suzannem
Burrowing Degu
In life we get what we allow ourselves to accept
Posts: 280
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Post by suzannem on May 1, 2008 16:20:40 GMT
i know theres a thread lower down about letting the goos run free and this has been useful, i just want to know about cables, will the goos chew on them, if so how does everyone else make sure they're all covered up. also what if theres something on the floor they shouldnt eat, does everyone do a spot check before letting them out? im very protective of my goos and havnt yet had them out, outside the playpen we've got for the gerbils. id love to let them out so any help would be appreciated
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Post by jackdaniels on May 1, 2008 16:31:34 GMT
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Post by phe on May 1, 2008 17:54:02 GMT
i have to degu proof my room everytime before they come out, cables, holes in the floor where the radiator pipes go and underneath the wardrobe, turn off all the plugs etc(mine are quite the escape artists)! my room in canterbury is very small so i can see if anyones up to mischeive:D! although i was cleaning out there cage today and found a destroyed pencil, just want to check pencils dont have real led in them any more do they? xx xxx
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alex
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 212
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Post by alex on May 1, 2008 18:06:42 GMT
don't worry Phe, pencils are graphite and clay
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Post by Lala on May 2, 2008 11:47:07 GMT
LOL!. Degu proof . We have too do that when Jack & Coke are out for playtime. I do as Buzz does, remove all wires from the goos reach and check if there's anything on the floor that could be dangerous.
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alex
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 212
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Post by alex on May 2, 2008 20:23:31 GMT
mine took a large chunk out of my sky remote's volume button, so they also need to be hidden!
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Post by phe on May 3, 2008 16:06:59 GMT
thought so thankd alex! yea the degu proof list is getting longer, they keep finding ways of de-degu proofing my room little buggers! yup none of my remotes have buttons on them either! o and put your hair brush out of reach too, i now have a hair brush with no bristles! im trying to make a video of them stealing stuff(especially the cellotape its too big and they trip up), its so funny! i just need to figure out how to edit the clips :s xxx xx
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Post by starbizarre on May 4, 2008 8:28:39 GMT
hehehe. yes they will chew anything they get their paws on. all the books on my bookshelf are half the books they used to be! err also all my furniture, skirting boards and doors. plastic bags that are accidentally left on the floor are also extremely attractive. as was a paint brush (clean!) and my suitcase. of course they also wee on everything too.... lol.
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Post by Sunshinemeg on May 4, 2008 11:30:27 GMT
Its nice to see a positive thread on this subject. I used to have hamsters when I was a kid, and was never good at keeping the cage lid on! (I was only little mind) My first hamster escaped from his cage, and was found several hours later behind my bed. He had chewed through the live wire to my bedside light and paralysed his front legs. After a long night of hand feeding him peeled sunflower seeds, we took him to the vet and sadly had to have him put down. My whole primary school very quickly learnt the dangers of electricity.
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mum
Newborn Degu
Posts: 15
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Post by mum on May 5, 2008 10:06:47 GMT
Sumshinemeg forgot to say that there were only 25 kids in the whole school! Still, it was a lesson learned and all that!!!
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Post by jackdaniels on May 5, 2008 18:37:20 GMT
i would also remove shoes and trainers mainly ones that have laces ;D
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suzannem
Burrowing Degu
In life we get what we allow ourselves to accept
Posts: 280
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Post by suzannem on May 6, 2008 9:20:55 GMT
hmm the list is getting longer, im not sure i should let my babies out, we're in a rented property and the landlord said we could only have the gerbils n goos here if they didnt damage his property, although we did let bubs out for 5 mins yest n all he was interested in was the fact he could hide under the sofa...which wasnt fun to catch. ill have to do sum serious begging n sucking up to my fiance to get him to agree to let them out again
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Post by phe on May 6, 2008 11:48:32 GMT
well, im in a rented house and still let them out, any nibbled skirting boards can always be painted over or re-varnished ! they love to run around, it makes them very happy and a trick for catching them is a tube, they just walk straight in, a monkey nut can be used to bribe them in if that dusnt work ! o and sometimes u can just use a hamster ball...i keep meaning to buy one! xxx xx
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Post by Lala on May 6, 2008 12:47:17 GMT
A slipper works well for catching them too
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Post by munchbunch on May 25, 2008 21:52:15 GMT
I forgot to unplug the hoover which was plugged in next to the degus cage after hoovering up the millions of jobbies round their cage and the wire was close enough for them to reach out to grab it through the cage and there was a nice neat row of bites out of it! Had to rewire it, the little monkeys! So yeah, definitely degu-proof wires!!
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Joe Sinclair
Burrowing Degu
Three degus: Nibbles, Spotty and 'the other one'
Posts: 210
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Post by Joe Sinclair on Jun 1, 2008 19:50:36 GMT
They'll chew ANYTHING. Anything plastic, wooden or material. They love it. Degus nibble first and ask questions later. Nibble nibble nibble. Oh yes. My degus have ended up taking over the room their cage is in, and there aren't any electrical appliances in there for them to nibble fortunately. There are: - skirting boards (nibbled),
- bookcases (nibbled),
- radiator (nibbled),
- canvas (nibbled) and wood frame (nibbled) wardrobe
- chest of drawers (nibbled)
- door (nibbled)
- me (nibbled)
If you have electrical cables you'll need to move them out of the way. If you have a carpet that you don't want degu wee on, you need to find a different room. My wooden floors are wee proof fortunately. A friend on mine has plastic central heating pipes and pipe fittings rather than metal ones and I would be nervous of letting degus near these if I had them ...
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Joe Sinclair
Burrowing Degu
Three degus: Nibbles, Spotty and 'the other one'
Posts: 210
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Post by Joe Sinclair on Jun 1, 2008 19:52:23 GMT
But having said that, once I had prepared my room I found it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had with my degus was watching them explore the room, and when they started choosing to come over and see me rather than hide behind the bookcase I was a very smiley degu owner
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scott
Warbling Degu
Posts: 36
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Post by scott on Jun 25, 2008 22:49:42 GMT
Here's an idea, if you've got the space. I set up a 6x6 ft enclosure in a corner of my apartment. I taped together cardboard from large boxes for the 2.5 ft walls (any lower and they could jump over!). For the floor, I actually got a cheap roll of linoleum from a flooring or home building store. They can run around inside it without me having to worry too much what they're up to (until they manage to sink their teeth into the cardboard, then I have to do some patchwork). The enclosure isn't as exciting as exploring the whole room, but I'll let them around the room in their ball.
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Post by jumpinjanet on Jun 26, 2008 12:57:52 GMT
We make a 'human playpen' all 3 of us spread out and let them run around and on us.Sometimes if theres just me and my daughter we let them run into the bedrooms,its hilarious when they discover an area they've never explored!!! They go all long and flat and 'crawl' reeaaallly slowly!!!(cue music from mission impossible),infact we even sign it when they do this...lol...
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katelills
Burrowing Degu
Indiana and Pippin when they get on :p
Posts: 274
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Post by katelills on Sept 10, 2008 19:07:50 GMT
Hehehe mine do that. I sing (or should i say hum) the indianna jones soundtrack hehe! One of them is named indianna so it fits better lol. Anything new they love don't they. About the chewing; i was upset today as i'd stupidly left my hair straighteners out without realising and i caught one chewing right through the wire just like it was a corn on the cob. I knew i hadn't left it plugged in as i would never do that when i know they are about. I just thought i'd be quick enough to stop them if they ate it...oh how very wrong i was lol! xxx
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