Got 2 Degus And Would Like Some Help?

[Deleted]

On Saturday i bought 2 baby degus from Pets At Home both female and i have them in the £89.99 cage from pets at home.
www.petsathome.com

With a nestbox,hayrack,tube,feeding bowl and water bottle and a couple of flavoured wood things to chew

Just want to Ask a few questions as pets at home are not very helpful

1. Is it alright to have wood pellets as your flooring?
2.When you use mineral stone do you put whole block in or just a bit of it?
3.How often do you give them a dustbath? And how deep should the sand be?
4.Is it alright to use Pro-c By Vetark as there vitamin supplement?
5. What make good treats for the degus?
6. What are good things to put in so they are not bored?
7. And just one more question are they alright when they chirp like birds?

Also one of my degus will walk straight onto my hand and let me pick her up but the other one smells my hand then runs off. Will the other one get more confident as time goes by?

Sorry for all the questions but want to give them a good life.Thanks for all your help in advance ;D And if you could think of any more good advice would love to hear it

[spookymuffin]

Jun 2, 2008 9:07:56 GMT @michaelanderson said:

On Saturday i bought 2 baby degus from Pets At Home both female and i have them in the £89.99 cage from pets at home.

I've never bought any animals from there myself (that store doesn't exist here) but I have heard that they are notorious for sexing animals incorrectly. You might want to double check yourself, or post pics of some of the members here to verify if they are both female.

1. Is it alright to have wood pellets as your flooring?

I don't see why not, but I don't know of that sounds like a very absorbent material (or comfortable for that matter) I use Supreme CareFresh bedding mixed with wood shavings and my two boys love that

2.When you use mineral stone do you put whole block in or just a bit of it?

Unfortunately, I can't answer this as I don't give mine mineral stones.

3.How often do you give them a dustbath? And how deep should the sand be?

My boys enjoy a daily dust bath for about ten minutes. The sand should be a few inches deep. If you don't mind having to change the sand more often you can always leave the bath in their cage and they can use it themselves whenever they want.

4.Is it alright to use Pro-c By Vetark as there vitamin supplement?

Just looked up the ingredients for this and I would have to say no. It has added glucose (a.k.a sugar) which could be fatal in the long run. I use Johnson's Vit-min drops and they seem to be fine. Here's a link: www.lamp-post.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CH10116

5. What make good treats for the degus?

The odd sunflower or pumpkin seed. They also love dandelions and grass from the garden (make sure you wash it thoroughly first)
If you check out the feeding section here you'll get many more ideas.

6. What are good things to put in so they are not bored?

A wheel is probably the most important thing as it's a great boredom breaker and also keeps them healthy. I use a silent spinner (the chinchilla size) and my boys love it. I have heard of some people's degus chewing them up though. www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=12646

7. And just one more question are they alright when they chirp like birds?

When you say "chirp" do you mean a constant low sound? That means that the animal is happy. My boys make it when they play fight, groom each other and hump.

Also one of my degus will walk straight onto my hand and let me pick her up but the other one smells my hand then runs off. Will the other one get more confident as time goes by?

Some degus are more shy than others. Your rather lucky that you got one that's friendly right away! It takes time and a lot of care for them to get used to you but it's worth it in the end.

And if you could think of any more good advice would love to hear it

I just want to ask what it is that you are feeding them?

[buzz]

Don't be sorry for the questions be a pointless forum if you couldn't use the forum to gain knowledge.

1) cage - its wired flooring... I'd advise you to cover the floor with cheap ceramic tiles as your degus run a high risk of foot infections like bumble foot. To wood pellets, personall I'd say no since the degus should walk on the bedding (I can't imagine it being nice to walk on)... its probably better to use material like carefresh or aspen... best not use pine or cedar wood chips etc as the phenols are bad for rodents... although its not as bad in the UK as in USA. Other people may be able to give you other ideas as to what beddings they use.

2) You can put the whole block in if you want, but I wouldn't have it on the floor, hang it up so they can't wee on it... you'll soon to find out the degus will wee anywhere and everywhere

3) I give mine sometimes once a day, sometimes every other day. I don't leave it longer than two days though if I can help it. I have mine at an inch and replace whats lost if they haven't finished... theres no rules really as to how deep, just whatever you think.

4) Is that stuff the water soluble vit c stuff?

5) shelled, or unshelled nuts like walnuts (walnuts are the least fatty nut, but they can have others like unsalted peanuts) Although, use nuts very sparingly... one a week. I tend to break a whole walnut into 4 bits and give them one quarter on one day, another on another day etc... but only the one nut a week (did that make sense?). Sunflower seeds are also good. Then theres fresh foods like romain lettuce, sweet potato, peas, carrots (not too much fresh food though as it can give them diorreha). Herbs like basil, parsley, mint, thyme (mine loved dried herbs)

6) branches with bark like apple or oak branches. Tunnels, mine love those cardboard tunnels from pet at home... go to chinchillas2shop... theres a load of good toys there.

7)The gurgling sound? Its fine, they are saying 'hello' . Any loud squeaks that sound like they are having a hissy fit means (broadly) 'go away' or 'stop it'. Any high pitch single squeaks that repeat means 'danger' or sometimes 'you've pissed me off'.

The other will get used to you, but she may never want to be picked up... its down to the individual goo really. Put a few good treats in your hand like sunflower seeds and put your hand in the cage... she will soon come to associate hand with good things and get more confident.

[Deleted]

Just to answer a couple of questions

I am feeding the guinea pig pellets from pets at home.

And yes the pro c does mix with water. But im guessing its a no to using it as it has glucose in i think but thats what was recommend to me by Pets At Home

Also the cage comes with adjustable shelf so you can slide it in above the mesh so its a flat surface for the degos ;D

[spookymuffin]

Jun 2, 2008 10:31:40 GMT @michaelanderson said:

Just to answer a couple of questions

I am feeding the guinea pig pellets from pets at home.

And yes the pro c does mix with water. But im guessing its a no to using it as it has glucose in i think but thats what was recommend to me by Pets At Home

The ingredients in those pellets seem alright. No added sugar as far as I can see.

Many pet shops don't seem to know what they are talking about when it comes to degus. They may check about the sugar level in their food but it may not have occurred to them to check if it was present in the vitamin drops.

[Deleted]

I have some grape vine and wondered if that is alright for chewing or not?

[suzannem]

i also feed them the pellets that u feed (also recomended to me by p@h) but they dont look very appatising and my goos got fed up after a while so i now mix them with gerty guinea pig food which ive been told is ok and the goos prefer it, but i still give them mainly pellets as my theory is the more unappatising something looks the healthier it is

[Deleted]

It does look like p@h is rubbish. As they gave me some vitamin supplement to put in the water and i asked them is it alright for degus and they said yes. But after reading ingredients and getting told on here it has glucose in what you get told not to give degus due to diabetes

[buzz]

P@H is terrible... staff are given wrong info, majority of products recommended are wrong... I really really dislike the place.

[kizz]

Hi: I feed mine three girls a mixture of reggie rat and Gerty ginnypig (make sure its the one with alfalfa not fruit) They love dandelions. I'm gonna have a go at growing some in a pot for my girls
Their favourite toy is toilet tissue, you'll be in stitches watching them playing tug of war round the cage with it.
They love a daily dust bath although most of the dust ends up all over the cage.
An exercise wheel is an absolute must for a happy degu. Don't waste your money on plastic wheels though. I had to buy a new one every 10 days or so in the beginning. Their right little vandals! After my sixth wheel, at £12 each I found a brilliant wheel on line. A company called John Hopewell. Best £48 I ever spent. A totally indestructible metal wheel. I've had mine over three years now and it's still good as new.
Your Degus will give so much back in love and enjoyment for very little expense or work. One of mine, Willow, is a lot shyer then the others, she'll permit a tickle under her armpit and will sniff noses with me but not much else. The other two Blossum(RIP) and Cherry are (were) very affectionate. I can pick them up for a some fuss anytime I like. Cherry will stand on her hind legs and box with me. They can be demanding attention seekers. I hope you enjoy many years of enjoyment with your new friends.

[spookymuffin]

Jun 2, 2008 21:20:46 GMT kizz said:

Hi: I feed mine three girls a mixture of reggie rat

I wouldn't recommend feeding degus rat food. The protein level would be much too high since rats are omnivorous while degus are herbivores.
In the worst case scenario that could cause kidney failure.

[kizz]

Oh, didn't know that rat food could be dangerous. Looks like I've been misinformed. The person I got Willow from said they had always used it. I'll be looking for a change right away. What food do you recommend then, please?

[buzz]

yea, rat food is no good, degus shouldn't have meat products ever. Well, I use JR Farm Special, it seems to be the best in mixed moods so far, but it does contain corn which may be bad. I tend to pick it out.

If you prefer to feed them a pellet mix, chinchillas are better to replace the reggie rat... but with pellets you shouldn't really get an alfalfa based one but a timothy based pellet. Again, the alfalfa is too high in protein to use as a main meal, but they can have it every now and again.

[spookymuffin]

Jun 3, 2008 5:38:17 GMT kizz said:

What food do you recommend then, please?

I feed my boys a mix of Gerty guinea pig, Burgess Excel guinea pig pellets, Vitakraft Emotion Beauty Degu and JR farm degu food (premium and special)

[Lala]

Jun 2, 2008 9:07:56 GMT @michaelanderson said:

1. Is it alright to have wood pellets as your flooring?
2.When you use mineral stone do you put whole block in or just a bit of it?
3.How often do you give them a dustbath? And how deep should the sand be?
4.Is it alright to use Pro-c By Vetark as there vitamin supplement?
5. What make good treats for the degus?
6. What are good things to put in so they are not bored?
7. And just one more question are they alright when they chirp like birds?

Hi

1. When Jack & Coke developed their allergies I started using wood pellets (on instructions from the vet) but they didn't seem to like it and seemed pretty uncomfortable so I'm now using Carefresh which is a lot better for them

2. I got them a mineral toothbrush (same as a stone but in a tooth brush shape lol) and made the mistake of putting it on the floor peed all over it! They love them and it wears their teeth down. Suppose it depends on you if you wanna see them destroy the whole thing or bits at a time ahaha

3. Mine get a dust bath every other day before playtime now (their at my mums and she goes mad with the mess Punk &Rocket make)

4. I've never used it, I use PaH Ginea pig food with extra vit C and just pick all the raisins out so they get their vit C from that!

5. oOoOo there's loads of good treats! Sunflower and pumpkin seeds as an occasional treat as well as hazelnuts, walnuts too! If you want extra entertainment for yourself, give them a whole walnut between them and crack it a little so they can start trying to get in it themselves sooooo cute fresh veg (but not too much cos it gives them upset tummies!) and just stay away from all fruit

6. A wheels always good, tubes, extra shelves, toys, nest boxes, cargo nets, coconut shells, toilet and kitchen roll tubes etc OH and a ball for them too run around in if you don't want too let them out on the floor just yet

7. Yeah that's a "i'm happy with this" noise, if they repeatedly squeak it means they're scared and if they make a... i can't really describe it but if you hear it you'll know it's a "get away from me i'm in a bad mood" noise

If you haven't guessed already PaH are PANTS lol! I was told Jack & Coke were male! After adopting Punk & Rocket I realised they were in fact female honestly, they are useless so double check the sexes of your little ones!

[Deleted]

Thanks for all the help. Wont be using p@h again as they are rubbish. Still cant think of a name for the 2 but hope to find one soon Cheers Mike ;D

[Deleted]

I saw this for sale (sepiolita) and wondered if it was alright for the dust bath. This is what they said wondered if it was true as its quite a good deal for 20kg.

Chinchilla Dust Is A Very Closely Sizes Sepiolita Clay Product. It Is Sizes Specifically To Maximise Its Cleaning Potential But Not Remain Within The Fur

[deguconvert]

Jun 9, 2008 19:24:58 GMT @michaelanderson said:

Chinchilla Dust Is A Very Closely Sizes Sepiolita Clay Product. It Is Sizes Specifically To Maximise Its Cleaning Potential But Not Remain Within The Fur

Sizes? I'm sorry, I don't think I quite get the meaning of this statement.

I did, however, try and find some information on this clay through Google. It seems to be used in a lot of different ways. Drilling, lubricant, fertilizer, feed for stock animals, and who knows what all else. I'm afraid what I did read wasn't really much indication about how suitable it would be for degus to bathe in.

[Deleted]

Thankyou just wanted to check as i dont want to buy anything to harm them. Will just stick to stuff from pet shop ;D

[katelills]

I'd like to thank all of you for this thread as i am getting my first degus tomorrow and this has been very helpful in clarifying a lot of things. My two are (apparently) both boys, so says p@h. They were left there by their owners as they'd had three not knowing one was female. They obviously had babies, then the family found out their son is allergic to them. So unfortunately p@h now have the entire litter along with mom and the two males. I couldn't resist them and after reading everything on here about p@h i felt compelled to take them. So if anyone is interested, once the babies have been weened the p@h in Bescott, Walsall will have some to sell i'm guessing. I'm naming them Indiana and Gemmell! I'm such a geek
Thanks again for the person who asked all these brilliant questions