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Post by sophie9901 on Aug 26, 2011 10:41:51 GMT
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Post by poandcc on Aug 26, 2011 11:04:05 GMT
Hey I have this for my degus and so do Many people on this forum I think! It's not as small as it looks! It's the right size for 2 degus depending on how much space you want to give them! I attached another cage on top of this one and now they have alot of space as I only have 3 degus! X
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Post by amie on Aug 26, 2011 11:20:57 GMT
Sad to say, I do not think it's the right size for any degus as a permenant home. Two attached together, perhaps. Three attached togther, great!
This is a widely debated cage (the thickets house cage), and I believe that more people lean towards the cage being far too small.
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Post by Kat on Aug 26, 2011 11:27:02 GMT
I agree with amie on this. I have a stack of 3 joined thickets house cages. This, I feel, is a good size for my 2 boys. 1 looks big until you add the wheels, bed, wood etc.
Kat
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Post by fred on Aug 26, 2011 12:43:58 GMT
I fully agree with you Sophie, a single Thickets House cage is not suitable to keep any degus on a permanent basis. I have raised this sorry issue with Kate Jones, the Customer and Culture Manager at Pets at Home on 16 August (together with the irresponsible missexing). Once I receive her response, I will post it here. But we should not forget the underlying problem. Degutopia declares “This cage is just suitable for 2 adult degus”, and the many degu owners in the UK who have this cage are to be forgiven for being misled by the dominant english-speaking degu site. I really wish that all those who consider this cage unsuitable would go to the Degutopia comments page ( www.degutopia.co.uk/degucomments.htm ) and make this clear there. Perhaps then Dr. Long would wake up to the problem and the damage she is doing to innumerable degus. |
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Post by aya0aya on Aug 26, 2011 13:42:45 GMT
Here in Slovenia on a lot of official pages suggest minimum size of the cage 80x60x80 cm. So people buying that cages and their selective reading suggest them the smaller ones are just fine too. I tried to take an action and complained, most of the time I get no answer. If I do, it's something like; it's none of your business what I'm doing, you dont know me and I'm a great animal lover that care for degus (and bunch of other animals) just fine. There are no policies for animals so there's nothing I can do. Sad.
I even saw one selling the cage 120x60x70. As written they bought it for degus and now they're selling it because is too big for degus.
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des
Newborn Degu
Posts: 11
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Post by des on Aug 26, 2011 14:13:56 GMT
Just my two cents:
The cage is also unter the standards followed in the leading german Degu community. Our suggested minimal size is: 100 x 50 x 120 cm (L/H x W x H/L) for 2-3 Goos. Also, those plattforms are borderline useless, imho. Degus need full levels so they can run.
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Post by fred on Aug 26, 2011 15:10:41 GMT
@ aya0aya and des – I think we all agree the larger the cage the better, but we need to take into account different recommendations in different countries. I believe in the UK we should try to gently convince degu owners that their degus need to have a minimum running space that corresponds to that of a cage as recommended by the RSPCA.
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Post by amie on Aug 27, 2011 6:15:57 GMT
I couldn't have worded things better myself, Fred  |
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Post by nickymills30 on Aug 27, 2011 9:47:33 GMT
I have used these cages, but as other have done, i have added another cage to the top of it, to create more space. But the bigger the better really x
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Post by degualot on Aug 27, 2011 13:00:37 GMT
I have two of these cages stacked together for two degus and I still think they are not that good. It's not the height or the levels. I just feel in these cages you are very restricted in what you can do. I also think the ground area is way to small even if you have three stacked ontop of each other. You see I use them because at the moment I have to but I plan on building a wooden once once I have the plans. And i'm going to make it as big as I can. I did build a cage myself out of mesh and it's got a huge floor area and by god can you see the difference. unfortuantely I had to seperate both the P@H cages and keep a single Degu in each following a big fight in which I plan to reintroduce today and hopefully remerge the two sections as a result of them getting back together. Fingers Crossed!!! However as a permenant cage I think these suck. The Doors are in a awkward place. They get dirty very easily, they rust despite the galvanised coating. Basically they are degu poop... These cages aren't great, I feel sorry everyday for keeping my degus in even two of them. poandcc I don't know how you perceive space but I think suggesting a single P@H cage is suitable for a pair of Degus is wrong. I did this once and they both got really bored and deprssed in the begining when I knew nothing about Degus, skip a year later and I know alot more because I have never stopped reading about them and I continue to learn new things all the time and I have come across many different perspectives on what is right and wrong about Degus. I think these cages are rubbish.. just my word... |
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Post by poandcc on Aug 28, 2011 5:56:01 GMT
I like many others have looked on degutopia and they are the ones that say that it's suitable for 2 adult degus! I also said That I have put another one on top to give them more space as the having 3 in 1 cage wasnt good enough! So my perseptive on space is pretty good!
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Aug 28, 2011 6:29:39 GMT
I like many others have looked on degutopia and they are the ones that say that it's suitable for 2 adult degus! I also said That I have put another one on top to give them more space as the having 3 in 1 cage wasnt good enough! So my perseptive on space is pretty good! Many have come to realise that this cage does not qualify as suitable housing for a pair of degus. The practise of attaching two such cages together (as you have done) has become quite popular. It is still shocking however, that several sources claim A SINGLE Thickets cage to be a suitable permanent housing for degus and chinchillas. For the cost of two such cages, many on this forum have built large wooden homes for their degus. Homes that are easier to maintain and clean out. |
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Post by poandcc on Aug 28, 2011 7:02:04 GMT
I think that it's shocking too which is why in my 1st Post I did say depending how much space you want for them! I have very limited space so I cannot build my own cage. I have planned out how I want the cage when I Do eventually get the space but for now the cage I currently have is perfect for them and they seem to really like it there!
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Aug 28, 2011 7:14:17 GMT
...but for now the cage I currently have is perfect for them and they seem to really like it there! Poandcc, no one has claimed otherwise... We must all work with what we have and use our means to provide the best for our pets. |
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Post by fred on Aug 28, 2011 7:51:06 GMT
It is still shocking however, that several sources claim A SINGLE Thickets cage to be a suitable permanent housing for degus and chinchillas. The really shocking thing is that there is one degu information site, from which many others take their information, that makes this claim. The owner of this site knows full well that this falls foul of the RSPCA recommendations by quite a margin but is not willing to change it!!!! This is were by personal “disgusted” comes in. Consider this: A well-known wire metal cage maker sells “degu cages” with an area of 61 cm x 46 cm. According to the Degutopia cage calculator, such a cage with a hight of 77 cm would still be “just suitable for 2 adult degus”. Such a cage would have an area of 27 cm2 at the floor level and less at the single additional level that could be fitted. If keeping two adult degus permanently in such a cage doesn't qualify as animal cruelty, I don't know what should. Note to the moderators: I think the link to the Degutopia cage calculator on the cage calculator sticky should better be removed altogether?? My remarks are not to criticize new degu owners who keep their degus in a single Thickets cage, but explain that they have been misinformed and point to ways to remedy the situation. Second hand Thickets cages can be obtained for £ 30-40 and putting one on top of the other, as poandcc has done, already makes a huge difference. |
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Post by Maravilla on Aug 28, 2011 8:23:36 GMT
Without having read through all the long texts, just one remark. Those, who are still considering a relatively small cage big enough for 2 degus, have probably never seen a degu running. And I am not talking about running in a running wheel for hours but running through his huge cage, using all levels, running upstairs and downstairs, with short sprints in a running wheel and on a running plate. I do not consider all those as bad degu owners. We all are humans and we only believe what we see. But we are curious as well. And this is important when we want to learn and change things. Unfortunately, degus are still often seen as animals who enjoy climbing and who need "trees" in their cages to be happy. This is not only a problem in the English spoken world but also here in Germany. We are doing hard work to convince people that a degu is not a squirrel, that large levels are more important than pure height which cannot be used adequately and could be even dangerous. But as long as pet shops are only selling small cages with small doors (for all kind of small animals, it is not a problem exclusively to degus) and provide false information, all we can do is informing people about the real needs of our little friends. Unfortunately, sellers are often considered to be more experienced than we are (they are the professionals, they have learnt all about the animals, so they are right), even when they even fail to sex a degu correctly. Sorry, I think this was more than just one remark  . |
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Post by degualot on Aug 28, 2011 15:56:28 GMT
^^ what she said.. I completely understand and agree. This is what i'm saying about the P@H cages. OK two or three stacked ontop of each other is obviously more space tna a single cage and if that's the best people can do then i'm not criticising that fact. I myself keep twp P@H cages ontop of each other but in my mind it's just for now until I build a better cage. I just feel even if you stack 10 P@H cages together I still don't like them because the floor space is tiny meaning the Degus never get a good run, they have to hop up stairs and keeping going until they reach the top, I don't think this is the same as having a few really large levels that they can sprint accross. Lets bare in mind that in some countries, 100L x 50W x 100H is the minimum cage size. That's why they are nearly all hand built. But the main part is having the 100L x 50W which equals loads of floor space, enough for good runs. It gives them a chance to really stretch their legs. People have the wrong impression, they fill the already tiny floor spaces up with things to distract the Degus when actually they do require a level of nothing but space to run around in, not saying it should to totally bare but a couple of compelte levels is better than cage with a few levels made up of loads of little perches... Think Tiger running accross an open grass field, not Monkey in the trees... Maravilla I totally understand and agree with you 100% in what your saying and I think your comment hit the nail on the head. No need to appologise, one of the best comments I think. |
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molly
Newborn Degu
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Post by molly on Sept 4, 2011 21:08:26 GMT
I agree, the thickets cage really isn't anywhere near enough space for the number of degus they recommend in P@H. But as with much of their advice, its confused and contradictory...I think the degu book they actually sell recommends a bigger cage than the thickets model! I'm surprised also to learn that its recommended by Degutopia! I like the idea of stacking them but they look as though they would lose some of their rigidity without the solid tray base and become awkward to modify...?
As for the issue of running space, I'm inclined to agree...I think the cage we have is sufficiently large for our 4 boys but I find myself filling it with things to climb because there's so much empty 'air'! I'm looking into constructing a secure run for them in their room so that they can have more space and time outside the cage! Since we've had to separate part of our cage for an injured goo...they are really struggling to be active enough!
And you guys are absolutely right...as owners, we need to keep researching and learning!
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Post by fred on Sept 9, 2011 14:31:36 GMT
As promised, the response from Kate Jones, the Customer and Culture Manager at Pets at Home regarding the Thickets House cage: “In relation to the cage, we advise a number of choices for Degu’s, a wire cage is a good choice but it’s important that it has a solid (rather than mesh) base to prevent degus developing problems with their paws, the thickets cage has a tray that can be turned upside down to prevent the wire being exposed. Alternatively, we advise that customers can keep degus in a Pets at Home large gerbilarium or even in a fish tank with a suitable top” Before I reply, I would love to hear what others think about this response. This is the gerbilarium she must be referring to www.petsathome.com/shop/extra-large-gerbilarium-by-pets-at-home-15972 |
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