ava
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 215
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Post by ava on Sept 12, 2011 18:18:45 GMT
Hmm.... I'll ask Simon to think of some way to attach them, then. He originally said 'nail them in' but I'm not sure if that would A. ruin them and B. be dangerous for the degus as they could pull the shell so much the nail came out and then chew it :/ I'll ask him if he can think of anything else though - I'm no good at that sort of thing, lol.
Thank you for the information about coconuts, NightwishRaven999 - I had no idea they were used in aquariums. They sound like a good container for water.
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Post by moletteuk on Sept 12, 2011 19:15:24 GMT
I got one of the glass bowls from argos for a sand bath and it's the ideal size for leaving in the cage, it's great. I was a bit worried about them gnawing on the edge of the glass because my girls are real chompers, but they haven't made a mark on the glass, so it seems perfectly safe.
I use creme brulee dishes as food bowls.
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ava
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 215
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Post by ava on Sept 13, 2011 11:32:55 GMT
Ok - well, now I feel that the glass bowl would be safe, it's apparantly out of stock :/ I hate doing the whole buying/waiting/collecting thing at Argos stores - I have some social anxiety issues... But I'll consider the glass jars and stuff at Ikea when I look. Hope to go some time this week, same day as I go to B&Q to get wood  On that note, does anyone know of somewhere cheaper to get the wood? I was considering a local timber yard but it turned out to be MORE expensive than B&Q  The creme brulee dishes would be great although all I could find were painted and varnished ones :/ I really want to try coconut shells first though. |
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Post by Kat on Sept 13, 2011 11:39:47 GMT
The £ shop is good for plain ramakins. (sp?)
Kat
x
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Post by Kins on Sept 13, 2011 11:59:04 GMT
The £ shop is good for plain ramakins. (sp?) Kat x Or buy some 'Gu' puddings as a lot of those come in ramekins...perfect excuse for eating yummy puddings, hehe! e.g. www.gupuds.com/our-puds#after-dark-ramekinsMmmmmmmm... |
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ava
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 215
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Post by ava on Sept 13, 2011 14:58:06 GMT
Oh, never thought to look in there! Good idea  I have yet another question - sorry :/ - is chipboard ok to use instead of MDF for the cage? Edit - Those puddings look gorgeous, Kins ;D |
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Post by Kins on Sept 14, 2011 15:42:51 GMT
Another idea for food bowls is to buy teracotta 'plates', the ones you can use under flower pots to hold some water, I'm not sure what they are actually called I'm afraid, but hopefully you know what I mean. I just went to my local hardwear store and bought 3, they were only 65p each! Bargain. I think I might have to get a 4th one too.
I'm planning on using them to give my goos their 50% 'natural' diet as it takes up a lot more space than just nuggets.
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Post by Kins on Sept 14, 2011 15:46:58 GMT
Like these...pinched the picture from NWR's blog, hope he doesn't mind  Attachments:
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Post by moletteuk on Sept 14, 2011 19:33:34 GMT
Chipboard isn't a good choice because it's rough enough that the degus would be able to get their teeth into it, and rough enough that they could be overly interested in it.
Terracotta pots and dishes were reduced in Wilkinson's the other day.
B&Q and Wickes are pretty similar in price, if you sign up for emails from B&Q they sometimes do vouchers for money off.
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Post by Maravilla on Sept 14, 2011 19:42:07 GMT
I know a couple of people who have cages out of melamine-faced chipboard. I think they are very content.
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Sept 15, 2011 3:39:55 GMT
I know a couple of people who have cages out of melamine-faced chipboard. I think they are very content. Same here ! @ Kins Dont worry, I stole that photo from Google ;D |
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Post by Kins on Sept 15, 2011 8:48:21 GMT
@ Kins Dont worry, I stole that photo from Google ;D I tried to 'steal' a picture from Google but didn't know what they were actually called so failed  Thank you. |
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ava
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 215
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Post by ava on Sept 17, 2011 12:23:06 GMT
Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'll avoid chipboard - haven't seen any melamine-faced chipboard really. Sorry about the delay in replying. There was a family emergency... Edit - has the recommended cage size changed? I thought it was a minimum of 100cm length x 50cm depth x 100cm height? Think I've seen a few posts saying 120cm in length now, which I can't really do... |
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Post by fred on Sept 17, 2011 14:46:44 GMT
has the recommended cage size changed? I thought it was a minimum of 100cm length x 50cm depth x 100cm height? Think I've seen a few posts saying 120cm in length now, which I can't really do... No worries, nothing has changed for us  The posts you saw were from some of our German members, who reported the minimum sizes they have on deguforum.de. Just bear in mind our recommendations that it would be better if you could go for 110 or 120 cm height, or alternatively have different height for the three levels. You need to make sure that you can have a good layer of bedding at ground level and that you can fit in a wheel of 30cm diameter. |
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ava
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 215
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Post by ava on Sept 17, 2011 17:12:44 GMT
Unfortunately I can't make the cage any higher, embarassingly because I'm only 5'1 and wouldn't actually be able to reach the top level (as the cage will be supported by a table which needs to be a certain height)... We have altered the level heights in the design. I can't quite remember the heights we ended up with but the top level now has 29cm between it and the top of the cage, so the levels below have more space between them. That's the one with the least space, anyway. Does the ground level need to have bedding? I was originally going to fill all levels with it but recently thought it might be a good idea to have tiles on the bottom level and then save the bedding for the other two. Edit - oh and yes, we can fit that size wheel in Well, the one I've bought is 29cm in diameter, it's the Wonderland one. I assumed the 1cm wouldn't make a difference, but if it does I can always buy another bigger wheel when the degus are fully grown. |
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Post by moletteuk on Sept 17, 2011 18:23:55 GMT
melamine faced chipboard is sometimes called furniture board, it's chipboard with the plastic style coating on it. It's quite expensive, but could be a good idea for the base as it's wipeable.
Whether you need bedding on the base depends on the setup really, my girls spend a lot of time on the base of their cage so it gets mucky quickly and needs bedding. I'd recommend tiles and bedding, or melamine and bedding.
I can't reach the top of our cage, but I just use a stool if I need to reach up there.
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ava
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 215
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Post by ava on Sept 18, 2011 11:58:48 GMT
Ah, ok. I'll have a think about that then. I'm finding this all to be very difficult to work out as I don't have degus yet, so does anyone have some idea of how high I should make the ledges on the cage levels? I want a good layer of bedding on each so enough to hold it in when I open the cage - but of course, I don't yet know how much will be used... Also how do you think degus would be with this? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monofilament_fishing_lineSimon wants to make some hanging steps/swings for them and already has some. It is plastic, but he thinks they wouldn't actually think to/be able to chew it or eat it because of how thin it is. |
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 18, 2011 18:55:10 GMT
I would avoid using the fishing line. If the degus got tangled in it, it would be really difficult to release them from it, and I would be fearful of causing an accidental death as a result of a tangling.
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ava
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 215
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Post by ava on Sept 19, 2011 17:06:11 GMT
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Post by fred on Sept 19, 2011 18:11:51 GMT
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On that note, does anyone know of somewhere cheaper to get the wood? I was considering a local timber yard but it turned out to be MORE expensive than B&Q 
The posts you saw were from some of our German members, who reported the minimum sizes they have on deguforum.de. 