Degus won't let me sleep!!!

[mikeymike]

Hi I am a student who has adopted two female 1 year old degus. I am back at my parents house for the summer and the degus keep waking me up in the night biting on their p@h cage and with the way they burrow on the metal floor of the cage. Right now I am able to move them out of my bedroom but when I go back to university I'm not going to be able to do this. I have plans to build them a new wooden house 90x50x100cm with sliding perspex doors in the hope I wont be able to hear them in the night? I just need some advice before I invest as to whether this is likely to solve my problem or any other advice of blocking out the sound or getting them tired enough to sleep all through the night. If I cant sleep with them in my room I will have to give them away which I really don't want to have to do

[w8152]

you will eventually get used to them if that helps

Wooden cage will certainly make a difference but it really depends on how light you sleep to be honest...

[emz]

The pets at home cage is quite small - they sounds like they're getting a bit bored. The larger cage made of wood will help however if you have a wheel you may still hear that. I am lucky that I now have a "degu room."

You can try and get them to sleep more at night by having a lamp above their cage. This emulates the heating and cooling of day and night a little more as well as offers less light once you turn it off. Taking the wheel out if you have one an hour or so before bed may also help them calm down a bit.

Degus are very energetic pets and love chewing to boot. They may not be bored and they may just like chewing. You should take a long, hard consideration as to whether or not these very active and intelligent pets are something you can keep up with for their pretty long lifespan. You may find more mental stimulation or out of cage play will have them more worn out in the evening.

I also recommend glass, I have perspex right now and they sometimes stack up their toys and can gnaw at the perspex. I've been unable to replace the doors but am starting a new cage soon anyway. I just thought I'd let you know glass may be a better idea!

[malteser60]

smux has the right idea there. Some people find that by having a routine their degus will sleep at night time.

Otherwise as emz says to make them a cage that is not metal, and to take out noisy toys like the wheel.

I do feel for you though!

[NightwishRaven999]

I have been keeping the degus in my bedroom for over two years now, so I feel for you as well. All the posts here are very helpful.
Lighting the cage during the day and turning the cage lights off at night really helps.
As Smux points out, adhering to a strict routine everyday also helps. Degus are not so different from humans. Once they take the bad habit of staying up late in the night, its hard to make them go to sleep earlier.

One thing that I would like to suggest is letting them run free in a room or playpen for 30mins to an hour everyday. Do this a few hours before going to bed and you will find your degus asleep earlier than usual.

If the degus spend most of their time in a small cage, its normal that they only sleep short periods at a time. In a large cage, they have lots of space to run around and stay active.
The more active they are during the day, the less likely they are to wake up at night.

Your best long term solution would be to build them a large enclosure.

[Bexi87]

I also have this problem. My girls did have a routine and slept fine during the night but since I brought Hugo home things have become a little squiffed!

I have invested in some ear plugs which have really helped