Degu Tavel Cage Help??

[geordiedan1892]

Hi everyone, just looking for a bit of advice. We are moving home from Northern Ireland to Newcastle and have to take our degus across on the ferry and drive which will be approx 5 hours long.

Just wondering if anyone has travelled a long distance with their degus and how they were during the trip?

Also any suggestions on a travel cage? We were thinking on buying a smaller hamster type cage (that their wheel fits into) just for the journey...
They will be back in their normal big cage as soon as we get there.

Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks ;D

[deguconvert]

We have traveled with our degus, trips from three hours up to seven hours in duration, and they did fantastically well. We converted a large dog kennel for this purpose, wrapping it in wire mesh as the bars are too widely spaced, and swapping out the plastic base for wood. They were subdued at points, sudden loud noises such as both dogs blasting at someone or something near by, but for the most part took it in stride very well. We made sure they were warm enough, but not too warm, and that there was plenty of water and hay on hand for them, as well as their usual amount of daily food. Every once in a while we would take one or two out for a respite and a visit. It worked out great for all of us!

[Maravilla]

How many degus are we talking about? For shorter trips (or at home when there is a need for longer stays outside the cage) and small groups (2-3 degus) we use our DIY wooden transport box filled with hay and maybe a paper roll or house. Even for 5 hours I don't see a need to provide a running wheel. Your degus most probably will spend the trip sleeping. We also have an aquarium (60 l) filled with lots of hay and covered with mesh. As offering water is a little bit complicate to manage, you can offer fresh salad or leaves or weeds (dandelion normally works). Degus don't drink a lot so I think it's okay as we are not talking about summer with high temperatures.

[fuzzymum1]

I have one of these cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260866320069#ht_1321wt_698[/ur] as an emergency hospital/travel cage. For short trips I use a small hamster cage (plastic base but the wire goes down to the floor inside)

The nice thing with the slightly bigger cage is that it flat packs so doesn't take up much space when not in use. Their wheel fits in and with the small upper level covered in card or similar it's fine for a day of travel. I used it recently to transport 2 babies to a friends house where I was meeting a friend of hers who was adopting them.

[geordiedan1892]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I think we would have built a cage if we could but we're a bit limited with time before we move.
I think we will probably go for the rat cage as it looks the most 'degu escape plan' proof!

thamks again for your advice!

[nuttz]

one of the forum members (jaiye i believe?!) used to take her goos away every weekend and she used a largish hamster type cage, she put wire meshing securely around the plastic bottom and she said this worked well.
maybe if you searched in the cage section you will find a post from her which shows a very good picture of her handy work.. i believe the post was posted around november last year (give or take?)
if i have time i shall look for you ;D

btw....where has jaiye got to? havent seen her for ages