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Post by davx on Jan 19, 2012 21:20:45 GMT
Hello Jordan, it is in fact important to take the time for testing and trying out. Degu keeping in this stage is much experimental if we want to lern more about this creatures. I also spent a lot of time for new cage setups, new ideas and observing them and their behaviour. Apropos stones, I used them from the beginning, here my first setup (very clean) - of course the cage is far too small, but it is about 10 years old and outdated: When I had built my larger cage I used several larger stones, especially flat ones as a kind of a natural dish/saucer for food. But the degus used them also for resting, grooming etc. Well observed... I also loved this much. Especially in the bigger cages the new spaces opens new doors for larger structure elements and for new (often bulky) ideas. But one small remark, you can choose a larger sand bowl. I used a mini aquarium with 20 x 30 cm ground area, but a metal box, a big plant pot or something like that also works. The best choice was a aluminium box from IKEA, around 40 x 60 cm ground area and some 35 or 40 cm height. But I believe I needed 25 kg chinchilla sand to fill it... *g* Btw. I'm going to complete my documentation from my outdoor keeping. I'll send you a pm in the next days.
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Jan 22, 2012 7:21:11 GMT
Your new setup looks lovely, and very aesthetically pleasing I really want to do something similar in the new cage once it's finished. Is that bathing sand in the hollowed out tree stump? HAHA ! I am glad this has fooled you ;D The "hollowed out tree stump" is actually a plastic feeding dish made for reptiles. I value many accessories designed for Reptiles and Arachnids since they are designed to fit into specific biotope settings. Yes, that is bathing sand in there. The dish is designed to mimic a hollow boulder, or a tree stump. It works every time Look into my 3rd Journal Entry on the first page. You will see a clearer photo of the dish and my review of this product. It comes in different sizes, so can be used for several purposes. @ David Very true. This is one of the biggest motivaters for me to get the new cage plans moving. The current one is in good condition and offers acceptable CARA for the number of degus I keep. But I do not want something that is merely "acceptable" and quite honestly I look forward to arranging and setting up a cage with more surface area. I will be able to use more elements and still give the degus more open running space. Your experience with outdoor housing gives you a special edge when it comes to natural cage setups. Sadly, it is something I will most likely never be able to try out here. Trop froid, trop chaud...About the sandbath. You are correct. There are many options. I have many empty aquariums at the moment, but never liked the idea of this inside the cage For some reason it is not something that appeals to me. On the other hand a clay vase/flower pot does make a good looking sandbath. I await your pm !
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2012 19:13:10 GMT
Your new setup looks lovely, and very aesthetically pleasing I really want to do something similar in the new cage once it's finished. Is that bathing sand in the hollowed out tree stump? HAHA ! I am glad this has fooled you ;D The "hollowed out tree stump" is actually a plastic feeding dish made for reptiles. I value many accessories designed for Reptiles and Arachnids since they are designed to fit into specific biotope settings. Yes, that is bathing sand in there. The dish is designed to mimic a hollow boulder, or a tree stump. It works every time Look into my 3rd Journal Entry on the first page. You will see a clearer photo of the dish and my review of this product. It comes in different sizes, so can be used for several purposes. Hah, no way! That looks so realistic! I would like to have one too, but Jadzia is such a notorious chewer - she'll chew absolutely everything, even stone! I guess it wouldn't hurt to try though. I have also considered getting shredded coconut substrate meant for lizards, which I think someone on this forum mentioned using for digging material. The store that has it is a specialist store for lizards, so they probably have lots of stuff like that bowl of yours
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Post by davx on Jan 22, 2012 22:04:27 GMT
Jordan, I sent you the pm. What's about something like a greenhouse or winter garden (do you use this term?)? The advantage would be, that you can regulate the climate inside with shading or heating etc. Tortoise owner here in Europe have some smart solutions as well for keeping their reptiles outside... perhaps that might be also an idea. Here you can see such a product: www.chelonium.de/I think for you the effort is of course higher, but I think it might be feasable with enough clever ideas and of course the possibility to realise them.
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Post by smithomatic on Jan 23, 2012 19:00:36 GMT
@ Stormsong
Hey storm, the bowel that NWR uses can be purchased in P@H and similar stores, they are actually made of a varnished ceramic, they are very degu safe and far too hard for them to chew, my degus have one and tried to chew it for about a week at 1st.. realising they wernt making a dent they moved onto other things lol..
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Jan 24, 2012 2:28:35 GMT
@ Joshua I have to agree with this. It is one of the few materials immune to degu chewing. They have Pets at Home in Norway ?
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Post by smithomatic on Jan 24, 2012 2:39:27 GMT
There are not pets at home stores in norway, but im sure these dishes can be found in all good large pet store or reptile specific stores
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Post by smithomatic on Jan 28, 2012 0:49:18 GMT
@jordan Since your post of your latest cage setup I too have been looking into new bedding substrates. I have had an opporutunity to familiarise myself with the dust extracted aspen that you have been using lately. I love everything about this product! It has a great texture, does the job perfectly and looks fantastic, and most importantly - its degu safe! Unfortunately it is very expensive.. Here in the UK this bedding is measured in litres. 10 litres is one bag, each bag is (roughly) £5. It would take probably 2 bags per level for me so thats a total of £30 minimum to bed my degus home - as opposed to a large bale of extracted wood shavings which will completely fill my vivarium for £10. What are the prices like for bedding where you are? Id love to be able to use the snake aspen! Hopefully I will be able to find a cheaper vendor or get some discount on bulk buys - gotta love economies of scale.
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Jan 28, 2012 5:22:18 GMT
@ Joshua Glad to hear you have tried it and liked it ! It is quite costly If you are reffering to the Zoo Med Aspen Snake Bedding, it comes in three size. I need three of the largest bags (26.4 L) for the monthly cage cleaning. Here, each bag is sold for around 25$...so for me it comes out to over 80$ with taxes. (about 50£) It does sound expensive, but I tell myself that it is worth it since it is good for a four week period. It is a very good burrowing bedding, especially since it is so lights and free of dust. Nothing stops you from using the Zoo Med bedding on the bottom level of the cage (where they spend more time digging), and line the other levels with your standard dust extracted bedding. ------------------- On a side note, one of the reasons why I have been trying different beddings, was not only for the degus but for myself. I suffer from a very serious case of Asthma, to a point where I had to be hospitalised and was even kept back from advancing in a field of work that appeals to me. When I clean the cage, I always wear a dust mask to filter out the air I am breathing. Although my own brakeouts are usually due to high humidity, sudden drops in temperature and even from laughing excessively, the dust is a very harmful sensitizer for me and can provoke sudden respiratory attacks during the night. I have tried out many "dust extracted shavings", but the Zoo Med bedding is the only one I can handle without wearing a dust filter over my nose and mouth. This has made me question the "100% dust extracted" logo many brands promote on their products. The Zoo Med bedding, is by far the safest of the wood shavings I have ever used. It would seem like a great substrate to use in a digging/burrowing pit, mixed in with dirt, sand, peat and shredded coconut shell substrate. The bedding is very well reputed and very popular among the reptile, arachnid and bird enthusiasts.
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Post by smithomatic on Jan 28, 2012 11:58:09 GMT
Hey Jordan thanks for the response! I have been looking and looking but cannot find anything cheaper here in the UK, im now looking into diluting the bedding I currently use. Perhaps making a solute from a mix of beddings. Perhaps 1:1 (Snake Aspen : Wood shavings) or 1:1:1 (Snake Aspen : Wood shavings : Recycled paper). I will try a few different mixes during my next cage clean and make a post on here about how successful each mix is. As I do not suffer from any respiratory ilnesses I do not need to worry too much about myself. My main goal is to find something that looks very excellent in the cage, is degu safe, and feels great for landscaping and for the degus to play in. Be sure to hit us with any updates on the bedding front id love to know if you ever find a cheaper vendor of snake aspen! Josh
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2012 21:05:24 GMT
I haven't had any luck finding a similar bowl to the one you have, Jordan. That web store I found had a few nice things, but the stuff they do have is insanely expensive They did have some very nice branches though, and some coconut fibre that I'd like to try out for the digging pit. I would order from the abroad, but then there is customs... which will make anything expensive anyway! smithomaticSince it's illegal to keep reptiles as pets in Norway, the stores don't carry reptile stuff
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Post by davx on Jan 28, 2012 23:30:45 GMT
@stormsong reptile keeping in Norway is in general illegal? Or is it needed to have an explicit permission or are there ban lists with some species not allowed for keeping? In Germany so called "dangerous animals" (it is meant some kind of dogs and exotic animals like reptiles, terrestrial predators/cats etc.) are in focus of ban lists and restrictions. It depends on the states, some have ban lists, some asking for a keeping permission and others don't have any regulation yet.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2012 0:20:55 GMT
davxYes, all sorts of herptiles that are not native are illegal. It's supposedly one of the strictest laws regarding reptiles in the world. I believe you can apply to own turtles in extreme cases of allergy, but these are generally declined since the government does not see having a pet as a human right. There are, however, lots of reptiles being kept illegally. If discovered, the animals are euthanized. There have been several discussions about making some of the most commonly held herptiles legal, and the Norwegian Association of Herpetology has made a "positive" list over such species to be presented to the government for evaluation. However, such discussions have cropped up over the last few years from time to time and it hasn't really led to anything. Guess we'll just have to wait and see
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Post by davx on Jan 29, 2012 19:39:22 GMT
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