When can you let them run loose?

[Mike Collier]

I have had my two goos for a couple of months and have built up some trust between ourselves. When they are in the cage and I approach them they come for a stroke and they are desperate to get out. They will pull at their door on their cage to get out.

On Sunday I used what should have been the mesh floor to let them walk down to the ground and run riot. This is whilst i gave the cage a good clean out, they had a good time discovering this and that in the front room.

Alas when it came to putting them back in their cage the nightmare began. We struggled to catch the little beggars and they seem to think this was a game. Eventually we got them back in about an hour later with a nut, Tried carrott, broccoli etc but the nut was the only thing that worked.

I'm slightly confused as i know they need there exercise and to be let out but I'm wary about letting them out again and reading some of the posts they seem to indicate not letting them on the floor anyway! Is there a certain time that's best for doing this and is it anything to do with how long they have lived here?

[Lala]

There's not a set amount of time really. It's when they know play time's over. I still have trouble catching Jack to put her back in the cage - usually coaxing her into my slipper or a ball, or even using a towel!
Try letting them out in a more enclosed space so they're easier to catch?!

If you don't fancy always having the stress of catching them after a clean out try them in a giant rat ball! Punk & Rocket love theirs and they run in it together quite happily. Jack & Coke are used to having their freedom so haven't quite got the jist of running it in together yet [very comical to watch ^.^]

[deguconvert]

You will find that the longer you have your goos, the better they will respond to coming back to you. Something that seemed to make a big difference for our three goos was when I started sitting, or laying, on the floor of the room where we let them run free. I would lay, reading aloud to my daughter, and they would run around. At first they avoided me at all costs. Then after a couple of weeks they would run around me and occasionally over me. Another couple of weeks and they would run up to me, nuzzle my face, sit on my stomach, try to burrow into my hair, or perch on top of the book I was reading and try to chew it. This was a practice we did every night (lately my daughters room is in a state that would make the reacquiring of goos impossible). Now I take them into our bathroom and let them run around. Again, I sit on the floor with them, with a book for my own pleasure. They run, try to chew on anything wooden, and come visit me frequently. When it is time for us to head back to their cage, I cup my hands on the floor near them, call them by name, and usually within a few minutes I have them put away. I have had them for about 5 months now, so it has taken that time to build that kind of trust and responsiveness.

It is a TOTALLY different experience if my daughter is trying to catch them. She leaps and jumps and shrieks as she is trying to get them. Of course she gets them all riled up and spooked, so they won't come to her. It's the same when she wants to bring one out for a visit. She manages to get her particular goo out, but only with some chasing. Poor little guy, he seems to know that he is bound to come out, so he doesn't run for long. The other two on the other hand WILL NOT easily come out for her.

So . . . just keep it up. Try a smaller space, or whatever space it is that you want to be their running room. Block off any areas you don't want them to get into. Keep some small pieces of nuts on hand for enticing them to return when called. They can learn to recognize their own names, so call them by name, too.

[Mike Collier]

It made me smile when you mentioned your daughter, mine is 14 months old and thinks what ever she eats is fine for the goos, not a good idea when she is trying to poke lollipops through the side of the cage. Goos being goos of course want whats on offer. Only once has she managed to poke one through the bars, close call as we saw it fall in.

We wont let the goos out in front of her but im amazed at the response she gets from them. The amount of times i've cringed when she pokes her fingers into the cage but as of yet she has never been bitten, and i do mean pokes, the goos are all over her.

My son who is four is fascinated by them as well, anytime they want feeding or a treat he is their straight away and they will come out of the cage onto his arms.

Truely remarkable animals. The goos not the kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[deguconvert]

I dunno . . . since there are days when the noise and the mess cause me to feel more like a zoo keeper than a Mother . . . I am inclined to feel that the word ANIMALS can apply rather well to the kids! ;D

[jim]

When I get mine out to run around, I let them use the upstairs landing. Shut all the doors leading off into different rooms and make sure the cat is out.

Then I let the beasts loose to run around and wreak havoc! I just have to watch them around the stairs. They have a habit of hanging over the edge of the banisters. >.<

[buzz]

Mine are a sucker for the sand bath. It works everytime. I leave the sand bath until playtime is over at which time they all get in the bowl and get transported to the cage. Minimal fuss, minimal time and the degus get to play in the sand for a bit when back in their cage so they are happy too.

[luke]

Buzz that made me laugh!

sounds like you sit there with a string attached to a box with a sand bath in it! then when they come along and sit in the sand bath you yank the cord and stand up going "Muahaahah suckeeers!"

Hah!

Anyway yeh, mine are "suckers" for my hoodie. They love it.. they go in sleeves and as soon as they get in i stand up and go "Muahaahah suckeeers!"

hehe

Luke~

Oh btw, mine come out everyday. I havnt set times and I need to.. It's going to be.. 8-10pm. Mine never want to go back in and if I try catch them.. they run under a cabinet or something and poke there heads out, as to say "haha, come get me!" silly goos ^^

[Joe Sinclair]

I was worrying about this too, so mine don't get out much I'm afraid. But that will change in the next few days. I'm nearly confident enough now I think.

I have made the room their cage is in degu proof by removing the things I thought they shouldn't nibble, and the stuff I don't want ruined.

I have also spent the last three weeks getting to know them and winning back their trust (I made a mistake a few days after buying them and they were all on the floor and I panicked and upset them a LOT whilst catching them. cue biting, bleeding and my finger will scar..

Finally, I have been learning what they like and what they dont like. I know they like the orange bits (carrot I think) in the chinchilla mix I bought, so these will prove useful. Peanuts are a winner too, but fatty so must be used sparingly.

The most handy thing I found out though is that they love tunnels and cardboard tubes. if I put a kitchen roll cardboard tube in front of one of them when they are on the wheel they leap into it and want to see what is at the other end.

One of them, the bravest one, got onto the floor on Sunday and the tube trick was what recaptured him. He was very afraid of me, but he didn't know I was holding the (very long) cardboard tube at the other end, so when he went into it I quickly transferred him to the cage door. Result.

If you can find a box/sand bath/tube/pocket that they like to climb into (and they might find a treat in there? ) you'll have them back in the cage without a fight...

[tuppence03]

i am getting my goos at the weekend, i know it will take time to earn their trust but when i do and let them out will they get to expect it every day? like a cockotoo because i can`nt do that with a cat and 2 big dogs., do`nt get me wrong imy goos will not be negelected as i am disabled amd i am at home every day all day all our animals are our children there is nothing we we would`nt do for them

[deguconvert]

A bathroom, loo, is a great place to do some initial running around time. It is usually a fairly small space in comparison to other household rooms, and it is usually fairly easy to block off any places where they can escape. The more they get to know you, the easier they will eventually be to catch. Mine are now starting to come to me when I call them . . . about 65% of the time. We have had them five months now. It's nice to have them coming!!

[jj]

I like the tube idea to capture them, Max and Paddy love their tubes.


Oh and Mike love, our daughter is almost 17 months

[cavey]

We let ours out a few times and they love it, but now they expect to come out every time we open the cage. Wouldn't mind this, but it's we normally put food in then have to go to work. Anyway...

We let them out and struggled to catch them, ended up chasing them, the next time they were out they just hid under a sofa, and took ages to get them out again.

We just tempt them with some food (which they normally take and hide somewhere) BUT the best thing we found was show them they're giant rat ball, they have a look and climb inside, then just pick up the ball and wobble them into the cage