It's Bloggin' Time

[jbaggs92]

Hello all,

I have finally decided to start a blog following my time with degus. I'll start off by saying I am in no way an expert. I just got 3 male degus less than a week ago, and didn't realize what I was getting myself into. Not that any of this is a bad thing, just.. the world of degus is much more elaborate than I had expected. I never thought that such small animals could have suck complex personalities and habits. I love everything about my little guys.

The degus themselves don't have names just yet. I'm unable to distinguish between any of them mainly because I really haven't been able to hold any of them yet. There was a single night so far that I actually got one out out of the cage to run around on my arms and hands but that ended in a pretty serious bite... This doesn't discourage me. I know that with time, my little buddies will not only not bite me, but will want to spend time with me. For this, I can't wait.

As far as names for them, my only current ideas are Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego. Their the names of the three Chaldeans in Daniel 3 who wouldn't bow down and worship the golden idol that Kind Nebuchadnezzar made. I love that story, and the three male degus could fit the names perfectly. The only problem with those is that if I used those names, their pretty long to use on a regular basis. I mean, "Come here Shadrack! No Meshack, don't chew on that!" and "Isn't Abednego just the cutest little thing you ever saw?" See what I mean? I guess I could call them Shad, Mesh, and Abed... Eh, who knows. I'll see after they like me enough not to desire my flesh between their little teeth.

Another part of this whole experience that I love it the fact that I'm going to be building a cage. I have planned it out and am confident in my ability to do to. I'm ready to get some carpentry done. It's been far too long since I've build something like a cage. It's going to be a challenge, but will be well worth it.

Finally, I wanted to thank everyone on this forum. I'm going to have to say a special shout-out to NightwishRaven999. Thank you, Nightwish, for taking the time out of your day to welcome me so well and to give such great advice. It's nice to learn about Canada from you! Thank you to everyone else who has shared their wisdom with me, it will be used. Soon I'll post on this blog again with updates on the cage build so y'all can see my progress.

Thanks again!

[Kat]

I look forward to hearing more about your cage and degus. I really like the names. I can understand what you mean about getting bitten as I have a young degu at the moment too.

I keep singing "it's hammer time" now too. ha

Kat
x

[jbaggs92]

Thanks Kat, and I look forward to telling you guys more about my whole experience. I held on of the little guys for just a second today, and didn't get a hard bit, more like a nibble. They still don't like for me to pet them, though. I guess that takes time as well. One of them is very comfortable getting out of the cage now, but my room isn't exactly degu friendly at the moment... I'll have to get a little area set up that they can hang out in.

In other news, I gave them about an inch and a half long piece of carrot that was left over from the past two days, and they fought over it. It was kind of funny because they sounded like a bunch of dolphins with all their little squeaks and chatter. They're still really freakin' cute. That hasn't stopped the entire time they've been here. I can't wait for the day that they let me pick them up, pet them, play with them, and snuggle with them. That will be a great day indeed.

Well, I think later today I'm going to pick up some wood for their new cage! I'm really excited to start on it. But, other than that, I'm out for now. I'll let y'all know more later on.

Bye!

[malteser60]

hey jbaggs, sounds like you're guys are thorougly comfortable with being with you! They are fasciniating creatures where you'll spend hours looking at them. Keep going with the taming process, they will eventually walk all over you, but it can take time, lots of time! Just be patient, that's the golden rule! And yup, they are freakin' cute! you just want to grab them and snuggle them to death!

[NightwishRaven999]

Hello James !
Very glad to see your involvement in this section of the forum.
I too am looking forward to following you through your adventures.

Will be reading your posts here with great interest.

[jbaggs92]

Alright, everybody! It's been a few days since I've posted any updates and things are looking good! My three little guys are doing very well together. One of them is always ready to get out of the cage. Every time I open it, he is trying to nose his way out, and sometimes he does! This then ends up with a five minute battle trying to get him back it (only because my room is not yet fit for a degu to roam freely, otherwise I wouldn't care). The second bravest will stick his little nose near the cage door, but keep his back feet as far into the cage as possible. It's really cute watching him stretch himself out like that. The third little guy doesn't really want to do much of anything. He usually sits alone, and doesn't normally go out of his way to play. He livens up when the other come to bother him so I don't think he's sick, but he isn't very fun-loving.

Another good improvement is the lack of real biting. They do a lot of trying, but I've managed to stop them. The one who likes to get out is the most feisty. He is usually the closest to biting me, but when he plays on my hands he's fine. He's still the only one that I have been able to hold. Also, they are letting me pet them a little bit more now. When they eat I can usually rub their heads, or the sides of their necks, but only for a short time. Eventually they will push my finger away with their cute little paws, but hey, seems like good progress for only a week of real playing with them!

Finally, I have purchased the supplies I need to build a degu cage! I got some plastic coated quasi-chicken wire stuff to use for the front and top so the metal doesn't hurt their cute little feet. I'm going to do the actual building of the cage this weekend. I hope it all turns out like I have planned! If it does, I'll be very happy! I'll post pictures this weekend sometime while it is in production.

And now, I'm going to leave you all with some adorable pictures of degus being cute.





I think this one looks like he's singing into a microphone...


Well, that's all for now, folks! I look forward to updating y'all with more pictures and stories. Thank you for all of your help and encouraging words.

-James

[deguconvert]

ROTFL!! I love that last one . . . big Elvis pose!! Now all you need is to get him some blue suede shoes . . . ;D

[Kins]

He obviously wants to be a super star, who can blame him. Adorable!

[jbaggs92]

Hi everybody!

It has been a very productive weekend! I've finally started some real work on the new cage. Good thing, too, because the smaller one seems to be getting smaller every day... But I now have some pictures to post! So, here you go!

Just doing some measuring here and marking here.


First cut completed. The wood splintered a little bit at the bottom because the circular saw I was using wasn't quite good enough. You'll see it in the next picture.


There's the crappy orange one on the left, and the hefty 'man saw' on the right. It weighed about 12 pounds more, but cut like a champ.


A few more completed pieces.


The 45 pound plate replaced my girlfriend when she had to leave. It worked well, but wasn't nearly as cute.


I just thought this was a cool shot...


One window cut out! Oh, and that saber saw on the left and the silver circular saw were my grandfathers... they worked better than all of the other tools I used.


One window-door nearly done!


Finished product closed...


...and open!


Well guys, that's all I have for now. Tomorrow I'll be finishing the other three doors and hopefully putting it all together! My little goo's will love it!


Oh, and I don't know if y'all follow American football, but LSU beat Alabama! Very close game.

[Bexi87]

That looks really good, how have you attached the mesh to the wood?

[deguconvert]

That's BRILLIANT!!! I love how you have done that. Really, REALLY great work!!!

[jbaggs92]

All I did to attach the mesh to the wood was cut the mesh to size, and use some heavy wood staples out of a high-powered stapler. The only problem with that was that I had to hammer the staples in because the 'high-powered' wasn't quite strong enough to push them all the way into the wood. After I attached the mesh to the large door, I placed the small door in the middle and stapled both the frame, and the door. After you do that, you just cut the mesh around the opening part of the small door and, there you have it! A working door. I still have two more to do, so I'll post pictures of the actual process.

Thanks for the encouragement! I'll post some more photos soon.

[NightwishRaven999]

This is looking great James ! Anxious to see the next steps !

[nuttz]

fantastic!!! i love the little door with-in the big door! that is something im definitely doing with this next cage were building, its a nightmare trying to put food in the cage and 6 degus trying to leap out on ya...lol
well done and keep those pics coming!!! cant wait to see the cage in its finished stage!!!

[dyzired]

Awesome blog can't wait to see more of the cAge! I too love the small door within the big door idea

[jbaggs92]

Hey everybody! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've said anything on this blog. I've been quite busy. But, anyway, the cage it's done! It's been done for quite some time, and my guys have been living in luxury. It's three levels tall, and each level it's 3 feet by 4 feet. Pretty good size if you ask me.

I'm having some trouble filling it with stuff for them to play with though... Stuff from the pet stores is far too expensive, and they chew through plastic running wheels like it's candy. Should I get a nice metal wheel or two, or should I get a flying saucer? What wild wood can they chew on that grows in south Louisiana? I'm full of questions!

Well I'm out for now. I'm going to post pictures soon. I'm sure you guys will love it!

[deguconvert]

Hmmm . . . what kind of trees are available? Your cage sounds MASSIVE! Kat, one of our mods, has posted the costs to make and post her wheels to the U.S. Perhaps they would be an option for you sometime? I don't have one of her wheels, but all who do totally love them!! Here is the link . . . deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=saleitems&action=display&thread=9004 . . . look on either page five or six for the cost to U.S. and see if it works for you. As to other things to have in there . . . you could buy some sisal rope, thick rope, and build nets etc for them to climb on. Also, poster tubes, or the tubes that carpets are wrapped around, are GREAT entertainment for degus.