nubbin
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 237
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Post by nubbin on Sept 28, 2011 15:43:02 GMT
at least once every 2 days I take my 3 boys up stairs into my spare room for about 30 to 60 minutes of play time depending on how much free time I have, the room is perfect as all it contains is a few boxes of things and a chair so theres plenty of room for them to run around.
the only issue with the room is that is has white painted skirting boards that they seem to home in on when my back is turned, I am always in the room with them during play time but some times they have a cheeky nibble for a few seconds before get a chance to stop them.
unfortunately it is a rented house so I cant nail anything to the skirting boards. Is paint that much of a health issue if it is kept to an absolute minimum?
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Post by deguconvert on Sept 29, 2011 4:14:32 GMT
Clearly it is something we don't want them to be ingesting . . . however . . . completely keeping them away is also very difficult. I think by now our boys have taken in a fair amount of white paint from various pieces of wooden articles . . . skirting, doors, door frames, cupboards, dresser drawers, ANYTHING that they can set a tooth on. I have no idea, short of doing an autopsy some day, what kind of effect it is truly having on their bodies, but so far they are still very healthy happy boys. I don't recommend that you let them go whole hog on the skirting, but I don't think you need worry when they manage to thieve a bit when you are not looking either.
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nubbin
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 237
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Post by nubbin on Sept 29, 2011 9:04:21 GMT
its usually after about 30 minutes when they've lost interest in the various play things and tubes that are scattered around the room so i'm trying to remove them when they start nibbling the paint, maybe then they'll start to associate it as a bad thing and will stop doing it
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Post by malteser60 on Sept 29, 2011 13:53:39 GMT
Join the club! Mine also include painted wallpaper as part of their diet along with the painted skirting boards. I also live in a rented place and I might as well give my degus my deposit money to eat at this rate!
I'm trying out one solution right now which is to cover the skirting boards and wallpaper just above with cardboard, secured with masking tape (so it comes off easy without ripping the wallpaper). Basically take one cardboard box, cut down one corner so that the box opens up, cut off all flappy bits, secure to wall, repeat.
I'm hoping that this will work.
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Post by fred on Sept 29, 2011 14:46:25 GMT
I offer my girls a lot of junk wood when they are free to roam the room and they are reasonable well trained to focus on that rather than skirting boards and furniture. It sometimes happens 30-60 minutes into their time out of the cage that one gets too interested in the “forbidden” wood. In that case the delinquent goes back into the cage while her sister has another 10 minutes of quality time outside. I believe the clever little monsters make the association very well  |
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mhb
Burrowing Degu
Mystified and Entertained on a daily basis
Posts: 173
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Post by mhb on Sept 29, 2011 15:07:24 GMT
Fred that is genius...
We initially pushed our cage back to the wall in the alcove and they kept hiding behind the scramble net where we couldn't see them properly and couldn't figure out what they were doing until I moved the cage and they we nibbling holes in the painted wall paper one the wall.
Good job I have yet to decorate the lounge.
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