Post by laiyah on Mar 1, 2023 20:07:35 GMT
So... trip was cancelled since I'm still sick. But I felt the need to share the mark on P's butt. Now a heart can be seen on her !
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Post by savvy on Mar 1, 2023 20:20:07 GMT
Its a moult line, you can see where her new summer coat is growing in (the lighter patch on her back.)
They travel down their body and make lovely patterns. Sphene has a heart shaped one this year as well.
.... or maybe they are secret codes for Project World Domination?
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laiyah
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 181
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Post by laiyah on Mar 1, 2023 22:11:52 GMT
Oh, I have no doubt she is moulting. Tbh, I forgot the verb for it.
But it's kind of funny how it's heart shaped. M's moulting line is just a random mess. I suspect it's because she likes to chill in corners, so the metal on each side lifts her hair up. X)
But if it's a secret code, I think P is like 'peace is great' and M is more of a 'Let's destroy the world THEN talk.'
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Post by savvy on Mar 1, 2023 23:02:54 GMT
Or it could be;
P is for pee on them and spread the word. M is for make them pay, make them suffer, make them your slaves, lol.
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Post by bouncy on Mar 1, 2023 23:16:13 GMT
*facepalm*
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