Degu extremely active

[nubbin]

nonstopasltu, if you are unable to give your degu the life he deserves maybe you should consider giving him to someone who has the money and space to provide for him properly, maybe some thing like a gerbil or a hamster would suit your situation better.

[nonstopasltu]

I understand everything and im happy that this forum is so friendly, but i cant, i just cant make it bigger its just impossible right now it makes me sick to think about that...Everytime i think about my degu and i know that i cant make him more happy i just... Its hard for me right now cause i dont have much money, and i need them to buy my degu food and other main things. Yes he has a sand bath and a runing wheel but he doesnt run in the wheel so often right now.

And nubbin never ever i will give my degu to anyone, i cant hes like me brother i never had and what you say is just nonsense, and not everybody in my city knows about good life of degus they keep then in hamster cages...

[deguconvert]

Oh love! Your distress breaks my heart! I wish there were a way to help you. Where are you from?

[Kat]

What size is the wheel you have? Is it loud? When I had a loud wheel one of my boys wouldn't run on it. I think that it offended him. Ha. What food do you currently use?

Kat
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[nonstopasltu]

Umm guys dont think that i am very poor i really can afford everything but i will need to count every cent. I am from lithuania/ Wheel isnt loud and hes 22cm. We dont have 24 but it def. suits him well. Just guys tell me what thing i need too add for perfect life for him ( doesnt count a new cage lol)

www.part.lt/img/7bd10c454db7d3b4babc26b617b923ad547.jpg

[malteser60]

oh nonstopasltu, please please don't get distressed. We definitely know that you mean well for your degu and nubbin should not have suggested that you give him away.

So, there are lots of things you can do to help your degu with little money involved. Not that I or we are suggesting you are poor, don't worry. Money is a big issue for everybody these days

So, your first step is to try and improve his life in the current cage he has. How many 'toys' does he have? There are lots of fun things for you to make so that your degu has more fun in his cage. For example if you have cardboard egg boxes you can fill the egg box with hay and treats, close it and let your degu figure out how to get to the treats inside. You can do the same with a sock and hang it for him to try and get to the treats. If you can get hold of big cardboard tubes you can make a tunnel system for him. Another fun option is to scatter his food and treats around the bedding of the cage so that he has to forage for the food.

Secondly how often do you take your degu out of the cage? The more time you can give him running outside the cage the better for him. Also is there any way to create a run for him so that you can leave him out for longer?

And finally can you make a bigger cage? I might be cheaper than buying a pre-built cage. Or you can start saving up for a bigger cage.

I know there are older threads on this forum with more ideas on how to make the cage more fun for your degu without spending money, but I am at work right now so I shall try and find them for you when I go home.

EDIT: I have just had a look at your photograph of the cage. Yes, you definitely need to give him more things to do, lots more things to do. That is why he is always biting at the cage. As I said, you do not need to spend a lot, if any money to make fun toys for your degu.

[nonstopasltu]

I will def. try the egg box trick, well i have some materials from old cage but im not sure what to do with my top of this cage, i thought if i cut it and add another 20cm's he wont stand still, and it will be no way to make him normal again, thats my one problem. Any more advices? i dont have tools i need for a good bridge from sticks. So i need to let him out everydya like? 1hour?

[malteser60]

The one thing with degus is that when they are active, they are ACTIVE!! They will dig and run about, chew, etc. But then they get tired, and will have a little nap, eat, etc. So what you want to do is to stimulate your degu to be active in a natural way, so that after all that activity he will then get tired and take it easy. Also if you get him to be active more naturally he will, hopefully, stop chewing the cage and it won't be as noisy for you. Also you will find him more fun to watch and see what mischief he will get up to.

As he is on his own if you can let him out everyday that will be ideal. But don't panic or get too stressed out if you don't manage a day. When I let my degus out I take a book with me to read, or use my laptop, etc. My degus have lots of fun running about, they even run all over me. They like in particular to sit on top of my head! In that hour sometimes I play with them, but mainly I leave them to run and explore. What is also good is if you can let him out to run before bed time. And do not feed him before letting him out, feed him after. Most likely he will be tired from running outside, and hungry, so he will eat then sleep.

All this will not be an instant change for your degu, but it will improve things a lot and you will eventually see a change. The cage chewing habit will be hard to break though. My degus chew the cage, even with lots to do, although it's not all the time. The silly degus will even chew the cage from the outside!

[nonstopasltu]

Thank you so much, i just cleaned the cage and i let him go like 30 mins then he went to the wheel run all the time and now hes just relaxing is his bed !

[nonstopasltu]

Can anybody say what can i add to my cage? something more?

[Kat]

Can you get any tubes. If you ask at carpet shops they will usually give the carboard tubes for free. My degus really like them. Also you could scatter his food around. He will have fun looking and finding it.

Kat
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[malteser60]

nonstopasltu - I was really sure that there was a thread on this forum with ideas on toys for your degu but I couldn't find it. But i found lots of other ideas so here they are:

• Coconut shells - if you can get hold of these degus love chewing at them. If you buy a whole coconut make sure you take the flesh and water out first.
  
• Kiln-dried pine toys - kiln dried pine is just pine wood that has been dried in an oven to remove all the resin (as the resin is toxic to degus). If you can get hold of some and cut it down this makes great chew toys. This has to be done with an adult though.
  
• egg boxes stuffed with hay and treats then closed.
  
• branches - if you can get hold of twigs and branches your degu will love to chew these (see here for a list of safe wood)
  
• hammocks - degus love hammocks and tubes. You can make these by cutting the end of a sock, or the sleeve of a top, or a piece of rectangular material, get some wire and attach the material/sock/sleeve to the cage
  
• big cardboard tubes, for example carpet tubes or poster tubes
  
• stuffed tube puzzle - Carefully punch two holes in a long cardboard tube (try a kitchen roll tube), and post a length of wire between them. Attach the tube to your degus' cage horizontally, in a place they have to stretch to get to. Take a handful of hay, and stuff it in one end to form a 'plug'. Take some of your degus' favourite treats, and put them inside the tube from the open end (you may want to tip it a bit to get the treats in the middle!). Now plug up the open end with hay and you're all set! Your degus will be able to smell the treats, but have to work out how to get at them! This is a good weekly treat for your degus' cage.
  
• parrot toys are brilliant, especially if they have lots of pieces of wood all twisted round like a puzzle
  
• paper maze - put a few sheets of kitchen roll paper and watch your degu figure it all out. And at the end it can be used as bedding
  
• make lots of hiding holes and house using cardboard, for example cereal boxes
  

Hmm, I've run out of ideas for now, maybe somebody can come and suggest some more.